Evening star., 1927-04-24

she might be tired, it was necessary
for her to busy herself about his
room. forever putting back in their
places things which he as continually
threw into confusion again. When.
ever his shrili voice was upraised, she
tried to command him to silence. But
Mrs. Jones reproved her.
You must expect Johnnie to be
noisy, Milie."
He'll wake my baby" Millie jeal-
ousIy retorted.
Mrs. Jones smiled a little. I'm
afraid we're a noisy household. Joan
will have to get used to us. You
mustn't keep hushing Johnnie. After
all. he has his rights as well as joan"
MiIlie was silenced, because she
knew by experience that those consid-
erations which seemed to her so over
whelming would have no weight with
her mistress; and her position was
weak, since Joan was a sound sleeper.
There were many other disturbing
sounds in the house, and they all
Jared on her taut nerves; so that,
after each burst of laughter, or cry
or concussion of slamming door, she
would sit tensely, expecting a wall of
distress from Joan.
1t did not matter what the source
of these noises might be. she resented
them all equally. When Johnnie was
to blame she was furious. When old
What they do, or how they do it. does
er folk were responsible her anger
was even more intense. One night
guests came in for dinner and, since
the weather was bad, Mr.. and Mrs.
Jones insisted that they stay over
night. When the four of them came
4r,i.- 1~.I - n.
laughing in the hall. Miles anger
overcame her prudence. She came
out into the hall and faced them with
burning eyes, and said sharply:
Joan has just gone to sleep. You'll
have to keep quiet. / can't have her
walked up now"
Mrs. Jones himself replied sternly:
"She never wakes, Millie. And even
If she did. you cannot expect us TO
go whispering about the house all the
time"
Millie retreated to her room, full of
bitter rage
She found herself involved in con-
tinual discord with Charles, the house
man, who did the chores and served
the meals, and with Laura, his wife,
the cook. Millie had her meals with
them, and it seemed to her that they
were eXtravagant in their use of cleo
tricity and gas, and that they wasted
food. The great love which she always
gave her babies left in her nothing
but angry resentment at the rest of
the world; and, although she knew
that only trouble could come from
| any alteration between her and the
other servants. she was unable to
refrain from criticizing them to Mrs.
Jones.
| Mrs. Jones at first received these
| reports without comment; but the sit
uation became more and more acute,
until she was compelled to silence
Mille.
You are here to take care of Joan,
/ Afillie," she said definitely. II do not
J ask you to supervise Charles and
Laura. That is my business. They
do their work: and you do yours.
What they do or how they do it does
not concern you"
Millie, knowing the danger in such
a course, nevertheless could not
refrain from a protesting word. II
can't have them wasting electric
light the way they do" she said
stridently. And Mrs. Jones replied:
If you can't be happy here, Millie,
you are free to go; but / will not have
you interfering with the other
| servants"
Millie made no reply. At this sug'
gestion of her leaving, she had been
struck with such terror that she could
not speak. She had been only about
two months in the Jones household.
In the normal course of events she
might expect to stay until Joan was
years old, and there was always a
chance that another baby might
prolong her sojourn.
To leave now would he to lose her
baby and she could not bear to con.
template that possibility. Already