Martinsville High School - Artesian Yearbook (Martinsville, IN)

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ff Mnr soofren 1911 l An all-fired fuss over nothing, he burst out finally, And if Sarah Beasley Marvin expects 'l'm going to give in and paint this side white. she'll wait until llleasant Valley changes places with Marvin llill-which won't he today nor tomorrow. . Stutling his hands more deeply into his pockets he made a slow tour around the house. It was set on the side hill, conse- quently was three stories high on the down hill side, two and a half on the up slope and two in the front-or, rather, at the back. The sides and former front were painted white, Sallie's favorite house color. Across the former front ran a side porch, the widest in l leasant Valley, shaded by a fragrant honeysuckle vine and facing a little square of leveled yard filled with shell bordered Hower beds. ln front of the yard was the hed of the now unused dirt road. .Ns .lake turned his gaze downward to the new state road he scowled darkly, and wished heartily that in the years gone by he had painted the fourth side white--red had been the original color of the entire house. c Ilaving finished his view on the outside of the house, Jake went into the basement kitchen-now the front room, and began to get his dinner, a calainity which had not befallen him before in years. ,Ns he journeyed from jar to jar and from cake-box to bread- box he whistled to keep up his spirits, but between whistles swal- lowed frequently. Sallie had remained up half the night, baking and cooking. Presently jake sat down to a cold dinner, consisting of cake, cookies. pie, bread and boiled meat, while out of the oven came an ill smelling smoke, harbinger of scorched potatoes and burned ham. Beside him sat his favorite cat, occasionally mewing mournfnlly for its two mates. It was a solitary meal as were many others, as three desolate months went by. Loneliness, baker's stuff and an uneasy mind were all responsible for the change which took place in lake. The Hesh fell away from his round face and the ruddiness left his face. The laughter died out of his eyes and his shoulders began to sag. Ile no longer gossined daily at the post ofiice because of the in- quiries concerning Sallie's absence, and he was ashamed to own that all which stood between the end of Sallie's protracted visit Page IJ and home was a surface of ugly dull red. Still the idea of chang- ing the red did not occur to him, for had he not said that that side of the house would never be touched with white paint as long as he lived? And his word was the word of a Marvin. But had not Sallie said she would never set foot in that house again until it had a white front? Aml Sallie's word was also the word of a Marvin. One day, the latter part of August, ,lake hitched his horse to the buekboard, and, tying a lamb securely behind the seat, started for the butcher's beyond llleasant Valley. Suddenly a turn in the road brought him on a scene noisy with the creaking of ropes, the sudden tightening of trace chains, the sharp word of command. lt was a scene which electrified .lake with a wonderful idea, the solution of all his trials and the return of domestic peace. lt was supper time before he returned to his own hill-side, vhistlfng as he jogged along. When hc climbed down from his seat in front of the barn door he was astonished to see the lamb eyeing him meekly from the back of the buckboard. Ile had quite forgotten his real intention to dispose of it to the butcher. He untied it and drove it into the barnyard. lt's the last one in the flock, he muttered. and Sallie 'll want to raise it ,-for so soon was he counting on Sallie's return as the result of his idea. Three weeks he gave over to the completion of that idea. He had never worked so hard before, and yet, despite the heat and the work and the baker's stuff , the Hesh returned to his face and the laughing good nature to his eyes. .Nt the end of the three weeks he laboriouslv indited a letter addressed to Miss Sarah Beasley Marvin. The letter merely said: . l have just given the front ofthe house a brand new coat of white paint. Come along home. Two days later around the curve came the stage. and out of the stage. as it drew up outside of the gate, stepped Sallie, the handle of the cat basket grasped firmly in one hand. She looked eagerly toward the house with its front white, but with a glance a startled change came over her. She stopped short in the dusty road. staring, her mouth slightly ajar, at the

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i: Mnf aoorren 1917 THE WORD OF A MARVIN .,...ByG RETT A cw- All the fine good nature had retreated from Sallie Marvinls plump face. There was a spot of pink on each well-rounded cheek and points of light in her steel-blue eyes: her chin was quivering spasmodically and her voice was pitched unnaturally high. , Once for all, jacob Marvin, she demanded, are you going to or aren't you? ,lake thrust his hands deep into his trousers pockets and spread his legs apart as he backed up against the kitchen stove. l-lis face, plump like his isster's, was apoplectically red. No, he roared, I am not, and there's the end of itf' Sallie arose. The pink dropped out of her cheeks. She stooped hastily and caught up Tabitha, burying her chin in the cat's fur to hide its increased quiver. She spoke jerkily, but with a note of finality of which her brother took stormy cognizance. Tomorrow, then, I shall start for South Bend. I shall board with Cousin Bill. And I shall never set foot in this house again until the front is painted white. jake Marvin never tlinched. He stared stormily into his sister's eyes as he declared slowly, I'm not to blame for that side being made the front side now, and it will never be' touched with white paint as long as I'm alive. Sallie moved to the stair door, Tabitha struggling in her tight grasp. l'm not one to go back on my word, lake. Nor me either, promptly retorted Jake. He started for the outer door. His eyesight was unusually good for one of his age, but he fell over a chair and two cats on the way, snorting wrathfully. This ended the first quarrel, the first in the long historv of the brother and sister. It had begun withthe beginning of the state road, beside which Sallie stood resolutely with her baggage on the day following her decision. Around the curve beyond the house came the stage, the wheels rolling smoothly over the new macadamized road, the pride of Pleasant Valley, and came to an abrupt halt behind-or, Page li? rather, in front of-the Marvin house. For the new state road had not followed the lines of the old road across the long slope, and the results were decidedly unpleasant. Mornin', Sallie, called the driver. Goin' away ? Sallie nodded briefly. Her back was turned squarely toward the back-now the front-of the house which had been her home for Hfty-five years. The high wall behind her was of a dull brick color, unrelieved by porch or blind-a blank ugly surface three stories high rising not ten feet from the road. Looks like you were going for quite a spell, the driver continued, raising the side flaps of the stage and stowing away Miss Marvin's luggage. Are you ? XVith difficulty Sallie unlocked her lips. I am. The driver gave her a side glance of curiosity as he asked, Xl'here's Jake? I'd like a boost here with these trunks. The answer came with greater effort than the last, I don't know where he is. XVith many a grunt the driver stowed away her luggage. the larger pieces consisting of two trunks, one of which was new and covered with brown denim, a canvas-protected suit case, a shoe-string bag bulging with packages, and a large covered basket swaying under the movements of two frightened cats. After these and minor articles had been -deposited in the stage, Sallie climbed agilely to the front seat. Gathering her linen duster', about her. she set one foot atop of the cat's basket. clutching an umbrella firmly in one hand and a small handbag in the other, every line of her usually supple figure tense, and every muscle of her calmly stiff. In this attitude of mind and body she was conveyed down toward Pleasant Valley and out of sight of the missing jake, who was stealthily watching from an upper window. Presently he came out of the front door-formerly the back door--and stood for a moment in the fl'Ol1t yard, which before had been the back yard. He drove his hands deep into his trousers pockets and stared up at the red wall, his round face flushed with wrath.

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I I sight which greeted her. The delighted Jake, who was outside the harn, his eye applied to a convenient crack which commanded a view of the house saw her gasp for breath. For the house which she had left on the upper side of the state road and further down now rested on a level foundation. In front of it was the wide porch, and from turret to foundation stone glistened with all the glory of three new coats of white paint-that is, as much as Sallie could see. She darted around the corner of the house. At the hack she stood one long moment looking up at the fresh red paint with Mnf aoorren 1917 .5 which the former was decorated. Finally her face relaxed. Her eyes crinkled down at the corners and her mouth curved up to meet the crinkles as she disappeared inside the hack door. Then and not till then did Jake, his eyes dancing, saunter out and aid the stage driver with the two trunks and suit case, the shoe-string hag and the hasket of cats. The process completed, he turned to meet his sister in the front doorway, looking ahout the heautified home with a happy proprietary air: the while she felt a family pride in the fact that no Marvin had ever gone hack on his or her word. A CLOSE SHAVElQH3B1s1HftC5P?1, 11.3, 'I Iny Carter pulled a large hickory armchair hack into the corner hy the stove and after putting. some coal on the tire, tilted his chair hack to a comfortahle angle and curled up into it. Iny was a very important husiness man in the sleepy little town of Creighton. He was railroad and express agent and postmas- ter, hesides having the reputation of heing the laziest young man in town. As the traffic of Creighton was very small it did not take all of lny's time to carry on his husiness, and he spent his spare time in reading detective stories and novels of the ten cent sort. On this particular morning the novel was in Inyls hands as he crawled up into the chair. hut it did not interest him very much, and as it was tolerah-ly warm in Iny's corner he soon he- came drowsy and stopped reading. He was scarcely settled com- fortahly in his chair when the whole scene seemed to change. Iny was sitting at the hattered desk in the front of the depot exam- ining a small hrown express parcel which the train had just left. On the top of this parcel was printed in large hlack letters: Value Five Thousand Dollars. After turning the package over and looking at the address. Iny turned in his chair and locked the package in a small safe hehind the desk. As he turned from the safe and hack to the desk a true story-hook villain entered the room. He was a tall, well huilt 1 Page I4 nian, with very dark eyes and a long hlack mustache. He wore a large, broad-hrinimed hat, a heavy overcoat and heavy leather hoots. A cigarette was held carelessly in the corner of his mouth, adding to his look of hravado. Hello, there, he greeted Iny, I'd like to examine that package that you were just locking up. Sorry, sir, hut I can't accommodate you, Iny answered, rememhering the courage of some of his novel heroes. I would, huth- - The stranger interrupted Iny with: Now look here. young man. let's git right down to husi- ness. I don't want to have to he violent with you hut you come across with that package. I don't want to open the safe myself, although I could if I wanted to. I want you to open the safe and give nie the package and then I will let you go. But if you don't open it I will take you and the safe hoth up in the mountains and I guess you will ,come across then. If you don't I will hlow your lzrains out. I'd rather do that than hlow the safe anyway. This business-like speech somewhat shook Iny's courage, hut he remained Firm in his resolution to hecome a hero hy refusing to open the safe. 'KThere's no use in running your hluff any further on me. he answered, whenever you get ready to pull off your kidnapping scheme just come along. l'm not married to this spot and I don't