The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1922-05-19
The Peppermint
House
By L. R.


g. 1891. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.
"If the living wasn't so fat here
I'd move on" confded Charles to the
cook.
Ellen looked up from her novel:
You'd never find another place where
it's so easy" she retorted, but it's
sure lonesome. 1 spent my day off at
my sisters yesterday and the children
are so cute. This house needs a child
to brighten It up, the old lady gives
me the creeps the way she sits in
that darkened room all the time. The
big grounds don't do her a mite of
good"
That's what l was thinking" an
swered Charles. 81 water and dig and
weed to keep the flowers nice and no
body sees the yard. That high brick
wall shuts everybody out; seems
to me sometimes, that she shuts
her happiness outside the walls,
There's never the sound of a laugh
I'm here"
Ellen had returned to her tale Of
the titled lady who yearned to be
down amongst people and she shook
her becapped head rather %impatently
as Charles, pleased With bis " con-
versation, droned on. Ellen was lone
/ some, Years before when Charles had
been younger he had regarded her
with speculative eyes and she had
cherished hopes Of being Mrs. Charles
Winter, but 1t seemed as though the
quiet routine in the widows home had
/ dulled the man who did all the heavy
work about the place, He had grad
ualls stopped inviting the pleasant
faced cook to 60 out. The grounds
were so spacious that they could stroll
about in the hower-scented dusk
without wishing to go outside the tall
iron gates that were only opened when
the mistress went out for her lonely
drive behind her fat horses, a unique
figure in her heavy black garments
amongst the stream of swiftly-mOvlng
motorcars. And Ellen, who had found
herself unable to repress her liking for
the plump Charles had, in her first
angry moments Of disappointment de-
cided TO wound him into a proposal
and had accepted the attentions Of the
policeman who often came In at the
tradesmen's gate in the red-and-white
walk of bricks. This was, however,
the wrong tack to take with Charles
who looked on at the quasi-courtship
unmoved and Ellen finally fell back
into the old pleasant friendship, as
Charles seemed to have no intention
Of cementing their friendship into any
thing more permanent.
ELLEN was almost pretty with her
black-lashed blue eyes and satiny
black hair but she wanted Charles
and took refuge In the thought that
even II the almost enchanted stiffness
Of the wealthy estate had doubled him
into sleepiness he at least courted no
other girl. SO she c%ontented herself
by living In the unreal world Of ro-
nance where every pretty girl ulti-
mately became a queen and never
speculated upon a world which would
o be uncomfortably crowded with
Processes and queens with no ordinary
people to cook and clean. She did not
guess that Charles had once spoken
to his mistress about marrying.
: mo" Mrs. Meadows had said, "f
you marry Ellen you must both go.
won't have my routine interrupted.
was unhappy in my married life and
you would be, also. / believe 1t Is In
evitable. have remembered you botl
In my will, substantially. After I have
gone out those big gates for the las
time you may marry. / am going t
double both your salaries, though
Money compensates for everything"
Charles had not mentioned the mat
s ter to Ellen, he felt sure Of her an,
the sleepy atmosphere Of the plac
made him disinclined to any argument
He knew, secretly, that Ellen woul'
have left the fat living in the grea
house, that was swiftly falling Int
decay because of the owners boarding
to 20 to a cheap little home with him
Upstairs Mrs. Meadows felt strangel
restless. Perhaps the spring ha
= touched her aged blood with the oil
u longings. Memories Of the past whe
her daughter, long dead now, ha
filed the great house with the soun
b Of laughter assailed her. Movin
heavily across the priceless Orientt
rug with its symbolic pattern Of tn
Tree of Heaven woven in through III
6 dim colors Of the background, sh
looked down into her garden from tn
great east window. The pale red
the bricks in the bizarre %red-and-whlt
wall shone with the recent washing
Mrs. Meadows insisted upon a dali
washing Of the bricks and Charlie
earned his large wages honestly.
SAFELY behind my clean walls" sf
muttered, "the world cannot hurt N
now but" the aged black eyes ~
9 deeply into the shrivelled face wei
Swallowed with old regrets, "how / lor
for someone to love me. l know III
g servants are loyal but It Is not naturi
that they should love me. / prevente
re their marriage. Gold can do man
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