The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1926-11-19
CHAPTER vi
The Cooking Class

full eyes stood quietly beside MISS
Towne
what you giving u.s. said Kent.
Reds my favorite color"
Reds all right" Olga tossed her
head, "but that dress! She ought to
know better. A five-cent cheese cloth
would have been bettern'n that"
Kent was truly enamored of pretty
Olga but he looked at her angrily.
You girls make me SICK" he grunt-
ed and started lodging among the
dancers, across the room to Lydia's
side. Olga stood pouting.
whats the matter?" asked Charlie
Jackson.
"Oh, 1 just said Lydia's dress was
fright and Kent went off mad"
Charlie in turn stared at Lydia.
Kent in the meantime was grinning
at Lydia amiably.
"Hello, Lyd Want to dancer"
81 can't. Don't know how" replied
Lydia, despondently.
Easy as anything. Come on, I'll
teach you"
Lydia seized Kent's lapel with
fingers that would tremble slightly.
'Kent, / dassn't stir. My back
breadth don't match and my skirt
hangs awful"
ooh, shucks !" replied Kent, angrily,
''you girls are all alike. Reds my
favorite color"
milne too," said Charlie Jackson at
her elbow. "What're you two arguing
about?"
Her Dress" growled Kent. 81 don't
see anything the matter with 1t, do
your"
Nope, and it's on the prettiest girl
in the room, too, eh, KentF
''You bet" returned Kent, believing,
though, that he lied, for Olga was as
pretty as a tea rose.
Lydia blushed and gasped.
eff you won't dance, come on over
and have some lemonade" suggested
Kent.
eff I sit in the window, will you
bring me a glass? asked Lydia, still
mindful of the back breadth.
you take her to the window and
I'll get the lemo. Kent" said Charlie.
Kent led the way to the window
seat. You're good old sport, Lyd,
he said. "Charlie'll look out for you.
/ gotta get back to Olga"
He returned to make peace with
the pink organdie. She was very love-
ly and Kent was having his first fiirta-
ton. Yet before he went to sleep
that night the last picture that float
ed before his eyes was of thin little
figure with worn mittens clasped over
patched knees and a ravished child's
face looking into his.
Charlie Jackson sat out two whole
dances with Lydia. Their talk was
of Adam and of fishing. Lydia longed
to talk about Indians with him but
didn't dare. Promptly at ten, Amos
appeared at the front door.
Lydia's first party was over. Amos
and old Lizzie were charmed with
Lydia's description of 1t and were
sure she had had wonderful time.
But Lydia felt that the dress had
made of the party hideous failure.
She knew now that she was marked
among her mates as a poverty-strick-
en- little dowd whom popular boys
like Kent and Charlie pitied.
And yet because life is as kind to
us as we have the intelligence to let
it be, it was out of the party that
grew slowly new resolve of Lydia's
to have some day as pretty hands
and as well-shod feet as Olga and
Hilda and Cissy, to learn how to make
her dresses so that even the compos-
ing of an organdie might not be be-
yond her.
John Levine was running for sheriff
on the Republican ticket. He was
elected early in April by a comfort
able majority and invited Amos and
Lydia to a fine Sunday dinner in
celebration at the best hotel In town
Lydia's life was so different from
that of any of the children that she
knew, that growing into adolescence
with the old bond of play disappear
ing, she fell back more and more on
resources within herself. This did
not prevent her going faithfully once
a month to call on Margery Marshall
And these visits were rather pleasant
than otherwise. Margery was going
through the paper doll fever. Lydia
always brought Florence Dombey
with her and the two girls carried on
an elaborate game of make-believe
the intricacies of which were entirely
too much for Elviry Marshall, sitting
within earshot.
Amos garden was thing of beauty
It's trim rows of vegetables were Dor
dered with sunflowers, whose yellow
heads Wed in height with the rustline
ears of corn. Amos had general
grudge toward life. He had vague