Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1938-03-05

1oNuO SOmctnAu8 70 cAt IN kue
kitchen and gone directly out OF
~ doors TO play. Betty, who was
six, came In with q neighbor
child. They wanted 70 cut out paper
dolls, so Leila installed them in the
sun room with scissors and paste. In
the kitchen Leila proceeded with pre-
paratiOns for the family dinner. She
took q pie from the oven. glanced at
the clock on the kitchen wall. 1t was
almost five Where was Jane? She
should have been In from high school
an hour ago.
Leila sighed. She was tired to the
bone. 1t seemed to her that she had
two major problems, both Of which
were becoming too much for her. These
problems were as yet unrelated and
she was trying to deal with them
separately.
The first, and perhaps the one most
In her thought, was her increasing
WEAKNESS. She was so tired all the
time she was not even functioning
properly. She knew it was not because
her work was too hard or her health
failing. With a woman once a week
she could easily manage the pleasant
and convenient house.
She knew what was wrong with her.
1t was a simple matter Of not getting
enough sleep. She realized that while
she and Donald were certainly young,
(She was 80, and Donald AZ, and that
was young enough, goodness knows
they no longer possessed the elasticity
of the twenties which can manage on
four hours Of sleep. They had not been
to bed before / O'Clock for 10 nights
In a row. And what had they done?
Nothingl Played contract, gone TO Ida
Lynch's or the Murphy's or Petersen's
to sit about and talk, to play cards,
to drive out into the country to broil
steaks, or to dance somewhere-they
had gone to one or two big cities and
had enjoyed it all very much. II ever
they found themselves at home at night
with nothing planned someone called
up or came In and they stayed up
late again.
90 on like this, and neither could
Donald. They were quarreling with one
another. They we're worn out all the
time. Donald was city salesman Tor
big wholesale house. He worked harder
than most Of the men they knew. Every
morning at $50 the alarm went off
like the voice of fate and they were
never rested, never ready to rise. To-
night, Friday they were to go 70 1oa
Iiynch's to play duplicate. tomorrow
NIGHT was the club dance. Sunday night
the crowd always gathered at one house
ar another. Monday night they gen.
erally went to q movie and somewhere
Afterwards Tuesday the men played
poker and the women's bridge. club
met. And so on, and on, and on!
Leila looked at the clock again and
her other problem at once swamped |
out all thought Of her own IaSlgue.
She looked out Of the living room Wit
dow into the early November ollsk 70
zee If Jane were in sight. Where was
he child? /
The changes In Jane were coming too
.anidIv for leila to contend with them.
when lane was little, she had been
Ike BETTY. good and biddable and the
.idiest creature In the world. lax
,ho1It trainingl Jane had certainly mao
+ MOVE at Is. she was increasingly
concerned with nothing but
1ar anrearance, yet not relating her
ack Of system to the fact Cnat ner
,lothes were often very much aWry'
Warmly affectionate ana responslVS'
he seemed Of late gushing ana al
ected.
md opinionated, Jane seemed 10 Lena
title short Of neurotic. She was WOUND
n nv a glance. sent into ecStasies py
word of praise. Friends assured Lena
hst Il was iust q phase. Jane would
nan out of it. Leila certainly hoped
hat she would.
leila was turning away from the
window when Jane arrived In great
tyle. in an old stripped flivver painted
vith bright red polka dots like scarlet
ever rash. Jane came in shining WIN
happiness. She was so pretty tnab
ella looked at her in amazement.
"Oh. motherl" Jane cried, "Cheesie
petersen brought me home. I'm the
irst girl to ride in the Arkl You
now. mother, the boys all went To-
ether and bought 1t and liked IL up
nd they agreed no girl could roe ia