Bellefonte, Pa., November 10, 1922. 1 — _ : : oo Pa | Miss | Lulu Bett By Zona Gale Illustrations by Irwin Myers | ¥ + Copyright by D. Appleton and Company (Conclusion). “Then, for all our sakes, let's drop the matter. Tell you, Lulu, here are three of us. Our interests are the same in this thing—only Ninian is our reiative and he’s nothing to you now. Is he? “Why, no,” said Lulu in surprise. “Very well. Let’s have a vote, Your snap judgment is to tell this disgrace- ful fact broadcast. Mine is, least saic, soonest mended. What do you say, Ina—considering Di and all?” “My poor, poor sister!” Ina said. She struck together her little plump hands. “Oh, Dwight—when I think of it: What have I done—what have we done that I should have a good, kind, loving husband—be so protected, 80 loved, when other women. . . . Darling!” she sobbed, and drew near tc Lulu. “You know how sorry I am —we all are. 2 Lulu stood up. Her white shawl slipped to the floor. Her hands were giifily joined. “Then,” she said, “give me the only thing I've got—that’s my pride. My pride—that he didn’t want to get rid of me.” They stared at her. “What about my pride?’ Dwight called to her, as across great distances. “Do you think I want everybody to know my brother did a thing like that?” “You can’t help that,” said Lulu. “But I want you to help it. I want you to promise me that you won't ghame us like this before all our friends.” . “You want me to promise what?” “I want you—I' ask you,” Dwight said with an effort, “to promise me that you will keep this, with us—a family secret.” “No!” Lulu cried. “No. I won’t do it! I won't do it! I won't do it!” It was like some crude chant, know- ing only two tones. She threw out her hands, her wrists long and dark on her blue skirt. “Can’t you understand anything?” she asked. “I've lived here all my life —on your money. I've not been strong -enough to work, they say— well, but I’ve been strong enough to be a hired girl in your house—and I've been glad to pay for my keep. . Well, then I got a little some- thing, same as other folks. I thought I was married and I went off on the train and he bought me things and I saw the different towns. And then it was all a mistake. I didn’t have any of it, I came back here and went in- te your kitchen again—I don’t know why I came back. I s’pose because Pm most thirty-four and new things | ain’t so easy any more—but what have T got or what'll I ever have? And now you want to put on to me having folks look at me and think he run off and left me, and having ‘em all wonder. . . I can’t stand it. I cay't stand it. I can’t. . 2 “You'd rather they'd know he fooled you, when he had another wife?” Dwight sneered. “Yes! Because he wanted me. How do I know—mayhe he wanted me only just, because he was lonesome, the way I was, I don’t care why! And I won’t have folks think he went and left me.” “When a family once gets talked skput for any reason——" said Ina end shuddered. “I'm talked about now!” “But nothing that you could help. If he got tired of you, you couldn’t help that.” This misstep was Paight’s. “No,” Lulu said, “I couldn’t help that. And I couldn’t help his other wife, either.” “Bigamy,” erime.” “I've done no crime,” said Lulu. “Bigamy,” said Dwight, “disgraces averybody it touches.” “Even Di,” Lulu said. “Lulu,” said Dwight, “on Di’s ac- count will you promise us to let this thing rest with us three?” “I s’pose so,” said Lulu quietly. “You will?” “I s’pose 80.” Yna sobbed: “Thank you, thank you, Yalu. This makes up for everything.” “You'll be happy to think you've done this for us, Lulu,” said Dwight. “I g'pose 80,” said Lulu. Ina, pink from her little gust of soh- bing, went to her, kissed her, her t=im tan tailor suit against Lulu’s bine co*- ton. “My sweet, self-sacrificing s!ster,” she murmured. “Oh, stop that!” Lulu said. Dwight took her hand, lying limyply in his. “I can now,” he said, ‘“‘over- said Dwight, “that’s a | | morning,” he said. look the matter of the letter” Lulu drew back. She put her hair behind her ears, swallowed, and er‘ed out. “Don’t you go around pitying mei I'll have you know I'm glad the whole thing happened !” * * * * * * * It was not yet nine o'clock of = vivid morning. Cornish had his iloor and sidewalk sprinkled, his red and blue plush piano spreads dusted. He sat at a folding table well back in the store, and opened a law book. For half an hour he read. Then he found himself looking off the page, stabbed by a reflection which always Was He Really Getting Anywhere With His Law, and Where Did He Really Hope to Get? stabbed him anew: Was he really get- ting anywhere with his law? And where Gid he really hope to get? Of late when he awoke at night this ques- tion had stood by the cot, waiting. It was behind that curtain that this unreasoning question usually attacked kim, when his giant, wavering shadow had died upon the wall and the faint smell of the extinguished lamp went with him to his bed; or when he waked before any sign of dawn. the mornings all was cheerful and night when you played croquet. “You never told!” “They don’t know she went.” “That's a funny thing” he blurted out, “for you not to tell her folks—I mean, right off. Before last night. . .” “You don’t know them. Dwight'd never let up on that—he’d joke her about it after a while.” “But it seems—" “Ina’d talk about disgracing her. They wouldn't know what to do. There’s no sense in telling them. They aren’t a mother and father,” Lulu said. Cornish was not accustomed to deai with so much reality. But Lulu's reality he could grasp. “You're a trump anyhow,” he af- firmed. “Oh, no,” said Lulu modestly. Yes, she was. He insisted upon it. “You've been a jewel in their home all right,” said Cornish. “I bet they miss you if you do go.” “They'll miss my cooking,” Lulu saiu without bitterness, “They’ll miss more than that. 1! know. I've often watched you there—" “You have?’ It was not so much pleasure as passionate gratitude which lighted her eyes. “You made the whole place,” said Cornish. “You don’t mean just the cooking?’ | that first “No, no. I meun—well, I felt . at home when you came out.” i you—and there's In | wonted—the question had not before attacked him among his red and biue plush spreads, his golden oak and eb- ony cases, of a sunshiny morning. A step at his door set him flying. . her face unsmiling but somehow quite “Well!” he cried. when he saw lis | He wanted passionately to sell a piano. visitor. It was Lulu, in her dark red suit and her tilted hat. { “You're out early,” said he, partici- pating in the village chorus of this : hright challenge at this hour. “Oh, no,” said Lulu. ing, leaned to see it the better. “Oh, how’d you get along That look of hers, rarely seen, which was no less than a iook of lovelincss came now to Lulu’s face. After a pause she said: “Well, T must be go- ing now. I wanted to say good-hy ta one or two other places. oo “I hate to have you go,” said Cor- nish, and tried to add something. “I hate to have you go,” was all that he could find to add. Lulu rose, “Oh, well,” was all that she could find. They shook hands, Lulu laughing o little. Cornish followed her to the door. He had begun on “Look here, I wish .” when Lulu said “good-by,” and paused, wishing in tensely to know what he would have said. Put all that he said was* “Good-by. I wish you weren't going” “So do L” said Lulu, and went, still laughing. Cornish saw her red dress vanish from his door, flash by his window, her head averted. And there settled upon him a depression out of all pro- portion to the slow depression of his days. This was more—it assailed him, absorbed him. He came back to his table, and sat down before his lav'book. But he sat, chin on chest, regarding it. No no escape that way. . . . A step at the door and he sprang up. It was Lulu, coming toward him, lighted. In her hund was a letter. % “See,” she said. “At the office was this. 2 She thrust in his hand the single sheet. He read: * * * * * J ® just wanted you to know | you're actually rid of me. I've heard He looked out the window, pretend- . ing to be caught by something pass- | last : night?” he asked, and wondered why he had not thought to say it before. | “All right, thank you,” said Lulu. “Was he—about the letter, you know? matter. You'll be sure,” she added, “not to say anything about what was ! in the letter?” “Why, not till you tell me I can,” said Cornish, “but won’t everybody | know now?” “No,” Lulu said. At this he had no more to say, and | feeling his speculation in his eyes, dropped them to a piano scarf from which he began flicking invisible specks. “I came to tell you good-by,” Lulu said, “Good-by !” “Yes. I'm going off—for a while. My satchel’s in the bakery—I had my breakfast in the bakery.” “Say!” Cornish cried warmly, “then everything wasn’t all right last night?” “As right as it can ever be with me,” she told him. “Oh, yes. Dwight for- gave me.” “Forgave you!” She smiled, and trembled. “Look here,” said Cornish, “you come here and sit down and tell me about this.” He led her to the folding table, as the only social spot in that vast area of his, seated her in the one chair, and for himself brought up a piane stool. But after all she told him noth- ing. She merely took the comfort of hig kindly indignation. “It came out all right,” she said only. “But I won't stay there any more. I can’t do that.” “Then what are you going to do?” “In Millton yesterday,” she said, “I saw an advertisement in the hotel-— they wanted a chambermaid.” “Oh, Miss Bett!” he cried. At that name she flushed. “Why,” said Cor- nish, “ypu must have been coming from Millton yesterday when I saw you. I noticed Miss Di had her bag —" He stopped, stared. “You brought her back!” he deduced every- {hing “Oh!” suld Lulu. “Oh, no-—I menu ” “TY heard about the eloping again this “That’s just what yon did—you brought her back.” “You mustn't tell that! You won't? You won't!” “No. 'Course not.” He mulled it. “You tell me this: Do they know? I mean about your going after her?” “No.” Fan from her, in Brazil. She ran out of money and thought of me, and her lawyer wrote to me. I've nev- er been any good—Dwight would tell you that if his pride would let him tell the truth once in a while. But there | ain’t anything in my life makes me + feel as bad as this. I s’pose ,- you couldn't understand and I don't “Yes,” she said, “but that didn’t myself. Onlv the sixteen years keeping still made me think she was gone sure . . but you were so downright good, that’s what was the worst do you see what I want to say s Cornish read it all and looked at Lulu. She was grave and in her eyes there was a look of dignity such as he had never seen them wear, incredihle dignity. : ” . “He didn’t lie to get rid of me—ang she was alive, just as he thought she might be,” she said. “I'm glad,” said Cornish, “Yes,” said Lulu. “He isn’t quite so bad as Dwight tried to make him out.” It was not of this that Cornish hae been thinking. “Now you're free,” he said. “Oh, that .” said Lulu. She replaced her letter in its en- velope. “Now I'm really going,” she said. Good-by for sure this time. . . .* Her words trailed away. Cornish had laid his hand on her arm. “Don’t say good-by,” he said. She looked at him mutely. “Do you think you could possibly stay here with me?” “Oh!” said Lulu, tike no word. He went on, not looking at her, haven’t got anything. I guess maybe you've heard something about a little something I'm supposed to inherit Well, it’s only five hundred dollars.” His looks searched her face, but she bardly heard what he was saying. “That little Warden house—it don’t cost much—you’d be surprised. Rent, I mean. I can get it now. I went and looked at it the other day, but then I didn’t think——" he caught himself an that. “It don’t cost near as much as tl.is store. We could furnish up the parlor with pianos—" He was startied by that “we,” and be again: “That is, if you could ever think of such a thing as marrying me.” s2id Lulu. “You ny. don’t the disgruce———7" “There's only this about that,” said ne, Or course, ir you loved him very much, then I'd ought not to be talking this way to you. But I didn’t think —-— She said: “I wanted somebody of my own. That's the reason I done what I done. I know that now.” or 4 Hp know! “Look here,” he said. “I'd ought to ' I’m awful lonesome myself. A i fil tell you. I: : His Look Searched Her Face, but Ste {Hardly Heard What He Was Saying, This is no place to live, And I guess | living so is one reason why I want to | | get married. I want some kind of a { home.” “Of course,” she said. “Could you risk it with me?” Cor- nish asked her. “There’s nobody I've seen,” he went on gently, “that I hke | as much as I do you. I—I was en- | gaged to a girl once, but we didn’t get | along. I guess if you'd be willing te | try me, we would get along.” “Isn't there somehody——" “Look here. Do you like me?” “Oh. yes!” “Well enough——"" “It's you I was thinking of,” said Lulu. “I'd be all right.” “Then!” Cornish cried, and he kissed her. . * “And now,” said Dwight, “nobody must mind if I hurry a little wee bit. I've got something on.” He and Ina and Monona were ai dinner. Mrs. Bett was in her room. Di was not there. “Anything about Lulu?” Ina asked. “Lulu?” Dwight stared. “Why should I have anything to do about Lulu?” “Well, but, Dwight—we’ve got to do something.” “As I told you this morning,” he abserved, “we shall do nothing. Your sister is of age—I don’t know about the sound mim, but she is certainly oi age. If she chooses to go away, she is free to go where she will.” “Can’t you get mother to come out?” Dwight inquired. “TI had so much to do getting dinner onto the table, I didn’t try,” Ina con- fessed. voice sounded. got rested up.” She entered, looking vaguely about. “I want Lulie,” she said, and the cor- ners of her mouth drew down. She ate her dinner cold, appeased in vague “I was coming when 1 still at table when the front door opened. “Monona hadn’t ought to use the front door so commonly,” Mrs. Betts complained. But it was not Monona. Lauiu and Cornish. “Well!” said Dwight, tone curving downward, “Well!” said Ina, in replica. “Lulie!” said Mrs. Bett, and left her dinner, and went to her daughter and put her hands upon her. “We wanted to tell you first,” Cor- nish said. “We've just got married.” “Forevermore!” said Ina. “What's this?” Dwight sprang to his feet. “You're joking!” he cried with hope. “No,” Cornish said soberly. “We're married—just now. Methodist parson- age. We've had our dinner,” he add- ed hastily. Dwight reeovered himself in a meas- ure. “I'm not surprised, after all,” he | said. “Lulu usually marries in this | way.” Mrs. Bett patted her daughter's arm. “Lulie,” she said, ‘why, Lulie. You ain’t been and got married twice, have you? After waitin’ so long?” “Don’t be disturbed, Mother Bett,” Dwight cried. “She wasn't married It was that first time, if you remember. No marriage about it!” Ina’s little shriek sounded, “Dwight!” she cried. “Now every- body'll have to know that. You'll have to tell about Ninian now—and his oth- er wife!” Standing between her mother and Cornish, an arm of each about her, Lulu looked across at Ina and Dwight, and they all saw in her face a horrified realization. “Ina!” she said. “Dwight! You will have to tell now, won’t you? Why J never thought of that.” [THE END.] ra ——— brn mn ——The number of unemployed in Pennsylvania dropped 10,000 during the last two weeks, according to the commissioner, and the involuntary idle are now estimated at 40,680. A shortage in skilled and semi-skilled la- bor still exists, while the demand for common labor increases. Reports from every district indicate a build- ing boom that will surpass any pre- vious activity in that line. “You didn’t have to try,” Mrs. Bett’s | areas by such martyrdom. They were ! — FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN. DAILY THOUGHT. Life is a leaf of paper white Whereon each one of us may write His word or two, and then comes night. Greatly begin, though thou have time But for a line, be that sublime— Not failure, but low aim, is crime! —J. R. Lowell. piece suit seems to be the last word . for winter wear. Many a woman finds it hard to choose becoming dresses. In the salon of the designers she sees a lovely cre- ation and imagines herself being the envy of all her friends when she wears it. But at home, because the dress is really not “quite her style,” she finds tragedies be avoided ? This question is answered here by Lucille. : _ Study your personality and figure is the first maxim of good dressing. Then you will dress according to your type, and all will be well. The tall and statuesque woman i must stick to straight lines and grace- ful, long draperies. She must avoid jeune fille frocks and “baby” dresses. As for the picture gown and the | bouffant or billowy skirt, these are for | the debutante who is not too tall and inot too plump. For her, too, is the i long, straight frock with the waist long, but not too long. Extremes in this matter of long waists merely spoil the figure. As to . the picture gown, attractive as it is, generally speaking, it is better i adapted for use at home than at pub- lic functions. Wide-spreading skirts are apt to be a nuisance in crowded . rooms. For those who are stout the dress ' problem is more complicated, but with i care and thought many becoming so- ¢ lutions can be found. In brief, if you rare stout, tanciful draperies and too | tight gowns are not for you. | The straight panel back will give the correct “line” ‘and help to give an impression of slimness. The best coi- sage is some variant of the becoming | ; cross-over, and carefully draped ef- fects, according to the figure, can i safely be used. If there were any old ladies these days, a beautiful lace fichu allied with | ' soft gray brocade, made with a point- ‘ed bodice and a skirt slightly full at . the sides would make an ideal dress. : Some wear such gowns, but the num- - ber is not great. | Bearing these general rules in mind, | any woman can dress well. Failure to , do so is, in nine cases out of ten, not ! the fault of fashion, but want of taste. If a man beats hi~ horse in the | street, a threatening crowd gathers: i and he is arrested and goes off under ! police escort, with the hoots of the by- i standers assailing his ears. i Should a thoughtless lad stone a dog or a cat, there is always some one! about who makes his error plain to him in short order. “Leave that poor thing alone, or I'll come out there to you, young man!” i man has strong interests on the oth- | er side of the street in no time at all. | Yet a woman may beat a helpless child, and, while folks frown and , move away from her immediate pres- ; ence, nobody says a word or lifts a fin- | ger in protest. But we ought to. | What we do as a matter of course for { animals we ought to do instinctively : for little children. Two mothers were standing on the | street corner having a chat. A two i year old girl was swinging on her i mother’s skirts and she shook her off. | She was deeply interested in what she | was telling her friend and the young- | ster annoyed her. i The little one wandered off to the | roadway and shouts and toots and , cries informed the mother that she { was in danger. A car was almost up- on her when she was snatched up and carried to the curb again. Then her mother fell upon her. Nobody said | anything; just walked away in dis- gust. I saw another mother dragging a ti- ny girl along the station platform. The mother was striding along and the child’s feet scarcely touched the floor. Her hat slipped back and hung by ihe elastic around her neck. Her hair ribbon fell off. Her hair fell into her eyes. Still her mother strode ahead, oblivious to the plight of the little ! daughter. | Then one tiny pump fell off. The i child tried to tell her mother, tried to i pull back against the arm that was | dragging her along, but the mother | gave her a powerful jerk and lifted {her a few feet into the air and hur- i ried faster. The other pump fell off. i People called, “Wait! Wait! Her ! shoe! ! Her shoe!” i The gathering din of voices calling : at last attracted her attention and the mother stopped and looked about her and then down at the disheveled child she was holding by the hand, a tows- eled wreck. A man offered one shoe, a woman the other, and a small boy handed in the hair ribbon. And the mother promptly spanked the little girl, right there in full view of 1600 : people, had they cared to watch her performance. It might be a good thing for the children if we abandoned our conserv- ative attitude toward mothers with their children and spoke out our minds exactly as we do to the ignorant driv- er and the thoughtless small boy. Beating children for every little thing they do that happens to annoy folk of little patience and no understanding ought to stop or be stopped. There is such a distinct difference between the bags which we carry with our summery frocks and the ones we sport with our spiffy new fall suit, isn’t there? The former may be dain- ty and lovely and charming, but the latter must have richness and distine- tion. Among the very newest are the duvetyne bags which are woven in the delightful colorings and patterns of the popular paisley design. There doesn’t seem to be such a thing pos- sible as the passing of either paisley or duvetyne. Both are as popular to- day as they were when we first knew them, and both harmonize with nearly every type of costume. The dressy top coat or the three-' |it disappointing. How can these dress | And the young | _ FARM NOTES. ~The improvident man who sold his heating stove in July because the circus was near and the winter far off differs only in the degree of his short- sightedness from the poultry raiser who waits until spring to select the breeding stock that is to be used to replenish his flock. This important ! work of picking out the superior birds must be done in the fall to get the best results, says the United States Department of Agriculture, for it is then that the greatest contrast be- tween the profitable birds and the poor ones shows up. Of course the culling out of the poor layers should go on all through the summer and fall, but at least the top notchers should be selected as foundation for the com- ing flock, which ought to be better each year. i One good rule to follow is to keep ‘the pullets out of the breeding flock until they are fully matured. An im- ‘ mature bird may be a good layer and may be from the best stock, but still it is undesirable. Eggs from pullets not yet fully developed will not pro- duce as large or as strong chicks as those from older hens or fully grown pullets. There is no difficulty in knowing when a bird is mature enough to be used as a breeder, as at that time the eggs laid will have reached the size of the average produced by the general run of hens in the flock. Young pullets always lay a rather small egg, sometimes very small at the start. Those that mature early may be picked out by keeping track of the birds that start laying first in the fall. These birds may be marked with leg bands, so that they will not become mixed during the winter with those that started their work later. The late molters are the birds that stick to the job longer, and conse- quently they make up another group that should be used in forming the breeding flock next spring. Leg bands may be used to distinguish these prof- itable birds, or, better, the early molt- ers may be marketed so that they will no longer have an opportunity to keep down the average egg production of the flock. E The general-purpose breeds which iinclude the Plymouth Rocks, Rhode | Island Reds and Wyandottes, as a rule | are not profitable after the second year. It is therefore advisable to cull out all of the older birds of this class. Of these, the late molters are the ones | to select for breeders, just as in the case of fowls of any other breed. _ But the selection of birds on the ba- sis of age and time of molting is not all the preparation that need be made for raising the foundation of the new flock. The health and thrift of the fowls must be looked after carefully during the winter. After selecting the breeding birds the poultry house needs close attention. Keeping it in sani- tary condition is one of the important points; also the comfort of the house, which is closely connected with the i health of the birds. Fowls are very sensitive to moisture conditions, and these should be con- trolled carefully by ventilation. When moisture from the fowls gathers on the ceiling and walls there is apt to be trouble soon. In cold weather this moisture may collect in the form of frost, but the heat from the sun in the middle of the day will melt the frost, and the water, dripping down, will make the litter wet. Hens are a good deal like sheep in their sensi- tiveness to wet feet, either in the house or when outside, and they can not be kept in good health on damp litter. A sick hen is a hard proposition to deal with if you expect to get out with a profit on her. It is a lot cheaper to depend on dry litter than on medicines to cure colds and roup. Roup is the sequel of colds, and when it gets into a flock, as one poultryman puts it, you are on the rocks. Plenty of fresh air in the house is a well-recognized preventive of colds in humans, and it is just as efficacious in the case of poultry. The open front house with cloth curtains is the most practical means for the average flock owner to keep the house thoroughly aired, and the fowls will not suffer from the cold if the building has been properly planned; also the egg produc- tion will keep up. By going into the house frequently in changing winter weather it will be easy to judge of the condition of the atmosphere and bring it to normal by adjustments of cur- tains and windows. Moisture can be kept from accumulating by opening up the house for a thorough ventila- tion on sunny days. The most successful houses, as found by the experiences of hundreds of poultry raisers and by experiments of the Department of Agriculture and State experiment stations, are from 16 to 20 feet deep if the open- front plan is followed. From this point the nearer toward the front the fowls are moved the fewer eggs are produced. In smaller houses the rel- ative proportion of openings in the front of the house must be reduced during the winter months in order to keep the fowls comfortable. Open fronts or openings covered with cotton cloth are most practical in deep houses. —The detailed survey of Pennsyl- vania’s $22,000,000 swine industry, which is being made by the State De- partment of Agriculture, promises to show, in every concrete form, the real present day problems of the swine raiser. The survey was officially launched on August 1 with the holding of group conferences of the workers assigned to this compilation of sta- tistics. These enumerators will dis- tribute several thousand question- naires, the answers to which will throw considerable light on the pro- duction of one of the most important livestock classes in the corn-belt area of the State. It has been discovered that the bare figures given in the latest census, do i not answer certain questions that the hog farmer might properly raise in regard to prevailing feeding, manage- ment and marketing practices. The Pennsylvania State College is co-op- erating in making the survey, and Dr. H. H. Havner, in charge of the animal husbandry extension, stated that the completed survey would give a com- prehensive view of this important in- { dustry in which such widespread in- " terest has been developed.