Evening star., 1922-09-13
The Gift Horse Limps Home.

n 4 RS. JOHN MUNRO LINDSAY
| |" snapped the top of hel
purse together decisiveiy
kissed each twin twice
waved her hand to Susan Sue, who
had arrived to do the mending and
take care of the twins, patted Ragsy
ran upstairs to get another pair OF
gloves, telephoned a forgotten order
to the laundry, kissed the twins over
again, patted Ragsy~ over again
waved her hand once more to Susan
and then fairly ran down the path
to trudge to the station for the 1o:4o
train.
She looked demure enough, but she
was really rather belligerent. She
was being noble and she hated being
noble. She didn't mind being noble
impulsively. but she hated being
noble two weeks after the impulse.
For two penurious weeks she had
cut every corner in her household and
personal expenses in order to save
out enough to pay for the repairs on
the car that she had had to leave
'forninst the shed" in the McGo-
nigle's side yard.
In a penitent moment--two weeks
before-she had promised her John
that, directly the car was repaired,
she would return it to the Blaisdelrs.
For though she felt perfectly justi-
fled in accepting Shabby year-be-
,fore-last car that she had won on a
bet from Mr.. Thorne Blaisdel, Johns
punctilious nature reVolted at the
very idea.
In the aftermath of her whirl of
emotions following her adventures of
that night two weeks before, she had
felt that she never wanted to see any
car again. But on warm August
morning. as she trudged along the
road getting hotter and hotter every
minute. rejecting that there would
he scores of other mornings when she
would long for that car to take the
babies to the beach for "a swim, 1t
seemed decidedly QuiXotic to look a
gift horse in the mouth. anu JUST
plain ordinary garden variety OF
foolishness to return it to an elderly
wealthy man who didn't want it and
wouldn't drive it and couldn't sell IT.
and who actually didn't want 1t clut-
tering up his garage.
Her feelings on the subject grew
even more intense when she had SAT-
for an hour and half in stuffy day
coach on a stupid local train. The
only bright spot in tbs whole day OF
this penitence was the joy with whlch
the McGonigle family received her
One would have imagined she was
long-lost relation instead of an un-
known person whom they had chanced
to rescue from an unpleasant pre-
dicamen:. She couldn't help but forget
her own bitter feelings in the warmth
OF their welcome.
She adored playing fairy godmother
To them all. Her bag was literally
stuffed with gifts for them-out-
grown rompers and sandals OF the
twins for the McGonigle baby. BEADS
and bracelet of her own for Aggie
and Vi'let Tom and Little Himsei1
became proud possessors of some
dusty fishing tackle that Mr., John
Lindsay was going to howl nightly
about the following spring when ne
discovered it was missing tnot tnat
he ever used it, but he always got IT
outo and Ma McGonigle and IA
McGonigle were to be recipients OF
pound Of chocolate-and tobacco
each gaily tied in green,
For Merriam felt more indebted TO
theMcGonigle family than she dared
to remember. for the man from whose
annoyances they had rescued her had
been too drunk to know what he was
doing or care what he did.
She walked soberly down the dusty
road from the McGonigle house to the
garage that had been making repairs
on the car She WINGED when she
paid the exorbitant bill, and WINGED
again as she paid for gas and oil
knowing well that she had left the
car more than two-thirds full, and
she WINGED d third time as she passed
the local police court. She had an
swered the summons to appear there
the day following her accident. and
had been told that her case had been
postponed. 1t had been postponed