The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-05-08


He despised the yards and all that
! went with it.
Selma got up and walked to the
end of the porch. There's Adam
coming in with the last load for the
day He'll be driving into town now.
Cornelius started an hour ago." She
went down the steps on her way to
oversee the loading of Adam Bras
wagon. At the bottom of the steps
she turned. "Why can't you two stay
| to supper? You can quarrel com
fortably right through the meal and
drive home in the cool of the eve
ming"
"Pll stay" said Paula, thanks If
| youil have all kinds of vegetables,
| cooked and uncooked. And let me
go ont into the fields and pick 'em
myself like Maud Muller o. Marie An
toinette or any of those make-believe
rustic gals"
| In her French-heeled slippers and
her filmy silk stockings she went out
into the rich black burrows of the
fields, Dirk carrying the basket.
asparagus she ordered first
| Then, But where is it? Is that it!''
| "You dig for it, idiot" said Dirk.
STOPPING, and taking from his basket
the queerly curved sharp knife or
spud used for cutting the asparagus
shoots "Cut the shoots three or four
| inches below the surface"
"Oh, let me do it y She was down
on her silken knees in the dirt, ruined
goodly patch of the fine, tender
shoots, gave it up and sat watching
Dirk's expert manipulation of the
knife. Lets have radishes. and corn,
and tomatoes and lettuce and peas
and artichokes and"
"Artichokes grow in California, not
Illinois"
He was more than usually unconr
municative, and noticeably moody.
Paula remarked it, "Why the
Othello browY'
"You didn't mean that rot, did you?
about marrying rich man. You were
joking, weren't your"
Il wasn't. I'd hate being poor, or
even just moderately rich. I'm used
to money-loads of it. I'm twenty
four. And I'm looking around"
He kicked an innocent beet-top with
his boot. You like me better than
any man you know"
"Of course do. Just my luck"
well, Them"
swell, then, let's take these veg
gibles in
She made pretense of lifting the
heavy basket. Dirk snatched it rough
| ly out of her hand so that she gave
a little cry and looked ruefully down
at the red mark on her palm. He
| caught her by the shoulder-even
| shook her a little. Look here, Paula.
Do you mean to tell me you'd marry
| man simply because he happened to
/. have lot of money!"
perhaps not simply because he had
a lot of money. But it certainly would
be factor. among other things"
Six months later Paula Arnold was
married to Theodore A. Storm, a man
['of fifty, friend of her fathers. head
of so many companies. stakeholder in
so many banks, director of so many
corporations that even old Aug Hem
pei seemed Il recluse from business in
comparison. She never called him
Teddy. No one ever did. Theodore
Storm was large man-not exactly
stout, perhaps, but flabby. His inches
saved him from grossness. He had
a large white serious face, fine thick
dark hair, graying at the temples.
Within three years Paula had two
children, boy and girl. There.
That's DONE" she said Her marriage
was great mistake and she knew it.
For the war, coming in 1914, Il few
months after her wedding, sent the
! Hempel-Arnold interests sky-rocletiug
Millions of pounds of American beef
and pork were shipped to Europe. In
| two years the Hempel fortune was
greater than it ever had been. Paula
was up to her eyes in relief work for
Bleeding Belgium.
Dirk had not seen her in months
| She telephoned him Unexpectedly one
Friday afternoon in his Office at Hol-
lis & Sprague's.
Come out and spend Saturday and
Sunday with us, won't you? We're
running away to the country this aft
| ernoon, I'm so sick OF Bleeding Bel
GUM, you can't imagine. I'm sending
the children out this morning 1 can't
get away so early. I'll call for you
in the roadster this afternoon at four
and drive you out myself" "
81 don't think T."
''I1l call for you at four. I'll be at
| the curb. Don't keep me waiting. will