1936-12-24 — Page 8

THEIR

OE went around to see his mother and

Jather and while he was talking with them and wondering if he could ask for the loan of a dollar, his sister Mary, who was -dressed to go out for the evening, came into the room and said, "Can you let me have fifty cents to-night, Mother?"

She was borrowing money all the time now, and there was no excuse for her, be- cause she was a stenographer and made It was not the same with pretty good pay. her as it was with their older brother. Stephen, who had three children, and could hardly live on his salary.

"If you could possibly spare it. Td take a dollar." Mary was saying in her low and pleasant voice as she pulled on her gloves. Her easy smile, her assurance that she would not be refused, made Joe feel resentful. He knew that if he had asked for money, he would have shown that he was uneasy and a little ashamed, and that his father, would have put down his paper and stared at him and his mother would have, sighed and look- ed dreadfully worried, as though he were the worst kind of spendthrift.

Getting up to find her purse. their mother said, "I don't mind lending it to you, Mary, though I can't figure out what you do with your money."

"I don't seem to be doing anything with it I didn't use to do." Mary said.

"And I seem to do nothing these days but hand out money to the lot of you. I can't think how you'll get along when I'm dead."

"I don't know what you'd all do if it weren't for your mother's purse," their father said, but when he spoke he nodded his head at Joe, because he would rather make it appear that he was angry with Joe than risk offending Mary by speaking directly to her.

"If anybody wants money, they'll have to find my purse for me," the mother said. "Try and find it, Mary, and bring it to me.”

Joe had always thought of Mary as his young sister, but the inscrutable expression he saw on her face as she moved around the room picking up newspapers and looking on chairs made him realize how much more self- reliant, how much apart from them, she had grown in the last few years. He saw that

༣

DECEMBER 24,1

MOTHER'S

Short Story By Morley Callaghan

T

she had become a handsome WORDEN. her tailored suit and felt hat, she looked al- most beautiful, and he was suddenly "glad she was his sister.

By this time his mother had get up and was trying to remember where she had pat the purse when she came in from the store. In the way of a big woman, she moved around slowly, with a far-away expression in her eyes. The purse was a large, black, fixt leather purse, but there never had been a time when his mother had been able to get up and know exactly where her purse was. though she used to pretend she was going directly to the spot where she had placed it.

Now she had got to the point where her eyes were anxious as she tried to remember. Her husband, making loud, clucking noires. with his tongue, took off his glasses and said solemnly, "I warn you, Mrs. McArthur, you'll lose that purse some day, and then there'll be trouble and you'll be satisfied.”

She looked at him impatiently, as she had hunted in all the likely comers and cup- "boards. "See if you can find my purse, will you, son?" she begged Joe, and he got up and began to heip, as he used to do when he was a little boy.

Because he remembered that his mother sometimes used to put her purse under the pillow on her bed, he went to lock in the bedroom When he got to the door, which was half closed, and locked in, he saw Mary standing in front of the dresser with their mother's purse in her hands. He saw at once that she had just taken out a bill and was slipping it into her own purse--he even saw He ducked that it was a two-dollar bill.

back into the hall before she could catch sight of him. He felt helpless and knew only that he couldn't bear that she should see him

Mary, coming out of the bedroom, called,

"I found it. Here it is, Mother."

"Where did you find it, darling?

"Under your pillow.

“Ah, that's right. Now I remember," she said, and looked at her husband trium- phantly, for she never failed to enjoy finding the purse just when it seemed to be lost forever,

to her As Mary handed the parse mother, she was amiling, cool, and unper- turbed, yet Joe knew she had put the two- dollars into her own purse. It seemed ter- rible that she was able to smile and hide her thoughts like that when they had all been so close together for so many years.

"I never have the slightest fear that it's really los the mother said, beaming. Then, they watched bar, an they had-watched her for years after she had found her purse, she was counting the little roll of bills. Her hand went up to bez inoutly she looked -- thoughtful, she looked down into the depths. - of the purse again, and they waited almost eagerly, as it expecting her to cry out sud- dealy that the money was not all there. Then, sighing, she took out fifty cents, hand-

Sunday Herald" Contest Winners

The following are the prize-winners in

competitions the Sunday Herald December 20:

Three bottles of John Walker & Son's Old Highland Whisky (donated by Messrs. Caldbeck. Macgregor and Co., Ltd.) Winner-E W. Buckingham, Esq.,

c/o Boom 26,

Bank of Canton Building.

A ten pound Turkey (donated by the Dairy

Farm lee and Cold Storage Co, Ltd) Winner K. Leghorn, Esq

No. 7, Leighton Hill Road.

500 Wills's Cigarettes of your own choice (donated by the British American Tobacco Co. (China) Ltd) Winner-Francis Kuan,

No. 334, Nathan Boad (1st floor).

WHISTLING ON THE

WITH to-day's issue we begin a series of ingenious piano

WITH principal idea is that anything you can

whistle you can play on the piano. The course consists of four lessons, and after the fourth lesson we will give you a number of tunes set down according to the system of number- By this method you can play by ing you will have learned.

ear, with a simple harmonising bass at the left hand, and with full four-note chords at the right, any simple melodies that you can hum or whistle. Charts can be purchased at Moutrie's.

NUMBERING THE KEYS HERE are eighty-eight keys on all standard piano keyboards, but they represent only the various place- ments of seven different notes. Num- bers are used in this method, in place of key names, to designate the seven different keys. The black keys are numbered one, two, three, five, six, and the white keys that are used, in this method are numbered four and seven as shown on the keyboard chart placed. behind the keys in the illustration above. The chart shows one octave

PIANO

LESSON ONE

LACE the thumb of the right

EXPLANATORY NOTE

T Thumb.

I-Inder or first finger. M-Middle or long finger. L-Little finger.

Placed on the first black key of any group of 3 black keys' and the little finger on the cor- responding key above, making an octave. Then proceed to the right, playing all black keys, in- cluding in the scale the white key Immediately following any group of three black keys (No. 4) and the white key preceding (No. 7) any group of three black keys on the chart. Be sure to count as you play, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, learning the key numbers. Endeavour to gain speed as well as accuracy. Run the full length of the keyboard, up and back, thereby training the ear and by practice gaining the required speed and accur” acy. Never use the 4th (or ring finger) of either hand. This is Lesson One. Practice this 20 minutes each day for seven daya Then take up Lesson Two and practice it 20 minutes each day for seven days. '

PURSE

ed it to Mary, and it was over, and they never knew what she thought

"Good night, Mother. Good night, Dad.” Mary said.

"Good night, and don't be late. I worry when you're late.”:

"So long, Joe":

*Just a minute," Joe called, and he followed Mary out to the hall. The groping, wondering expression on his mother's face as she counted her money had made him feel savage.

He grabbed Mary by the arm just as she was opening the door. "Wait a minute,” he whispered.

"What's the matter, Joe? You're hurt- ing my arm.”

"Give that bill back to them. I saw you take it."

"Joe, I needed it.". She grew terribly ashamed and couldn't look at him. wouldn't take it if I didn't need it pretty bad," she whispered.

They could hear their father making some provoking remark, and they could hear the easy, triumphant' answer of their mother. Without looking up, Mary, began to cry"`a - little; then she raised her head and begged in a frightened whisper, "Don't tell them, Joe. Please don't tell them.” - -

“If you needed the money, "why didn't you ask them for it?”.

"I've been asking for a little nearly évery day."

"You only look after yourself, and you get plenty for that."

"Joe, let me keep it. Don't tell them. Joe."

Her hand tightened on his arm as she pleaded with him Her face was now clos against his, but he was so disgusted with her he tried to push her away. When she saw that he was treating her as though she were a cheap crook, she looked helpless and whis- pered, "I've got to do something sending money to Paul Farrel."

"Where is he?"

been

"He's gone to a sanitarium, and he had

she said.

no mosty,

POL Lfs

In the moment while they stared at each other, he was thinking of the few times she had brought Paul, Farrel to their place, and of the one night when they had found out They had made her that his lung was bad. promise not to see him any more, thinking i was a good thing to do before she went any further with him.

You promised them you'd forget about him he said.

"I married him before he went away." she said. "It takes a lot to look after him, I try to keep enough out of my pay every week to pay for my lunches and my board here, but I never seem to have enough left for Paul, and then I don't know what to do." “You're crazy. He'll die on your hands,”` he whispered. "Or you'll have to go on keep- ing him."

"He'll get better," she said. "He'll be back in maybe a year.” There was such an ardent fierceness in her words, and her eyes shone with such eagerness, that he did't know what to say to her. With a shy, timid smile, she said, "Don't tell them, Joe"

"OK." he said, and he watched her open the door and go out.

Joe went back to the living room, where his mother was saying grandly to his father, "Now you'll have to wait till next time to cry blue rain.”:

His father grinned and ducked his head behind his paper. "Don't worry. There'll soon be a next time," he said.

"What, did you want to way to Mary?" his mother asked. “

"I just wanted to know if she was going my way, and she wasn't,” Joe said.

And when Joe hear their familiar voices and remembered Mary's frightened, face, he knew he would keep his promis say nothing to them. He was thinking far apart be had grown from them; knew very little about Mary, but he nev told them anything about himself, ser Only his father and mother had kept on go ing the one way. They alone were still close

The

each

Start the New Year with Knit wear! You'll find real swank cardigans and jerseys and suits at MAIZEE'S. They've just arrived, but they won't be there long Go nice and early and dip into those tall piles.. one is different too! Real creations in adorable shades and contrasts. Neat and flattering to every figure they have all the sizes too. You'll find darling jerseys with cardigans to match, suits with novel trimmings, original scarves and belts and buckles, pain wool,

You a host of styles and shapes angara. do well to put MA ES top on your list of New Year resolutions!

MAIZEE'S

LAST MINUTE SUGGESTION

FLOWERS

FOR CHRISTMAS

PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW AND

THE

FLOWERS

CLOVER FLOWER SHOP

GLOUCESTER ARCADE