The Coolidge examiner., 1931-11-20

thin to the point of scrawniness
in their opinion; sallow, unrouged,
drawing, mysterious. She talked
with an eastern accent, ignored the
letter r, said eyether and neyther
and rih'ally and altogether made
herself pOisOnOusly unpopular with
the girls and undeniably stirring
to the boys. She paid very little
heed to the clumsy attentions of
the Oklahoma hometown lads,
adopting toward them a serpent-of-
theNile attitude very battling to
these frank and open-faced prairie
products.
Her school days finished, and she
finished product of those days,
she now looked about her cOolly,
calculatingly. Her mother she re-
garded with a kind of affectionate
amusement.
What a rotten deal you've had,
Sabra dear" she would drawl.
"Rih'ally, l don't see how you've
stood it all these years
Sabra would come TO her own de-
fense, goaded by something strange
ly hostile in herself toward this
, remote, disdainfu offspring. stood
what?'
"Oh-you know. This being
pioneer woman and a professional
Marcy and headheld-high in spite
of bum of husband"
Donna Cravat, If you ever again
dare to speak like that of your ia
ther I shall punish you. big as you
are"
'Sabra darling, how can you
punish grown woman? You
might slap me, and wouldn't slap
you back, of course But I'd be ter
ribly embarrassed for you. AS for
father-he is a museum piece. You
know it,"
Your father is one Of the great
est figures the Southwest has ever
produced"
Mn Well, he's picturesque
enough, | suppose. But | wish he
hadn't worked so hard at ii. And
Cim! There's a brother! A great
help to me in my career. the men
folks of this quaint family"
Il wasn't aware that you were
planning a career" Sabra retorted.
very much in the manner of Felice
Venable. Unless getting up at noon,
stopping around in a kimono most
of the day, and lying in the ham
mock reading is called a career by
Dignum graduates. If II is, you're
the outstanding success of your
class"
Darling. adore you when you
get viperish and Venable like that.
Perhaps you influenced me in my
early youth. That's the new psy-
cholOgy, you know. You used to
tell me about grandma trailing
around in her white ruffled dimity
wrappers and her high heels. never
lifting a lily hand"
AT least your grandmother
didn't consider it career"
Neither do |. This lovely flow
er-like head isn't so empty as you
think, lOlling in the front porch
hammock I know it's no use count
ing on father. even when he's not
off on one of his mysterious jaunts.
What is he doing, anyway Living
with some squaw? For
give me. mother darling. I 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 1t weren't for You we'd all
be on the town-or back in Wichi
Ia living on grandma in genteeI
poverty. ! think you're wonderful
and ! ought to try to be like you
But | don't want to be n girl re
porter. Describing the sumptuous
decorations of dandeliOns and sun
flowers at one of Cassandra Sipes
parties"
G0aded by curiosity and a kind
of wonder at this unnatural crea.
ture. Sabra must put her question
what do you want TO do then?"
Il want to marry the richest man
in Oklahoma. and build a palace
that TT 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. "Dia.
monds are so ordinary. And the
gentleman that you consider honor,
ing-let me see. From your re-
quirements that would have to be
Tracy Wyatt, wouldn't it?''
Yes" 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'l just
be patient" She was too amused
to be really disturbed.
81 don't intend to be patient,
mamma darling"
Something in her hard, ruthless
tone startled Sabra. Donna Cra-
vat, don't you start any of your
monkey business. saw you cooling
and .ah-ing at him the other day
went we went over to Wyatt's new
house. And | heard you saying
some drivel about his being a man
that craved beauty in his life, and
that he should have it; and sneer-
ing politely at the new house un-
til could see him beginning to
doubt everything in it, poor fellow.
He had been so proud to show 1t.
But / thought you were Just talking
that New Yorl talk Of yours"
81 wasn't. I was talking busi-