Shoshone journal., 1923-07-06
The Custard Cup

>
II your body was all right eoa,1
wouldn't you be so thankful that
you'd be more'n willing Lorene sbonId
ieaye you for life Of her ownY
A slight flush colored her bostaos,
heavy cheeks. why, yes, of course ;,
she acknowledged stifiy. ~ shon,d
feel very different In that casen
Mrs Penfield nodded condol,no,v
Yes. l guess you would. HeaIth,s
the main thing. Little troubles dom,
seem no bigger'n specks when a h,g
trouble comes long to measure ,em
by" ~
Mrs. Percy grabbed this statement
with vehemence. Il don't know rnuch
about little troubles, myself. I'VE
had big ones, one right after another
] haven't never been reconciled TO Mr.
Percy's going. Doesn't seem right for
a man to die because he was brave.
way he did. He was police officer.
and he was shot while making an ar
rest. 1t was reckless, the chance he
took. 1t wouldn't seem 30 hard If he'd
just been sick and died Of It..
"Oh. you'd have felt 1t just as
much," began Mrs. Sanders.
"Yes," echoed Mrs. PenfieId: aand
as It's, you've got something to be
proud of. I've always thought I'd
rather mourn for a man that was
brave than cook for a man that's a
coward"
Mrs Percy. repudlating this conso-
Iation, tossed her head In some Of
fense. II didn't mean 1t would have
been easy in any event. The thing,
after all, that makes me miserable is
my broken life. When you've had ten
years Of married happiness, you don't
get reconclled to giving 1t up"
Mrs Penfield gazed at her dream
lily. mo, not reconciledl Being re-
signed to ev'rything is a pretty good
sign of moral prostrGtion. But there's
one thing you got to remember: If
you had ten years of happy married
life, you had exactly ten years more
than lot of women have, and you'd
oughter be thankful for It, long with
your mourning"
Mrs. Percy's lips came together
with a snap. An uncomfortable 81
lence spread over the room, pressing
conversation out of existence Mrs.
Penfield, fearing that she had been
too outspoken, sprang up briskly, with
the thought of bre. Ling ne tension.
'You mustn't imagine I'm unsympa-
thetic, cause underneath I been study
ing on how we could help you. l
can see one thing we'd better do-that
is, look out that you don't take cold,
entertaining US in q room that don't
get any sun. Here, let me put this
little shawl round your shoulders
You mustn't take any chances, you
know"
Without waiting Tor assent, she
snatched the crocheted shawl from the
table and proffered 1t to her hostess.
And Mrs. Percy, the spoiled. the
was instantly Modified.
She accepted the service with muir
INJURED gratitude.
No sooner had Mrs. Penfield re-
sumed her seat, however, than 1t was
Mrs. Percy who did the springing.
She came to her feet with ponder
GUS agility very different from her
previous manner.
'UghI Ughl The nasty thingl"
she screamed. "Ohl Obi Take it
ofrl Obi There's two Of IT. Take
t."
Mrs. Sanders plunged to the rescue.
With a careless gesture, Mrs. Penield
swung In ahead of her. 'I1l do it."
;he announced In tone of renuncia-
ion with which one takes the initia-
i've In a perilous enterprise
Help mel" cried Mrs. Percy. They |
tick. Take the shawl"
With her left hand she was trying |
O disengage from the fuzzy shawl |
,rst one and then the other of two
mall caterpillars-
swell, l declare to goodness !" ex-
laimed Mrs. Penfeld safely. Her
ands we're busy with the shawl, but
q some way, not explained. 1t had
ecome entangled in the buttons of
be green sweater, and 1t was not
asily freed. Mrs Percy's agitation
teadily grew.
~They must have come In the win
ow. l can't stand the nasty little
1Ings. Oh-oh. take 1t of. Tear it
nythIngl Oh-oh. good heavens,
,ok, lookl"
Her shaking finger pointed at Mrs.
enfield herself. and two curious
,lngs at once became evident. Gee
as that Mrs. Percy was using npr
ght hand; the other, that an active
,terpillar was exculDioning up the
ont of Mrs. Penfields dress.
"WelI, did you eyerT interjected
rs. Penfeld. I
But at this point Mrs. Percy de- I
ded rhat caterpilIars were after her; =
N her nerves gave way. With q
rick she renched and tore at the
awI using both hands indiscrimi'
tely. Fairly beside herself, she