| Show custard affie C al i by 57 florence Ell bingham ighani livingston wel W copyright by georce it domn F 1 UNCLE JERRY SYNOPSIS living in a bam barn converted into a dwelling mrs penfield Is manager 0 of an apart ment building known as the cus tard cup originally cluster court her income Is derived from laundry work her chief pa tron being a mrs airs horatius Horat lua er one whom s she he has never seen living with be her t are crink and thad homeless small boys whom she has adopted adopt ed they call her penzie thad tells penzie a s strange man was inquiring for her under her malben name A tenant mrs gussie bosley induces penzie to take charge of a package which ale sl e does with some misgivings searching a refuse dump for things wh ch might be of value crink veteran at the game encounters a small girl lettle who proves a boenan boen an worthy orthy of his steel he takes her to penzie and lettle gets an invitation to loin join the family CHAPTER ill III continued 4 im penfield cohered her ironing boji I 1 with an old sheet and propped it in a corner turn ng she stood a moment in deep thought her brown eyes on the prickly piece of childhood on tre tle wash bench her mental vision absorbed cbs orbed in problems of arithmetic the question confronting airs mrs pen field it eld was complicated only by the 11 leml hil tation of food for the family the uell accretions of speech and behavior disturbed her very little be giuse she believed that underneath them there Is always a bit of life that Is sni sweet beet and true one has only to pry off the handicaps and give it a chance I 1 was only thinking she said briskly that it might be a mercy it lettle d stay I 1 got most a box full of does cloes that mrs stone sent down betwixt and between too email small for me and too girly for thad I 1 expect fit lettle fine that young lady shot a wise glance out of bright black eyes the eyes were young but the expression was centuries old full of gathered shrewd ness and mockery my clo does es faint t W ll 11 never liever stumped anybody yet she ob served scornfully its victuals that 04 44 cuts the ice tee anyway jr and III get her a sleeping box down to the groc ry added crink eagerly more and more captivated V every minute by the sterling peppiness cf of the newcomer sure well have it worked out in no time bout all the real dif brunce an edtia one makes Is that youre you re happier to have another one in the family now crink you set the table and be spry cause im I 1 m going to dish right now you 11 bud an extra spoon in the egg box lettle wont went need no knife and fork this here suppers simple to eat with the cover of the saucepan in III her hand mrs penfield made a dash for the outside door ahadi she called in a practiced neighborhood yell thad I 1 tha a ad I 1 my land she continued dishing up stew with a worn agate ladle I 1 most forgot to call that blessed baby hes iles been watching mrs chatterbox Catter box garden she promised him a penny to keep the chickens out two hours while she went uptown ile hes s been in bout seven times to kno v if he sure could spend it himself the dear I 1 these intimate revelations were cut short by the entrance of the new cap one glance at the occupant of the wash bench reduced his high enthusiasm to a round double stare framed in amber es clashes thad said mrs penfield for mally look what we got while you were gone with the agate ladle she pointed toward lettle with the air of an all entomologist who indicates a par ticul arly fantastic bug this here heres s lettle and lettle this heres beres thad having thus separated their person alleles with ith the convenient ladle she reached for another bowl the setting of the table had not been a difficult thing for crink to learn loam on a cloth co con posed of four flour sacks united by hand were four plates four bowls four tumblers of water four spoons and in front of sirs mrs penfield a plate of cornbread com bread a small piece of butter and a knife now boys signaled mrs penfield and mind you go slow and mean what you say tou you know god cant hear nothing unless you mein it then the mixed chorus said slowly lord we thank thee cause we got big appetites and good things to eat amen lettia lettle forgot her hunger momen tartly and opened her black eyes wide that beats me she comment ed do you always talk that way fore you begin what in do you au do it for so we wont forget for a minute biow how thankful we are re mrs penfield mildly now sail right in r fettle lettle sailed or rather she plowed no engrossed letters of resolution ever held so deep a tribute as was accod polished by lettle when the meal was over she hunched down don on her stool in the relaxation of absolute content and fixed her black eyes on mrs penfield stay with you forever it if you want rant me to she announced mrs penfield acknowledged her tri but bore it with remarkable modesty CHAPTER IV uncle jerry many times mrs penfield had about the identity of the man who had been searching for her who had even traced her to the custard cup and then failed to find her sev eral daa dais s had passed since thad s re port and she had heard nothing fur ther neither had she the slightest clue except that it must have been someone out of her girlhood out of the past from which she had sup posed herself cut off 01 by the severing of all close ties that past was filled with nith painful memories it was not an unmixed joy to know that a previous acquaintance might be near and that at any moment she might be called upon to talk casually of those years which were inere burled buried deep in her heart the very sound of her maiden name had stirred lethar gle recollections into renewed life into the power of shooting like darts of agony through the commonplaces of dally daily routine inevitably since imagination Is a more vivid artist than reality she had exaggerated the possibilities of the encounter anticipating them with a dread which she was nas far from feeling when that encounter actually occurred she even answered the ring of the bell with the serene conviction that a neighbor was uns calling good morning she billed bright ly as she rolled aside the big door A man stood on the warped baird that took the of front steps he ile was as about fifty years old rugged vi eather beaten giving the impression of out of doors and hard work inces combined he said nothing hat in hand he regarded mrs penfield with a smile of inexplicable significance which somehow cheel ed the rest of her usual greeting the part about corn com ing ng right in her brown eyes blinked in question am I 1 supposed to know you she inquired at last I 1 was hoping you d guess me he returned in a deep voice that filled the he narrow alley mrs penfield shook her head then ill tell you he said in evi dent disappointment im irn your uncle terry jerry my uncle jerry I 1 I 1 t know I 1 bad had one he ile laughed james win ston your father yes her eyes widened I 1 in his youngest brother john jer miah winston mrs penfield extended her hands come right in I 1 t know I 1 had a i near relative in the world I 1 im in tidied to death jerry winston entered walking slowly As he sat down he caught his hand against his side with a gri mace of pain tree fell on me he explained presently lumber camp in oregon I 1 it was my finish for that kind of life but I 1 was lucky to get off so easy they sat in silence for several mo ments each absorbed in thoughts which the presence of the other had roused it was the first time since his boyhood that jerry winston had been face to face with a member of his own on family he ile had cut himself off voluntarily called by the freer life of the western woods mrs penfield had ne never neer er seen him before during her childhood he had been mentioned only at rare intervals inter ais and then with the reserve resene that fildes all wanderers as behind a curtain of tacit criticism jerry NA inston cleared his throat it s mighty little I 1 got to tell you bout myself he began lor it makes me lonesome to tl ink of the life ive had to give up seems like I 1 can smell the woods in my dreams I 1 could smell em when I 1 was n as a young ster and finally I 1 t stand it any longer that s why I 1 ran away but that wash t why u by I 1 t keep in touch he added quickly no sir that was cause the family didat for give ghe me for not staying home and going into the store as they d planned so naturally natural lv I 1 he ile finished the sentence with a wave waie of his hand and now youre you re living near here lie he hesitated yes a few blocks over he replied vaguely I 1 don t know whether I 1 shall hang round or not depends I 1 her fine eves grew deep with bvm path do vou mean vou ou cant find anything to to do I 1 im in trying out one or two things he answered sl artly this time the evasion was mrs penfield was sorry she had pressed the matter I 1 do hope you 11 stay she said it has been lonell there aint atilt nobody left nobody he looked at her keenly pityingly nobody she shook her head neither of f my family nor I 1 had a few aea eais of happiness and then sl SI e broke off ler 1 er lip quivering say car line tl ti at 9 tough he put in awkwardly 1001 s like N our old uncle might as much as droppel I 1 you a line but I 1 guess I 1 ie e gasn t really ing in what s that somebody corn com ing les she breathed more easily 4 complaining tenant would be a relief from the tension of a painful re no I 1 can cant t lome in mrs pen field it M was as bussle bosley in the smartest of hats carrying the smart est of bags draing draw ing on the freshest of gloves as she talked I 1 im in going downtown downto iNn you always are commented mra penfield laughing leh I 1 gad a lot mrs bosle smiled good natu ive left a it card on my door telling anybody that calls to come here all right and if anybody does come will you please say I 1 ive ve gone to sacra mento and won t be back tor for a compla days mrs penfield s eyes grew wide sure I 1 will she said slowly if it you 11 do bour our part my parti part I 1 what do you mean I 1 mean if you 11 II go to sacramento aint you smart snapped mrs bosley I 1 aln aint t asking you to do a crime aint ain t no harm in your saving me a little bother ain aint t no bother saved by doing a little harm either retorted mrs penfield pleasingly I 1 im m aln always ays glad to help out but I 1 can cant t go so far x that I 1 im in sorry tv very ery v well ell bussle cosed her head angrily all I 1 got to say Is you 11 trip over something bigger holding your head so stiff she turned with a wrathful nourish flourish and clicked off her high heels pounding out echoes from the sides of the narrow alley some little lady I 1 commented jerry winston with nith a laugh hot and pep pery like a spanish sancel sauce 1 his face straightened his merry eyes grew keen and cold you don t like mrs bosley do aou ou she stared at him ilaw did you know who he shrugged oh I 1 ive ve met her husband saw em ein together once where downtown he mimicked not in sacramento it was bussle bosley in n the smartest of H hats ats she did not return his banter he ilef brows twisted of all the people in the custard cup she began absently bet you re worrying bout my tendencies he laughed what it Is to get near a relative why bless your soul that fellers harm less oh yes of course she replied recovering herself I 1 ain aln t A I 1 was only surprised thad strolled in fron from fro n the kitchen by george georgel I 1 cried jerry winston so that little shaver belongs to you does he I 1 didn t know you had any youngsters I 1 have two three by adoption queer you aln aint t sure of the num ber her he commented slyly one of tl em Is brand new she smiled I 1 haven t had her but a day thad dear this Is your uncle jerry ain aint t that nice while they were getting acquainted mrs penfield went into the kitchen well have lunch pretty soon she called back I 1 ve got some cornbread NN warming arming in the oven onen and im lin making dried beef gravy I 1 ve been saving a jar of strawberries hoping wed have con pina and no v I 1 can open it for one of my very 0 own n f family ain aint t it wonderful mrs urs penfield circled around by the front door its it s time for crink she said looking out into the driveway good morning lolene ev everything Evry grything thing going smooth lorene percy paused on her way past number 47 she was a pretty girl with deep violet eyes small fea tures and masses of sunny brown hair she had an excellent busi business nesa position besides singing in a choir and she was frankly a favorite with mrs penfield no not everything smiled the girl dick chase and I 1 have been invited on a lovely trip to mount diablo and he cant can t he vont w on t go why that s too bad lorene I 1 wish nish aou ou could go I 1 can a see lett e s going to be a comfort car line id stake my life she s got some go in her TO BE CONTINUED education Is really the art of e tr acting the best ue use out of ufa life |
