The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1922-11-19
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butter and tea on the kitchen table.
They usually ate that way.
Eiizabeth's father had died when
she was 5, leaving her mother this
cottage and life insurance which
yielded I'm income OF $500 n yenr.
Her mother WIS shorter than her.
solft by half n hend. OF late many
gray threads had come into the soft
brown hair; the last two years she
had been obliged 10 wear eye.
glasses. But her figure was stlli
girlish; there were numborIess little
turns and poses Of her small head
"A straight little nose, curved lips.
sun the prettiest woman IN Slow
River, Elizabeth declared
With the cott0ge and 400 year
the mother and two daughters
might have barely lived. But Mrs.
Maiden proposed far more than bare.
ly living. She danced extremely
well and gave dancing lessons. She
could play the plano accoptably and
gave music lessons. Once she
valintly essayed drawing and paint.
Ing lessons--improvising the In.
structiops az she went along. And
she made things TO sell--always
pretty things, baskets woven Of col
ored beads, embroidered handbags.
gay lamp shades. Latterly she
made dinner place cards. for which
there was a limited market In Val.
ley city, 10 miles away.
They were by no means bnrely
to live. They were to 20 with the
best; they were 10 be In whatever
swim Glow River afforded; there
were to be gowns as becoming as
any contrived with incredible In.
genuity Of matching and making
over. They were To hold up their
heads! Decidedly. always they were
to hold up their heads! Both girls
went through the high school Bess
had done the undergraduate course
ut Ann Arbor In three years. and
even undertaken the postgraduate
law school But Kate was entered
as a freshman nj Ann Arbor then,
and after one term In the law school
Bess took the position In Judge
Liscombs office, whore che could
read law under his guidance.
Somehow It had been managed!
This had been no shambling, droop-
tailed, poor widows household. In
the things that seemed 10 be most
important they'd swum with the
best--chin up! Always chin up.
Now that she was 20 Elizabeth
often thought Of II with sort Of
awe. This charming little mothers
nimble feet and pretty, tlreless FIN
gers had somehow brought them
through When the daughter really
thought OF that it brought big
ache into her heart She longed to
hug the laughing little mother TIL
her ribs cracked. She yearned to
step out into the road, with her
mothers glove In her cap and chal'
lenge the world to come on and
fight. Only really there was nobody
at all to fight. Elizabeth vaguely
regretted it--now that she felt her
self to be the man Of the family.
So far as mere money went II
had, of course, been a dog
bit race, with the dog getting laps
ahead every now and then. 1t had
long been a familiar fact to Eliza
beth that local tradesmen were not
enthusiastic about extending credit
to the Maldens. Bills we're always
paid-fnally. But II was sometimes
longish finally. And the house.
keeping was Of very sketchy, i'm
presslonistic sort--the food mainly
canned stuff on n corner OF the
kitchen table. When old DIR. Ridley
protested that 1t was most un-
healthy and would undermine the
constitutions Of growing girls. Mrs.
Maiden laughed and pointed to the
girls. In the face of their sleek
limbed. glowing yigor, DR.. Ridley
could only scratch a bafiled head
Next day Elizabeth learned from
Judge Liscomb that HARDWOOD was
leasing the basket factory. That
was one-story brick structure, 20
feet by 60, near the railroad tracks
and q quarter of mile or so from
any other building. The manufac-
turing enterprise for which 1t was
built had not succeeded and for sew.
eral years the little factory had
stood empty. 1t seemed n suitable
place for Steinman and Krom TO
work out their experiments In.
The morning of this next day
after Harold's visit 10 Slow River,
Krom climbed the stairs to the Cur
lin Camera companys office. 81
mon Curtin was at his desk that
morning for the first time In 10
days-influenza, the doctors called
it. He looked as though he needed
several weeks OF recuperation.
Good morning. Glad to see you
back. Feeling some better?" said