Evening star., 1929-10-20
ByFannie Hurst

but to fail In strength It was as II, once the
leather strap had lifted from his shoulders.
and the burden of his mail bag had disap-
peared, certain resistance in the old man Lad
fallen away AS Eta used to complain, a little
bitterly to him when she was tired and her
nerves frazzled he was more Of hindrance
than q help.
For instance, one night his son-in-Iaw had
intrusted him with simple chore of watching
certain of the heaters in the incubators and
poor Cyrus, sitting basking In his rear garden.
had forgotten. Result: hundreds Of small
chickens had died and losses had crowded in
further upon the household
Life on the chicken farm was far from what
Cyrus had yisualized. A woman with chronic
backache; woman constantly irritable with
her babies, was not conducive to household
happiness. Poor joe ridden from the first with
fear of debt, worry about his chickens and
acreage, .succumbed quickly to the role OF hen-
pecked husband. He was too harassed to resist
and with him old Cyrus succurnbed, too. They
were put-upon pair Eta scolding, nagging,
yapping, at the heels of the two men.
Joe, while secretly despising the inefhciency
of his father-in-law, was at least silent about
it. He ceased finally to expect much IN the
way of help from the puttery old man, whose
hand trembled and whose ideas. to the younger
man. seemed awkward and even senile
AS Ettas babies grew older, Cyrus gradually
began to take on the role of nurse girl, sitting
about with them in the garden. puttering with
them over mud pies or spinning out stories
that were not always coherent.
THEN one day something quite horrible hap
pensd, but fortunately did not end in
tragedy Cyrus, who had been hidden by Eta
to mind the children inadvertently permitted
the second little boy Johnnie, aged 3, to Slip
between the picket gate and out onto the open
road where he was run down by a motor car.
Miraculously the little fellow suffered nothing
more than a broken arm and lacerations, but
it was the last straw. Eta, hysteFical be-
rating. losing all control Of herself screamed
out her rage against her father. Even Joe,
shaken by the horror of what had almost hap
pened regarded his father -in-law In a bitter
kind of silence.
After that the old gentleman was frankly
relegated to the sidelines in the running OF that
farm and household. Nothing was expected OF
him. He was permitted, SO long as he did not
interfere In the management to putter about
at will but no chores were intrllsted to him,
not even the dandling across his knees of his
youngest 'grandchild.
The routine of the chicken farm went on IN
about him, busy none too successful but re-
lentlGss, none. .the-less. The routine OF the
household cluttered up with the haFanguing
and nervous shoutings of Eta moved about
him. but his grandchildren lived In . world
outside his pale. II he 50 much as touched one
Of them Eta leaped to grasp the youngster
away In % frenzy Of nervous fear Of what accf-
dent might befall. The dream had turned
into lusterless reality.
One day old Cyrus plodded down the road
and was gone the greater part OF the after
noon, returning just in time for his evening
meal II was q little outside OF general pro-
cedure but neither Eta nor Joe questioned ie.
Let the old man work 1t out his own way vas
their unspoken attitude.
The old gentleman had worked 1t out MS
own way. He had gone down the road and
applied at dairy farm for the position OF
local delivery boy, role which had hitherto
been nlIed by 12-year-Old younester. Ie
meant trandling q small wooden wagon nlled
with milk bottles along few miles Of country
road for local delivery.
The old man eagerly took on this underpaid
position. He began TO expand nat under sne
daily routine.
1t reminded him Of the good old days when
he had been mail carrier.
tcOpuishs isas3 !