Evening star., 1925-06-07
Heap Big Squaw zy p
A Romantic Tale of Herediy and Society.



Vited to the christening.
IL The carriage had not stop
ped before the old lady began
rapping impatiently upon it's window
with the head CT her cane. The foot
man, as had been his habit for half
a century. scurried down from the boX
to assist his mistress descent, and,
as had been her habit for so years,
the old lady glowered at him and re-
fused his aid Tremulously, but with
a sort of fierce deliberation, she
emerged upon the sidewalk, hobbled
across the slippery pavement to the
doorway of the house, her cane tap
ping like that of the blind man in
Treasure Island"
Above, in his wife's bedroom, Jona-
than Ryder heard the tapping and
grinned How could she, the uninvited
guest, have heard so soon? He glanced
over his shoulder at his three-hour-old
daughter, lying in a ribboned bassi-
net but his grandmother
had ways of hearing things.
The bell screeched through the house
and May Ryder, on rhe bed, opened
her eyes and murmured incoherently.
Jonathan Ryder cursed the lady who
had been the mother of his grand
fathers eight brothers and went out
into the hall and down the stairs, to
greet her.
She was ascending the first fight.
cane humping, heavy shoes echoing
its sound. Her great-grandson looked
down at her in admiration.
Never mind, Grandmother" he
called softly. I'm bring the baby
down"
He didn't know whether it was good
for such a new baby to be brought
down, and he had waited through 10
years of marriage for this occasion,
h1,t y-t
great-grandmother should clump ir.o
the presence of his wife.
The gnarled brown face of DorcaS
Ryder, with it's high cheekbones, its
great nose and straight thin lips, -sas
lifted to his; those eyes of hers, b~.Zel
eyes which shone with the brightf ess
ora young girls, rested upon his face.
You think l can't climb few
StairS?"
He had reached her. blocking aer
passage. Not at all. But Ma: is
asleep. And"
Il don't want to see May. I saw her
when you married her. she brushed
past him and mounted to the living
room, where, after a disdainful in
spection of its furnishings, she Sc
lected the one unupholstered chair
the piano bench-and waited. Jo-
nathan Ryder found the nurse and
explained. The baby was sleeping, and
the nurse tiptoed into the bedroom,
shaking her head disapprovingly.
Dorcas Ryder rose as the white
figure entered the room; she extended
arms imperiously. The nurse shook
her head and raised a hygienically
pink finger to her lips. Jonathan
Ryder watched in some amusement.
"Poppycock"' thundered Dorcas
Ryder, and seized the sleeping infant.
Get OUT She carried the Youngest
Ryder TO the piano bench and laid
her upon il; with deliberate move
ments, she unfolded the blankets and
gazed upon her great great-grand-
daughter. The nurse and the father
stared, half in horror. no act of VIC
lence would have surprised them. For
a long minute the old lady started at
the bady: then, as though she were
irrevocably finished with the small
thing, she turned away. You can
take her back, she addressed the
nurse.
Her great-grandson smiled, in relief.
"Well?'' he asked.
You can name her Dorcas,' an
nounCed DorcaS Ryder. fatty. Il will
leave her my money She's fine long
legged girl AS her great grandson
smiled again, she turned upon him
in a sort of fury. She II be a. woman
she prophesied, angriIy She'll bear
She's not like that wife Of yours.
She's like me. Black . like her
Indian great great -great-great grand
mother" She exploded the four
greats" like shot from a cannon.
'Dorcasr' she commanded. THE third
Dorcas,''
She dumped down the stairs and
through the door. Jonathan Ryder,
moving to the window, saw her slap
he Oh l,n of
man, saw the carriage drawn away.
And with that, the old fairy vanish
ed forever from their sight.
THE little girls finger pressed upon
her name, her name-Dorcas, sur
name unknown E. and in her great
great -gra ndmother's sharp writing,
after il, Christian Indian Her
eyes moved down the page of the
geneaIogy, one, three, five-12 chill
Eren, She pushed the book away and
began figuring. Fer great great
great great grandmother.
Indian! That was why she didn't
look like the other little girls, why her
dark hair was so straight and thick,
why she could run so fast and climb
SO surely.
'.DOrcas-Surnam unknown" she
whispered. to herself.
That was why. when Tommy March
had pounded her finger with a ham
mer, she had said that word, instead
of crying. IT had been better, Drawer,
she thought. to say that word. but her
mother would have preferred that she
cried. Mama. couldn't imagine where
she had heard that word.
She unfolded her legs, her long
brown legs, and scampered up the
ET n
stared at her face. at the faint line
of her high cheek bones. Indian! 1t
almost made up for not being pretty.