Zona Gale

“ She was becoming automatic in all her ways, was Lulu, clerking "in at Ball's." "I s'pose you do," was her contribution now.
Artie, brows drawn, nodded. "Say yes," he emphasized it. "Somepin doin' all the whole time. You no sooner get one thing over than, say, there's another. That's the way it goes."
"And with your responsible place and all," said Lulu.
"It is a good deal to put onto a man," he assented.
"Artie," she said, and flushed, "I'm glad you made a success of it."
"You are?"
"Yes. I couldn't say it very well the other night, with Wooden there, and all." ”

“ Gradually Lulu's frank eyes grew languid, their brows lifted, their lids drooped. She waited her chance, and at a pause she gave an airy laugh and descended flat-footed among Artie's idols.
"Well, ma and I," she said, "we live on the old place. We got loads of room all on the ground floor, and two full lots. We got a garden, and apple-trees, and currant-bushes, and seven Plymouth Rocks, and I have Saturday half-holiday. We take in the movies a couple o' nights a week. ”

“ Cousin Hazleton, however, went off down-town to look at a piece of property—"prop'ity"—which, he said, he was thinking of buying. He refused to be accompanied. Mis' Cherry craftily underwent an eclipse and busied herself in the kitchen. Lulu and Artie sat in the parlor alone.
And now no sooner were they alone together, Artie of the gay life and Lulu of the gray life at the toilet-goods counter at Ball's, than Lulu, who had scorned this man for his venturesome bent and had repented ever since—Lulu began to burn with resentment. ”

“ He lowered his eyes and appeared to be contemplating Artie Cherry's gray spats. As they reached Mis' Cherry's gate he lifted his eyes from this absorbed regard. "I thought," said Cousin Hazleton, "your ma wrote to me you was with some bicycle-factory."
"That's it," said Artie. "Big concern, Duckbury's. Yearly output—"
Cousin Hazleton's eyes rested upon Artie's waistcoat. "Do you run the factory?" he inquired. His eye traveled on up to Artie's cravat and turquoise pin. "Do you own the factory, maybe?" ”

“ He went away, but in the doorway he paused.
"I donno but Wedge Kiefer's boy may be the man I'm looking for," said he. "Good, sensible chap. I got my eye peeled in his di-rection. What d'ye think?"
"Wood's—all—right," said Artie Cherry, and was left standing alone in the parlor. Even Mis' Cherry, as she removed the ruffled pillow-shams in the ground-floor spare-room, was abnormally silent and did not give the history of the pillow-sham pattern.
Artie went to his room. He sat down by his window—in the dark, for he did not like to light his lamp and disturb the mother robin. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1938, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 84 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”