Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1940-10-18


oring for admittance, and at half
past nine at night tremendously
good-natured and apologetic persons
were arriving for dinner. This was
all very well for Miss Watts, the
gracious and capable and specta-
cleG head waitress, who got the big
tips, but it told heavily on Sheila
and the other girls. They had to
take on extra tables, to hunt about
for tablecloths and napkins not orig
inally provided, to apologize for food
that had been used up, and to make
additional trips for substitutes.
They worked in an enormous pam
try served from the kitchen below
by dumb-waiters. The order slips,
with Mr.. Benny's o. K. on them,
went down on the empty elevators;
each tray had slip on it when it
came up. Sometimes when a big
party required more than one tray
bus boy was summoned to assist
But the girls were not allowed to
ask for help; Mr.. Benny decided
that, and if he did not like a girl
he would smile teasing smile and
observe that she could make two
trips of it, just as well. The girls,
except perhaps for the favorite of
the moment, detested him; when
they were especially tired or nerv-
GUS he could make things hard for
them, and they wasted needed en-
ergy in despising him.
They ran to and fro breathlessly;
their collars wilted, their little but
terfly aprons wilted; the girls them
selves wilted. Sheila never had had
much color, but she developed a
pallor that was new. Her film of
copper hair stuck to her wet fore
head, her clothes adhered to her
soaked body. She flung aside crum-
pied tablecloths and napkins, piled
dirty plates, checked penciled or
ders feverishly. She talked SO lit
tie and worked so hard that Miss
Watts, the head waitress, soon sim
gled her out for special impositions.
MARY, there's a party just down
from New York; I'm sorry. You'll
have to start the order anyway-I
took it."
EAT twenty-five minutes of ten,
mindja," Nelly might say pityingly.
Sheila would eye the slip.
-Four mock turtle, three supreme
of grapefruit, seven oyster cocktail,
four bouillon, two cream of let
tuce-"
When Nelly, in the beginning, had
told her that in the quiet hours, say
between eleven and twelve each
morning, and three and five each
afternoon, she would be free to come
up to the dormitory loft and lie
down, Sheila had secretly laughed.
Lie down-with Atlantic City's win
ter boardwalk, and the glorious
ocean at her very door-not shei
But by the third day she had dis
covered that these intervals of rest
were all too short. She was not rest
ed by an hour or two; fiat and ex-
hausted, on her back; she could not
even begin resting in SO short
time. She ached all over, her nerves
throbbed and quivered, her head
was dizzy with confused thoughts,
llCl VI Sotil "co ollOA dllu IleI
dry.
ITS a great life" she said to
Nelly.
Its a great life if you have an
infected corn, let me tell you," Nelly
said. Sometimes l wonder why ]
ever left home. My mother run a
clearinghouse; lots of the railroad
fellers come over for meals. But my
stepfather done it, RELY He was ten
years older than Mamma, and what
he put over on her you wouldn't be-
lieve. He knew was onto him!"
Much of the talk Sheila heard now
adays was coarse, but most of the
girls were good girls.
Once she heard her own name.
Four of the six girls in the rather
small room were lying on their beds
one winter afternoon when one of
them said suddenly:
THAT Carscadden girl we were
talking about is supposed to be stay
ing with friends. They were mar
ried all right. The Nc Cams have
scads of money, and they hushed
the whole thing up"
Sheila lay perfectly still, her very
heart stopped. But when a girl idly
spoke again, it was on a different
topic.
She had left note for her mother
on that dreadful last afternoon of
packing and tears and fight. Dear
Ma, am safe and well; will be
good. Sheila," she had written. And
every few days since she had seized
some opportunity to send further
reinsurance. Once she had gone
into Philadelphia for an hour or two
and mailed postcard picture of
church from there. On this she had
written, 81 am praying for you. Pray
for Sheila."
Almost every night she cried her.
self to sleep, longing for her moth
err. But no matter how hard the