The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1944-03-23
CHAPTER XXI

1y, because he's gone TO the SUI
herbs to see guy who wants to
sell his boat. The suburbs is
about as far as Kurt can go, with
out having to notify the authori-
ties" She didn't know about 9TH
er enemy aliens, Leila said, but
Kurt certainly had small chance
of escaping, if he ever wished to
escape. 1.-THE FBI would be moth
ing compared to me, if he tried
to duck"
Candace, who was mixing the
salad dressing while Leila set the
dinette table for the Sunday night
supper, shivered as the wind blew
a furry of snow against the kit
chen window. It had been such
long winter, she murmured and
all the snow seemed to come in
February. "How I hate blowing
through drifts on a cold morning
Sarah always has our walk
cleaned when start out, but she's
the only one. The rest of the
street is beautiful white drifts"
The weather would undoubted-
ly be balmy as soon as she quilted
her job and stayed in, the cynical
Leila suggested.
Coles Arnold and blond Patty
Bailey, engaged now, were fiji
teen minutes late and Minnie Da-
Wis and Halsey Kenneth followed
them, the buses they scolded Bit
terly, having abandoned sched-
ules. Halsey had applied for a
commission.
'You try to save tires" Patty
walled at supper, land then you
find out the transportation COM
pany's saving tires, too. swear
they've taken off half the regular
buses on the Green line"
Andy said kindly, ''Wait till you
girls have to walk. Or did they
bind your feet when you were a
baby?"
"Do any of you know Dorothy
Dresden?" asked Minnie Davis
who hoped to steer Patty away
from painful affairs. Every spec
ial-Junior League, isn't she, Lei
la?-pretty and not precisely a
pauper?"
They knew of Dorothy Dresden.
Patty who read every word in the
society columns of the newspa-
pers had a neat dossier of the
post-debutante at her tongues
tip.
Candace, a little tired, listened
silently to the good-natured bab-
BILE of voices. The lovely sense of
security which touched her I'M
expectedly, without warning, but
oftenest in solitude, brushed her
now, soft as the caress of wings.
She saw her pretty, gay kitchen,
the crisp curtains that were Zith-
er's pride, the big white spaghetti
kettle steaming on the stove. If
she put out her hand she could
touch her vociferous guests, chat
tering away on either side of the
flat pewter dish of fruit, thanked
by the four pewter candlesticks
she and Andy had found in one
of the secondhand shops. The
smoke, the smell of food even the
spatter of snow against the win
dow and the sound of log break
ing in the living room fireplace,
made definite impressions upon
her mind. Yet she felt as defin-
itely separated from it all for one
swift moment which encompassed
her in an exquisite peace. She
looked toward Andy at the other
end of the table and meeting his
steadfast eyes, smiled
she's taken a job modelling"
Minnie Davis was saying. Of
course with her connections she'll
bring business to the store, but
the other models are furious. This
Dresden piece comes to work in
her own car and if there's a tire
shortage I suppose she can use
her mothers or her fathers car"
Patty Bailey agreed that there
was a great deal of i'll feeling
throughout the store. Il sit in my
drafty booth all day because I
need the money, but why should
a girl like that 60 to business?
She ought to get married. The
people who can afford to have
children ought to populate the
country. That would keep these
idle women busy and leave few
jobs for the girls who need them"
'''Well, I say more power to Dot
ty Dresden" Leila Orion blew a
smoke ring airily. There's no
law against woman working, if
she wants to work; we haven't
yet legislated females to the place
where they have to be graded &C.
cording to their cash instead OF
their ability. If the Dresden doll