Drusilla with a Million — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Drusilla with a Million
John Stuart Mill · en
"I don't know," Drusilla said. "We'll ask the man."
Twenty-five miles an hour, the chauffeur told them.
"We'll go slower if it scares you, Grandma," Drusilla said gently.
The old lady looked at her with scorn.
"Scares me, nothin'! I was only wonderin' if we couldn't go faster!"
Drusilla laughed.
"That's jest what I said when I first rode in the car with Mr.
Thornton."
She gave the order and the car sped swiftly over the macadam road. The
old lady settled back among her shawls, a look of absolute happiness on
her wrinkled old face.
They arrived at the city all too soon. Barbara was taken to the
dentist, and Drusilla had the other ladies taken to a tea shop and
given tea while she waited for Barbara.
After tea they started home.
"I don't want to go back, Drusilla," Grandma Perkins began to whimper.
"Must we go back right away?"
Drusilla looked puzzled.
"I don't know what to do. Where'll we go if we don't go back?" She
thought a moment. "I'll ask Joseph; he always knows everything." She
turned to the waiting chauffeur. "Joseph, we don't want to go home.
Ain't there anything we can see?"
Joseph looked at the five old ladies, evidently at a loss as to what
would please them; then a suggestion occurred to him.
"You might go to a moving-picture show."
"What's that?"
"It's--it's a kind of theater."
"Well, I ain't never seen one," said Drusilla; and turned to the old
ladies, who were waiting patiently to learn of their final disposal.
"Do you want to go to a movin'-picture show?"
"What's that?" came in chorus.
"I don't know myself, but it's a sort of--sort of--"
"Never mind what it is, we want to go."
"Yes, let's go, Drusilla; let's not go home."
And the patrons of the moving-picture house had a view of six old
ladies, piloted by a smartly dressed chauffeur, who saw them seated in
a box and then left them. It was really a very good moving-picture, and
if the actors could have seen the delight of the box party they would
have felt they had not toiled in vain. They sat for two hours entranced
by the scenes that passed before them on the screen. One of the plays
was a war-time drama, and the old ladies were quite likely the only
ones in the house to whom the blue and the gray brought memories.
At the end of the reel, Drusilla decided that they should be leaving,
as supper would be ready at the home. One of the old ladies objected.
"Let's not go home, Drusilla; let's miss supper."
"It's bean night, anyway," said another. "Let's stay."
Five pairs of dim old eyes looked at Drusilla beseechingly.
"Well, we'll stay just a little while longer," she concluded.
The little while quite likely would have been the rest of the evening
if the performance had not finished for the afternoon. They rose with a
sigh and left the theater. When they started to help Grandma Perkins
into the car, she stopped with one foot on the step.
"Drusilla, I want to ride with the man," she said.
"Oh, but, Grandma, you'd catch cold," Drusilla objected.