Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-12-10

A fine bathroom with heavy rich bath
towels neatly hung on the racks
shining stained oak bedroom SET with
rose-coiored faffeta spread Sabra
felt wave OF nausea Gins face was
smiling. radiant Yancev was Joking
and laughing with the Indians. In the
kitchen sat white girl IN Bingham
dress and Kitchen apron. The girls
hair was SO light yellow as to ap-
pear almost white Her unintellgent
eyes were pnlest blue. Her skin was
so fair as to be quite colorless- In the
midst Of the roomful OF dark Indian
faces the white face OF the new Cravat
hired girl seemed to swim In q hazy
blob before Sabra's eyes, But she
held on. She felt Ruby's scornful dark
eyes on her. Sabra had a feeling as
though she had been disemboweled
and now was hollow thing. an empty
shell that moved and walked and
talked.
Dinner. White servants and negro
servants to walt on them. A long
table seating score or more, and
many such tables Bowls and plate
piled with food all down the length
OF 1t. Piles Of crisp pork, roasted In
the Indian fashion over hot embers
sunk In pit In the yard. and skew
cred with sharp pointed stick. Bowls
OF dried corn. Great fat, black ripe
olives Timed lobster Chicken.
Piles OF dead ripe strawberries. Vast
plateaus Of angelfood cake covered
with snow fields Of icing.
Sabra went through the motions OF
eating. Sometimes she put morssl
Into her mouth and actually swal-
lowed It There was a great clatter
OF knives and forks and dishes. Every
thing was eaten out OF one plate.
plafters and bowls were replenfshed
Sabra found herself seated beside Mrs.
Big Elk. On her other side was
Yancey. He was eating and laughing
and talking. Mrs Big Elk was being
almost comicallY polite. solicitous. She
pressed this tIdbit. that dainty. on her
stony guest.
Down the center OF the table. at In
tervals, were huge bowls piled with
sort Of pastry stuffed with forcemeat.
1t was like great raviolI, and piles
OF It vanished beneath the onslaught
OF appreciafive guests
For Gods sake. pretend to eat
something, Sabra," Yancey murmured,
under his breath. TITS done now.
They consider It an insult Try to eat
something
She stirred the pastry and chopped
ment that had been put on her plate.
Good" said Mrs. Big Elk. beside
her, and pointed at the mass with one
dusky maculate finger.
Sabra lifted her fork to her lips
and swallowed bit of It. 1t was de-
licious-spicy, rich. appetizing. "fes,"
she said, and thought, am being won
derful. This Is killing me- Eyes. 1t Is
very good This meat--this stnffing-
Is 1t chopped or ground through
grinder2r
The huge Indian woman beside her
turned her expressionless gaze on
Sabra- Ponderously she shook her
head from side to side In negation.
Nav" she answered. politely.
"Chawed"
The clatter OF fork dropped to
the plate, a clash among the cups and
saucers. Sabra Cravat had tainted.
Usage. Okla. was city.
Where, scarcely two decades ago,
prairie and sky had met the eye with
here q buffalo wallow. there an Indian
you now saw d twenty
story hotel: the Savoy Bixhy. The
Italian head waiter bent from the
waist and murmnred in your ear his
secret about the veal sante with mush-
rooms or the spaghetti Carnso du Jour.
Sabra Cravat. congresswoman from
lunching in the Louis NV
room with the members Of the Won
ems State Republican committee,
would shy. looking up at him with
those intelligent dark eyes. "I'll leave
Il to you. Nick. Only quickly. We
haven't much time" Niccolo Mazza-
RIM would say yes. he understood, No
one had much time in Usage. Okla.
Twenty-Five years earlier anybody
who was anybody in Oklahoma had
dllated on his or her eastern connec.
tons. Iowa. II necessary. was East
They had been d little ashamed OF
the Run. Dragged about the spen-
iors of the homes from which they
had come.
Now 1t was considered the height Of
chic to be able to say that your par
,nts had come through in a covered ,
wagon. Grandparents were still rather
-are In Oklahoma AS for the Run
If SIT was Osage's Mayf1ower. At
he huge dinner given in Sabra Cravat's /
honor when she was elected congress- /
and from which they tried to |
exclude Sol Levy over Sabra's vigor-
JUS land triumphant) protest. the
chairman OF the committee on arrange
nents explained 1t all to Sol, patron
zingly.
you see, we're inviting only people