Show mamak agona win W in M dw by ED by K AGNEW by doubleday ago co SYNOPSIS CHAPTER L introducing S so 0 blur clrk vir clupter in 5 infancy gk and R his ci dojoy so ne deong adauf to ot umon pel k gambler lor and gentleman kofl of fortune r un t ram to mounir i wok womanhood hoos tn in in 1888 8 arn has as a 11 ci conventional I 1 somewhat at seamy R put U generally rene rally enjoyable at school I 1 her 1 tj 1 chum la juile J H emp I 1 da lava lav 1 Is 1 august hempel buic butcher that or n n Is killed eutIn in 6 quarrel that is 1 noi bit 0 own and saline nineteen years oll old a and practically icalla destitute becomes a schoolteacher or CHAPTER 11 II secures s a pearl ps position as teacher at t tb high prairie tto hufh school in the c outskirts ut k arts of 0 cog 0 living lit at the home of 0 a L truck fr farmer klaas kl pool in roelf roalf two twelve years a r a 0 old 1 d s 0 on n of ala alaan feltne perceives ga a i kindred c i n dr e d spirit a I 1 lover over of beauty like herself CHAPTER lIL tile the monotonous lit life of a country schoolteacher school teacher at that time Is 1 Se Sell linas nas brightened somewhat by the companionship of the sensitive artistic boy roelf roalf CHAPTER rv IV solina hears alp pl concerning the of the widow ow Paar lenberg rich and good looking lor for P Pervus aryus DeJong ong poor eruik truck farmer who la is insensible to the widows at tr tract actions lom for a community sociable selina prepares prepa rei a lunch basket dainty but not of ample proportion which is i auctioned according to custom the ma fallness mall iness ness of the lunch box excites derl ton ion and in a sense enie of tun fun the bidding becomes become spirited dejong finally anally securing it for 10 a ridiculously hith price over lunch backet basket chic which belina ellna and dejon dejong g share hare together toE ether the chool teacher arranges arran cei to in latt the good gool natured farmer chos edu education aaion has hai captured been eon neglected CHAPTER V propinquity lp in their positions ions of teacher and p pupil upil and loneliness in her uncongenial surroundings lead to mutual ar affection pervus do dejong W win I 1 11 a Bell belleas Se llna nas content consent to be his wife CHAPTER VL VI selina becomes mrs mr no 0 a farmers wife with all the hardships r d h unavoidable at that time dirk I 1 Is born n selina bellna of ut stock took bus businesslike iness 11 ica and shrewd has plans for building up the farm which are ridiculed by her husband il aartje pool klaas wife dies and after th the requisite decent interval klass klaas marris marries P the 0 widow the boy roalf f sixteen years old now leaves ves his home to make his way to prance anco and study his ambition wag being as to be come a sculptor CHAPTER vir VII dirk to Is eight elect years old when his father dies selina faced with the necessity of making a living for her bar boy and herself rises to the occasion and with dirk takes a truck load of vegetables to the chicago markot market A woman selling la in the market place Is an innovation frowned upon CHAPTER VIII As a disposer of the vegetables from her truck selina bellna Is a flat fiat failure buyers being shy of dealing with w ith her to a commission dealer she sells part of her bar stock 0 on the way home she peddles eddles from door to door with indi indifferent erent success suo cess A policeman 11 ceman demands her license she has none and during the ensuing altercation amont md aurim belleas Bell nas girlhood ir hd chum julle julio hempel hernia now ow jj jaue Is arnold recognizes her 9 bellna e 1 a swiftly you stay here dirk with porn pom motheral Mot herll be back in a minute she marched down the street driving the horses to the barns where tor for twenty flie cents the animals were to be housed in more comfort than thet she was back soon come dirk are we going to sleep herel he was delighted right here all snug in the hay bay like i campers the boy lay down wriggling laughing like gypsies gyp aint it homr mom IV it dirk not aint it 1 I the school teacher tei icher she lay down beside him put one arm around him and drew him to her close and suddenly he was asleep deeply the street became quieter the talking and laughter ceased the lights were dim at chris Spank selina lay looking up at the sky there were no tears in her eyes she was past tears she thought here I 1 am selina peake sleeping in a wagon in the straw like a dog with alth its puppy snuggled beside it I 1 was going to be like jo in louisa Al Alcot cotts tB book how terribly long it Is going to be until morning I 1 must try to sleep I 1 must try to sleep she du sleep miraculously As the bhe lay there the child in her arms asleep peace came to the haggard face relaxed the tired limbs much like another woman who had lain in the straw with her child in her arms almost two thousand bears years before chapter vill VIII it would be enchanting to be able to record that selina next day had phenomenal success disposing of her carefully bunched wares to great advantage driving smartly off up halsted street toward high prairie with a goodly profit jingling in her scuffed leather purse the truth Is that she had a day so devastating so catastrophic trop ble as would have discouraged most men and certainly any woman less desperate and determined she had awakened not to daylight but to the three blackness the street was alre already iLdy astir selina brushed brus lied her to rid it of the cling ing hay bay tidied herself as best befit she could leaving dirk still asleep she called pora pom beneath the wagon to lo ket act Is 3 at al tire agh IL bald and leq crossed seu ya the ae ctr chris spank alfa n k she know knew chris and he ha her ho he would let her wash at the faucet at the rear of the eating house she would buy hot coffee for herself and dirk to warm and revivify them they would eat the sandwiches left from the night before As selina entered the long room there was something heartening reassuring about chris clean white apron hla his ruddy color from the kitchen at the rear came the sounds of sizzling 11 and trying frying and the gracious scent of coffee and of trying frying pork and potatoes selina bellna approached chris ills his round face loomed 0 out ut through thi smoke like thi the sun in a fog well how goes it all the while then he recognized her urn um gottes I 1 why its ills its de jangl ile he wiped his great hand on a convenient towel extended it in Bym sympathy pathy to the widow 1 I heerd he said 1 I heerd ills his inarticulateness madenis words doubly effective ive come in with the load mr Span knoebel the boy and 1 I iles hes still asleep in the wagon may I 1 bring him over here to clean him up a fettle before breakfast surel surel sure I 1 A sudden suspicion struck him you aint slept in the wagon mis dejonge DeJo DeJon ngI gl um gottes 1 yes it bad the boy slept the night through I 1 slept too quite a little why you come here why at the look in Se Sell linas nas face he knew then for nothing you and the boy could sleep here 1 I knew that I 1 why dont talk dumb mrs dejong half the time the rooms Is vacant you tou and the boy chust as an well twenty cents then and pay me when you got it but anyway you dont come in with the load do you that aint tor for womans comans theres no one to do it for me except jan and hes worse than nobody just through september and october after that maybe her voice trailed off it Is hard to be hopeful at three in the morning before breakfast she went to the little wash room at the rear felt better immediately she had bad washed vigorously combed her hair bldr she returned to the wagon to find a panic stricken dirk sure of nothing but that he be had been deserted by his mother Fifteen minutes later the two were seated at a table on which was spread what chris spank considered an adequate breakfast A heartening enough beginning tor for the day and a deceptive the haymarket buyers did not want to purchase its vegetables from selina dejong it used to buying of women but to selling to them selina bellna had taken the cov ersoff her vegetables they were revealed crisp fresh colorful but selina knew they must be sold now quickly when the leaves began to wilt when the edges of the cauliflower heads curled ever so slightly turned brown and limp their value decreased by half even though the beads themselves remained white and firm down the street came the buyers little black eyed swarthy men plump short sleeved greasy men shrewd to bacco chewing men in overalls stolid red dutch faces sunburned lean dark foreign faces aces shouting clatter turmoil the day broke warm the sun bun rose red it would be a humid september day such as frequently came in the autumn to this lake region garden stuff would have to move quickly this morning afternoon would find it worthless the peddlers looked at her bunched bouquets glanced at her passed her dy it wap waa not unkindness that prompted them but a certain shyness a tear fear of the unaccustomed her wares were tempting but they passed her by with the instinct that the ignorant have hava agat against that which Is unusual by nine trading began to fall fail 0 off in a panic selina realized that the sales she had made amounted to little more than two dollars if she stayed there until noon sho she might double that buano more in desperation she harnessed the horses threaded her way out of tho the bw swarming arming street and made mada tor for south water street farther east hire here were tho the commission sion houses she knew that pervus had bad sometimes left his bis entire load with an established dealer here to be sol sold d on commission she remembered the name amo talcott though she did not know the exact location the boy iad had been almost incredibly patient and good at the wagon he be had stood sturdily next hla his mother had busied himself vastly assisting her in her few pitiful sales gales had plucked wilted leaves brought forward the freshest and crispest crl cris speet pest vegetables cut but aa now v she saw caw that lw ha wee was dro drooping aping a little e 1 I as were fer her na wares re Tf iCh the heal final and the absence from accustomed soil sell where wo we going now mom to mother another street gobig dirk I 1 dirk where theres a man buy all our stuff at once maybe wont that be rinel then well go eo home you help mother find his name over tho the feore talcott T a 1 c 0 double t william talcott had known cervus and cervus perms father before beloro him and had adjudged them honest admirable men but of 0 their garden truck he had small opinion in his doorway lie he eyed the spare little figure that appeared before him all in rusty black with its strained anxious face its great deep sunk eyes djong dejong eli eh sorry to hear about your tour loss maam berus was a ine fine lad no great shakes at truck farming though thou gli ills widow hm aim here he saw was no dull witted farm woman i no stolid dutch woman ue ile went out to her wagon tweaked the boys brown cheek waal wa al now mis dejong you got a right smart lot of gai den stuff here and it looks pretty good dessir pretty good cut but youre too late ten pret near olf oh not nol cried selina oh not no not too latel late I 1 and at the agony in her voice ho he looked tit at her sharply tell you what debbe I 1 can move half of em cm along for you but stuff dont keep this weather turns witty and my trade wont touch it 1 6 first trip in she wiped her face that wais damp and yet cold to the touch first tr trip IP in suddenly she was finding it hb fab hard to breathe lie ile called from the sidewalk to the men within george deal hustle this stuff in naif half of it the best send you check tomorrow mis dejong one liand on the sent scat she ehe prepared to climb up again did ald step to the hub you saw her shabby absurd side boots that were so much too big tor for the slim little feet if boure oure just buying my stuff because youre sorry for me the peake pride dont do business that way cant at afford f ord to maam my d dater ater ashes studying to be a singer in italy now cadline Is and costs like all get out takes all the money I 1 can scrape together just about there was a little color in Se Sell linas nas face now italy 1 oh mr talcott have thought she had seen it it from her fare face she began to thank him gravely now all right mis dejong I 1 notice your stuffs bunched kind of fruits arap ame tl y P As ae she gathered up the reins he stood in his doorway cool remote extry estry and all of a size awn to do that way right along yes I 1 thought they looked prettier that way of course vegetables arent supposed to look pretty I 1 expect she stammered stopped you fix em pretty like that and bring ern em in to me first thing or send lem em my trade they like their stuff kind of special dessir 11 As AB selina bellna gathered up the reins he stood again in ills his door doorway cool remote unlighted cl cigar ar in hla his mouth while hand trucks rattled past him barrels and boxes thumped to the sidewalk iwald in front of him wheels and hoots hoofs and shouts made a great clamor all about him I 1 we coins home now demanded dirk we going home now im hungry yes lamb two dollars in tier her pocket all yesterdays grim toll and all and months ot ol labor be hind bind those two days two dollars in tho the pocket of her black calico petticoat well get something to eat when we drive out a ways some soine milk and bread and cheese the sun was very hot slie she took the boys hat off passed her tender work calloused hand band over the damp hair that clung to tits lite forehead she made up her mind to drive cast and then south pervus had sometimes achieved a lato late sale to gro I 1 cers cera juns jans face it she bile came home with half the load still on the wagon 1 and what of the unpaid bills she had perhaps perli aps thirty dollars all told she libe owed four hundred moo moe than that rear fear shook her she bhe told herself she was tired nervous that terrible week and now this the heat soon bo be home she and dirk the comfort of it the peace of it safe dosi desirable si ei rable rabIe suddenly dear no work for a jep man an this th I 1 well perhaps they were down wabash avenue with the L trains thundering overhead find and her horses frightened and uneasy with the unaccustomed roar and clangor of traffic it was terribly hot the boys eyes popped with excitement and bewilderment pretty soon selina said L the muscles showed white beneath the skin of her jaw pretty soon prairie avenue great big houses and lawns all quiet quiel she even managed a smile 1 I like it better home prairie avenue at last turning in at S sixteenth Ix tenth street it was like calm after a storm selina felt battered spent then another thought came to her her vegetables canvas covered were fresher than those in the nearby near by markets why not try to sell some of them here in these big houses in an hour she might earn a few dollars this way nt at retail prices slightly less than those asked by the grocers of the neighborhood bo agilely slie she stepped down the wheel gave the reins to dirk she filled a large market basket with the finest and freshest of her stock and with this on her arm looked up a moment at the house in front of which she had stopped the kitchen entrance she knew was by way of the alley lit itt the back but this she would not take across the sidewalk down a little flight of stone steps into the vestibule under the porch she looked at the bell a brass brags knob pull UP said the desperate selina 1 I cant I 1 I 1 cant I 1 cried all the prim dim vermont peahen in chorus all right starve to death and let them take the farm and dirk then at that slie she pulled the knob hard jungle jangle went the bell in the hall again again footsteps up the hall ball the door opened to disclose a large woman high cheek boned in a work apron a cook apparently good morning said selina bellna would you like |