New Britain herald., 1923-07-16
The Thought That Swept Madge
 When She Saw Mamie.

The Thought That Swept Madge
 When She Saw Mamie.
 ..Well. What did you find out
 Mother Graham boomed the words at us from the open door in which she was majesticaly framed. Junior with his faNorite toy bear, stood tust behind her and noted a bit maliciously, that she was not so con cerned over his taking cold as she had been when he ran out to meet me or when he ran out in the car little while before,
 sThe girl is coming over right away" I said. "At least her mother promised she would"
 ".What is she going to charge ~.
 Behind this was pitfall into which I did not propose to fall. One of Mother Graham's unpleasant little Characteristics is her tendency to evade negotiating an agreement and then savagely to criticize the agree ment which I have secured.
 .Naturally I left that question to you" said saccharinely. You will know so much better than l what she is worth.'
 I knew that in this instant Mother Graham longed for the days when mother-in-law had the right to pun ish the recalcitrant wives of their sons, but she is too shrewd to show anger when bested With a superior frostiness of mien, shipping me to some point near Perys last venture, she gave me what Dicky terms the ''once over"
 Mrs. Ticer is Placid.
 s.I.m surprised you had so much sense,' she said witheringly and then she turned back into the liv- tng-room, with Katherine and me meekly following in her wake, while Junior, with his toy bear, brought up a noisy rear, singing at the top or his voice what he evidently deemed a lullaby.
 Mrs Ticer, seated primly by the window, rose as we entered, tri- bute which my mother-in-laW mis- takes for deference to her superior social position. and in her eyes It partly makes up for her neighoor other independent ways.
 twill Mamie come?" she asked, and Mother Graham scarcely waited for my assenting answer to snort con- temptuously:
 !" Mamie 2 Where in the world did they pick up that fool name ?'
 I bit my lips, for I knew that Mrs. Ticer had a favorite little niece who answered to the same diminutive, but there was no hint even of annoy ance in her voice as she answered placidly:
 ..I guess it's the first one they thought of. Her own name is so long and twisted nobody over here could pronounce it. I imagine the girl chose it herself when she went to school"
 "N1at Is Your Name?"
 Katie put her head into the living rom at this juncture in the uncere- monious way which infuriates my nlother-in-law.
 "Mamee, she here" she announced, and with an encouraging "Coom along, vunce," she propelled into the room light-haired, blue-eyed wisp of a girl who at first sight justified Mother er-in-laws comment that "she looked as if breath would blow her away"
 But closer look at Mamie gave me an impression of wiry strength | and tirelessness, gave me something else, also, which set me ransacking my memory. To my certain knowl- | edge I never had seen this girl or any of her people before, and yet my eyes went back again and again to her pale face, trying to remember where I had seen features strangely resembling hers.
 "Dis Nance, eferybody," Katie an nounced. Don't be scared" she ad monished the girl. Nobody goin' eet you"
 That Katies admonition was un- necessary, saw at once, as I think did my mother -in-law. The girl had | a timid, shrinking look, but under | meath it there were both eomposure and alertness, which, I conjectured, | had their roots as much in her own rature as they did in the knowledge | and boise she had gained from work ing for American women.
 What is your name?" my moth . er-in-law asked, loftily ignoring |