Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-01-17
FIVE FIFTEEN

! how pleased and proud Grant would
be. It certainly was nice to look
well and TO have the most popular
boy ia school think you were the
best ever.
Here Adelaide should have sighed.
She didn't. She said 'Darn!" or
something else that resembled that
useful word in vigor and relief Of
ones feelings.
What on earth had gotten into
mother anyway? 'Laide must know
what was back of her sudden refusal.
because mother always had good
reasons for issuing a startling ulti-
matum like that. She ran down the
hall to her mothers room, expecting
to find her there sewing, as usual,
but she wasn't there. "Mother!" she
called. No answer. With something
akin to a premonition. she. walked
] over to her mothers dresser, where
She found two notes. n marked
Adelaide and the other Father"
| She opened hers and read:
Dear big daughter:
Grandma is terribly i'll, and / am
leaving at once for Rochester, hop
ing that I can see her before she
passes away. There is no hope for
her this time, she is so frail. Uncle
Rob and Aunt Genevieve are with
her.
81 am SO sorry / had no luck about
l getting a woman to come n take
! care of you all. Do you think you
can handle it, dear? You are only
sixteen, but you do have sense and
ability, and I am sure you can keep
| the family from starvation. and the
| little children clean and happy for
three or four days. Father will be
there evenings and mornings, and
you know how he appreciates every
thing you do.
81 am sorry about your missing
the party, but 'Laide dear, it is per-
fectly impossible for your old-fash-
Toned, straight-laced mother to con-
sent to her daughters going to
dances where the boys carry TASKS,
and both boys and girls take enough
whiskey to intoxicate a 'longshore-
man. The mothers are all distressed
about it, but they all seem to hate
to be the one TO bring down the ILL.,
will of all the crowd on their own
heads.
81 am not much of a martyr my
self. but I do love my big daughter
yer more than / do the goodwill
of your friends, and L just can't see
you going that particular pace. 1t
leads straight to a future that you
don't care to have.
Grant Sherwood came in to see
me a minute this noon, and we talk
ed about this thing. I'm sure he is
on our side, and he won't be sur
prised when o telephone your re-
grets.
Good luck to you, and all my
dearest love. I'm thinking all the
time that dear little old grandma
used to be just as anxious about me
as I am for you, only I am sure I
was much more rebellious about be-
ing interfered with.
MOTHER"
"Rebellious? Mother rebellious?"
said Laide. "It doesn't seem possible
that mother ever could have been a
girl. Wonder what she ever worried
Grandma about?" But there wasn't
time to do any rejecting about
Mothers youth.
First she had to telephone Grant.
Well, that wasn't SO bad. Grant said
he would just as soon come over and
give her another skiing lesson. He
was rather fed up on dances, and
was just az pleased not to go.
Adelaide ran down to the kitchen
with a return of her usual spirit.
Things weren't so bad after all.
Lets see," she unused. What
comes first, supper or what?" But
she didn't have to decide just then,
for Bobby and Alice came w%hooping
in, shouting "Mother!" with all the
insistence of a fire alarm.
Adelaide finally silenced them by
saying that Mother had gone to
Grandma's, and wouldn't be back for
three or Jour days.
"Hooray," shouted Bobby, while
Alice inquired with interest, "Who's
going to take care of us?"
Il am" replied the older sister,
with a decided sinking n ner emo
tional region, and with the feeling
that the fun was about TO begin.
(To be continued)
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