The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-09-04
me in my career, the men folks Of this
nllaint familvn

quaint family"
II wasn't aware that you were plan
ming q career" Sabra retOrted, very
much In the manner of Felice Venable.
"Unless getting up at noon, stopping
around in kimono most Of the day,
and lying in the hammock reading Is
called career by Dignum graduates.
II it is, you're the outstanding success
Of your class"
Darling I adore you when you get
viperish and Venable like that. Per-
haps you Influenced me in my early
youth. That's the new psychology,
you know. You used to tell me about
grandma trailing around in her white
ruffled dimity wrappers and her high
heels, never lifting lily hand"
"At least your grandmother didn't
consider it a career"
Neither do I. This lovely flower
like head isn't so empty as you think,
lolling in the front porch hammock.
know it's no use counting on father,
even when he's not off on one of his
mysterious jaunts. What is he doing,
anyway? Living with some squaw?
(. Forgive me. mother darling.
didn't mean to hurt you -. Gins
just as bad, and worse, because he's
weak and hasn't even dads phony
ideals. You're busy with the paper.
That's all right. I'm not blaming you.
If it weren't for you we'd all be on the
town-or back in Wichita living on
grandma in genteel poverty. I think
you're wonderful, and ought to try to
be like you. But don't want to be
girl reporter. Describing the sumptu-
Gus decorations of dandelions and sun
flowers at one Of Cassandra Sipes'
parties"
Goaded by curiosity and a kind Of
wonder at this unnatural creature,
Sabra must put her question: what
do you want to do, then?"
II want to marry the richest man in
Oklahoma, and build palace that
I'll hardly ever live in, and travel like
royalty, and clank with emeralds.
With my skin and hair they're my
stone"
"Oh. emeralds, by all MEANS" Sabra
agreed, cuttingly. diamonds are so
ordinary And the gentleman that you
consider hon0ring-let me see. From
your requirements that would have to
be Tracy Wyatt. wouldn't it?''
eyes replied Donna, calmly.
"You've probably overlooked Mrs.
Wyatt. OF course, Tracy's only fifty
one, and you being nineteen. there's
plenty of time if you'll just be pa
tient" She was too amused to be
really disturbed.
81 don't intend to be patient. man.
ma darling"
Something in her hard, ruthless tone
startled Sabra. Donna Cravat, don't
you start any of your monkey bust
ness. saw you cooling and ah-ing at
him the other day when we went over
the Wyatts' new house. And I heard
you saying some drivel about his being
man that craved beauty in his life,
and that he should have it; and sneer-
ing politely at the new house until I
could see him beginning to doubt
everything in it, poor fellow. He had
been so proud to show it. But
thought you were just talking that
New York talk of yours"
10 II wasn't. I was talking business"
Sabra was revolted, alarmed. and
distressed, all at once. She gained
reinsurance by telling herself that this
was just one Of Donna's queer jokes
part of the streak in her that Sabra
had never understood and that CORE
sponded to the practical joker in Yam
cey. That, too, had always bewildered
her. Absorbed in the workings of the
growing, thriving newspaper the con-
versation faded to a. dim and almost
unimportant memory.
Sabra was sufficiently shrewd and
level headed to take Sol Levy's sound
advice. "You settle down to running
your paper, Sabra. and you won't need
any oil wells. You can have the best
paying paper and the most powerful
| in the Southwest. Bigger than Hous-
! ton or Dallas or San Antonio. Be
cause Usage is going to be bigger and
richer lndH any u them. lou marx
what say. Hardly any oil In the
town of Usage, but billions of barrels
| of oil all around it. This town won't
be torn to pieces, then. It'll grow and
grow. Five years from now it'll look
like Chicago"
"Oh, Sol, how can that be?"
'You'll see. There where the gam
bling tent stood with mud hole in
front Of it few years ago you'll see
in another five years skyscraper like
| those in New York"
She laughed at that.
Just as she had known that Yancey
had again left her on that night of the
Mescal ceremony. so now she sensed
| that he would come back in the midst
of this new insanity that had seized
!, all Oklahoma. And come back he did,
from God knows where, on the very
crest of the oil wave, and bringing
with him news that overshadowed his
return. He entered as he had left,
with no word Of explanation, so bizarre
as to cause everything else to fade
into the background.
1 He cama riding as olwovS hut N