Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1929-02-07

out n beau. II that wasn't funny-if tn,
idea OF spinsterhood, with its inevitabl,
accompaniment OF solitude and NAL,
neglect. wasn't enough to make a ca
laugh, then what was?
AS the years went by. and time robbed
the jest of its freshness, the blithel
spirits same forward to give it a hllip
Thus young Overton, the village wag
picked up for a few pence a stuffed anc
moth eaten parrot which. under cover O
darkness, he hung over the door O
Emily's cottage. The satire of this &C
required a certain amount of calculation
but nee the idea was grasped the village
was swept with a gale of laughter. o.
course q spinster always has a parrot.
Teach 'em to swear. they does" youne
Overton explained. Gives EN- a sense
of avn a man about the place"
That the attitude adopted toward.
Emily Booker's celibacy might cause hel
pain discouraged no one. On the con
trary. they felt they were doing her 6
service in taking 50 much interest. After
all. the poor creature had neither chick
nor child to talk about. She wa deniec
taking part in the wifely gossip about
husbands-their sins. omissions and re
deeming features-which occupied sc
much OF women's time and thoughts. In
their opinion 1t was very nice for Emily
Booker to be c a joke.
A story became current that once she
intercepted a wink intended for some
one else and. being unfamiliar with that
form of introduction. had come forward
with the corner of her handkerchief
screwed up. to remove whatever foreign
matter had found its way into the YOUNG
mans eye.
There was not, of course, a vestige OF
truth in this story, but it lost nothing on
that account.
In the presence of a persistent impress
sion about any person or thing it is o
very difficult matter to form and main
tain a contrary view. Thus. in spite of q
habit of making up her own mind, indie
pendent OF common opinion, about his,
that or the other, Amardis instinctively
accepted the local ruling that Emily
Booker was a proper spinster.'
1t must not be thought that Amardis
engaged in the malicious sport prevailing
among the rustic population. She merely
accepted the definition Of Emily Booker
in the same way as she accepted the fact
that Farmer Trant was a gran old fella, -
that George Masters was a 'lot too fond
Of his glass" n that poor Lollie Ed
wards was a lunatic pore boy" An en-
tirely fortuitous circumstance was re
sponsible for Amardis stumbling upon
the truth and bringing about the coup
which annihilated the local tradition.
Amardis' grandmother, Mrs. Mead. had
hired Emily to help at the spring clean
ing and Loyalty and thoroughly had Emily
fulfilled her task. The furniture Of Sus-
sex a shone as mirrors under the magic
OF her touch and the glories of the newly
secured pots and pans Of copper in the
kitchen were only rivaled by the fiery
brilliance, of the sur sinking to rest be
hind the silhouette Of Chanctonbury
Ring.
Spring had followed Emily Booker's
course through the four rooms OF the
cottage called "Cooden'' and she alone
seemed to have stayed in the gloom Of
winter.
Amardis was in the kitchen washing
some very particular vases and her atten-
ton wandering from her task shifted to
the profile of Emily Booker where she
stood for q moment by the window Of
the front room. The kindly glow Of sun
set had lent to her features an unusual
warmth. Only her expression seemed cold
and lost.
Amardis said to herself, That's all it
is-her expression. If she were to smile
to light up a bit-she would be quite a
handsome woman"
Amardis had never before noticed that
the contours of the proper spinster's'
form were generous, rounded and moth
erly. She thOught-it's a nice body-a
nice comfortable body; though there was
little blame for any one failing to OBJ
serve its merits under that folorm gar
ment of rusty black.
Emily Booker in that moment of idle
ness was curiously still. To Amardis it
seemed that she scarcely breathed. Her
eyes, with their shadowy sadness rested
on the roadway as though held by mag
netic force.
I)nirtnor l1A,c1IF - +t+-- z--lx- ~
lowed the direction Of Emily's gaze and
saw, rounding the bend in the road, two
lovers with arms and fingers intertwined
Just an ordinary pair of lovers they were,
OF a kin to be seen or any spring eve
ming when the Goa of dusk is melting
into gray. Two plain young people made
beautiful by love. Slowly they APPROACHED
and by common consent paused, hest
tant, before the gate. Then something
lared up in them and with no word
spoken the boy caught the girl to him
and kissed her with all the ardor of his
youth The kiss over he drew her more
tightly to his side n they passed on
out of sight.
Nice to be like that-lovely to be like
that" Amardis thought and found once
more that she was looking at Emily
Booker. But this time it was an Emily
Booker transformed-a new Emily, from
whose face somber rigidity had fed. In
that instant Amardis saw in her features
an epitOme Of tenderness, love and de-
votion. 1t was like being present at a
revelation of all the lovers and mothers
of the world.
From the gray, sad woman's throat
came a stif1ed sob and the two words re-
peated, 20 why-O why?"
With utter abandon Emily Booker fell
to her knee beside a basket chair and
throwing out her arms picked up Sally,
who was an old fat spaniel belonging to
Amardis. and strained her to her breast
with little mother noises too intimate
for any but a child to hear. Sally, who
was a woman too, and understanding,
only raised the smallest complaint. For
1ully half a minute they remained SO. the
woman with the ole brown spaniel held
In a fast embrace. AS swiftly as the
mood had come it vanished and with q
~roughness totally unexpected Emily Book
er pushed Sally away and dragging the
back OF her hand across her eyes ex-
claimed angrily, TITS no use-no USE"
Before she had time to stop herself
Amardis had run into the room and
spoken
Miss Booker-I'm sure it is some use
what isn't any use? Do please tell me-"
For a frightened instant Emily Booker
looked guiltily to right and left as in
search OF a way Of escape, but finding
none. dropped her head into the crook of
her arm n abandoned herself to q
storm Of tears.
In all her life Amardic had pevor he