THIS SIMPLE LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 15, 18 January 1930, Page 1 (Supplement)

THIS SIMPLE LIFE.

SANTA CLAUS IN THE COUNTRY • v/NV* ?'■■■* >*>'■ ■■ ' v ' i OF ' CHRISTMAS. BUYING AT ' THE • LOCAL. STORE; ; i;. .7. v ...! r ■■■'•< 1 ' ".' "■■■' i - .[ (By:M;E.S.) - (Nov2)' 'V. ' J This .was tragedy, and Jane's face'was set; as she advanced .upon the telephone; I took up the second receiver and listened gloomily. -v-;'_ ■' • "X, are there any parcels for me?" • "One moment, Mrs. Wyatt, and I'll see." .. ■ . : ; : ■ • • ; These' names, I may say, are .fictitious, In a stealthy aside Jane whispered, to me, "Is he drunk?" I shook my head; three years' residence in the .backblocks had now taught me the habits of our X, local storekeeper and postmaster. "Not till to-morrow; this is only Chiistmas Eve." » , ■! X's • • articulation was virtuously distinct. "There's only the usual lot, Mrs. Wyatt. i I had a look, seeing as how you asked; me. There's the books from your brother, no Edgar-Wallace'.'this year, and the parcel from your mother, mostly underclothing, that seems —" V . , ; "Yes, yes," Jane broke in with a haste that disappointed me, for I was Just beginning to enjoy myself.) "It doesn't matter about all that. • But, is there a parcel .from'Z's," in' Auckland?" . A pause, ; then .X, reproachful ' but triumphant, "Nothing from Z; I've always told you, Mrs." Wyatt, not-' to depend on Z ,or. none of-, them . Auckland firms; unreliable, I calls them. But if you're looking' for' Christma,s goods, I've as nice a little selection as you'll find anywhere—a very classy line of presents, and cheap,' too.' Could you take a run down, now that you've got the car? I'm open till ten to-night." - v ! ' An Amazing Tiryst. '• v \ To. my. amazement I heard Jane mak-! ing tryst for eight p;in: at' the , store; j either her spirit had been broken, or- she ] had been' .overwhelmed by the compliment that designated the. riewly-pur-< chased but. world-weary Anne Boleyn as "Iv can't help it," she said, ■ feverishly, "you know that we must get something somewhere. Every wretched person -in. the whole .district has sent; us something."" '"How I love that . true Christmas ; spirit >of generosity,": I remarked; provocatively, but Jane was not-to be side-tracked. ■, i "It w : IU be a good chance for you to return uthose riding pants and tells X what you think of him," she continued temptingly, s ;,f ■ l; , ,

1 "That," I remarked coldly, "would be hardly , a subject suitablefor Christmas Eve." , V, j •; ■.. • j The affair or the. riding , pants, indeed,, still ; rankled. • During, three sad 1 years, ! had learnt'tborder. early arid'of ten from town, but the Householders' Meeting had taken me unawares. It was before the advent* of Anne Boleyn and ride I must, fit's quite Impossible', to patch them again,": said Jane firmly, "you must simply order a pair from X." i "Simply!" I groaned. "I do wish you would choose your adverbs more suitably." But of course I yielded, and rang X up. Yes, he had .a pair in stock, my size, and yes, he would pledge his immortal; soul—• an expression 'purely metaphorical in the case of X—- to have them sent up to-morrow. I sighed as' I heard his passionate promises, but fortunatelyvfchere were a few days' grace and •eventually they.'arrived the night be? fore the meeting. They were not a bad fit, and I was feeling a little pleased with myself when the tragedy occurred. We were standing about, discussing affairs, the 'whole 20 representatives of that scattered district, when Hori burst in upon us, the excitement of re-union in his disreputable eye. "Ha, Mr. Wyart, you want the pants, eh?" he cried, beaming appreciatively. , "That why X, he say, 'Hurry send 'em back'; they too tight, they squeeze me here. X, he not see where I spill that bit of pork- —Yes, decidedly I would tell X • whaij I thought of him, Christinas spirit notwithstanding. ; Back-Blocks Gaiety. At eight o'clock we rolled noisily and ponderously into-the tiny settlement, and I got out with that feeling of proud achievement; which brings so much balm to the owners of third-hand cars. ; ' There ' was 1 something unfamiliar' in ■the appearance of this backrwater of dife, and .suddenly / we realised that the village was en fete. A string of gailycoloured, partially-deflated balloons .was Stretched across the road from the store to the ..< smithy, with' here and there a .Chinese, lantern- to dazzle the eye. I noticed/three, when we pulled up; later, the . number seemed ,to have increased •incredibly. ; . f l, , - ' < : ' > ; The:.smithy-was, of course, open,' and th(j chink of glasses from within sounded more, satisfactorily than ; any AnviPs Chorus; for ours is a area, and.the. blacksmith's brow; is seldom wet with honest sweat. "No, it don't, pay me ,to light iriy fire for one 'orse," I heard him. say, one day to the outraged rider, of a very lame mount; "it .'eats the stuff: too much in this weather." ,' j The half dozen corrugated iron .whares that compose "our settlement"! had' emptied /themselves into the dusty road;' some men ! stood iabout in shirtsleeves; and a few half-caste women -Were squatting comfortably in the dry grass' at-the side of the'store. At least !a score of'piccaninnies were strutting up arid; down the road, triumphantly" kicking; up av cloud of yellow dust and playing long and .gloriously upon whistles, "squeakers" and mouth organs. Tn short; the effect was exhilarating. j ; It had gone * to X's head, I could see that at a glance. As we entered, lie i ' ■' .) .. J « i 1 , 1 i! 1 ' ■ . !

was Jn the act of 'giving; credit to the; ! most'- notorious blackguard : in the dis-i i trict. The customer,'evidently realising : that'-the'* birthday of his - life had come, grew more expansive in his de-i marids, while, a weary packhorse .hitched' to the fence' outride groaned and shuffled : beneath-the increasing weight; r ' ' Buying Presents. On y our arrival, however, .X turned from'philanthropy tojjusiness. His : welcome was touching, but not wholly disinterested, for he ; knows Jane,. So do I, alas! and, as I watched, my sympathy waß tinged with misgiving. I did not really mind her paying 10/ for a teddybear obviously suffering from acute skin disease, though I realised that the shelf that had been his home would look empty without him after live long years, and that the piccaninnies accustomed to caress him as they waited would mourn his absence. Nor did I actiyely oppose the purchase of six. boxes from which ! had , seen X's youngest furtively sample and disgustedly return the chocolates upon many distressing occasions.'. But there was a horribly profligate; and abandoned air about that old pink and white crochet cushion that I had. long disliked, arid the, sight of theeight assorted ties intended , for the defenceless bachelors of the district, depressed me unspeakably. Later, I caught Jane in the act, of, purchasing a mouldy whisky flask, whose arrival in the district ,had preceded that of the oldest inhabitant. • "It's for. Mr. Muuro," she explained desperately. , Again I started, for I had parted -with Munro the moment before, or rather had- stepped over his recumbent • form in the doorway of the smithy.' To present so gallant and indomitable a thirst with a mere flask, and empty at that, was but to insult- • "Oh, I know it's, rather mildewed," said Jane. frantically, mistaking my. dismay, "but I can't help that—and it's absolutely the only thing left." Looking round from the depleted shelves to the smugly smiling r fa<te of' X, : ; I was forced to, agree, and,;? s pulling: out my cheque book with a sigh, reflected bitterly that wool was down An Appropriate Pfesent. > . !fVe. drove home,depositing, furtive presents, in sundry, mail-boxes and cream stands as we went, and, as the' Christinas spirit had time to clear, away, it was suddenly borne coldly home to me that I was still . the . owner >of '.'the disgusting ridirig, pants,' and, if Iknew my X, would, so remain. Jane broke in on this bitter thought with a cry of dismay.- ~ \ ';' . "No'w I know why it seemed so familiar," she moaned, "that little dress I bought -for the Roberts', baby—it's made out of the, scraps of Mrl. : Roberts', own frock—you know the one she had niade, at' the store," and iny wife began to laugh helplessly. For X's wife is a dressmaker, and has, moreover,, a frugal mind- .-... ~ ' It was •December the twenty-eighth, and X was on the telephone. "Tell Mrs. Wyatt," .said he, restraining, a hiccough with admirable, dignity; "that her parcel from Z has turned upmost 'shtrordinary thing—here all the time."; ...' • : , •. ,' . .: . X had scored again. . - t •