White County record. [volume] (Judsonia, Ark.) 1922-200?, 1922-09-14

mat she doesn't want to go to school
IL 5 the principle Of the thing tl-lt I'm
oo!eetins to. Do you realize what it
VIII lead to-what it
Jane " with a jerk Father sat. up
straight. 4 realize some things that
perhaps you do not. Dat that is
neither here nor there. | do not wish
MARY to go to school any more this
spring. That is all and | think-it
is sufficient"
certainly" Aunt James lips came
together again grim and hard. "Per-
maps you will be good enough to say
what she shall do with lAr time"
Time? Do? Why-er-what she
always does; read, sew, study"
Study" Aunt Jane asked the cues
tlon with a hateful little smile that
rather would have been blind not to
nave understood. And he was equal
TO lt-but | most fell over backward
"hen l found how equal to it he was.
certainly he says, "study. I'm
hear her lessons myself-in the Ii
brary, after l come home in the aft
ernoon. Now let us hear no more
about it,"
With that he pushed back his plata
and left the table without waiting
Tor dessert. And Aunt Jane and l
were left alone.
didn't say anything. Victors
shouldn't boast-and l was victor,
of course, about the school. But
when l thought of what Father had
said about my reciting my lessons to
MIN every day in the library-I
wasn't so sure whether I'd won out
or not Recite lessons to my father?
Why, l couldn't even imagine such a
thing
Well, Aunt Jane and I didn't speak
that night at the supper table. We
finished in stern silence then; 4Aunt
Jane went upstairs to her room and
L went up to mine. (You see what a
perfectly wildly exciting life hIary is
living And when l think of how full
of good times Mother wanted every
minute to be- But that was for
Marie, of course)
The next morning after breakfast
Aunt Jane said:
you will spend your forenoon study
ing, Mary. See that you learn well
your lessons, so as not to annoy your
father"
Eyes, Aunt Jane" said Mary. po-
lite and proper, and went upstairs
obediently; but even Mary didn't
know exactly how to study those les
sons.
Carrie had brought me all my books
from school, l had asked her to
when l knew that l was not going
back. There were the lessons that
had been assigned for the next day,
of course, and 1 supposed probably
Father would want me to study those.
But l couldn't imagine Father teaching
me all alone. / couldn't imagine my
self reciting lessons to Father!
But I needn't have worried. If
could only have known. Little did I
think-But, there, this is no way to
tell a story. l read in a book. "How
to Write a Novel" that you mustn't
anticipate" q thought folks always
anticipated novels. I do. 1 thought
you wanted them toy
Well, TO go on.
Father got home at four o'clock. l
saw him come up the walk, and I
waited till l was sure he'd got settled
in the library, then 1 went down.
He wasn't there.
A minute later | saw him crossing
the lawn to the observatory. Well.
what to do | didn't know. Mary said
to go after him; but Marie said nay,
nay. And in spite of being Mary just
now, let Marie have her way.
Rush after him and tell him he'd
forgotten TO hear my lessons? Fa-
Their? Well, guess not! Besides, it
wasn't my fault. ] was there all
ready. It wasn't my blame that he
wasn't there to hear me- But he
might remember and come back. Well
if he did, I'd be there SO I went to
one of those bookcases and pulled out
a touch me-not book from behind the
glass door. Then I sat down and read
TILL the supper Dell rang.
Father was five minutes late to sup
per. l don't know whether he looked
at me or not. l didn't dare to look at
him-until Aunt Jane said, in her
Chilliest manner:
Il trust your daughter had good
lessons, Charles
/ had to look at him then. 1 just
couldn't look anywhere else. So I
was looking straight at him when he
gave that funny little startled glance
into my eyes. And into his eyes then
there crept the funniest, dearest little
understanding twinkle-and I sudden
ly realized that Father, Father, was
laughing with me at little secret be-
tween us. But t was only for a Sec
ond. The next moment his eyes were
very grave and looking at Aunt Jane.
81 have no cause to complain-of
my daughters lessons today" he said
very quietly. Then he glanced over
mn oooin Puf 7 hod IN 1oOly ou,ox