Evening star., 1926-04-18
HERE was as yet in the bright
lexicon Of James Appleton
Martin no such word as ''vo-
cabulary." Had there been he

NUl Two WOEOS. One OF Ine1n WAS
Don't" The other stop"
Apple-thus to distinguish him from
his father. who was also James Apple
ton Martin--would have told you that
In the nine years of his life he had
heard them q million times. This very
Sunday morning had added consider
ably to the total. For example, there
was the matter of the goldfish. The
goldfish were inclosed in bowl, where
they spent most of their time either
hiding under some tangled green stuff
or sticking their noses against the
glass and working their mouths in a
manner that corresponded to making
faces. Apple knew that this in Itself
was reprehenSible. Giving the matter
his attention, 1t gradually developed
that the bowl could be turned into q
very fair race-courSe-about 1000 laps
to the mile-and, with the aid of n
war relic In the shape of a knitting
needle, the fish could be induced to
proceed around 1t at exciting speed.
Unfortunately. just as one contestant
seemed on the point of turning the
sprint into a steeplechase by hurdlinG
some green sprigs, the reform party
arrived in the person Of Apples
mother.
Apple gave himself over to reflec-
tion. Since coming to this house in the
most enjoyable day. On the other days
his father left early for the city and
returned, tired. just in time for dinner.
Sundays he was home and, moreover,
was willing TO take walks or reat
aloud or play games. Things were
CHEEKY. But this Sunday. although
outside the sun beat down glitteringly,
was wrapped in an atmosphere of
gloom. Aunt Eta was coming.
10 fytl1 y,oiT1 n q n
Solute repose, Apple turned sideways
and extended a leg. There was book
on the couch, and after considerable
effort he worked the toe OF his shoe
under 1t. Aimessly he raised the book
and lowered it. This was Il queer
world of little understanding. With
drawing his support from the book, he
. pushed it from him with f1irt of
his ankle. There was no anmus be-
hind the push. It was merely Il geS-
ture of protest against things in gen
eral, but the couch was covered with
chintZ, a slippery and unreliable ma
terial. Thus even a gentle push was
adequate to achieve results. The book
slid far enough to come into contact
with a small uncovered work basket.
In the nature of inanimate objects
such as pies, cakes, aSh-reCeiverS or
anv container filled with small articles,
when attracted by gravity, from fall
sng right side up. The basket was
no exception. With deliberation 1t
performed a haf-circle in the air and
deposited upon the floor thimble, Scis-
sors. pins, needles and various spools,
which rolled hastily in all directions.
OF the three persons in the room
only one remained seated. The others
rose SO rapidly that il might almost
i,NNNA
chairs! They spoke i'll chorus: Ap-
pleton!'
"It seems as if simply couldn't
keep this house picked up COM
nlained Mrs. Martin.
Apple looked at her in honest
snoazement. Picked up, indeed! Since
the letter announcing Aunt Ettas
visit he felt that the picking-up pro-
cess had passed all limits. a tello"
got into trouble if he laid anything
down for minute. Yes, Aunt Eta
. 1ndoubtedlv was responsible for this
Nicking up, although with the tele-
gram stating that Uncle George also
was on the way to visit them 1t was
intensified.
Here was an unknown menace. Ap-
pla had never seen his Uncle George.
But when q swimmer Is out over his
head the actual depth of the water
makes little difference. Uncle George
couldn't add much to Aunt Eta. 10
be exact. he was a great-uncle, just as
Aunt Eta was a great-aunt-rela.
tionships were involved as fractions!
* = 4
A APPLE forsook the couch. II seemed
n best to get into another atmos-
phere:
Being careful not to hit any of the
furniture on the way out, he went
into the hall, where he paused for a
moment. Against the door lay Il
spool Of heavy thread, which had
evaded the recent search party.
Gathering it UP with the intention Of
returning it to the basket, Apple de-
cided against that course and added
IL to the collection in his pocket. Then
he made his way to the porch and
sat down on the steps. It was one OF
the first hot, still days Of the season,
and through the open windows Of the
living room came the sound Of voices.
Apple craned an ear.
Apple just must behave this time,
le heard his mother say. II don't
know what's the matter. Every time
Aunt Eta comes he seems possessed.
He'll behave or III know the rea-
on why" asserted Mr.. Martin.
You remember last time, Jim,
when he spilled the ink on her she
threatened to leave"
She's always threatening to leave
or TO change her will. Amy" his
father continued in a voice that was
somewhat halting, "you mustn't think
that don't appreciate what your
aunt does for US. I debut always
wish 1 could make enough so it didn't
matter. I'd like to give you every
4y1rS Dr. hn 7 Ha ayf1
- / know how"
His fathers tone made Apple feel
queer inside. Maybe it made his
mother feel that way. too, for she
answered quickly. "Oh, JIM, don't
YOU see that's just 1t. I have all I
want, but I can't bear to have you
work so hard and come home all
tired and worn. And there's Apple"
There was an instant of silence. So
that was it! Aunt Eta was good to
his mother and mysteriously had it
In her power to keep his father from
working so hard. and he had almost
ruined everything. fIe never had
meant to, but that didn't seem to
make any difference. Apples heart
was like lead. Nevertheless, he
listened when the conversation was
resumed.
''It wouldn't be SO bad If it wasn't
tCr your Uncle George. why IN the
world" almost walled Mrs. Martin,
did they have to pick the same time
TO visit us?"
Il couldn't help it, said Mr.. Mar
tin. defensiveiy. He had row with
my grandfather and left home before
was born-but, after all. I'm the
only near relative he has left. I
couldn't wire him not to come"
'Of course, you couldn't. But YOU
know Aunt Eta. And goodness
knows what your Uncle George Is
like"
I'm sure don't. l never saw
him. He used to write to father once
in a coon's age from the West som2-