Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1924-04-25

Umbrellas
to Mend
BY JANE OSBORN

90. 1924, by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate)
When Grace True came home from
college on her first winter vacation she
was eager above all else to tell her
brother Bob all about the girls she had
met in college. To eighteen-year-old
Grace, Bob, who was all Of twenty
four, seemed like middle-aged man Of
the world. But he had never cared
much about girls. That had been the
cause of some anxiety to Grace and,
secretly, 1t was the motive for her de-
cislon to go to college.
Brompton had no really pretty girls,
no girls, so Grace thought, half good
enough for her brother Bob. And SO
long as Bob continued to carry on the
Brompton Lumber Mills, legacy, and
goodly' one, from his father, there
seemed little chance of their going
into locality that offered wider
selection of feminine loneliness. SO
Grace had decided to go to college to
find an appropriate wife for Bob. From
Grace's remarks one would have gath
cred that there were no less than fifty
| raving beauties in her class of two
hundred and that Of this number at
fair that to decide the falrest would be
impossible.
Then there Is Daisy" Grace was
saying. "She has perfect classic fea-
lures. only her nose Is quite decidedly
pug. But you get used to that, and
she has q marvellous complexion, ex-
cepting for freckles. And there Is Ann
she is so pretty-Im sure you'd love
her II II weren't for the funny way
she does her hair and her spectacles
and the queer clothes she has to wear
she'd be-well just the prettiest thing
And there's TheOdora-she's wonder
ful only she's violent feminist"
Skip her." said Bob. very amused
at his sisters earnestness. II never
could abide femlnlsts. Does she smoke
piper
Don't be ridiculous" pouted Grace
1T isn't what she does-it's what she
thinks that makes her feminist. But
the trouble is, as she often says, she
was born Just generation or two toe
IutCs ISL IL thhN tht SUI
frage amendment was passed before
she ever had a chance to help Just
think what an opportunity there would
have been for her. She would have
been a second Susan b. Anthony
now they've up and gone and given the
women the vote and 1t has really
spoiled Theodora's prospects. Still
| Oh, ahagu 20 40 NJ afhinu
yet She says that there are still
plenty OF things women can do in the
cause Of feminlsm If they Just look
around and try to discover them. She's
so full Of enthusiasm and she has the
prettlest eyes with long lashes and
Skip her, skip her." ordeted Bob
She doesn't appeal to me one little
bit. What have you got to offer ir
the way OF a nice little anti-femipjst
that Is specializing in domestic science
and coolSlngT
There's Betty-hut she's not hall
80 pretty as Theodore" And from
there the conversation proceeded Il
Betty.
Grace brought Betty homo for the
Easter holidays, but Bob was no more
inclined to fall In love with her thar
she was inclined to fall In love with
him. At the beginning Of the sumner
vacation Grace, feeling disappointed In
her brothers lack Of enthusiasm con
corning any of the class beauties
whom she had described, went off fol-
II month OF visiting among her class
mates. Bob continued to live in
Brompton In the rambling old house
shared with two younger brothers, a
housekeeper and few hired men.
II was at breakfast one morning
while Bob was eating his porrldge and
cream that the housekeeper came In
with an expression Of distraction on
her usually placid face.
II never worked In place like
Brompton," she announced mo mo-
vies, no fish market, no nothing, and
nobody ever comes here-not even the
rag men and scissors grinders. You'd
at least think a scissors grinder might
pass by sometimes"
Bob assured the housekeeper that
/ u BIG WhhlEu uhJ btAboOIh VI hhiNtb
sharpened he would gladly take them
to the works to have one Of the men
there put them in good condition.
Its my umbrella ! want mended,"
announced the housekeeper. Scissors
| grinders usually mend umbrellas, too.
| But now I'll have to throw away that
umbrella Just because no one comes
along to mend IT,"
Bob carried the memory Of that
conversation in the back Of his mind,
30 that two or three days later when
he beheld dusty-looking figure in
rather shabby knickerbockers trudg-
ing along the street, pushing an UNI
brela members outfit, he stopped.
"Umbrellas to mend" came rather
bigh-pltched and squeaky tremulo.
"UmbreIas to mend-scissors to
grind"
I'll, there" was the way Bob nd
dressed the itinerant umbrella member,
and 1t was not until he had caught up
with said member that he first got the
impression that there was something
rather odd about the figure Of the
member 1t was such a slight little
Hgure-so unlike the usual follower
Of the trade And what delicate fea.
tures-tanned and dusty, to be sure,
but Enthusiastically feminine. She-for
certainly It was a woman or girl
wore khaki shirt and an old tweed
coat and shabby ylsored cap. Her
hands, grlmy and bruised, were small
ard shapely