The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1932-06-17
Number Tens
BY ALICE c. MEYER-WINo
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 4 aele-a,
20 By Mcclure Newspaper syndicats.l
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MATTE REYNOLDS took stock Of
lVI her wardrobe: a half worn-out
coat, three-year-old fimsy blue silk
and two print dresses, wool sweater
and one pair Of shoes without holes In
the soles. Nothing to wear anywhere.
Certainly nothing to wear to we'd
ding. And Joe had just sold the
calves for hundred dollars.
What a lot Of things hundred dol
lars would buy. Oh, well, she
knew when she married Joe Reynolds
that his farm
But there's just one more payment
after this. honey" he'd said when she
mentioned rug for the bedroom-and
clothes. Clothes? Why, girl, you al
ways look dressed-up to me, and AZ
for q rug-well, you just wait till the
last payment is made. It'll hurt your
eyes the way we'll doll up. Just one
hundred more and my grill have
home"
And now had come that invitation
to Ernest's wedding. "And I haven't
thing to wear" she told Joe, "ex-
cept that fiimsy old silk-and hate 1t,
joe"
But Joe was immovabls. The pay
ment must be made promptly. And
as for that wedding invitation"
He didn't finish the sentence but
Matte knew the invitation hadn't In
terested her husband Well, It inter
ested her-and they'd 90. 1t would
be the last affair of any kind they
would attend together. She'd endured
this old, unpaid-for farm as long az
she could. One suitcase would hold
every garment she possessed. Joe
could have the dishes; their few pieces
of furniture She was sick OF the
whole mess.
But she would like to look nice at
Ernest's wedding. Ernest had been
fond Of her in the old days
Well, there were those two five-dollar
bills hidden away In the Toulouse.
Joe was saving them for seeding the
small meadow. And there were four
dollars and seventy cents-shed kept
careful OF the count-in her dime bank.
almost another FIVE. Joe had been
dear about dimes for her little bank
but too determined about business. Al
ways business first, with Joe.
Fifteen dollars would buy that
f1owered satin dress she'd seen In the
window Of the village store. marked
down from twelve-sevsnty-hve, and
shoes. The very best shoes In the
store would cost less than Ave dollars.
Here her glance rested upon Joes
best on the closet floor beside her own,
Their bulk reminded her of something
Ernest had said once, about Jos's
number tens" being In the way when
her future husband had been slow to
catch figure in the square dance. She
had resented the inferred comparison
at the time Ernest wore ssvens.
Thoughtlessly she picked up the big
shoes beside her own small ones, idly
turned them over. Why there were
holes In the soles. Joe's best. Joe
would go stark naked to make those
detestable payments. Well, let him.
Let's see. Where was she? Yes,
her dime-bank money for shoes; the
ten dollars for the satin dress.
She would walk to the village.
She paused before the mirror In the
store window. The fresh air had lent
additional color to her cheeks, bluer
blue to her eyes-why, three years
couldn't be an eternity. She was still
young, and lovely-and there was the
aower-budded dress. She felt bit Of
civic pride as she looked at the store
things in the windows. Like a shop
in the city. Mems articles on one
side. Women's on the other.
With her hand on the doorlatch, she
faced the mems window: Shoes Well,
what Of iti OF course there would be
mems shoes In the mems window. Ex-
cept for one pair, sll her own had
holes In the soles This stony country
left its mark, and she and Joe
But Joe hadn't even one pair with
out holes In the solss. These mems
shoes In the window-the price
screamed at her-were exactly four
seventy Warm, thick-solsd, dressy
looking.
She was suffocating too
warm in the store. She would walk to
the post Office. Those shoss--shs
would look at the other window as she
passed through the door
She walked past the post once,
turned and passed 1t again. On down
to the the blacksmith shop. Back
again: Rosebuds Mems shoes. Rose
buds. But she must hurry. she'd
planned hot biscuits for Joe's supper
She smiled, thinking OF her husbands
boyish liking for hot biscuits and his
pride of her skill In making them
And how proud he was of-Heavsns!
Why need she, at this moment rensm-
Der his pride In her economies He
must never know how she'd felt about
these farm payments. 1t was for her
he'd been SO determined home
for his girl comforting i.
protecting. She put her hand TO
her face, wet with tears.
A thousands loving little charac-
terlstics that were Joe came rushing
through her mind. Good, genuine big