The Turn of the Tide: The Story of How Margaret Solved Her ProblemPorter, Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman)
General
The Turn of the Tide: The Story of How Margaret Solved Her Problem
Porter, Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman)
Fiction
"Mis' Magoon, see," she cried eagerly, "what the lady give Maggie. They
was in one o' them 'nauty-mobiles,' as Maggie calls 'em, an' Maggie
felled down in the road. She wa'n't hurt a mite--not even scratched, but
they give her all this money."
The woman on the other side of the room sniffed disdainfully.
"Well, what of it? They'd oughter give it to her," she asserted.
"But they wa'n't ter blame, an' they didn't hurt her none--not a mite,"
argued the other.
"No thanks ter them, I'll warrant," snapped Mrs. Magoon. "For my part, I
wouldn't tech their old money." Then, crossly, but with undeniable
interest, she asked: "How much was it?"
Mrs. Durgin laughed.
"Never you mind," she retorted, as she gathered up the coins from the
table; "but thar's enough so's I'm goin' ter get them cough-drops fur
Nellie, anyhow. So!" And she turned her back and pretended not to hear
the faint remonstrances from the woman over by the window. Later, when
she had bought the medicine and had placed it in Mrs. Magoon's hands,
the remonstrances were repeated in a higher key, and were accompanied
again with an angry snarl against the world in general and automobiles
in particular.
"But why do ye hate 'em so?" demanded Mrs. Durgin, "--them autymobiles?
They hain't one of 'em teched ye, as I knows of."
There was no answer.
"I don't believe ye knows yerself," declared the questioner then; and at
the taunt the other raised her head.
"Mebbe I don't," she flamed, "an' 'tain't them I hate, anyway--it's the
folks in 'em. It's rich folks. I've allers hated 'em anywheres, but
'twa'n't never so bad as now since them things came. They look so--so
comfortable--the folks a-leanin' back on their cushions; an' so--so
_free_, as if there wa'n't nothin' that could bother 'em. 'Course I knew
before that there was rich folks, an' that they had fine clo's an' good
things ter eat, an' shows an' parties, an' spent money; but I didn't
_see_ 'em, an' now I do. I _see_ 'em, I tell ye, an' it makes me realize
how I ain't comfortable like they be, nor Nellie ain't neither!"
"But they ain't all bad--rich folks," argued the thin, black-eyed woman,
earnestly. "Some of 'em is good."
The other shook her head.
"I hain't had the pleasure o' meetin' that kind," she rejoined grimly.
"Well, I have," retorted Maggie's mother with some spirit. "Look at that
lady ter-night what give Maggie all that money."
There was no answer, and after a moment Mrs. Durgin went on. Her voice
was lower now, and not quite clear.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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