The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-09-06

not think about 1t now. He doesn' [
think about it. Or I wonder if he
does?"
She recalled Dick at the radio the
day of Pearl Harbor. She came into
the living room, as stunned as every
one else was that day, to find him
listening. his lips drawn back from
his teeth in an expression Of horror
almost grotesQue on so young face.
As she entered he looked up at her
and said deliberately, THE yellow
bellied bums." She gave an ex-
clamation, shocked to discover he
had such an expression in his vocab-
ulary. but all he did was grin mirth-
lessly and reply, II know some
worse words than that and If you
don't want TO hear them you'd bet
ter 60 out and listen to the portable
In the garden with the boss, because
feel like saying them" Elizabeth
was astonished, not only at his words
but at his vehemence. 1t was the
first time Dick had ever seemed to
her like anything but a fun-loving
little boy. The news from Pearl
Harbor had shocked him into
strange and sudden maturity. She
went out to the garden and told
Spratt what he had said. Spratt an
swered tersely, Il know just how he
feels" so do l." said Elizabeth,
Il couldn't have scolded him with
any conviction" They listened
awhile to the enraging radio voices,
and suddenly she exclaimed,
"Sprattl We're in the war. That
means that before long-it means
Dick" Spratt said, "Yes. wish it
meant me-" Elizabeth got chilly all
over, but she told herself that day
for the first time, II don't have to
face it yeti"
She wondered how Dick felt about
it now. She was not sure. Dick
spoke of the war sometimes, with
the matter-of-fact assumption that
when he came of age he would get
into it, but right now it seemed less
important to him than campus af-
fairs, probably because by the reck-
oning of seventeen anything year
ahead was too remote to be of press
ing concern. Good heavens abovei"
she broke off her thoughts, for Dick
rose up from the board, turned over
twice in the air and cut like knife
into the water, reappearing just in
time to hear Julia exclaim, "Dick,
that's wonderfully Do you think I
could learn to do it?"
Fudge saw Elizabeth first. He
called, 'How do you do. Mrs. Her.
long?" and the others turned to
wave at her. Elizabeth waved back
as she drove the car into the garage.
When she had put it up she walked
across the grass toward the pool.
Hello, all of you. Cherry, what
on earth are you going to do with
all those lemons?"
make lemonade" said Cherry,
and Fudge added, "You don't mind,
do your"
'Of course now, but you've shaken
down enough to make about four gall
Ions. Pick up the rest of them in
towel or something, Cherry, and
bring them in; we can use them"
'I'u get the ice," Dick offered,
scrambling out of the pool. "Ju-
liza, you and Fudge wait for us here,
you don't know where things are. :"
He took up towel from the grass
and began scrubbing his lean brown
legs. 'The trunks are drippy, but
won't go anywhere but in the kitch-
en-" he promised before Elizabeth
could give him any orders.
"All right" she agreed, and start
ed for the house. Crossing bal
cony that ran along the back she en-
tered the den which the children
were allowed to use as their own,
and paused to glance with curiosity
at some disreputably dusty old mag
aZines stacked up against the, wall.
They looked like the accumulation of
years from an attic; what the chill
dren meant to do with them she
could not imagine, unless one of the
schools was having drive for the
Salvation Army.
The door leading to the kitchen
burst open and Dick put his head
in.
Mother, do you want a glass of
lemonade?"
'Why yes, I'd love one."
you'll have to come and get it,
unless I'm allowed on the rug"
"I'Il come get it." she said hastily,
and went into the kitchen before he
could bring his dripping trunks into
the den. Dick and Cherry were
making a great racket with ice
cubes and glasses, their suits leav-
ing puddles on the linoleum and
bringing unhappy glances from the
cook. What are all those old pa
pers doing in the den?" Elizabeth
asked as she accepted a glass from
Dick.
They're ours" Cherry answered,
"Julia's and mine, I mean. We've
got to write an essay for costume
design about the evolution of twen-
tieth-century clothes. Julia found
those old magazines up in the attic
at her house and we're going to get
some ideas from them"
II see. Don't bring them into the
living room unless you dust them
off,"
"Okay," said Cherry. She dis
appeared with the pitcher of lem
onade, and Dick held up a box of
cookies he had found on a cupboard
shelf.
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