in the wild mountain regions of the rockies, where maids are unheard of, and the "hotels" provide the most primitive service, the house-wives have little concern over the perplexing question of "help" as experienced in large cities.
if it is necessary to assist a neighbor who is marrying off a daughter and wants to provide her with a trousseau, a sewing-bee is arranged and ranchers' families for miles around drive in and visit. quilts, sheets, and other necessities are quickly stitched and neatly folded out of the way by the women, while the men occupy themselves with work about the place until it is time for the grand dinner.
the same neighborly help is offered in other emergencies, so that few families want servants. at the same time, help has not been looked down upon as menial work by the ranchers, and so the "help" lives as a member of the family that happens to secure one.
in cases such as sary dodd's, where a woman is left penniless and another woman needs her practical aid, the two meet half-way and the kitchen atmosphere is serene. quite different is the case in cities, however.
sary felt she was the social equal to any rancher's wife, for had she not been mistress of a ranch, too—even though it was never paid for. so she felt she was doing the brewsters a favor by sharing their home and work, even while she admitted the obligation she was under of being provided with bed and board.
the tiny room allotted to the widow was directly back of the kitchen l. it had a single window that gave a fine view of rainbow cliffs, but the furniture was of the plainest. sary took in the simplicity in one glance and then turned to her mistress.
"ah've hear'n tell how sam brewster kin buy er sell th' hull township, ef he likes, miss brewster," ventured sary, slyly.
but the mistress had heard of sary's proneness to gossip and so replied: "we don't consider wealth worth anything unless you know what to do with it. we live as comfortably as we like, and try to use what is left in helping others."
sary made no reply to this statement, but watched mrs. brewster go to the window and pull on the cord that was stretched at one side of the window-frame. instantly, the decorated window-shade pulleyed up to allow more light to shine into the room.
"now ah see how that wu'ks!" cried sary, delightedly.
mrs. brewster turned with a questioning look in her eyes.
sary explained. "cal lorrimer tol' me like-es-how them winder shades wu'ked but ah jest coulden' see it."
mrs. brewster laughed and sary ventured to pulley the shade herself. she drew it up and down several times and then turned to express her sentiments to her mistress.
"my, but yuh're ferchunit t' have all seeh new-fangled idees in the house! it clean locoes me t' think ah'm livin' wid sech fine contraptions." and sary pressed her large freckled, hands over her sparse red hair to signify how "locoed" her brain really was.
mrs. brewster laughed merrily. "why, sary, since i left denver, my friends all have shades in the windows that run up and down on springs without any other help. they go by themselves."
"now, miss brewster! do you believe that fairy-tale?" quizzed sary, looking keenly at her mistress to see if she was trying to laugh at her ignorance of city-life.
"it is a fact, sary—not a fairy-tale. my friend has them all through her house, and i expect to replace these pulleys with spring rollers, some day."
sary passed her hand over the lustra design on the shade and mrs. brewster turned to leave the room. before she closed the door, she said: "i'm going to start dinner, sary. when you are ready you can join me in the kitchen."
the moment the mistress was gone, sary ran to make sure the door was securely closed. then she turned to inspect the belongings of the room. "huh! the press ain't so much—plain deal painted brown."
the press was passed by the scornful occupant of the room, and the bed next came under her appraising eye.
"th' bed's soft wood, too, but it feels comfertible."
sary sat on the bed and bounced up and down to test the springs and mattress before she pulled back the covers to examine the quality of filling in the ticking.
"laws! it hain't corn-husks, a-tall! it's soft as down!"
inborn curiosity compelled her to take a hairpin and rip open a bit of the seam. to her amazement she pulled out a tangle of long whitish hair.
"of all things! and this is what i hev to sleep on!" ejaculated the insulted maid. "wall, we'll see about that!"
the sheets and newly patched quilt were designated as "ornery" but the printed spread, patterned to imitate blue torchon lace, drew a murmur of admiration from the woman. sary quickly changed her robe of mourning to a calico house-dress and went out, determined to speak her mind about that awful mattress! she never thought such a rich man's house would have so common a thing as "combin's"—even if it was in the "help's" tick!
but the wonderful odor of boiling cabbage made her forget her complaint for the time being. she went to the stove and lifted a lid from the large kettle. she sniffed audibly.
"um! ah loves cabbige soup, miss brewster!"
"do you, sary—so does mr. brewster. if you will watch the meat frying,
i will blow the horn to call the men to dinner."
mrs. brewster waited until sary began thickening the gravy, then she took the horn and stood upon the door-step, blowing it several times. it was then hung back of the kitchen door again.
"polly! come now, dear, and wash up for dinner," called mrs. brewster, standing in the doorway that led to the family living-room.
presently, the family, augmented by sary, sat down in the kitchen for dinner. jeb, the hired man, had followed in after his master, and had been introduced to the new help; he now watched her capable hands and arms as she swung the soup-kettle from the stove.
"just a moment, sary!" whispered mrs. brewster, warningly.
sary looked around in surprise and saw the others with bowed heads, waiting for her to get rid of the pot and fold her hands. it took her but half a second to understand and follow the leading.
the ranchers of the rocky mountains and plains are most orthodox church folk. they would as soon steal or murder as to miss "meetin'," or work on a sunday. and most of them have regular family prayers and long services at home whenever opportunity offers.
sam brewster was not one of the latter kind but the longer the grace he said, the better a man he thought he was. in every other way, so liberal and kind, it was not consistent for him to act so narrow-minded regarding religion.
once the grace was said, the host unfolded his napkin and looked to sary for the soup. the soup-pot had been taken up the second time and was about to be placed in the middle of the table where every one could serve themselves as they wished, but mrs. brewster gave her a look and sign that was incomprehensible. she was confused for once in her life.
"i'll serve the soup this noon, sary, and you can pass the plates," remarked mrs. brewster, seeing her maid did not understand.
and now sary beheld a new order of things! soup that was dipped into plates and passed until each member at table had a dish before him. large white napkins that were not tied about the neck but spread over the lap! how funny it seemed that the small red-flowered squares sary had been accustomed to when company came were nowhere in evidence.
as the meal progressed, sary's wonderment increased; she failed to hear familiar sounds of eating, nor saw the usual form of plying knife and fork together.
immediately after dinner, polly led her mother to john's room. "maw, i'm going to use those new shades i bought for your christmas gift, and put them at the windows of the girls' room."
"oh, polly, don't you think plain white ones will look nicer?" quickly replied mrs. brewster, as she beheld the pea-green holland decorated with monster bronze roses and huge butterflies.
polly felt disconcerted for the moment as she realized that her mother's tone implied disapproval of the change. but she would not admit that possibly the white would improve the bed-room.
"why, maw, you know how much i paid for those shades last christmas.
the man in oak creek said they were the grandest ones in denver!"
"maybe he thought so, polly, but we must remember that his taste in art has lacked cultivation. now i prefer pure white shades, or curtains, for a bed-room window," said wise mrs. brewster, leaving her daughter to wonder whether she liked pure white for the living-room, also.
but polly had enough human will and stubbornness in her make-up to resist the suggestion offered by her experienced mother. "well, i'll tell you what we'll do, maw: i'll just put these lovely shades up till after the girls see them, then we'll change to white. i think it will be best to keep these new and clean for the front room, but i want the city girls to know we've got such expensive things in the house."
"polly dear, that is foolish. i have always tried to teach you otherwise. what matters it, whether you display gorgeous 'feathers' if the thing be false? simplicity and wisdom are the rarest adornments of a home."
"there you go again, maw, lecturing me with your wise old saws," laughed polly, jumping upon the chair to fit the shades in place.
mrs. brewster smiled but said nothing. she knew how soon her child would learn good from bad, once she came in contact with strangers. and so well had the mother grounded her daughter that she had no qualms about the result of any contacts.
mrs. brewster watched while polly finished the placing of the dreadful shades, then she looked about at the colored prints tacked upon every available spot of rough plaster-walls. her brow puckered at the conglomeration of subjects and sizes of the chromos, but she knew how carefully polly had saved every one of them that had arrived with tea or soap, so she passed no audible judgment.
"oh, maw! i have another great idea!" cried polly, jumping from the chair and clapping her hands.
"yes?"
"let's move daddy's sofa into the bedroom and place it at the foot of the bed, just like the pictures in the farm journal show us! then we won't have to have the single bed brought in from the barn—anne can sleep on the bed-lounge."
"i really think anne stewart will prefer a bed, polly, even if it is small," gasped mrs. brewster hastily.
"then we'll change later. it won't take a minute to move the sofa in and it will look so citified to the girls who most likely have divans or sofas in their bedrooms at home."
"i think they will like the difference—not having their country bedroom look like the city one. a complete change always is better than a similar environment, especially if the city rooms are more artistically furnished than the result of our efforts."
"now, maw, don't you want me to surprise them with the sofa john gave
paw and you, long ago? i'm sure they won't hurt it," coaxed polly.
"oh, i'm not thinking of any damage. i was wondering how anne would like to sleep on a folding sofa instead of in a bed."
"she won't mind; and she'll be glad to see her friends impressed by the bedroom furniture," quickly explained polly.
"well, then, call sary to help you shove it in, while i go and find those braided mats we made last winter," said mrs. brewster in a tone of resignation.
polly needed no second consent, but ran out to call sary. the sofa was soon wheeled from the chimney-nook into the bedroom which adjoined the living-room at the back. once it was placed at the foot of the heavy walnut bed, polly whipped off the cretonne covering that always hid the hideous plush-carpet upholstery.
as the slip-cover came off and revealed the red and green and purple design, polly glanced at sary to see the effect made.
"oh, laws! ah never see'd sech a sofy! ain't it grand?" breathed sary, lost in admiration.
"sary, it opens, too!" announced polly, condescendingly pulling at the strap that moved the spring to turn the half into a low bed.
"well, suhs! what next? yoh paw must be a milyonaire, shore!"
"no, sary; john saved his money for selling chickens and a calf, and got this for paw and maw, when he went to high school in denver. oh, we had an awful time carting it from oak creek to pebbly pit through all the snow and weather!" explained polly.
mrs. brewster laughed at the remembrance but told polly that she hoped she would keep the cover on the sofa.
"you don't mean me to cover up the velvet, do you?" asked polly, aghast at the suggestion.
"perhaps anne will sleep better if the flowers are out of sight," remarked mrs. brewster, softly, but with amused sarcasm.
"you-all mought better do that, miss pollee, cuz them colors will git sun-streaked in this bright light," added sary.
"i am not worrying about the fade, sary, but over the fact that the young teacher and her friends will think we prefer such crude articles of furniture, instead of tolerating them just because my dear children denied themselves to give us pleasure. it is their motive and delight that we all felt in the gifts, more than the objects which showed immature judgment," explained mrs. brewster, slowly and thoughtfully.
polly was silenced and she suddenly realized how far she must climb before she knew as much as her mother—even though she studied "art notes" in the monthly magazines that reached the ranch.
"i wonder if the harsh color maw speaks of is the real cause of that cretonne cover always being over the sofa?" wondered the girl to herself. but she said nothing and the sofa was left at the foot of the great bed.
mrs. brewster knew she had said much, so she left the room and beckoned sary to follow her to the kitchen. polly silently proceeded with the finishing touches to the room.
she hung a painted-framed mirror over the wash-stand. the glass was greenish in hue and wavy in lines, but it looked like a reflector and so it remained in position. an enameled basin and earthen jug did duty for toilet purposes. the plain deal chairs were decorated with crocheted tidies—one tied to the back of each chair. and last, but not least, came the treasure of the brewster family. it had been preserved in paper wrappings and lavender for many years, and now and then the mistress of the ranch-house removed it and hung it out to keep the folds from turning yellow.
"there now! when they see this knitted cotton spread with its raised roses and lilies, those girls will know that we can have wonderful things here as well as there."
so saying, polly spread out the thick white quilt until the large double-bed was smoothly covered. then she stood back and sighed with gratification at the result of her afternoon's work.
"there now! i'll just call maw before i close up the room," murmured
polly, skipping away to look for mrs. brewster.
sary followed closely after the mistress, as polly led the triumphal march to the guest-chamber. the door was flung open and the ladies asked to admire.
"polly, something told me that you would get the spread out of the chest," declared mrs. brewster, patting her daughter gently. "and your god-mother would be so pleased if she were here to see how you honored her work. some day, these quaint old-fashioned spreads and patch-work quilts will become quite the rage again, and then you will feel proud to show yours. i think anne will appreciate the endless task such a spread represents."
and once more polly felt that she had not expressed her interior decorating ideals on the same high plane her mother seemed to have reached, but she would not admit having made a mistake, so the crocheted spread remained, even as the green shades and the gay sofa remained, to welcome the city girls to pebbly pit.
