Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1934-08-04

Aarcia went home % the efIaSfly shell
q her apartment and the perturbed
Cora who Was 70 be q part Of the pll-
grimage.
mo. didn't eat out, she told Cora
Grossly, and don't want 70 eat In,
either. We've got 20 start at dawn
and that means packing until past
midnight"
You been cryin'S" asked the anxious
Cora.
mol" snapped Marcia and dug her
knuckles into her eyes and retired in
70 what had once been her bedroom,
but now resembled the wreck Of the
Hesperus.
Retired2 The word Is used relatively.
Marcia didn't retire, she had her cloth
Ing 10 pack and she'd meant It when
she told Cora that she would Be on the
JOB until past twelve First Of all she
took off her dress-shed have 10 keep
It fresh for traveling-and put on In IFS
place q snock- 1t was a sm0ck that
she'd used once when she was stenciling
closet shelves and It still bore the coll
orfm marks Of her labor. Over her hair
she tied one of Coras cheesecl0th d0s-
ters-she must keep her wave Ia place
and then she fen 10 work.
Packing IS hard job. Bending,
stretching, pounding price sett-
ing up exercises2 After she had pack
ed her spare shoes in their partitloned
travelling case. Marcia discovered that
her feet hurt. so she kicked off her
slender heeled pumps and saivaeed a
scuffed pair Of castoff bathing Slip
perS from the waste basket.
She packed underwear next. Some
Of it was new, bridal. Marcia's eyes
swan with tears as she folded It and
her heart was filled with ashes. She
packed hats and stockings and blouses.
She came 20 the pinSish red dress with
its organdy collar-Karl had kissed
her IN that dress-and her eyes spilled
over and two small rivuIets cut vertical
~ down her face. The face wasn't
clean-the rivulets became grayish
streaks.
Cora, standing IN the doorway Of her
room, created q diversion by saying
Min If I run down 10 the corner, Miss
Marshy, for a BAH o. twine2"
Marcia gulped out, Go ahead" and
stuffed tissue paper into the sleeves
Of the red dress. Those sleeves, with
AA~A tAAAo "a AAA@AAAt AAt-A 1AAAlab AAeAA( A
cling around Karl's neck. She thrust |
the dress viciously into q half filled
trunk and collapsed against It IN limp
heap.
I'm getting to be a regular water
fall. she sobbed, Il do nothing nova
days but cry and blow my nose and
cry and blow my nose
How long she sat beside the trunk
sobbing Marcia couldn't have said
She only knew that she knelt there,
Niobe fashion, until there came q bang
ing at the outer door Of the apartment
Hang Cora, she wept, as she strug-
gled to her feet, nov she's forgotten
her key =.
Dusty, her head bound IN a towel,
her nose red, she went to the door. Her
feet made a shuffling noise in the old
bathing slippers. Her hand fumbied
with the knob, the door swung open,
and on the threshold was Karl Logan,
hat In hand.
For one incredible, spaceless moment
they stood staring at each other and
then with q little inarticulate throaty
sound Karl had dropped his hat on
the floor Of the hall and had stepped
inside and had snatched her up In his
arms.
"Going away, my eyel" he grated.
You're staying here Thank fortune
went back TO the office and found
POUR crazy note Say, what have
yUu been doing 10 yourself. You look
Ike nobody's businessl o, Marcia. dear
st !. When win you marry me7@
They settled it on the sheet shrouded
,ofa with Marcia's head on KarI's
Ihoulder and q beatific Cora making
office IN the kitchen.
~But, why" questioned Marcia, why
ia you persist in acting as II you real
y didn't carer why were you forever
citing me d0wn2~
Karl Logan laughed bOyishly and
1zff1ed what was left OF Aarcia's wave
nhe'd removed the buster long stnce)
nd spoke.
@YOu were always 80 darn neatl"
le told her. let down, you say2" That
Eas the trouble. There was never any
st down about you You we're alwaysl
perfect, 50 perfect that you filled me
nth q thousand tnkzibitions. Believel
J or not. Marcia--all this propaganda
bout curriers' sc the breakfast table
nd kimonos to the contraxy-a fellow
kes q wife who's occasionally not g
Eylist. And he likes to feel that he
louldn't be breaking one Of the ten
commandments II he slipped up On q
have or had a hole tn the toe o.
ock-"
Marcia, wriggling her feet IN the
aabby bathing shoes, started guilhly,
n there was o vacant feeling around
ne Of her own toesl She kicked Off
be slipper and placidly surveyed the
o longer intact stocking that clothed
er foot. And then Kari kissed her
gain-and again and as her cher
he'd idols crunabled about her she
sepk closer into his ernns.