The Holbrook news., 1922-04-28
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emn then. I knew, of course, wha she meant. I'm no child She mean Mother. She meant that Mother. m. in their closet. And of course 1 wasn going to stand there and hear that and not say word.
 But l didn't say just word. said a good many words I won't try to put them all down here: but I tOlf | her quietly. in a firm voice, and with no temper (showing), that I guessed Father was just as much of a skele- ton in Mothers closet as she was in his; and that if she could see how l perfectly happy my mother was now she'd understand 6 little of what my 1 fathers skeleton had done to her all those years she'd had to live with it.
 said lot more, but before I'd got 1 half finished with what l wanted to say, I got to crying, so l just had to run out of the room,
 That night l heard Aunt Jane tell | Mrs, Darling that the worst feature 1 of the whole deplorable situation was the effect on the child's mind, and the wretched conception it gave her of the sacredness of the marriage tie, or something like that. And Mrs. Darling sighed, and said, oh and ah, and the pity of It.
 l don't like Mrs. Darling Of course. as I said before. Mrs. Darling could be my new mother, be ing 2 widow. so: But mercy I hope sine won't. I'd rather have Miss Grace Ann than her, and I shouldn't be crazy about having Miss Grace Ann
 Well, I guess there's nothing more to write. Things at school are just the same. only more so. The girls are getting so they act almost as bad as those down to Boston in the school where 1 went before I changed. Of course, maybe it's the divorce here, same as 1t was there. But don't see how it can be that here Why, they've known 1t from the very first
 Oh, dear suz mel How I do wish I could see Mother tonight and have her take me in her arms and kiss me- I'm so tired of being Mary way off up here where nobody cares or wants me.
 Even Father doesn't want me- not really want me. I know he doesn't, don't see why he keeps me, only l suppose he'd be ashamed not to take me his six months as long as the court gave me to him for that time. ANOTHER TWO WEEKS LATER.
 I'm so angry I can hardly write, and at the same time I'm so angry I've just got to write. l cant talk. There isn't anybody to talk to; and I've got to tell somebody So I'm going to tell it here.
 I've found out now what's the mat ter with the girls-you know, l said there was something the matter with them; that they acted queer and stopped talking when l came up, and faded away till there wasn't anybody but me left.
 Well. it's been getting worse and worse. The girls have had parties. and more and more often the girls have stopped talking and have looked queer when I came up. We got up a secret society and called it the Irony Ten" and I was going to be its presi- dent Then all of sudden one day T only Carrie Heywood and me. The other eight had formed another soci ety and Stella Mayhew was their president
 I told Carrie we wouldn't care; that we'd just change it and call it the Irony Two" and that two was a lot more exclusive than ten, anyway. But 1 did care, and Carrie did l knew she did And 1 know it better now because last night-she told me. You see things have been getting simply unbearable these last few days, and it got so it looked as if 1 wasn't even going to have Carrie left. She began to act queer and l accused her of i.. and told her if she didn't want to be long to the Tony Two she needn't That l didn't care :; that I'd be secret society all by myself. But I cried I couldn't help crying; and she knew I did-care. Then she began to cry: and today, after school, we went tG walk up on the hill to the big rock and there-she told me. And it was the divorce.
 And It's all that Stella Mayhew- the new girl Her mother found out I was divorced q mean Mother wilS) and she told Stella not to play with me, nor speak to me. nor have thing to do with me. And l said to Carrie all right Who cared? I didn't That never had liked that Mayhew girl anyway But Carrie said that wasn't all. She said Stella had got to he real popular before l came; that her folks had lots of money, and she al ways had candy and could treat to ice-cream and auto rides, and every body with her was sure of a good time She had parties, too-lots of them: and of course, all the girls and boys - , liked that.
 We'll, when I came everything was all right till Stella's mother found out about the divorce, and then-weil. then things were different. First Stella contented herself with making fun of me, Carrie said. She laughed at the serge dresses and big homely shoes, and then she began on my name, and said the idea of beins called Mary by Ea1her and Marie by