Show J I i i Ha 7 rte CHAPTER I 1 IThe IThe The heat In town had been intense Intense intense In in- in- in tense and Julia McFarlane rolled the st station wagon station wagon under the ivy covered covered cov coy ered Porte gratefully The big beg old house would be cool It was always cool the e solid soUd brick walls built over Ii century since shutting out the sun with aloof dig dig- Julia jerked off oft her hat before before before be be- fore she opened the door and slid out of the coat of her smart gray suit She dropped the hat and coat on a chair and was pushing the heavy moist auburn hair oft off her forehead when a yell came down the curving staircase A young yell Dooley is that you Julia sighed She was so tired It was five o'clock and she had had no lunch She had spent hours in inan inan inan an airless office growing more furious b by the moment and then she had argued for another hour with a young government representative representative representative represent represent- who quoted regulations almost almost al al- most smacking his lips over them To her desperate plea that there had to be more wiring for power and pumping on Buzzards Buzzard's Hill that there had to be more fence if they were to raise hams and bacon for forthe the army he had smiled a maddenIngly maddeningly madden madden- superior smile To his smug vision all this had spelled wire wire copper copper wire steel wire and wire and wire was not to be surrendered surrendered surrendered sur sur- rendered even to a handsome woman woman woman wom wom- an in a stylish hat hat- So Julia had come back to the farm wrung out and exasperated and now here was Jill yelling from upstairs Dooley come up here right away Julia went up the stairs slowly In the bright little room at th the end of the hall Jill was standing on ont ona t a stool before a looking-glass looking her slim legs hidden in folds of white jersey her f face ce full of woe Its all crooked she wailed They stretched it when they cleaned it and its it's all In scallops It looks like the devil What am I I going to do oJ f Julia dropped on the bed and looked at her child Jill's hair was lighter than her own taffy and sunlight sunlight sunlight sun sun- light and wild curling mischief where Julias Julia's had haa darkened to the hue of old cherry wood and lay back sleekly under a brush Jill's eyes were darker too almost black under under under un un- un- un der striking arrogant brows direct demanding eyes impatient with little compromise In them What do you want to do Jill Cut the hem off and even it In InI 1 I haven't got time Its It's yards around the bottom though it does hang so straight Would it look awful awful awful aw aw- ful Dooley if we cut oft the worst places and hemmed it It has to tobe tobe be right It simply has to What cooks Something terribly terribly terribly terri terri- bly special Frightfully special Jill jerked angrily at the stubborn folds Its Spang And the club dance He has a three-day three pass Hes He's coming on the bus Do I know Spang He sounds like some kind of canned dog ration Julia W Worries orries About Her Son Would Spang be outraged by an an uneven un un- uneven even hemline Dont make gags Dooley youre you're not the type Handsome dignity is your line No you dont don't know Spang Hes He's a turret instructor right now down at Ric's Field I Imet Imet Imet met him when I 1 wen went down last week to see Ric Hes He's a lieutenant and a flier but right now hes he's TS technical to you Dooley But he wasn't christened Spang surely the surely the font would have fallen down I Dooley I ask you youl His name is Spencer and he hates it because he doesn't like some uncle or other He wont won't look at my dress but all the females on the prowl will cut their eyes down and Ill I'll get an Inferiority in inferiority in In- complex And this is Is- important important im im important Is it Julia was gentle All AllrIght Allright Allright right turn around But I 1 refuse I Ito to guarantee results Remember Im I'm a woman pig-woman not a Is Ric coming with your Spang Jill puckered her brow Mother Moths Moth s er Ric's a private Just a plain Joe and a casual at that He Het couldn't get a pass home unless he t bought one from somebody and he says they've hiked the price now till it Isn't worth it But But do do you mean that he came 1 home last time on some other mans man's pass Julia spoke between 4 pins sharply p. p Of course Unless It was an emergency he wouldn't rate a pass ay i They might want to ship him out S any minute 1 But that was a foolish and risk risky thing to do when hes he's trying to get p p into officers officer's school t Oh they organize things Ric says says get get some other Joe to answer answers s 5 for them at roll call or something Jill turned slowly on her toes I 1 dont don't like it ft it Julia said stern stern- i ly lYe I wont won't have Ric his chances You should have told me before a i IL A J f 4 l J M. M 1 Oh Mother you know how much attention Ric pays to maternal admonition admonition admonition ad ad- monition 1 l You only had one dutiful dutiful dutiful ful child child m me Stand still or Ill I'll never get this right She was so tired that her legs quivered quivered quivered ered and her eyes blurred And now worry was spinning like a dentists dentist's drill In her brain For now she was b beginning ginning to know what before had been only a nagging fear tear a motherly apprehension Now she knew that the thing she hated had hadnot hadnot hadnot not died had not removed Itself from her life It was going on Richard her son born in loneliness and torment torment Richard Richard was going on being another mad and reckless McFarlane McFarlane McFarlane Mc Mc- Farlane Irresponsible not to be be be- You could have spared me this God God she was thinking Ive I've had so much and Ive I've tried to be patient patient pa pa- tient Ive I've tried to do my best Aloud she said That gets it I think But it will probably sag somewhere else That heavy stuff does Jill pulled the dress over her head and dropped on the stool her naked arms round and virginal and sweet Will you Ou tack it up for me mc Dooley Ive I've got to do my nails and press my suit and theres there's a aspot aspot aspot spot on the toe of one of my sandals sandals sandals san san- dals where somebody stepped on me Oh I forgot to tell you 1 I asked Spang to stay here He hasn't any family at all I fixed the bed be- be I Im r m r II i fl II I I Its all aU crooked to she wailed walled I cause Mamie was I could only find one hemstitched sheet so I put a plain one under Will Spang be here to dinner If It he will you'll have to set the table Ill I'll fix your dress but then I have to talk over some things with Foster and your grandfather John I. I rode up to mark posts inthe inthe in inthe the woodlot Jill said Foster had to help him on the horse and that made him furious Hes He's bound to break a hip some day and then you and I will have a lovely life But hell he'll die if he stops wanting to do things for himself He really doesn't believe that hes he's eighty He thinks that's something somebody made up Youre a pet to fix the dress Dooley my love But Spang is worth it he is definitely Maybe hes he's the one About time Here 1 I am crowding twenty-seven twenty and already getting a maiden look lookaround lookaround lookaround around the chin Dont be ridiculous You look about eighteen n. n Dont Don't forget about the table Mamie's been busy all I day Jill Mustn't Be BeAn BeAn BeAn An Army Wife Wile Oh Spang's bus wont won't be here till tit eight Ill I'll give him sandwiches and beer Anyway Mamie likes soldiers soldiers soldiers sol sol- sol sol- diers and all the boys want is a soft chair to sprawl In and a hot tub They stand up all day or sit on a hot curb and they cant can't even ven lie down on their cots till night Ric told me In her own room dim and cool and serene with the bran branches hes of the huge old trees rustling close to the windows Julia shed the regimentals regimentals regimentals regi regi- of a career woman relaxed relaxed relaxed re re- re- re in the tub and put on soft cotton slacks Later shed she'd have to get into the denim and boots that were her farm uniform shed she'd have to tell Foster who ran the place that there would be no more copper copper copper cop cop- per wire and md no more fence till the government gave her a priority and heaven only knew when that would b bj b- b j She would have to tell her father father- law In-law too old John I. I McFarlane and he hc would fume angrily and Impotently Impotently Im- Im potently for tor hours to any anyone one who would listen Working on Jill's dress she hoped i this young lieutenant would not be bea a disappointment but all the while she nursed the secret wish that he I would prove to be only another passIng passing passing pass- pass Ing fancy moving on as so many other lads had moved on out of I Jill's life e. e To be an army wife wife she she did not I want that for tor Jill She wanted to save her child from that heartburning heartburn heartburn- I ing lag that dreary waiting the endless nights the torturing silences that J she herself remembered And for I her the wretchedness had never ended There had been no finale no period no yellow telegram no shock of grief there grief there had been nothing Now after twenty-five twenty years ears there was still nothing But in these days with all the young men in service a girl even as pretty and desirable a girl as Jill had little choice The world was swiftly turning into a confused and dismal place She had told herself so many times Umes when Jill and young Richard were small and everything was very grim for tor her that no child of hers should ever live through what she herself was living through She had worked so hard she had even done rough work with her own hands to build up this old farm She had I fought drouth and animal epidemics ics and insects and discouragement to make a richer kinder l life e for forRIe Ric RIe and Jill And she had succeed succeed- ed She looked through the window at the white fences marching over the lush green of the fields of Buzzards Buzzard's Buzzards Buzzard's Buzzards Buzzard's Buz Buz- zard's Hill and she knew that she had succeeded Her law in had helped She gave him his due In all loyalty He had been a rock to lean upon he had been a pillar pillar pillar-a a fiery pillar but steadfast Through all the strange years when no word had come from Richard her husband when there had been only silence as baffling as the hollow sky as deep as the sea old John I. I had stood by her her her- through the grim times Umes and good times She had lived through it but she would fight to save Jill from froma a life lie like that She heard the clump of John Is I.'s boots presently heard him yelling something into the telephone All the yelled even JilL There was so much in them that was alive and in a ferment Patience Patience Patience Pa Pa- tience had been left out of them It was as if they had a yeasty br v bre instead of blood in their veins Richard whom she had married had yelled too Up three flights in that little walk-up walk flat fiat in Washington Washing Washing- ton why ton why must she think of that just now Why couldn't she make herself herself herself her her- self forget finally and forever Last year she had determined to forget and the year before It irritated irritated irritated ir ir- her that she a strong woman woman woman wom wom- an was not strong enough to conquer conquer conquer con con- quer this thing that haunted her The dress finished she laid it carefully across Jill's bed and got into the faded shirt the rough clothes that went with being a ai i pig She tied her hair up in a bandana and went downstairs A Sow Shows Its Teeth John I. I McFarlane thin McFarlane-thin thin mustached mustached mustached mus- mus with small hands and feet and bright hot black eyes was eyes was sitting sitting sitting sit sit- ting on the side porch cutting tobacco tobacco tobacco to to- bacco into a newspaper spread across his knees He looked up as alertly as a robin and said Hello you back An hour ago Julia sat down The old man snapped his knife shut slid the tobacco into a red tin and put the tin in his hip pocket Bet you forgot my bottle of bitters bItters bitters bit bIt- I did not Its It's in the kitchen with the groceries I Id better rescue it then before Mamie rubs it on her rheumatism I Last time you brought me some she sheI I used it to kill m mites ites on a duck Well I marked about two hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred posts No use John i I. I They wont won't give us priority for tor any more fence He drew his white brows together I angrily What do they expect us to do Teach hogs not to cross a chalk line No more wire no more copper no more steel Its It's war John I I. I But it makes it tough for the pig business Would you be Interested In growing cucumbers or peanuts or something I would not Pickles give me methe methe methe the hives and what good are peanuts pea peanuts pea nuts when there arent aren't any more county fairs or circuses They use the oil for something I forg forget t what Did you tell Foster to shut up your prize sow She ought to bring a good litter I shut her up myself She's a cagy female She bit me and I hit her with the pitchfork before I thought but she wasn't hurt any What's wrong with you Dooley You look shot and youve you've got circles circles cir clr- cles under your eyes TO BE CONTINUED I j f |