The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-02-13

6ClhOOlt
"But sure"
Having begun, she could not go
back. Doesn't your wife want Roelf
to go TO school any more?'
| ''Maartje? But sure"
She gathered herself together:
hurled herself behind the next CUES
ton, "Then why doesn't he go to
school, for PHYS sake?" a. 1s5E
Klaas POOLS pale blue eyes were
fixed on the spot between the horses
ears. His face was serene, placid, pa
| tient.
"Roelf he works by the farm"
Selma subsidized, beaten.
Dusk was coming on. The lake mist
came drifting across the prairie and
hung, pearly haze, over the frost
nipped stubbe and the leafiess trees.
1t caught the last light in the sky and
held it, giving to fields, trees. black
earth, to the man seated stolidly be-
side the girl, and to the face of the
girl herself an opalescent glow very
wonderful to see. Selma, seeing it,
opened her lips to exelaim again; and
then, remembering, closed them. She
had learned her first lesson in High
Prairie. Ne.
The Klaas Pools lived in a typical
High Prairie house. They had passed
a score like it in the dusk. These
sturdy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS had built
here in Illinois after the pattern of the
squat houses that dot the lowlands
about Amsterdam, HARLEM and Rot
terdam. A row Of pollards stood stiff
ly by the roadside. Yard and dwelling
had geometrical neatness like that
of toy house in set Of playthings.
Peering down over the high wheel
Selma waited for Klaas Pool to assist
her in alighting. He seemed to have
no SUCH thought. Having jumped down.
he was throwing empty crates and
boxes out of the back of the wagon.
So Selma, gathering her shawls and
cloak about her, clambered down the
side of the wheel and stood looking
about her in the dim light, a very
small figure in very large world.
Klaas had opened the barn door. Now
he returned and slapped one of the
horses smartly on the flank. The team
trotted obediently off to the barn. He
picked up her little -hide-bound trunk.
She took her satchel. The yard was
quite dark now. AS Klaas Pool opened
the kitchen door the red mouth that
was the open draught in the kitchen
stove grinned a toothy welcome at
them.
A woman stood over the stove, a
fork in her hand. The kitchen was
clean, but disorderIy. with the disor-
der that comes Of pressure of work.
There was not unpleasant smell Of
cooking. Selma shifted it hungrily.
The woman turned to face them. Sc
lima stared
This, she thought, must be some
other-an old woman-his mother,
perhaps. But: "Maartje, here is
school teacher" Said Klaas Pool. Sc
| lima put out her hand to meet the other
woman's hand. rough, hard, calloused.
Her own. touching it, was like satin
against a pine board. Maartje smiled,
and you saw her broken discolored
teeth. She pushed back the sparse
hair from her high forehead, fumbled
a little, shyly, at the collar of her
clean blue calico dress.
PLEASED to meet you," Maartje
said, primly. make you welcome
Then, as Pool stamped out to the yard,
slamming the door behind him, pool
he could have come with you by the
front way, too. Lay off your things"
Selma began to remove the wrappings
that swathed her-the muffler, the
shawl. the cloak. Now she stood, a
slim, anonymously elegant little fig
cloth was very tight and basqued
above, very fiounced and hustled be-
low. "My, how you are young" cried
Maartje. She moved nearer, as if i'm
PEELED. and fingered the stuff of Sell
mas gown. And as she did this Selma
suddenly saw that she, too, was young.
The bad teeth, the thin hair, the care
less dress, the Uttered kitchen, the
harassed frown-above all these,
standing out clearly, appeared the look
of girl. 4ss 40.
"Why, / do. believe she's not more
than twenty-eight " Selma said to her.
self in kind of panic. II do believe,
she's not more than twenty-eight."
She had been aware of the two pig
tailed heads appearing and vanishing.
in the doorway of the next room. Evil
IDENTIFY her hostess was distressed be-.
cause the school teachers formal en-
trance had not been made by way of
parlor instead Of kitchen. She fol-
lowed Maartje Pool into the front
room. Behind the stove, tittering,
were two yellow-haired little girls,
Geertje and Jozina, of course. Selma
went over to them, smiling (which
is Geertje?" she asked. "And which
Jozina." But at this the filters be-
came squeals. They retired behind
AZ