Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1930-02-28
RUSTY'S
JOHNNY
CAKE
"a BY D. ,. walsh,

~ TIFFLY the girl got down from
the car and stretched lazily, as
~ cat does, murmuring: "Ho,
huml That means, my dear ia
ther, your only offspring will have
some fun in the kitchen, sans dietetic
supervision. Gosh, I'm hungry"
1t was so dark that even a black cat
would have seemed light In COMPARE
son. but the girl made her safe way
from the garaged car to the house and
soon blaze of lights from several
rooms heralded her presence.
On the kitchen table Rusty Dexter
found note left her by her father.
who was a much overworked country
practitioner. Despite his deep affec-
tion for his only child, business occa-
sionaliy kept him from being on hand
to welcome her home each week from
her hard job on the city editors staff
Of big daily.
Rusty adored her father, but there
were moments when she longed to
bounce a brass ink well off the well
beloved paternal pate. Diet is all very
well for the aged, the middle-aged and
the obese. Rusty was none Of these.
She was slim, red-haired (whence
came her nickname y gray-eyed and
as lovely as she was tempestuous,
stormy and willfull And among all
the other things that made up nor.
mally healthy, stormy childhood, Rusty
deplored her fathers determination to
diet her to perfect health, beauty, etc.
She loathed oatmeal. Dad extolled 1t
to high heaven, It was so full Of VI
tamines, teeth-building stuff and what
not. She adored corn in all the forms
excepting perhaps that found in the
doctors cellarette, and If there was
one thing that Doctor Dexter simply
loathed it was corn and particularly
corn meal foods such as corn cake,
mush, etc. Thus Rusty inspected the
pantry with thoughtful mien and her
gray eyes sparkled with mischief as
she came upon tall box of fine, gran
ulated corn meal; she would feast up
on johnny cakel And II the doctor
got back she could jolly well hide the
remaining cake in her bedroom to
feast upon later and-oh, yes, she must
hide the oatmeal and the eggs and
make sure that there wasn't any lamb
and meanwhile pray that Hannah had
some onions on hand; that steak she
had purchased in Groton must not 60
unadornedi
An hour passed and the range
glowed a dull red on the front grid
dies as rusty-haired girl fitted about
the dim old kitchen, humming softly
as she peeked at the browning johnny
cake. whistllng softly as she stirred
the onions browning In the old-fash-
toned iron skillet.
Twin beams Of light cleaned down
the road and Rusty gazed heayenward
I'm mock despair. IL 1t should be tne
dOctOrl
The lights cleaned In the same spot,
and. recalling her own hair-breadth
maneuvering through the porrldge-like
mud of the flats" Rusty watched
with a grim sort Of fascination as the
car churned merrily away, yet re-
manned in one spot; mute testimony to
the holding power Of that muddy fiat,
which bad. as far back as Rusty could
remember, been called "the johnny
cake'-due, no doubt, to the thickness
of the mud.
After fifteen minutes oflfutile effort
during which Rusty Drowned the for
hidden steak and removed the golden
brown corn cake from the oven, the
lights snapped off in the hopelessiy
mired car and a few moments later
the front door bell rang. @
"Heavensl" thought Rusty "it's
worse than dad; 1t may be somebody
and me with only lowbrow steak,
onions and johnny cake for dinner"
Rusty smiled at the hard-eyed young
man standing on the front porch,
smiled and turned on all the cells of
her supercharged personality, and the
young man fell fatter than a fallen
angel cake
"Of course our telephone is working,
but you've already arrived at Doctor
Dexter's. Did he expect your"
expect meT retorted the young
man. 1--WE sent him half dozen tele-
grams and letters announcing my ar
rival. I'm DR.. J. Eugene Gateauw
"Please come In" murmured Rusty,
"rm just putting dinner on. Won't
you join met" adding. as she went to
the kitchen, ''it's a very simple affair,
Doctor Gateauw
"Gosh," thought Rusty, dad must've
written me a note worth reading, and.
as usual, didn't read itw
"Don't- tell me-" begged the sudden
ly human doctor. shat that's johnny
cake!"
SIN fright,uly sorry to confess that
II lsr' mumbed Rusty, guilty.
"Oh, boyi" crowed the now reverted
to boyhood physician. "then you'd bet
ter grab your share. I haven't had
any honest-to- hannah johnny cake
since left the farm
"You like itf" gasped Rusty, amazed.
"Nope; love III" exclaimed the
beaming Doctor Gateau as he attacked
9 generous portion Of steak heaped
with golden onions.
The dinner disposed OF, Rusty closed
the dining room doors and, turning out
all the lights IN the living room, she
stopped to light the carefulIy-ald fire
In the fireplace ms her guest settled
himself In deep. 0verstuffed wing
chair on the other side Of the open
fire.
II can't help thinking" unused her
guest bit later. shat your father
must have told you OF my unusual
fondnrss for corn cake
~ you know" protested Rusty,