Evening star., 1929-05-19

and Betty won it for Montrose. Will
and I sat with the Coates and Marice
and Phil, so that We could share little
of their pride.
Betty was gorgeous beyond words. I
certainly don't wonder she landed the
college job. She looked like young
Viking or something, out there with the
sun shining on her short yellow hair
and her bare arms. And the way she
played! Clean and swift and strong
and sure. When she smashed that last
ball down over the net and 1t bounded
miles out of her opponents reach the
Montrose side fairly went wild. Mr..
Scoggins, who was sitting on the other
side of me and who is usually dignified
beyond words, was so excited that he
threw his expensive hat in the air.
AS I turned to look at Bettys mother
I could feel my eyes full Of tears Of
sheer Joy. Here was daughter any
mother could be proud of.
But, to my amazement, Mrs. Coates
was looking anything but proud.
"Oh. my poor baby" she kept saying.
I couldn't believe she meant Betty.
But she did. was so baffled couldn't
speak.
Look at her dress" her mother
walled. "A machine-made piece of cot
ton trash she bought for two-ninety-
eight Every other girl playing has on
either. silk shirting or linen"
We'll" I said, silk shirting or linen
didn't help them any when they tried to
stop one of Bettys balls. I'll bet any
player there would be glad to be inside
her two-ninety-e EIGHT this minute"
But, some way, Mrs. Coates didn't
seem to share my proud excitement. She
just kept talking about how anxious
she was to get at making Betty some
decent clothes.
And, as the days went on, she didn't
lose one shade of the worried look she'd
had that day at the tournament. I
couldn't understand it. I kept waiting
for her to come to a happy realization
of how we'll her children were turning
out, and. as far as could see, she was
not. coming to it. In fact, instead Of
being proud, she seemed to be worried
most Of the time.
When I'd see her out in the yard, one
day she'd tell me how Tom wasn't get
ting the right kind of food in that Ver-
blen boarding house and the next day
she'd be worrying over Betty'S going so
far to college Suppose she should be
taken sick, 800 miles from home. Or it
would be Marice was working too hard;
the child wasn't used to the RESPONSE
bility of house.
I did all could to reassure her But
the more said the sadder she seemed
to feel. I couldn't understand 1t. Mrs.
Coates had never been the worrying
kind before and yet now there was no
reaSSuring her. She seemed absolutely
sure, that, no matter how it might
look on the surface, not one Of her chill
dren was really getting along we'll
And 1t made her so terribly sad. When
I'd point out how lucky Betty was to
have got such a splendid job, what a
good college it was and how it would fit
her for some fine place when she was
through, Mrs. Coates would just sigh
and say, oh. yes, she supposed Betty
didn't need mother any more, now. Or
it would be Tom or Marice. She sup
posed, she'd say mournfully, that there
wasn't much use for mother any more.
was completely baffied. Perhaps
never should have understood If it had
not been for Marice. But. during
those weeks while I'd been helping her
get settled in her new place Marice and
I had got really fond of each other.
And one day she just spilled out to me.
Her mother had been over at the bum
|. galoW all day putting up grape jelly for
Maricc, though Marice had found a new
recipe and had been really crazy to try
1t herself. Her mother had gone back
to the big house, tired out, but happier
, than she'd seemed since she got back.
Don't you see, Dot" Marice explain
ed, "it's having all of us on our own
mother just can't stand it. She's per-
fecty miserable without the three of
us to plan for and worry over"
The second it was pointed out to me
1 could see it. of course. That was
exactly the trouble. And Mrs. Coates
was doing the very best she could to
get every one of the three back home
for her to take care Of. She began pull
ing all the wires she could to get Tom
some good position back in Montrose.