Cinderella and the Proud Sister

Cinderella and the Proud Sister By Elizabeth Cannon Porter Myrtle and Maggie Gardner were dressing for the Hal- lowe'en ball. Maggie had a good mind not to go for several reasons. First, she was very tired. Second, her maroon col- ored gown was both old and unbecoming. Lastly, she made an unwelcome third to accompany her sister and her escort. Vern Reid. Maggie did not like Reid. She had rather forc- ibly expressed her opinion of him to Myrtle, which did not increase the cordiality of their relations. Reid was a salesman in a dry goods store. He sold silks and satins, and flattered his lady customers. He was always immaculately clad. Hisi ties and socks matched. His nails were manicured. His skin was white and his thin hair smoothly brushed. He reminded Maggie of a manikin. He had gone with Myrtle five years. Marriage he had not discussed much. It was understood that he had to support his mother. Maggie was of the opinion that he was too selfish and luxury loving to make the necessary sacrifices for marriage. "1 tell you, Myrtle, a man has no right to pay attention to a woman for years unless he intends to marry her. A wom- an's beauty and youth are her stock in trade. A man who keeps other suitors away robs her of her chances in life," Mag- gie said hotly. Myrtle merely smiled. Her sister must be jealous. Vern was swell. Their tastes were similar. She, too, liked fine things. She had usually managed to get them. With their mother's death the Gardner girls had been largely left to their own devices. Each girl had followed her own bent. Myrtle assumed a semi-invalidism which only al- lowed her to do the things that she liked to do. The result was that most of the hard work of the suburban home fell on Maggie, who was willing. The former was like an exotic hot house plant; the1, latter resembled a wind-blown field flower. Myrtle had done up her own room that morning and dusted the living room. After lunch she began her elaborate preparations for the dance, which consumed half a day. She laid her things out on the bed. Her outfit was perfect from the polished toe of her glittering slipper to the last hook on

CINDERELLA AND THE PROUD SISTER 57 her pale green sea-foam gown. The marcelling and coiffing of her golden hair took three hours. Maggie that day had done up her morning work, prepared the meals, washed the dishes. On going to the cellar to get cherries for pies she had stopped to straighten things up there. Before dark she had brought in an armful of autumn leaves, for the October wind was whistling among the maples. Now, garbed in a red dressing Sjaque as she did up her abundant dark brown hair, she reflected, "I wouldn't go at all if it weren't for the two fellows from Rutledge." Every unattached girl in the town was anxious to meet the two strangers, for youth is always eager for the great adventure. A knock came at the back door. She1 hurried to answer it. Her neighbor's boy, Johnny Jones, stood outside. "Burt came down from the mountains today. He said he saw Brig and he told him to tell you he'd be down tonight. They're taking the sheep out west. He sent these." He held out a string of mountain trout. Maggie exclaimed, and thanked him. If she went to the party it meant a cold supper and cheer- less welcome for Brig. On his visits home she had always made it a point to make things pleasant for the loyal brother who spent four months at a time in a lonely sheep camp that the rest of them might live. She hesitated only a moment. Then she went in to Myrtle. "Brig has sent word that he'll be here tonight. They are taking the sheep to the winter range. Guess I'll stay home and get things ready for him." Myrtle murmured her regrets but she seemed relieved. Maggie stirred up the fire and turned on the lights. The pleasant odor of fried ham and broiled fish floated out of the kitchen when the dog's bark heralded the hoof-beats of horses. As she ran out and was enveloped in a bear-hug by her brother she was aware of a second man alighting from a big gray horse. Brig introduced him as Nigel St. Bernard. He held out a bunch of sage hens. As they entered the lighted room and she served the men Maggie appraised her brother's friend. His brown clad figure suggested the primitive strength of a wild animal. She noted the powerful breadth of the shoulders. His black hair waived. His eyes glowed like coals set in the bronze of his face. Picking up one of her flaky biscuits he laughingly re- marked that it was worth the trip to taste such a biscuit. After- ward Maggie sat entranced while the men touched lightly on such subjects as mares that died with their colts in blizzards, on coyotes that killed eighteen sheep in a night, poisoned

58 IMPROVEMENT ERA springs, mountain lions that ate calves, and rattlesnakes that bite ponies in the hoof. It gave her a shivery feeling on the eve of All Saints Day when goblins were supposed to prowl about. As she watched the play of expression on the vivid face Maggie wondered what mixed blood had produced such a man. He combined the strength of Russia with the charm of the Oriental. She guessed that he was of Balkan or Slav- onian parentage transplanted to Western America. When Myrtle returned and their visitor bade them good- night, Maggie flushed hot under his ardent glance, as he held her hand. That night the following remarks were exchanged. Nigel to Brig: "Do you mean to say that your sister stayed home from a dance to get you a hot supper?" Myrtle to Maggie: "I don't see how you like him, he seems so wild." Brig to Maggie: "Be good to him, Sis. He's not only a prince of a fellow, but he's a real prince, a Prince of the Des- ert, for he is rich in herds and mines and land." Nigel St. Bernard did not go away the next morning as he had planned. When he finally rode away he carried with him the heart of Maggie Gardner. He was used to taking what he wanted and he was not to be denied love. So suddenly and wonderfully had the fairy prince come into her life, Maggie felt that, through the wizardy of love, Cinderella's ashes had indeed been transformed into the palace of the king. They were married in peach-blossom time (Nigel refused to wait any longer). Their friends greeted them at the old homestead amid the blossoming orchards planted by the Gard- ners' pioneer parents. Maggie was a pink bride. People remarked that they had no idea that she was so lovely. Hap- piness is a great beautifier. Two women partaking of refreshments at a small table gossiped over their sherbet. "Where are they going to live?" "Maggie says they're going to live at the edge of the painted desert and sleep beneath the stars. I call that a pe- culiar way of expressing it." "What was the matter with Myrtle?" "She fainted in the bathroom. They say that Vern Reid's mother is dead and he has left for parts unknown. Myrtle has just learned that he has been gone two weeks and left no word for her."