10:00

At planting time, she pulled the slips and set

10:02

them out. She howed the

10:04

sugar cane and thinned the corn. During

10:07

harvest, she did almost as much work as Shug

10:09

and Marthy combined. Before

10:12

she was fourteen, she had broken a

10:14

pair of young steers to the yoke. She

10:17

split the rails and laid the fence for

10:19

a new potato patch. Using

10:21

for the purpose the young oxen which she had

10:23

broken, she prepared the ground

10:25

for planting. She was as tall

10:27

as her father now, a slender, wiry

10:29

creature. Her symmetrical young

10:32

body is free from blemish as the trunk

10:34

of a healthy pine tree. A

10:37

vague unrest troubled her at times,

10:39

though. Something occurred

10:42

one day which intensified this. In

10:45

a corner of the cabin she found a dust-covered

10:47

photograph. Brushing it off, she

10:50

gazed upon a face that was unfamiliar. She

10:53

took the picture to Marthy. "'Ma,'

10:56

she asked, "'who is this?'" Her

10:59

mother glanced at it indifferently. "'Me,'

11:02

she answered listlessly. "'You?'

11:05

Selina Jo gasped. "'Yeah, rather

11:08

it used to be. So could I

11:10

marry you, Pa?'" Selina

11:12

Jo scanned the comely, pictured

11:14

face for some likeness

11:16

to the slatterly creature who had given

11:18

her birth. Wild

11:21

resentment against something. She

11:24

scarcely knew what, flamed in her

11:26

heart. Suddenly

11:28

she dashed the photograph to the floor and hurried

11:30

from the cabin. As one

11:32

reads the chronicle of her words, it

11:35

must be remembered that her vocabulary was patterned

11:37

after that of her father. "'Oh,

11:39

God almighty,' she burst

11:42

out tempestuously. "'I don't want to

11:44

be like her. I ain't going to

11:46

neither.' Her

11:48

acquaintances were limited to a score of families,

11:50

most of them relatives, and all of them

11:53

mental and moral replicas of her own

11:55

who lived nearby. There

11:58

was an almost abandoned church in the neighborhood." where,

12:00

at rare intervals, some

12:03

itinerant preacher held services. Upon

12:06

one occasion, though, Shug took the family

12:08

to preaching in what was known as

12:10

the Briggs Settlement, which was ten miles

12:12

nearer the railroad. It

12:15

was here that Selina Jo had it impressed

12:17

upon her young mind just

12:19

how people of her stripe were looked upon

12:22

by those cast in another mold. Shortly

12:25

after they had seated themselves in the church, Shug,

12:29

uncouth and unshaven on the men's side,

12:32

and she and her mother on that reserved for

12:34

her sex, Selina Jo heard one

12:36

of the women whisper to her neighbor, some

12:39

of that hudsel tribe. As

12:42

the girl caught the slur in the words, her

12:45

face flushed darkly. She

12:47

began to notice the unfavorable looks with which

12:50

the men of the congregation were regarding her

12:52

father. Then the

12:54

children stared superciliously toward her mother

12:56

and herself. Puzzled,

12:59

vaguely hurt, at first

13:01

she wondered why. Lingering

13:04

just outside the church at the close of

13:06

services, she waited, shyly

13:09

hopeful that someone would speak to her. No

13:13

one paid her the slightest heed. In

13:16

a land where a lack of hospitality

13:18

was the one unpardonable sin, this alone

13:20

was enough to convince her that something

13:23

was terribly wrong somewhere. But

13:26

she held her peace until they

13:28

had completed the tedious homeward journey. Ma!

13:32

she demanded abruptly as soon as they were alone.

13:35

How come we ain't like other folks?

13:38

What are you talking about? Marthian

13:41

toned querulously. Them

13:43

folks in that there brig settlement. Well,

13:47

they looked slantwise at Pa when we

13:49

went in and sat down. Selina

13:52

Jo waited a moment, her face clouding

13:54

at the thought. And

13:57

them little old gals looked slantwise at

13:59

me, too. How

14:01

can I help the way people looked at us?" Marthy

14:04

whined. "'Treating us that way

14:06

just because we're poor.' "'Tweren't

14:09

that neither," the girl

14:11

insisted stubbornly. Them men,

14:14

most of them, was wearing overhauls.

14:17

The schoolteacher said rich folks don't wear them

14:19

kind of clothes to meetin'. "'Trying

14:22

to get better than you're raising, are you?" Marthy

14:26

suddenly showed unwanted spirit. "'Well,

14:29

gal, you can just make up

14:31

your mind and be like your poor ma, and

14:33

I ain't gonna be like you.'" The

14:36

words shot out with sudden passion. "'I

14:39

ain't.'" God of mercy.

14:42

Marthy's usually expressionless face showed

14:45

a trace of surprise at this outburst.

14:47

"'But I've always said, seeing lots of

14:50

things gets notions into youngin's heads. What

14:52

ain't good for him?' "'That

14:54

ain't all I see neither,' Selina

14:56

Joe retorted. They didn't

14:59

none of them folks, not nary one

15:01

of them, asked us home

15:03

to eat a Sunday dinner with him." At

15:07

the conclusion of the church service,

15:09

she had seen invitations to the

15:11

noonday meal being extended and accepted

15:13

right and left by the brig

15:15

settlement householders. Since

15:17

it was the custom to include the various

15:19

stranger in these, the fact that

15:21

none had been offered her people left

15:23

room for only one conclusion. The

15:27

hud-sills were looked upon by their neighbors

15:29

as being unworthy to receive one. Slowly,

15:33

the impression fastened itself upon her

15:35

brain that her family

15:37

was hopelessly low in the social scale.

15:40

"'Pies and low down,' she would have

15:43

phrased it. His conviction

15:45

gripped her. It stung,

15:47

and it stayed with her." Fortunately,

15:50

something occurred about this time to

15:52

divert her thoughts temporarily. Three

15:55

miles from Shug's home, Pruitt Brothers,

15:57

Turpentine operators, established a new building

15:59

a woods commissary. Selina

16:02

Jo's first visit to the store left her

16:04

gasping with pleasure. Filled

16:06

with the usual gaudy assortment carried in stock

16:09

by the general country store, to the

16:11

half-starved eyes and soul of the woodsbred

16:13

girl, the place was a wonderland.

16:16

Dress goods and loud patterns dazzled her

16:18

sight. Very colored ribbons

16:21

flaunted themselves tantalizingly before her

16:23

gaze. But the one

16:25

thing that charmed her, that held her

16:27

spellbound, was a cheap, lady-made

16:30

gingham dress. She

16:33

made frequent unnecessary trips to the store, merely

16:35

to feast her eyes upon it. She

16:38

would look from it to the faded homespun

16:40

that she wore and sigh

16:42

enviously. Once

16:44

she even mustered the courage to ask the price, it

16:48

was an insignificant sum, but the

16:50

thought struck her with sickening force that it

16:52

might just as well have been a thousand

16:54

dollars. She had never owned

16:56

a piece of money. Slowly,

17:00

as her yearning for the dress became almost

17:02

unbearable, a plan formed in

17:04

her mind. Coming

17:06

in from her tasks one day, she found Shug, just

17:09

returned from one of his mysterious periodical

17:11

trips. "'Paw,'

17:14

she said timidly. "'I got

17:17

a hankering.' "'Suppose you have."

17:21

Shug's manner was more surly than usual. "'A

17:24

hankering never heard nobody yet.' "'But

17:28

I sure enough want something.' "'Wanting

17:31

and getting is different things. "'What

17:33

is it?' "'It's the

17:35

prettiest dress over to Pruitt's store,' Selina-Jo

17:38

began eagerly. "'And it's

17:40

made out in real gingham.' "'Gingham?'

17:43

Shug whirled about with a snarl.

17:46

"'What are you talking about, gal?' Selina-Jo's

17:49

heart sank. "'I

17:52

ain't never heard anyone,' she

17:55

offered placatingly. "'I ain't never

17:58

liable to neither.' Home

18:00

spong's good enough for you, poor maw, and it'll

18:02

have to be good enough for you. I

18:05

ain't gonna be working myself to skin and

18:07

bone to be fitting out no youngin' and

18:09

fancy rigins." But

18:12

Pa, it don't cost much. It

18:14

costs just that much more than you're gonna

18:16

get. Shut up!" It

18:19

was then that Selina Jo unfolded her plan.

18:22

I'm going to get me that air dress," she

18:25

announced dispassionately. "'I'm

18:27

aiming to pay for it myself, too.' "'How?'

18:31

"'You're earning the money at public work.' "'You?'

18:34

Shug snorted derisively. "'Where

18:37

are you getting any public work?' "'In

18:40

Pruitt's Turkin Time Orchard. There's

18:42

a heap of work I can do. I can

18:44

do scraping or dipping. Reckon I can

18:46

even do hacking.' He

18:48

had slumped into the one comfortable chair in the

18:50

room. Turning his head, he

18:53

glared at his daughter. "'You're

18:55

not going to work in no

18:57

Turkin Time Orchard,' he

18:59

rasped. "'You're gonna stay

19:02

right here and help you

19:04

pull maw in me. I

19:07

told you once to shut up.' It

19:10

struck Selina Jo suddenly that

19:13

life was, somehow, terribly

19:15

one-sided and unfair. Her

19:18

girls in the community, who didn't work as

19:21

hard as she did, were beginning

19:23

to wear gingham dresses for Sunday. She

19:26

thought bitterly that, in return for

19:28

her slaving, she had received, bed

19:30

and board, nothing more. By

19:33

everything that was right, she reasoned,

19:35

she had earned at least one

19:38

store-bought dress. Yet

19:40

it was roughly denied her. Some

19:43

of the thoughts which had been haunting her

19:45

for months struggled for expression. Her

19:48

soul cried out against what was a

19:50

patent injustice, but

19:52

she managed to speak calmly. "'Perzakan

19:56

figured out, Pa,' she said.

20:00

I've been doing my share of keeping this here

20:02

family up. I broke them last yoke of

20:04

steers, and one of them you is a

20:06

fear to touch. I've split

20:08

rails and laid fences. I

20:10

broke new ground. And the first

20:12

time I asked for anything, you say I

20:14

can't have it." She

20:17

ceased speaking for a moment, but her

20:19

steady gaze never left Shug's face. Now

20:23

I'm going to work for

20:25

Pruitt, she continued slowly,

20:28

till I get me the money I need.

20:33

Something must have occurred during Shug's recent

20:35

trip, probably a hurried

20:37

flight from officers to increase

20:40

his normal perverseness. He

20:42

had risen from his chair. Taking

20:44

a heavy leather strap from the wall, he

20:47

started towards Selina Jo. You

20:49

are, huh? Advancing,

20:52

he fondled the strap suggestively. You'll

20:55

get a larrap and that's what. With

20:58

the first evidence of her father's intention,

21:00

Selina Jo's face had flushed a brick

21:02

red. Now it paled suddenly.

21:05

She had not even been threatened with corporal

21:07

punishment for years. Wild

21:09

rebellion surged within her. A

21:13

carving knife lay upon the rude deal table

21:15

beside which she was standing. One

21:17

slim brown hand dropped down beside

21:19

the knife. Her

21:22

emotion visible only in the tumultuous heaving

21:24

of her breast and the

21:26

white set expression of her face. She

21:29

waited, motionless, her

21:32

dark somber eyes gazing unwaveringly

21:34

into Shug's face. Paul,

21:39

she said evenly, just

21:41

you touch me once with that strap.

21:45

And as show as God gives me strength,

21:47

I'll cut your heart out. An

21:51

innate coward, Shrug recognized a dangerous sign

21:53

when he saw it. The

21:56

hand which held the strap dropped to

21:58

his side. She

26:00

asked herself, could any strong

26:02

healthy girl desire than a steady

26:04

job dipping turpentine for which she

26:06

was paid real money? Occasional

26:10

passers-by, strangers to the

26:12

vicinity, amazed at seeing a

26:14

girl engaged in such unusual work, would

26:17

pause to ask friendly questions. The

26:20

first flush of pleasure that this gave Selina

26:22

Jo was quickly erased

26:24

by the bitter aftertang of reflection. These

26:28

people were kind because they did not know she

26:30

was a hudsel. While

26:32

with practice she developed skill, it was

26:35

three months before she had saved the

26:37

money she needed. The

26:39

gingham dress had been laid aside for her, but

26:42

her ambition had soared. A

26:45

beautiful dress above a pair of bare legs

26:47

and feet would never do. Then,

26:50

too, since her only item of head

26:52

gear was the sunbonnet which she wore every day,

26:55

she would need, besides shoes and

26:57

stockings, a hat. The

27:00

day came at last, though, when she

27:02

could make her purchases. With

27:04

her arms filled with bundles, she started

27:06

out joyously on her three-mile walk home.

27:09

A half-mile from

27:11

the commissary, she paused indecisively

27:13

at the crossroads. The

27:15

right-hand road, leading to Shoalwater

27:17

River, meant the lengthening of

27:19

her journey a full mile. But

27:22

the river, with its promise of

27:24

a cooling plunge, enticed her. As

27:28

she stood, hesitant, trying to decide,

27:30

she observed a stranger approaching on horseback.

27:34

She drew aside to let him pass, but

27:36

he reigned in his horse and hailed her. Evening,

27:39

little sister! Live hereabouts? Down

27:42

the left-hand fork, pace? Selina

27:44

Jo bent her steady gaze upon the stranger.

27:47

Who are you? I'm Holmes,

27:49

Sheriff of the county. Instinctively,

27:52

the girl drew back. What

27:54

are you wanting to me? I ain't done nothing! Lord

27:57

bless you, little sister, the sheriff laughed.

28:00

Not after you. Thought maybe

28:02

as you live around here, you might tell me something I

28:04

want to know." It

28:07

seemed that a murder had recently been committed

28:09

in the Bayshore country 10 miles distant. Circumstances

28:12

pointed to the guilt of two men who

28:14

had been arrested. Assuming that

28:16

the murderers had passed through the Hudson section

28:18

en route to or from the scene of

28:20

the crime, the sheriff was

28:22

seeking evidence to prove this. Strangers

28:25

were enough of a rarity in the neighborhood

28:28

to be remembered easily. Selina

28:30

recalled two men who had passed

28:32

that way, whose description fitted those

28:34

charged with the murder. Sheriff

28:37

Holmes was elated. Would

28:40

you like a trip to Eastview? he

28:42

asked. Eastview? Selina

28:45

Joe's heart skipped a beat. That's

28:47

town, ain't it? Where the

28:49

railroad trains is at? Yes.

28:53

We want you there a week from today. The

28:56

sheriff filled in a blank subpoena and extended

28:58

it to the girl. Look

29:00

me up in the courthouse soon as you get to town.

29:04

Selina Joe's breathless announcement that she

29:06

was going to court created

29:08

a flurry at home until Shug learned

29:11

why she had been summoned. Then

29:13

he breathed easily. It

29:15

was decided that she could use the oxen and wagon

29:17

for the trip, as Eastview was 25 miles

29:20

distant. This

29:22

method of travel, being slow, would

29:25

necessitate an early start on the day before the

29:27

trial. When that day dawned, though,

29:30

one of the oxen was found to be indisposed. Selina

29:33

Joe assembled a lunch of corn pone and

29:35

side meat, filled a small

29:37

bottle with molasses, and dressed in

29:40

her new finery, set out on foot. Within

29:43

an hour, the new shoes began to pinch. She

29:46

took them off, tied them together by

29:48

their strings, and slung them over her shoulder. The

29:52

stockings were rolled into balls and stuffed into her

29:54

pockets. Late in

29:56

the afternoon, she bathed her feet and legs in

29:58

a brook, just outside Eastview. view and

30:01

donned shoes and stockings again. It was

30:04

dusk when she arrived at the sheriff's office. An

30:07

overflow crowd at the single hotel

30:09

necessitated her staying with Sheriff Holmes's

30:11

family that night. With

30:14

the inborn timidity of the woodsbred girl,

30:17

she remained there until summoned to court in

30:19

the late forenoon of the following day. By

30:22

the time her evidence was concluded though, she had

30:25

partially overcome her shyness and was

30:27

ready for sightseeing. Wandering

30:30

about the interior of the courthouse, she

30:33

marveled at the white plaster walls. Then

30:36

she watched several people using the

30:38

sanitary drinking fountain. Presently

30:40

she found courage to try it herself. The

30:44

technique she found to be rather difficult, but

30:47

after she had mastered it, she became a

30:49

frequent patron. Later she

30:52

ventured outside the courthouse. Sheriff

30:56

Holmes found her during the noon recess. She

30:59

had commandeered a small goods box which she

31:01

was using as a seat. Her unwraptured

31:03

gaze was fastened upon a scene across

31:05

the street. Three large

31:08

two-story frame buildings painted a

31:10

dazzling white stood upon

31:12

a lot which occupied an entire

31:14

block. Beneath the branches

31:16

of huge water oaks were scores

31:19

of girls dressed in white

31:21

blouses and dark blue skirts. Sheriff

31:24

Holmes smiled understandably. Like

31:27

it? Selina Jo

31:29

did not even turn her head. Whose

31:32

is them er li'l gers? she

31:34

asked breathlessly. The States

31:37

for the present was the

31:39

answer. Who? The state.

31:42

That's the reformatory for girls. It

31:45

was plain that the remark conveyed no

31:47

information to Selina Jo. Do

31:50

which? she asked. When

31:52

girls, young ones like you,

31:55

break the law, the sheriff

31:57

explained, they bring them here

31:59

to be reformed. What's

32:01

reformed?" "'Well, it's like this.

32:04

Before they let a girl go again, she

32:07

has to prove that she's been changed for the

32:09

better.'" "'Changed?' Selina

32:12

Jo looked up with a quick and drawn breath. "'They

32:15

make them different from what they was?' "'Yes,

32:18

that's about it, I guess.' "'Do

32:21

they learn them out in books in there?' "'Oh,

32:23

yes, they have regular hours for study.' "'And

32:26

could—' "'Could a gal get in

32:28

there? "'It didn't know nothing but a

32:30

part of the first reader?' "'You

32:33

don't understand yet, child. It's

32:35

only for girls who do wrong. Now

32:38

a girl like you never would go there.'" Selina

32:42

Jo sighed dejectedly. Her

32:44

eyes caressed the buildings with their spotless

32:47

white walls and wide-flung shutters, and

32:50

the groups of girls scattered about the lawn.

32:53

Presently she pointed to a high iron picket

32:55

fence which enclosed the lot. "'What's

32:58

the fence for?' She asked. "'Why,

33:01

that fence wasn't there, little sister. Half

33:04

the girls there would lie down before midnight,'

33:07

the sheriff answered. "'They'd

33:09

run away?' Selina

33:11

Jo shook her head incredulously. "'From

33:14

them, pretty houses?' Since

33:17

it would be impossible for her to reach home that day,

33:19

she spent another night with the sheriff's family. In

33:23

her dreams she saw white

33:25

painted buildings fashioned of real lumber.

33:28

There was real glass in the windows, too. They

33:31

weren't just yawning black holes in the walls.

33:34

And the chimneys were of brick, so

33:36

different from the flimsy stick and clay affair

33:38

that leaned drunkenly against one end of the

33:40

cabin at home. Home.'

33:44

She seemed to sicken at the thought. Her

33:48

dreams were peopled with girls in white

33:50

blouses and blue skirts, thousands of them,

33:52

it seemed to her. They

33:55

were all within an iron-fenced enclosure, beckoning

33:57

to her to enter. always

34:00

just on the outside. With

34:03

mourning came thoughts of her

34:05

work in the turpentine orchard. Inexplicably,

34:08

a vague dissatisfaction

34:10

awoke within her. The

34:13

idea began to burn itself into her consciousness

34:15

that, though she might spend a

34:17

lifetime in honest toil there, she would

34:20

always be referred to as one

34:22

of that hudsel tribe. Apparently

34:25

there was no escape from that. During

34:28

breakfast she was unusually quiet and

34:30

thoughtful. With a shy

34:32

acknowledgement of thanks, she accepted

34:34

the liberal lunch provided by the sheriff's

34:37

wife and made her adduce. Two

34:40

miles outside the town, she left the

34:42

highway. A hundred yards from

34:44

the road, she seated herself

34:46

upon a log and grimly

34:48

prepared to wait. Darkness

34:51

had fallen when she again entered east view

34:54

and cautiously approached the reformatory from the

34:56

rear. She scaled

34:59

the iron fence with comparative ease. Crouching

35:02

low, she crept toward a

35:04

lighted window on the ground floor. Two

35:07

girls of about her own age sat at

35:09

a study table. Standing

35:11

before the window, Selena Jo

35:13

spoke. Can I come in?

35:16

She asked softly. One

35:19

of the girls screamed slightly. The

35:21

other, after her first involuntary

35:23

start of amazement, seemed wonderfully

35:26

self-possessed. Sure, Rube?

35:29

She invited cordially. Step right in.

35:33

Selena Jo climbed over the low window sill

35:35

into the room. What you doing

35:37

here? One of the girls asked. I'm

35:40

joining this here reform in place, was

35:42

the unruffled answer. You

35:44

what? Very

35:47

simply, Selena Jo made known her

35:49

intentions. But you'll be

35:51

caught sure as shooting, one of

35:53

the girls objected. In the first place,

35:55

you got no uniform. Naturally,

35:58

Selena Jo expected to be discovered. sooner

36:00

or later, but she had prepared

36:02

for this eventuality, as she thought. Maybe

36:05

we can fix that, the other girl

36:07

broke in eagerly. There's that old

36:10

blouse of mine and your extra skirt. Gee,

36:12

I wish we could put it over. Wouldn't old iron

36:15

jaw be wild? Between

36:17

them, they rigged a uniform for Selina Jo.

36:21

At the nightly inspection, she crept under the bed.

36:24

Later, she slept on a pallet. The

36:27

fortunate indisposition of a girl across

36:29

the hall solved the breakfast problem.

36:32

Selina Jo, taking the vacant place in the

36:34

formation, passed undiscovered for the moment.

36:38

Among the many contingencies which she could not

36:40

have provided against, though, were the sharp

36:43

eyes and keen memory for

36:45

faces possessed by Mary Shane,

36:48

the matron in charge. As

36:50

the girls were forming for certain duties

36:52

shortly after breakfast, Selina Jo felt

36:55

a heavy hand upon her shoulder. She

36:57

looked up into the stern face of the

36:59

matron. What are

37:01

you doing here? was the

37:03

curt inquiry. Me? Selina

37:07

Jo's attempted surprise was ludicrous. I

37:11

belong here, ma'am. You do? You

37:14

want to know me then? What is my

37:16

name? Instinct

37:18

told the girl that this must be the matron. Old

37:21

iron jaw, she answered,

37:23

unabashed. Mary Shane

37:26

smiled grimly. Come

37:28

with me, she ordered. She

37:31

led the way, Selina Jo following

37:34

meekly, to her little cubbyhole of

37:36

an office. Now

37:38

then, the matron commanded

37:40

sternly. Tell me the truth.

37:42

How did you get in here? I

37:45

clumbed that fence. Why? Just

37:48

cause, ma'am? I naturally got

37:50

to get reformed, was the

37:52

perfectly serious answer. I really

37:55

belong here. I'm so poison mean,

37:57

there ain't no other place fitting for me. What

38:00

is your name?" Now

38:02

it came, not hesitantly but

38:04

proudly, even defiantly, "'Sleenie

38:07

Jo Hudson," Mary

38:09

Jane knitted her brows thoughtfully. "'Hudsil?'

38:14

He asked them. Them low-down,

38:16

sneaking, ornery, shoal-water river-hudsels,

38:18

ma'am. Everybody in the country

38:20

knows about them. They are the shiftless'

38:22

family that ever was born. And

38:25

what's furthermore, I'm the

38:27

hell-razinest one of the

38:29

entire generation." "'What are you trying

38:31

to tell me, child? Just

38:33

how tarnation mean I am, ma'am?" In

38:37

her plans for forcibly entering the reformatory,

38:39

Selena Jo had hit upon the idea

38:42

of charging herself when her presence should

38:44

be discovered, with an assortment

38:46

of crimes sufficient to ensure her

38:48

incarceration for an indefinite period. It

38:51

seems to her now that the moment for her

38:53

confession had arrived. "'Last

38:55

month, ma'am,' she continued

38:58

earnestly, "'I burned down three cow

39:00

stalls. Right after that I

39:03

went into my own blood-uncle's cornfield

39:05

and pulled up every smidgen bit

39:07

of his young corn. Pulled

39:10

it smack up by the roots, ma'am. Now

39:12

that ain't all, not nigh all. I

39:14

almost hate to tell you this, ma'am, but last

39:17

week I stabbed a little nigga-baby

39:19

to death. Dead, dead

39:21

is hush, child, hush,' the

39:24

matron ordered. "'You did none

39:26

of those things. Now then, tell

39:29

me the truth.'" It

39:32

came, then, the truth. The

39:36

story, haltingly told of a child's

39:39

scarcely understood heartache for

39:41

self-betterment. Selena

39:44

Jo didn't want to stay in the reformatory long,

39:46

she said, only long enough

39:48

to learn all there was in the books. Then

39:51

she would be willing to leave. She

39:53

would change her name and go away off

39:56

somewhere. Maybe the folks there, not

39:58

knowing that she was a hudsel. would

40:00

invite her to Sunday dinner when she went to

40:02

meeting. People,

40:05

some of them, rather, said

40:07

of Mary Shane that her long

40:10

association with the so-called criminally inclined

40:12

young had rendered her immune to

40:14

every human emotion. But

40:16

as the recital progressed, the

40:19

matron turned her back suddenly and

40:21

strode over to a window. Presently,

40:24

the story was finished. And

40:28

please, ma'am, a voice

40:30

was asking helpfully, I can

40:32

stay now, can't I? Mary

40:36

Shane did not reply for a moment. I'm

40:40

afraid not, child, she said

40:43

presently. Few who

40:45

thought they knew her would have recognized the

40:47

matron's voice. You,

40:51

you've done nothing to be kept here for. You'll

40:54

have to go home. Then

40:57

it was that Selina Jo's heart broke.

41:01

She flung herself upon the matron. Oh,

41:04

God, ma'am, she sobbed.

41:06

Please don't make me go back. I

41:08

ain't going back. I don't

41:10

want to be one of them low-down hudzels all

41:12

my enduring days. I want

41:14

to be somebody like other folks is. I

41:17

don't want to have a parcel of dang

41:19

little old gals looking at me slantwise when

41:21

I go to meeting. You don't know what

41:23

it is, ma'am, to have a hankering. I

41:26

want to be changed. I want to be made

41:28

different. Ma'am, I just got to

41:31

get reformed. Mary

41:33

Shane had opened her mouth to speak

41:35

to check this outburst. Suddenly

41:38

her iron jaws closed with a snap. Come

41:41

with me, child, she said. We'll

41:44

see the superintendent. A

41:47

moment later, she added, Jim

41:49

Wellborn generally runs this reformatory to

41:51

suit himself anyway. The

41:54

matron was the one person connected with

41:56

the institution who took whatever

41:58

liberties she chose. When she

42:01

wished to be particularly impressive, she

42:03

addressed people by their full names. Jim

42:06

Wellborn, she said brusquely, as

42:08

she and Selina Jo entered the superintendent's

42:11

office. This girl

42:13

wants to tell you something. You

42:15

listen closely. Wellborn,

42:19

big and broad-shouldered, had

42:21

glanced up as they entered. His

42:23

quizzical glance had rested first upon the girl. Now

42:26

he looked at Mary Shane. And

42:29

you've heard her story, the matron

42:32

continued. If you can't

42:34

find some way to keep her here so

42:36

she can learn to live the life that

42:38

Almighty God has shown her that she's fitted

42:40

for, why, I'll

42:42

undertake the job of looking after her

42:44

myself, and the Reformatory can

42:46

get another matron. Mmm.

42:51

Superintendent Wellborn's gray eyes twinkled, but

42:54

he did not smile outright. Well,

42:58

the Reformatory is fairly well

43:00

satisfied with its present matron.

43:04

Good day, Mary Shane. Sit

43:06

down, little girl. The

43:09

matron closed the door and returned to

43:11

her office. For

43:13

nearly an hour, she sat, idle,

43:16

at her desk. It was

43:18

the first of the month. There were statements

43:21

to be prepared, reports to be rendered,

43:23

bills to be checked. But

43:26

it was patent that her mind was upon none

43:28

of these things. From

43:30

time to time, she glanced up impatiently at some

43:32

noise in the hallway. Presently

43:35

there came the sound of hurrying footsteps. She

43:37

whirled her chair about. Selina

43:40

Jo stood in the doorway. Questions,

43:44

answers were unnecessary. The

43:47

flush in her cheeks, the flame

43:49

of her slow black eyes, blazoned

43:51

her happiness to the world. As

43:54

she realized what the superintendent's decision had

43:57

been, an answering

43:59

light gleamed. momentarily in

44:01

Mary Shane's face. Characteristically

44:04

though, it was quenched upon

44:06

the instant as she slipped

44:09

once more automatically into her habitual

44:11

mask of granite. But

44:13

even a granite mask, since it

44:16

is only a mask, cannot

44:18

stifle a heart song. At

44:21

best it can only muffle it. For

44:24

as she went about the prosaic business of

44:26

acquainting Selina Jo with her duties, Mary

44:29

Shane was well aware that somewhere

44:32

deep within herself a

44:34

small voice was chanting,

44:37

chanting over and over. For

44:40

this one, just

44:43

this one Lord, who

44:46

comes of her own accord to be

44:49

changed. For this single

44:51

one who wants to

44:53

be made different, I

44:55

thank thee. This

45:08

is BJ Harrison. I hope

45:11

you've enjoyed this unabridged production of Prelude

45:13

by Edgar Valentine Smith. If

45:16

you've enjoyed this episode, you may

45:18

also enjoy Tickets Please by D.

45:21

H. Lawrence, available for

45:23

free in your podcast feed. Thank

45:26

you for joining me today and allowing

45:28

classic literature to awaken your better self.

45:31

Please join me next time and

45:33

we'll rediscover the greatest stories ever put

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to paper. you