Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 159, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1920 — MARY’S HOME [ARTICLE]

MARY’S HOME

By LYDIA L. ROBERTS.

(©. 1920, by McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) “There comes John down the street. Oh, dear! I wonder what is the matter with him lately. He is getting more silent and sober every day.” Mary’s brown eyes watched wistfully as a big, blue-eyed, straight-shoul-dered young man approached the house. “Spring again,” she sighed. “I thought surely by this spring I would be nest-building. John is earning enough now and I am so tired of the long days in the office, when I am just aching to be planting a rosebush by my own dopr. The bell rang and Mary hurried downstairs and opened the door. She looked so dainty and shining as she smiled up at him that bashful John Blake’s heart almost choked him. “He looks so kind and good,” thought Mary, who had battled for her living since a child. “She looks fit to be a princess,” thought John, who felt nothing was quite good enough, himself included, to offer the exquisite girl before him. “Shall we walk on the avenue?” asked John. “Very well,” quietly agreed Mary. Suddenly John stopped before a large gray stone house, set in spacious lawns and surrounded by an iron

fence. “There a house good enough for anyone,” he said, soberly, “but it would take years to get money enough for a house like that,” and he sighed, “Do you like it, Mary?” he asked anxiously. “I think it is handsome,” said Mary, admiringly. “It must be wonderful to live in tr house like that.” She looked up at John, eager to please him, and bring back the contented smile to his eyes. .Instead of smiling in return, he stared at her gloomily and said: “I knew you would like it, and it is just the kind of a house you ought to have.” Surprised at the dejection of his tone, Mary looked at him earnestly and noted the troubled eyes and worried lines on his forehead. A sudden thought came to her, and she replied thoughtfully: “Yes, it is splendid, but what would a little thing like me be doing in a big mansion like that? Sure, I’d be lost in it, and it’s not my idea of a horned I’d rather have a little gray cottage at the edge of the w’oods than this, pile of prosperity on Rich Man’s avenue,” and she laughed gaily. John shook his head doubtfully, and before he could speak she continued: “Do let us go over in the old part of the town for I feel so dreadfully out of place here. There are some pretty places oh street near the river, and the moon looks wonderful over there.” A pink color flushed her cheeks, and her eyes w’ere bright with happy sparkles. From the old street they sauntered past little white cottages and big gardens, past green fields and woody spaces until they saw the moon smiling over the river in the distance. “Oh, here is the old Dean place, and it’s for sale,” exclaimed Mary in apparent surprise. “Do you know, I think that is a great bargain for some lucky person?” “I don’t know,” said John, doubtfully, yet looking with interest at the little gray house with its big piazza, its many windows and tiny orchard in the rear. . “See into the ground,” smiled Mary. “Isn’t it a dear little house?” “It’s quite old, and needs repairing,” said John pessimistically, but his eyes eagerly took in the cozy look of the place and his intent face showed he sensed its possibilities. “Oh, yes, of course,” agreed Mary, practically, “but a handy man with a little spare time would easily repair it. I can just'see it with ruffled cur-tains-at the windows and flower beds along the walk, with a hammock swinging on the piazza and a big chair near by. It w’ould be profitable, too, for there’s plenty of fruit and a nice place for hens. Well, I suppose some lucky couple will buy it,” she ended with j. sigh as she turned away and studied the moon.

John’s face was alight as he stood staring at the little gray house, and his eyes were bright and eager. He squared his shoulders and drew Mary up to the steps as he said quickly: “Have you seen the rooms! Is it livable inside?” “Yes, I went over it with my cousin a while ago,” said Mary, indifferently, after a glance at his face. “It needs only some paper and paint, and the rooms are small and sunny, and do not need much furniture. It faces the river, doesn't it?” she said, dreamily. “How pretty it must look on a summer night when the moon is shining and the water all gold and silver and the roses in bloom and the place like a little gray nest of a home.” • . “Oh, Mary, Mary, do you really think so?” asked John as he gripped her hands. “I love you so, dear, but I wanted to offer you more only it seemed so long to wait. I can’t stand it now, dear, any longer. Since you made such a home picture of this place. Could you love me and be happy here, Mary?” “Yes, John,” answered Mary as she exchanged a wise look with the moon, and with a happy sigh.of relief snuggled down into the safe haven at John’s broad shoulder.