Western High School - Westward Ho Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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I0 WESTWARD I-IO her superiors. Her success l1ad been most un- usual. XN'ithin a month she l1ad been advanced and her salary raised, llfleanwhile, feeling the need of companionship of girls her own age she had become rather friendly with the girls 111 the office, girls with whom she had very little in com- mon, and who realized that Carrie was too sel- fish and self-centered to be really friendly with any of them. liesides, Carrie could not shake oE her country habits and training as easily as she had supposed, and she did not always enjoy herself at the somewhat boisterous parties that her new friends, in their own vernacular, Hpulledf' There was something else that was a serious blot on Carrie's happiness. That was the Parker house, her present residence. The place was re- pulsiv-e to her. She hated it all, the stuffy rooms, the cabbage roses on the llrussels carpets, and the carved and fluted pillars that held up the orna- ment-bedecked mantlepiece. Nor was there much in the way of amusement. The Parkers had neither victrola nor radio: there could be no dancing, and the old couple would stiffen hos- tilely at the mention of cards. Carrie longed for a small place, if only two rooms. to call her own, to fix up in bright draperies and pretty furniture. That was her dream, but she had felt there was no possibility of its fulfillment when one morning on her way to the office she read an Had in the Tim-es that sent her scurrying away to a Con- necticut Avenue street car, and a few minutes later through the entranceway of a large apart- ment house. The advertisement had said the tenth floor, and up went Carrie, shaking with eagerness and fear. Soon afterward she left the place with such an uplifted expression that one might have thought that she was seeing a vision. lglut it was a very material vision. For Carrie now had her own home. She had answered the adv and found just what she wanted, two rooms. beautifully furnished, sunny and bright, and a darling little blue and white kitch-enette. And all this within the limits of her pocketbook! Tshe owner was going abroad for several years and wanted to rent her apartment as soon as she could. And Carrie, hastening to the ofhce, knew she was hf- teen minutes late, but what did it matter! Those two sunny rooms and that blue and white kitch- enette would be hers tomorrow. She had moved in feeling like a princess with her lovely surroundings. At last she had a home, some place to return after a hard day at the ofhce, a place where she could kick off her slip- pers and curl up on the couch, to peruse unin- terrupted an interesting story. But her living expenses now mounted quite high, and the amount of money that at first she had faithfully sent l10111C with conscious pride was sadly diminished. Tm awfully sorry about that, she thought, chewing her pencil as she puzzled over her ac- count books, but living is 50 high. Carrie had not been able to buy herself 1na11y new clothes. The money she had been sending had cut a large hole in her salary, and now tl1e apartment was taking more tllall she had thought. But each day she realized more and 111ore how shabby her clothes were becoming, especially her coat. She could not help contrasting it, shabby, and without even a fur collar, with the bright- hued, fur trimmed, or fur coats of the other girls i11 the office. Once sh-e ventured to ask how they could afford them. Hlnstallment plan, Deariefl said Miss Swartzman, the 'fsnapipiest dresser i11 the office. Buy 'em on 'tickf Honest, it's a cinch. Wihy dontcha get one 7' llvhy, in- deed! Carrie did not like the idea of buying on the installment plan. For her that was out of the question. But couldnt she save? Fur coats were very much reduced now, and besides her old one was so shabby and thin she was always catching cold. Cf course, there was her mother, back home at Dalton. She might be needing a coat this year. Dalton winters were severe. ,llut good heavens, mother was buried down there! She never went out anywhere. It didnlt matter about her, but Carrie-. She did save. She put off the rent and sl1e bought her coat, a hand- some thing that semed to fit in with the apart- ment, but certainly not with Carries other clothes. And that month, and the following month, no money went home. Then Carrie met Vtfilton Davidge, old Judge Davidge's son -old Judge Davidge, with the snow white hair and aristocratic features, and the stately carriage and horses he still clung to, de- spite the fact that his son's smart car was always at his disposal. Anybody who was anybodyf, and a great many who were not, knew or knew of the Davidges, and could point out their home with its sweep of gravel driveway, and its pil- lared entrance facing Farragut Square. VVilton Davidge had come to the Courthouse on business for his father, and Carrie was sent to help him look up the document he wanted. The business had been transacted satisfactorily and there was no need for young Mr. Davidge to linger, but he did linger, nevertheless. The next day he came again-on business! Carrie had been lonely for the past few weeks. She found that the girls in the office and their crowd did not interest her, and on-e by one they dropped away. lVilton's friendship meant a good deal to Carrie. lVith all connections broken off with her former friends at the office, and the Parkers indignant at the independent

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WESTWARD HO 9 ing rocking chair beside the drum stove that sup- plied heat to the one room in the house that boasted such a luxury, and the old-fashioned range, over which h-er mother, enveloped in a huge apron, was bending. Uncle Jake. bent with age, sat in a corner sharpening knives. and stoop- ing every now and then to bestow a friendly pat upon the broad head of the shaggy black dog lying at his feet. Funny how animals loved Uncle lake. lt was because he loved them, she sup- posed, almost as much as he loved the sunsets. and the violets that ran rampant in the back yard. There was one thing she would always remember about Uncle lake. One day when she had been complaining as usual about the dingy furniture and the dusty walls, and had declared weeping, There's never anything pretty here. never, never, Uncle jake had taken her by the arm and had led her to the window. He had spoken in an unusually quiet tone. '!Carrie, girl, there's nothing under the sun puttier than that. and he had pointed to a cherry tree, a riot of bright pink blossoms against the blue of the sky. But she had wrenched herself angrily away. A tree! The sky! NYhat she wanted were soft draperies and gorgeous flowers in low. colorful bowls. A tree indeed! In a few minutes Carrie knew, as she looked back into the past, that Uncle jake would hobble out to hitch up old Ben to the rickety cart. and drive up to the door with a Hourish. calling out, The kerridge awaits your highnessf' all the time wrinkling up his cracked lips over his almost toothless gums in sardonic humor. She almost hated him then, and during the drive to the school house she would sit grim and silent. while Uncle jake occasionally chuckled to himself, or exclaimed over the picture made by a lonely pine standing out in bold relief against the lowering sky. Carrie had tried to forget the old district school house, heated by stoves and -eternally in an uproar, but she had one memory of her child- hood days that she treasured. That was the memory of the county high school, established and nominally supported by the county, but ac- tually the pet hobby of a philanthropic million- aire whose country home was nearby. and who equipped the school with all modiern conven- iences, and sent out from the city the finest teachers. The County High School was not near Dalton, and few Dalton boys and girls attended. being kept at home for farm work, but Mrs. Marsden, remembering the fine education of her late husband, decided that Carrie must become a pupil at the school. But in a way her education had done her as much harm as good. Never quite content with her lot, and rebellious as a child, she had risen above her homely neighbors and her own family, and had soon become more restless and dissatisfied than ever. Vague ideas of going to the city took possession of her, and at night as she lay in bed she could hear the whistles of the trains on the tracks nearby, going from. VYashington to Tjaltimore, from Baltimore to Vtlashington. Vthen the shrill whistles screamed she would dash to the window, and resting her elbows on the sill, would look at the rushing trains until the last car had swung around the bend. And then, back to bed to dream of the time when she would go with them! Her decision had been formed soon after this. She went to one of the infrequent neighborhood gatherings, which she never enjoyed and at- tended only for a change of atmosphere, and there she met a young girl of her own age who was working in XVashington. Fine job, too, and some cash! You oughtn't to stay buried in this hole, dearie. Snap out of itll' And Carrie had snapped out of it. She had packed her few clothes, said farewell to her weeping and bewilder-ed mother, and after prom- ising to go to her- mother's cousins, whose ad- dress she had, at last rode away from Dalton on a XYashington bound express. Her heart pound- ed happily as the train rushed toward the city where she was to make her fortune. How glad she would be to get away from the dingy, sordid life of the country, the smoking lamps. and the stove that burnt up one's face while onels back froze. She arrived in XVashington, and after various inquiries presented herself at her cousins' home. They did not at all fit in with her dream of city happiness. Their home in the southeast part of the Capital was small, stuffy and almost as bad as the farm. llut the people were hospitality personified, and, strangely enough, it was through them that Carrie received her great opportunity. She had walked the streets looking for a position, but it had seemed that no one wanted to employ a country girl without experience. and Carrie turned sadly away from door after door. She was feeling all her rosy dreams vanishing when Cousin Joe Parker told her of his plan. Cousin ,loe was a typist in the offices of the Clerk of the Supreme Court: he had grown old in the service and was now much respected by all his co-work- ers. He was so happy to think he could do something to help Carrie that his kindly old face beamed as he told her his news. The file clerk in the ofnce had resigned, and another one must be had immediately. Cousin joe had at once recommended Miss Marsden, and since the need of a clerk was so imperative. Miss Marsden was requested to report for duty the following day. Carrie was jubilant. Her ability to work and her interest soon won for her the approval of

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WESTWARD I-IO ll way in which she had gone off to a place of her own, Vtfilton Davidge was her only friend. Although petted all his life at home and in society, VVilton Davidge had not been spoiled. Indeed he was often rather shy and boyish, and flushed easily under his tan. He danced well and drove a beautiful car, He was a crack polo player and a Davidge! Moreover, he was artis- tically talented, had studied art and had been told he could do something great, but in the whirl of his busy days he had never been able to settle down to work to produce something worth While, yet he was always looking forward to the time when he might do this. And now he was interested in Carrie Marsden. Somehow she did not seem to belong in an office! Carrie was immensely Hattered by W'ilton's at- tentions, and not exactly unconsciously, posed, in a thousand little ways, to impress him. XVhen she heard him talk of his school days, his polo ponies, the places he had visited, the interesting people he had met, she resolved never to let a word escape about the hideous house at Dalton, the gingham-aproned, hardworking mother, and Uncle jake, whose beard always needed trim- ming, and whose clothes always needed patching. She talked rather vaguely and evasively of her home, until VVilton had a vision of an old white, Colonial mansion, rather in need of repairs, but still beautiful and interesting, and of a dainty little mother always dressed in lavender silk who fluttered about the hugephouse like a butterfly. Carrie, as she realized these impressions, felt a trifle nervous, but she speedily reassured herself. Oh, well, I never told him just thatf' She never ceased to be thankful for her beautiful fur coat, for she liked to be well dressed when she went out with VVilton, and what harm did an in- nocent pretense of a little money do? She began to buy for herself little trinkets, such as rhine- stone buckles, her novelty pillows, and bright scarfs to lighten her dark dresses, trinkets which in themselves did not cost much, but which added up to an appalling sum, And again no money went Daltonward. Then came the climax of her orgy of spending. VVilton invited Carrie to a big affair, a subscrip- tion ball at the Mayflower for the benefit of the Near East, and painted for Carrie's benefit a glowing picture of the notables who would be present. Carrie accepted, but of course, she had nothing suitable to wear. She bought something, though, a beautiful something that shaded from deep rose to pale pinkish yellow, that with its soft draperies looked like nothing so much as a rainbow escaped from the blue, with here and there raindrops, represented bv rhinestones, sparkling and gleaming, And of course there were slippers and sheer chiffon stockings to go with it, and Carrie had had a permanent wave and a manicure, and altogether she had spent an awesome sum for one evenings pleasure! She knew she would never have another occasion to wear such a dress as she had just bought, and altogether she was not happy as she had thought she would be. The ball room dazzled her, Th-e people she met were not inclined to be friendly-and then there was the occasion of her meeting with jean Pierre DlAvezac, the lion of the capital. Had she really allowed Wiltoii to think that she already knew the man! She remembered the look of amazement on her es- corts face as the young Frenchman gallantly greeted her, plainly puzzling over where they could have met before. And she had not been able to say where! Oh, it was horrible! They had left early, and Carrie had gone straight to bed, too tired and worried to pull back the lovely fancy spread that was her pride and joy. The next day was her birthday, but she had arisen with a headache and had gone to the office in a bad humor, so there had been nothing very festive in that. Now she sat curled up among her pillows, staring out the window, thinking, thinking. Outside there was a stream of motors with here and there a gay dash of blue, yellow or red that proclaimed a taxi, and in spite of the roaring March wind, handsomely dressed people promenaded on the avenue. How different from Dalton with its muddy roads and occa- sional Fords! Carrie reached down and picked up Uncle jakeis picture. Then she re-read her motherls letter. Wlhat must she do? Go home? That would not help any. The only thing to do was to send for her mother and keep her in XVashington. Why that was a fine idea! Why hadnlt she thought of it before! It would be wonderful for Mother to g-et away from that horrid old house and its one warm room, and to come to this beautiful apartment. It never oc- curred to her as she prepared to send her mother a telegram, that perhaps Mrs. Marsden would not want to com-e to Washington, that perhaps the old home at Dalton was dearer to her than the finest palace in the world. Indeed, Carrie never thought very much about what others might want. She wired her mother to take the 10:30 train for VVashington on Thursday. Today was Tuesday. Tihat would give her plenty of time to get ready. Thursday arrived. So did the 10:30. Mrs. Marsden did not. But when Carrie, seething with anger, arrived home there was a letter. I just couldnit come, Carrie dear. You don't know what it means. I love this old place. I don't care if it is old and ugly. Itis beautiful to me. You were born here, Carrie, and your father died here. It's full of memories for me. I donit