The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-25

forgot!" she exclaimed. Something cryFs fault"
 1 the tenth time into the darkened room where she lay and finding her still awake, came in to coax her to close her eyes and try to sleep. Suddenly Irene sat up in flutter of excitement. "Oh, I forgot" she exclaimed. q told Mrs Reed you'd be right over Something dreadful happened, and it was all Beryps fault Really, mother, I don't know what she'll get us into some day with her crazy ideas"
 What do you mean?" her mother asked fearfully, for her eldest daughters "wildness" was a never ending source of worry to her.
 q mean that she nearly let An gie Reed drown himself this morn- ing. Poor Mrs Reed is all upset and of course Beryl is trying to highland the whole situation. She even attempted to order Tommy around, but I settled that. Just the same. I think you'd better go over and see what you can do. It's the apology for Beryls carelessness. Somebody ought to do something about letting her have her way with those kids"
 Mrs Everett sighed deeply. "I suppose I'll have to go over," she ] said with a touch of weariness. But wish you'd told me sooner. I was just starting a pie for dinner" {" She paused and looked at Irene l hopefully. "I don't suppose you could finish it?" she asked timidly. | "Mother!" Irene rebuked her. i've got to rest; you know that" Eve got the apples all peeled, her mother ventured, but Irene cut her off.
 "Please don't let anyone disturb me-" she said irritably. With all this on top of what happened last night I'm completely exhausted. :. And I hardly got started with Mrs | Reed before Beryl came in and turned the house upside down." Mrs Everett started to ask how Angie was, thought better of it as Irene turned over on her side, and went out, quietly closin gthe door behind her.
 She went back to the kitchen and put away the things she'd got out in pTepdTdLlOH TUT tHC Pic, took off her apron, and returned upstairs to make herself presenta- ble. It was her belief fostered by Irene, that it became her to hide the graying of her hair with henna. That Beryl thought it hardened her wrinkled features was only an- other proof in their eyes that Beryl was not smart in her taste.
 And when Mrs Everett touched her lips with rouge, she was happily unaware that their thinness was not adapted to the addition of false color. Rouge looked well on Irene's rosebud mouth and all fashionable women used it, they agreed. so why not Mrs Everett?
 She looked, as she walked hur- riedly toward the Reeds house, pre- cisely what she was-the somewhat vulgarly dressed mother of a daughter who saw no beauty in age; spoiled daughter whose taste and whims colored the more character less mothers life in too many re- spects.
 She carried with her an everlast- ing agitation of sense of futile ef- fort. Beryl was sorry to SC her arr rive at the Reeds among the neigh bor women who had begun to gath CT there. She feared her mothers outspoken reproaches.
 Once she had said to her mother and Irene that she could not see how blackening her whitened them any. Irene had wanted to know in what way she had ever discredited the family, and Mrs Everett had od given up her self-defense as hope less undertaking.
 This was when Irene had apolo- gized profusely at Beryrs expense to a neighbor for the damage done to the latter's house gutters by the squirrels that came to feed on the nuts Beryl brought home from the grocery store as part of her wages. The squirrels ate the nuts in the gutters and clogged them with the shells. Irene had talked to the , neighbor as though Beryl had known this unlikely result would come about and had supplied the nuts to the squirrels over her fam ily's protest.
 The feeling Beryl had known then came over her now as her mother proceeded to exonerate the family for blame in this. her incor- rigible daughters latest escapade.
 And she could see that the wom- en were impressed-even Mrs Reed. who, until to-day. had been one of her staunchest supporters. Wetll' when on's own mother The thought trailed away without de- mite conclusion in the girls weary rain. She was tired-dog tired n' she'd have said if anyone had asked her how she felt. She wanted to go somewhere and he alone.
 "Where's IreneP" she asked her meaningless talk. Told that Irene mother. interrupting flow or was at home she decided not to go there.
 "Poor Irene" her mother TO: marked and launched Into q recital of what the day had brought to Irene. Everyone was interested. ana when Deryi broke in again Co say that she thought she'd 70 Co e pio. ture show they considered her ht' tlude toward her talented sister n