Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1930-05-26
Second InstaIlrnent

Second lnstaIlrnent
II doesn't seem fair" she re-
marked.
"Fair." he sneered. "of course, II
isn't fair. Nothing is fair. And IL
Is humanity itself that encourages
-breeds-unfairness. As long as
men have eyes. they will he caught
with color. AS long as they have
ears. they would rather hear music
than groans. It's the parade that
counts. Linda. my love. And they've
learned 1.-THE people who want 70
ret things done. You car put your
self over with a brass band and q
bow when you might crawl on your
knees TO the edge of the Red sea
and never be heard from"
Linda. who. at sixteen, owned
sables that were much too fine 20
be worn until she was twenty-five.
had already brushed close enough
70 the swamp OF poverty to know
its chill breath. They lived In
Cousin Amy's house that summer:
slept in grand mahogany beds; but
they used the servants sheets, and
there vas only a grouchy caretaker
In the basement living rooms.
Often she carried secret packages
from the corner grocery-bits OF
food that did not require expert
enced cooking. She did not like
this. There was something fear
some and frightening about tt
much too near the grewsome pro-
cession that walked. After that day
she listened attentivelv 20 ell her
father had to say. He tried to
crowd all the dubious wisdom Of
his past into the few days that re-
manned, and she reached for IL
avidly.
Amy Ralston returned to Amer
lea three weeks after H~averhiIl's
death. She was very much an
noyed. Not, OF course, because the
poor creature was dead-she admit
ted that no one had control OF the
life forces and she knew that the
end had to come to every one-but
she thought II tnconsiderate OF him
TO die In her house. She had ex-
pected 20 begin A series OF dinner
dances Immediately. and this neces-
STATED a period Of mourning, how
ever brief. Mourning called for
more clothes. when her trunks were
bursting with fresh Paris toilettes.
II was comforting 70 reflect that
only the family and a few old
friends knew about Jim Haverhill
and whether he was among the
quick or the dead.
There Il the daughter" she said
speculatiyely 10 her husband who
whistled of key but was much too
wise 10 offer suggestions. "A girl
like that may be a frightful reSpon-
sibillty or an-asset. al her poor
father would have said"
But when she saw Linda In her
slim black, poised with a gentle
gravity that placed her grief In a
sacred secluded background, the
first pleasurable moment OF the
whole sad affair presented itself.
The girl Is a beauty" she ex-
ulted as a good Snowman always
exults over beauty. "She looks
like her mother. who was a fool. or
she never would have married Jim
Haverhill. but II this child is as
clever Is she looks"
Linda was clever. She was not
vet seventeen, but her mind was
twenty-seven-a mind as keen and
super-refned ar her 1.-THE body. she
knew Of life as a game in which
cleverness and savoir faire counted
largely, and she calmly regarded
her youth and beauty as trump
cards The girl was not romantic;
she was free from silly completes,
and she had no heroes. her lips
curled when some one spoke OF
movie gods. and she was never
known to read q modern novel. But
with all this Linda was a charming
creature, polished and nne