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Show Sylvia of the Minute By HELEN R. MARTIN Copyright by Dodd. Mead & Co. VTNTJ Service I STORY FROM THE START Handsome, fastidious and wealthy young- St. Croix Creigh-ton Creigh-ton awaits his sweetheart at their tryst ing" place. She Is fifteen fif-teen minutes late, this ordinary-little ordinary-little Pennsylvania Dutch giri, Meely Schwenckton, but he awaits her eagerly. She Is so demurely beautiful, he thinks, but so out of his "class." Despite De-spite her seeming Innocence and ignorance, she succeeds In keeping keep-ing him at a distance, to his chagrin. CHAPTER II 3 Meely Schwenckton, hurrying back breathlessly through the October twilight to the farm house, lest the autocratic head of the house get in from the fields ahead of her and become be-come suspicious of her goings-on, seemed to have undergone a transformation trans-formation since she had left her lover. Not only had she managed, on the way home, to shed her cheap, gaudy frock of blue voile for a trim tailored suit, but also that veil of bovine dullness dull-ness which her pretty face had worn had been replaced by a soft, bright amusement ; her timid bearing, so abjectly ab-jectly expressing a sense of inferiority, inferior-ity, was changed to a look of suppressed sup-pressed excitement, an air of intense vitality, which made her recent humility hu-mility unimaginable. Reaching the kitchen porch of the farm house, she was brought up short as her hand touched the latch of the door, by the sound of a whining whin-ing nasal voice within, reproaching and threatening, to the accompaniment accompani-ment of a child's crying. Meely's hand dropped from the latch and she stood listening, a look In her eyes of mingled distress and disgust. "When your Pop hears how you done me dirt this after," whined the nasal voice, "oh, but you'll get the good whippin', Lizzie Schwenckton ! OncEt I toll him how you run out after school and let me with all the work, meliby you won't ketch it with that there switch he keeps handy! I.ettin' me alone here with all the diapers and all the cleanin' and cookin' and his sick wife and baby to tend! Well ! of ! all ! tilings! Yes, If he don't give you the worst switch-in' switch-in' you ever had, then I don't know the man" "Ach, Aunt Rosy, don't tell him!" the child's voice begged in gasping sobs. "I'll help you now I'll do this here whole tub full of washin' and I'll wash all the supper dishes for you you can just set and rest yourself" your-self" "Well, I guess anyhow you'll wash the supper dishes after the smart switchin' you're gettin' ! That'll make you spry for a couple days. I guess. If my talkin' at you don't! You needn't to beg me " The nasal whine stopped short as the speaker became aware of a third person in the room, though she had not heard the opening of the door. There stood Meely, her back against the kitchen door, looking at Aunt Rosy with those bright, clear eyes of hers that somehow always cowed the woman, giving her, unreasonably, a sense of guilt which she resented. Always she was resolving that she would not let herself be "downed" by this "high-minded hussy" who had no rights in this house anyway. "I'll show her who's got rights here!" she daily determined. Yet she found herself just now, as always when confronted by the silent criticism of this girl's confusing regard, re-gard, trying apologetically to Justify herself. "Mind you what Lizzie done yet! I give- her the diapers to wash after school and she run out to play and let em. And me with all the cleanin' and the supper to get and my sick sister's brolh to make and all my lands! How kin I get through all when Lizzie Liz-zie runs out after school and won't help?" The big, warm, cozy kitchen which, like most farm kitchens of Pennsylvania, Pennsyl-vania, was also the family living room, was covered by a bright rag carpet and furnished with a roomy settee against tJie wall, several big, Bayly painted rocking-chairs, a large decorated cabiiidar Libeled "Sweet Smiles" hanging from a cuckoo clock. B trble spread for supper, a cooking Ftove on which sausage and potatoes were sizzling. The Sehwonoktori family, as well as all the neighboring farm families, had seen this kitchen become transformed trans-formed In three weeks, under the temporary reign of Aunt Itosy during the confinement of Schwen'-kton's young wife, from a spollesu eleanll-tir-'-s to a messy untidiness and disorder dis-order which. In the eyes of the Immaculate Im-maculate Pennsylvania Inileli housekeepers, house-keepers, was ft scandal next onh' lo Immorality and more unheard of. Aunt Kosj-'h Incompetent housekeeping, housekeep-ing, combined wild her autocratic and iniumliiblo altitude towards her sister's sis-ter's stepchildren (from which there was no escape nor appeal, since It wan backed uu by the I lead of the House) had driven the elder son and daughter to rebel and run away ; Nettie, Net-tie, the fifteen-year-old girl, having found refuge in the home of her grandmother and Jakey, seventeen years old, having disappeared entirely entire-ly to the genuine distress as well as Inconvenience of their father to whom Jakey especially had been a great help on the farm. But the other two. Lizzie and Sammy, were too young to escape. The one soft spot about Aunt Rosy, apparently, was her devotion to her young sister, Susie, Mr. Schwenck-ton's Schwenck-ton's girl wife, whom she had "raised" from a baby. But although she idolized idol-ized Susie, she completely dominated her. In all things Susie followed her elder sister's advice and judgment and obeyed her, when she was with her, as much now as when, before her marriage, she had lived in Posy's home. Susie was the only person in the world who did not find Rosy repulsive. re-pulsive. Ten-year-old Lizzie, a thin, delicate-looking delicate-looking child, was working frantically at a wash-tub at the far end of the cluttered, dirty kitchen, crying hysterically hys-terically while she worked, terrified bf the punishment hanging over her. Meely, going across the room to hang her jacket on a rack on the wall, spoke over her shoulder in reply to Aunt Rosy's complaints, her pleasant pleas-ant tone and manner betraying none of the loathing she felt towards the woman. "But since you didn't do the cleaning, Aunt Rosy (look at this kitchen!) nor the diapers, and kept Sammy home from school to wait on Susie, what have you done all day? And Mr. SchwencUton won't like it. you know, that you're having the diapers washed here in the kitchen where we have to eat " It is to be noted that Meely's accent and diction were not now so studiously studious-ly Pennsylvania Hutch as when she had talked with St. Croix Creighton a half hour ago. The hint of foroign-ness foroign-ness in her speech was not that of the Pennsylvania Dutch at all.- A heavy stop on the porch at this instant was followed by the opening of the kitchen door and the entrance of the farmer in overalls. Lizzie's crying was instantly choked back while she bent to her work more frantically than ever; and Aunt Rosy acquired suddenly a great air of industry about the stove and table. Mr. Schwenckton, closing the door behind him. stood surveying with disgust dis-gust the disorder and dirt of the kitchen. A big, red-faced man of mild, though obstinate, countenance, he looked so good-natured that one might have wondered why his children were so afraid of him. But family discipline disci-pline among the Pennsylvania Hutch Is a religion: "spare the rod ami spoil the child," a dogma. Mr. Schwenckton had ever tried to perform per-form his whole duty by the children God had given him to rear for His honor and glory In a heavenly home, the Scriptural prescription for accomplishing accom-plishing this being the only means he knew, disagreeable as he often found It for he was withal an affectionate father; not naturally severe; only very conscientious; obstinate In the performance of what he saw to be his duty, however difiicult. "Y'i, yl. yl !" he shook his head and frowned at the dirty kitchen, "but you're the donple of a housekeeper. Aunt Rosy! You ain't the nice housekeeper house-keeper your little sister Susie Is. Well. I guess anyhow not ! Yl, yi. If the neighbors seen our kitchen so through-other through-other yet !" "Yes, well, but when I tell you oncet how Lizzie won't help along when 1. tell her to." his sister-in-law complained as she began to dish up sausage and fried potatoes, while Mr. Schwenckton went to the sink to wash his hands, "you'll see for yourself. Mister, how I can't get through all by myself. Lizzie she run " "Lizzie!" the farmer broke In, raising rais-ing his voice above the running water, "stop that splashin' at the tub and come now to your supper." "Ye-yes. sir." the child stammered, her teeth almost chattering. As she dried her hands on her apron and .T.'..-.T.'.T.',T.,.T.,,T.r.r.!.i.'.r.:.i.ST.:.i.: came to the table, Aunt Rosy gave her a look as who should say, "You just wait ! Don't think because he cut me short that I ain't tellin' on you! You just wait!" "Where's Sammy?" asked Mr. Schwenckton. "Upstairs settin'," his sister-in-law told him as she curried the food from the stove to the table. "With Susie. Susie she's too poorly to be let alone, whiles 1 gotta be down here." Mr. Schwenckton shook his head dolefully, his face, as it emerged from the roller-towel, looking deeply troubled. trou-bled. "Well, come everybody now and set. I want to get eat and hurry up to Susie." During the long "blessing" Invoked by the head of the house, after they were all seated, Meely's was the only head unbowed. The expression of her face (while fulsome words of gratitude grati-tude were directed to the throne of God) suggested anything but thankfulness thank-fulness as she surveyed the platter of sausage floating in a lake of grease, the burnt potatoes, the pale, heavy pie. At the "Amen" she rose at once, went to a cupboard and brought back to the table a fresh napkin for herself. her-self. The temporary housekeeper spoke up in self-defense against the implied criticism of this gesture on Meely's part. "Well, if I did forget your napkin again, I must say I wasn't raised to eat so hoggish myself that I need a napkin to my meals!" "You've got no need. Aunt Rosy," her brother-in-law mildly admonished her. "to speak so unpolite. L's we all know," he added as they all began to help themselves, each one for himself, as was their custom, "that Meely was raised more refined than us." "Well, I wouldn't go so far as to j say that. Mister," Aunt Rosy resentfully resent-fully objected. "To call myself com- j mon yet toward what she is! I ain't heliltiin' myself that much! I cert'nly con.-ider myself as good as other ones; and so I likewise consider your poor, sweet, little wife, Sam Schwenckton! If she'd heerd you'd compared her to this here stranger and saved she was common toward what this here stranger is " "Ach. Aunt Rosy, be peaceable," Mr. Schwenckton checked this winning winn-ing tirade. "Meely ain't ezackly a stranger to us, even If we didn't get acquainted with her till here this fall. You can't call a cousin a stranger yet !" "You ain't got no proof she's your cousin. She don't look like as If she's your cousin. Nor act or speak like none of your cousins I ever met up with." "Yes, well, you never met up with none of the Berks County Schwenck-tons. Schwenck-tons. They're different, too, again from us Schwencktons here In Dauphin Dau-phin county. They're better educated that way and more refined. Meely," he addressed their boarder, his tone anxious, his eyes worried, "how do you think my Susie Is today?" "She can't g't better so long as you keep her room dark and don't air It, Mr. Schwenckton. Air and light are all she needs to get well." "Yes, well, but I don't hold with them doctors that says It's un.sanitarl-um un.sanitarl-um to keep the wlndahs shut and the room dark when you're sick," Mr. Scliwenckton pronounced conclusive ly and from a conclusion once reached, a position once taken, the lower did not exist that could move Sam Schwenckton. He drew a deep sigh. "I did hope Susie was gettin' better for me after her lookin' so bright yesterday." "The reason she was so much brighter and better yesterday," said Meely, "was because when Aunt Itosy was taking a nap, I covered Susie and the baby with blankets and aired the room ! Threw open all the doors and windows and left them open for an hour! Then I washed Susie and changed her nightgown and the bed linen. She and the baby slept after that for four hours I That's why she was belter yesterday." (TO UK CONTINUED.) |