The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-04-24

Wctts OtucE tHcH SSpcCtdIiy Sdiu He
was smart young Teller and would
make his mark. This, surprisingly
enough, after a. conversation to which
he had contributed not word other
than "Yes," or NO" or, Perhaps
you're right, sir" in the proper places.
1t was during those careless years
of Dirk's boyhood between nine and
fifteen that Selma changed the QcJong
acres from WORKOUT and d0Nn-at-
heel truck farm whose scant pro- ucts
brought second-rate price In a sec-
ond-rate market to a prosperous and
blooming vegetable garden whose out
put was sought "a year In advance by
the South Water street commission
merchants.
These six or seven years Of relent-
less labor had been no snowy success
with Selma posing grandly as the New
Woman in Business. No, 1t had been
painful, grubbing, heart-breaking
process as is any project that depends
on the actual soil for its realization.
She drove herself pitilessly. She IT.
orally tore living out Of the earth
with her two bare hands. Yet there
was nothing pitiable about this small
energetic woman of thirty-five or forty
with her fine soft dark eyes. her clean
cut jaw-line, her shabby decent clothes
that were SO likely to be spattered
with the mud of the road or fields. her
exquisite nC9e with the funny little
wrinkle across the bridge when she
laughed Rather, there was something
splendid about her! something rich,
prophetic. 1t was the splendor and
richness that achievement imparts.
1t is doubtful that she ever could
have succeeded without the money
borrowed from August Hempel; with
out his shrewd counsel. She told him
this, sometimes. He denied it. Easier,
yes. But you would have found a
way, Selma. Some way. Julie, no.
But you, yes. You are like that. Me.
too. Say, plenty fellers that was butch
ers with me twenty years ago over on
North Clark street are butchers yet,
cutting off steak or chop"
Dirk had his tasks on the farm. Sc
lima saw to that. But they were not
heavy. By the time he returned from
school the rough work of the day was
over. His. food was always hot, ap-
petizing, plentiful. The house was
neat, comfortable. Selma had installed
bathroom-one Of the two bathrooms
in High Prairie. The nelghborhood
was still rocking with the shock Of this
when it was informed by Jan thai
Selma and Dirk ate with candles light.
ed on the supper table High Prairie
slapped Its thigh and howled with
mirth.
"Cabbages is beautiful" said old
Klaas Pool when he heard this. "Cab.
bages is beautiful betcha.'
Selma. during the years of the boys
adolescence. had never urged him to
decision about his future. That, she
decided, would come. AS the farm
prospered and the pressure of neces-
sity lifted she tried, in various in
genlous ways. to extract from him
some unconscious sign of definite
preference for this calling, that pro-
fession.
Until Dirk was sixteen she had been
content to let him develop as naturally
as possible, and to absorb impressions
unconsciously from the traps SHE so
guilefully left about him. There was
shed which he was free to use as
workshop, fitted up with all sorts Of
tools. He did not use it much, after
the first few weeks. He was pleasantly
and mildly interested in all things !;
held by none. Selma had thought of
Roelf when they were fitting up the
workshop. The Pools had heard from
Roelf just once since his flight from
the farm. A letter had come from
France. Selma had never heard from
him. But one day years later she had
come running to Dirk with an Illus
trated magazine in her hand.
"LookI' she cried. and pointed to a
picture. He had rarely seen her so ex-
cited. so stirred. The illustration
showed Photographic reproduction of
a piece of sculpture-a woman's fig
ure. 1t was called The Seine. A
figure sinuoue, snake-like, graceful, re-
voting. beautiful. terrible. The face
alluring. Unsuitable, generous. treach-
erous, all at once. It was the Seine
that fed the fertile valley land; the
Seine that claimed thousand bloated
lifeless floating Things; the red-eyed
bag of 1893; the dimpling coquette of
1850. Beneath the illustration a line
or two-Roelf Pool. Salon.
I. American. future. :.
Its Roelfw Selma had cried.
"Roelf Little Roelf Pool!" Tears in
her eyes. Dirk had been politely inter-
ested. Blu: then he had never known
him, really. He had heard his mother
speak of him, but
At seventeen Dirk and Selma talked
of the year to come. He was going to
university. But to what university?