The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1922-05-04

usual. and as usual I Was wandering
round looking for something to do. I
wanted to play on the piano. but I
didn't dare to-not with all those
dead-hair and wax-fower folks in the
parlor watching me, and the chance Of
Fathers coming TN AZ he did before.
was standing in the window star
ing out at nothing-it wasn't quite
dark yet-when again had that queer
feeling that somebody was looking at
me. / turned-and there was Father.
He had come in and was sitting In the
big chair by the table. But this time
he didn't look right away as usual and
give me a chance to slip quietly out
of the room, as I always had before.
Instead he said:
: what are you doing there, Maryr
"N-nothing" Father frowned and
hitched in his chair Father always
..i;ches in his chair when he's irritat-
ed and nervous. "You can't be doing
nothing. Nosody but q dead man does
nothing-and we aren't so sure about
him. What are you doing. MaryT
just Hooking out the window"
"Come here. want to talk to you"
Eyes. Father"
I went, Of course, at once, and sat
down In the chair near him. He
hitched again i'm his seat.
why don't you do something-read.
sew, k4itY he demanded. "Why do I
always find you moping around, doing
nothing"
Just like that he said It; and when
he had just told me
"Why, Father!" 1 cried and know
that / showed how surprised / was.
81 thought you just said couldn't do
nothing-that nobody couldw
"Eh? What Tut, TUT" He seemed
very angry at 6rst; then suddenly he
looked sharply into my face. Next, if
you'll believe 1t, he laughed-the
queer little chuckle under his breath
that I've heard him give two or three
times when there was something he
thought was funny. "Humph!" he
grunted. Then he gave me another
sharp look out Of his eyes, and said !:
81 don't think you meant that to be
quite so impertinent as 1t sounded,
Mary, 80 wen let it pass-this time.
I'll put my question this way: Don't
you ever knit or read or sew?"
Il do sew every day in Aunt James
room, ten minutes hemming, ten min
utes scanning, and ten minutes basting
patchwork squares together. don't
know how to knit"
"How about reading? Don't you
care for reading7
why, OF course do. I love i'll" ]
cried. "And do read lots-at
home"
"At-home?
I knew, then, of course, that I'd
made another awful break. There
wasn't any smile around Fathers eyes
now, and his lips came together hard
and thin over that last word.
"At-at my home" stammered. 81
mean, my other home"
"Humphr' grunted Father. Then,
after minute: "But why, pray, can't
ysu read heref I'm sure there are
books enough" He Aourished his
hands toward the bookcases all
"Oh, do little; but, you see,
I'm 90 afraid I'll leave some Of them
out when I'm through" explained.
"Well, what of TT What IL you dot"
he demanded.
why, Fatherl" I tried to show by
the way / said 1t that he knew-of
course he knew. But he made me tell
l~h& ~ Ans%
like IL, and that the books always had
to be kept exactly where they be-
longed.
well, why net? why shouldn't
they2 Aren't books down therein
Boston-kept where they belong,
prayT
1t was the Arst time since I'd come
that he'd ever mentioned Boston; and
I almost jumped out Of my chair when
heard him. But I soon saw 1t wasn't
going to be the last. for right then
and there mo began TO question me,
even worse than Aunt Jane had.
He wanted to know everything,
everything; oil about the house, with
its cushions and eoEy corners and cur
tains way up, and books left around
easy to get, and magazines, and Baby
Lester and the fun we had romping
with him, and everything. Only, Of
course, I didn't mention Mother. Aunt
Jane had told me not to-not any
where; and to be specially careful be-
fore Father. But what can you do
when he asks you himself. right out
plain7 And that's what he did.
He'd been up On his feet, tramping
up and down the room all the time
I'd been talking; and now, all Of a
sudden, he wheels around and stops
short.
How H-your mother, Nary he
asks. And It was just as If he'd
opened the door to another room, he
had such q whole lot Of questions to
ask after that And when he'd I'm
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