Evening star., 1927-05-29

Oliver Marshall'S steady brown eyes
had lighted, as always they did when
she used that first person plural. Our
house! ''Oh. it's just an old house,
baby. Nothing to write home about.
But with you there"
IT'S white. though. Ollie?" All old
Southern homes were white; Margery
knew that.
Pretty white. hon. Needs paint
ing"
Goose" She had paused to kiss
him. 1T has pillars, hasn't it, Ollie?'
PILLARS" Above his grave brown
eyes his brows met. hut his lips were
| humorous. Yeah, reckon the porch
is held up by pillars. / never noticed
much. baby"
| "And roses over them?"
Roses over 'em," he repeated. his
grin broadening. Cherokee roses.
They're mighty pretty. baby. And
| they'll all be blossoming when you
come down."
Bit by bit she had drawn from him
| material with which to construct her
picture. Jasmine and wild azalea, and
far behind the house. in the fields,
| the cabins of the negroes. AT night,
when the breeze rose, she and Ollie
| would sit OH the gallery" as she
had read they called verandas down
there, screened by roses, and down
from the cabins, mingled with the
tender scent of orange BLOSSOMS, would
come the soft voices of the black.
grooming, lamenting Romance!
Mother. it's like dream" Margerv
said. "Just think, down there the
roses are climbing over the house,
! and"
/ Have you got picture of it,"
s%
rested, unquietly, upon her face.
why, no. I haven't a picture of it,
| Why did her mother look at her like
that. doubling. apprehensive? Didn't
she believe that the house was as she
had said? How silly! "Of course.
I've seen lots Of photographs" said
Margery.
Her mother resumed her sewing,
and for a moment, Margery watched
her. questioningly.
Well. she'd seen photographs of ever
SO many Southern homes-Mount Yer
non and Monticello. And Ollie said it
hadn't said the pictures she'd seen
were of Ollie's home, anyway. Shed
MIR. AND MRS. OLIVER MAR
the table which occupied most of the
space in their compartment. Mar.
gery's. gaze was fixed on the shifting
picture framed by the car window,
and divers eyes We're as steadily fas-
tened upon another. lovelier picture,
framed by a mass of soft hair.
"Oh, Ollie-palms!'
"Be lots of palms pretty soon. honey
real ones"
Her lips parted. Palms! Growing
just like elmS or naples. And soon
there'd be the hanging moss he'd told
her of, strange flowers, and oranges,
not in crates or bags, but hanging like
little lanterns, on trees.
Funny baby" He rounded the ta-
BILE and sat beside her. so interested
in the scenery. Going to write
travel-book. baby?"
She looked at him absently. "It's so
so thrilling, Ollie" She permitted
him to pull her head down upon his
shoulder, but her wide blue eyes con-
tinued to devour the everchanging
scene.
BE in Jacksonville in a couple of
hours, now. Then into. our little
busso and home" 4. =
''Home"' She inclined toward him,
smiling, and his lips descended swiftly
upon hers. IT'S all like dream,
Ollie.' she said. II can't believe it's
from anything I've ever known. Ollie,
do the palms grow right around our
house?"
His arms tightened about her SO
that she gasped; his hand tilted her
face SO that he could look directly
into it.
You're SO lovely. so beautiful he
murmured. II can't believe that
you're really mine! Oh, Margery-
baby
With last, family regretful glance
at the drawn shade, she settled her
self comfortably in his arms.
"Eot much like your New England
roads, are they, hon?" Margery,
the front seat of the car beside her
husband, shook her head.
We're sort of off the main track,
you see. We-gosh darn that fool
hog, anyway" He brought the car
to a jerky stop, honking ferociously
at fat sow that waddled across the
muddy road, followed by a squealing
litter.
The road stretched straight before
them, a dusty ribbon cut between un-
fenced fats of oozing mud-on and
on, as far as her eyes could see. Tat
ters of the hanging moss sagged drear
lily from the taller frs. And on and
on went the road. A group of young
cattle. with dirt-spattered hides,
searched half-hearted for forage. A
gang of negro convicts, in melancholy,
dramatic stripes, swung drearily their
picks and shovels. Their guard called
out: "Evenin'" as Margery and Oliver
passed. On and OH 4
"Oh, Ollie" Margery's breath caught
in her throat, and she seized her
husbands hand convulsively. "Ollie"'
lie followed her eyes to the side
of the road, where three monster
birds. sated with their feast, sat ma
lignantly contemplating a brown and
white mass half buried in the mud
of the ditch that bordered the road
way
"Buzzards, said Oliver calmly
Ugly brutes, aren't they?"
Ugly" Her voice was shrill. ''Oh,
Ollie. ey're-they'r re" They
were obscene, nodding and leering
like omens of doom. Her hand caught
at her throat. Are there--do they
are there those-around our
house, Ollie?"
Sweet baby He put his arm
about her, and she shrank against
him. WAS she scared?" His eyes
looked deep into hers. and he could
feel his heart swell at the littleness,
the fragility of her. "They just come
when steer or hog gets begged,
nonev. You'll get used to them.
Used to them' She felt herself
grow dizzy as her eyes sought des.
perately ahead for some respite from
this desolation.
Her husband regarded her tenderly.
wen be coming into town soon,
Margery. Bout 10 more miles and
we're home"
Ten more miles: She gripped the
edge of the car with her fingers and
avoided his eyes. She couldn't bear
living only 10 miles from this. She
closed her eyes. His arm drew her