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\ FICTION cowg?? OUT OF THE EMBERS By NORMAN STANLEY BORTNER it T EX’S talk this thing out,” •*—' Janice had said. ”For good and all.” And he had agreed. Not enthusiastically. He thought he knew what it would be like. She was going to be very calm, very noble, very much the long-suffering, patient wife who will go no farther. All right, my dear. If you want one more talk, I’m game. Just so it doesn’t end in another row* He became slightly noble him self. Now that it was all over with them he was suddenly courteous. He spoke to her in a tone he might have used toward any good-looking woman not his wife: “Where would you like to sit while you pronounce sentence?” She knew at once. She must have been thinking about that. “Not here," she said. “Would you mind if we went down to the cabin?” The cabin. How long had it been since he had seen the inside of that two-roomed affair beside the river? And what could have made her want to go there, of all places? “Not in the least,” he said. .“We’ll need wraps.” They dressed for the raw December day and went out the west door. Crossing the lawn she took his arm. That was unexpected. And also a little uncalled for, he thought, under the circumstances. Why should she make a game out of splitting up? Thinking that, he stiffened and she felt it. But she did not release his arm. “Remember the first time we came down here together?” she asked. “Can’t say I do.” “You mean you don’t want to. It was after our honeymoon. And you held MY arm.” Her voice was low and uneven and somehow queer. “Oh,” he said. “What’s the mat ter? Getting a cold?” "No. Not used to fresh air, I sup pose. It’ll be all right soon.” “In the Nevada climate, you mean?” She did not answer. Maybe she hadn’t meant that. To speak of the advantages of Reno while he remained East would not fit her present mood. There had been times—plenty of them—when the important small niceties of conver sation between them had been for gotten. giving way to bitterness and recrimination. But he admitted she had never been crude. To cover his own remark he said: “Has the cabin been kept clean?” “Quite. It’s always in good order. No telling when someone might want to use it There’s some wood there, I’m sure. And you remember how that fireplace heats. Will.” “That’s right. I do remember." The worst of it was that he remem bered too well, all at once. They had lived there—he and Jan—for a while after their honeymoon. The big house was too big. Too many people around. Too many distrac tions from each other. So they had moved to the cabin. . . . They had changed a great deal since then. Not in looks. Ten years wasn’t very long. In themselves, somehow. But the cabin had not changed. It was precisely as it had been then. Seemed a bit smaller, but then time always does that to distances and dimensions. He busied himself with the kindling. There was only one big chunk of wood. Enough for a little while. The fire caught nicely. Jan held her hands to the growing flames. “Feels good,” she said. And when the chin had been taken from the room she sat on the sofa and asked him, with a restrained, al most fearful little gesture, to sit be side her. He did, and waited—again very nobly—for her to begin this last talk she wanted. At last she did. “This is where we started. Will,” she said. "Here in this little two-by-four. Do you ever think about that time?” “Thought of it just a moment ago,” he admitted. “We were happy then, weren’t we?” H E SHRUGGED. “Suppose we were, Jan. But I’m afraid we haven’t been very happy since.” “No, not very. . . . And why. Will? Do you know? How did we lose what we had then? Not that it makes any difference, of course. Here we are, and how we got here doesn’t really matter, or even who’s to blame. . . . Right, Will?” “Right.” He stared into the roar ing fire and considered that she was being exceptionally calm. Better than he had hoped. “The first day we came here you carried me through the doorway. Will. I remember thinking, while you held me in your arms, that no girl could have been happier than I was at that moment. No two people could have been more in love. We &ere—don’t laugh, please—we were like that fire is now. Just one con suming blaze of love for each other.” He couldn’t help smiling at that. Jan really was in a state, to talk like that. But it disappeared when he turned toward her. She was so close to tears. “And now. Will, look at us. We’ve made a wretched mess of things, haven’t we?” “Damned if we haven’t.” He was nearly noble enough to admit, fur thermore, that it had been almost entirely his own fault, but he didn’t. She might have agreed with him, and then the row would start. He was quiet for a long while, and then he said: “But fires do go out even tually, and I guess ours has.” “Yes. And what’s the use of blow ing on cold ashes? . . . But that’s why I brought you here to the cabin. Will. I had the wild idea that somehow we could patch it up. Try again. But we’ve done that too often, haven’t we?” “Too often, Jan.” The room was hushed, after that, for many minutes. Hushed, except for the crackling of the one big chunk and the rush of air through the chimney. And even that slowly decreased. The fire he had built and not replenished was burning out. Just like the fire Jan has spoken of. Burning out It was a simple thing to throw more wood on a fire. But was it so simple to rekindle their own flame? He decided he was get ting morbid. There were only deep red embers between the andirons when she rose. “I told you last night that nothing would keep me from Reno,’’ she said. “I meant, it, then, but— Will, I’ll stay if you want me. I’ll do my best to make us happy. We were once. Maybe, in some way, we could be again.” She waited. He did not move; did not raise his eyes. The embers glowed. “Will, I said I’d stay if you want me to.” Glowed. This Week's Best Fiction L__ CROSSWORD PUZZLE Solution in Next Issue. No. 31 Horizontal 1 Pen for swine 4 Title of rank 9 Fate 12 Always 13 Girl’s name 14 Dread 15 Case with open sides 17 Principal female character 19 Country in Asia 20 Less common 21 Deed 23 Dower 24 Latin con junction 26 Rotating mechanism 29 Garden tool 31 Slang: to cheat by not paying bets 33 Homeless outcast 35 Cow’s cry 37 Solitary 38 To restore 40 Resident of a convent 42 Honey-pro ducing insect 43 Colloquial: father 44 Ethiopian title 46 Fabulous bird 18 Issues 50 Member of the electorate 54 Deltas 56 To avoid 57 Compass point 58 Pertaining to the skin 60 By birth 61 Toward 62 Entire prop erty of a person 63 Conjunction Vertical 1 To pillage 2 Beginner 3 Twelvemonth 4 To make white 5 Molten lava 6 Affluent of the Rhine 7 Mountain nymph 8 Of little width 9 Den 10 To possess 11 Golfer’s mound 16 Reception 18 Island in the Gulf of Riga 22 Male cat 24 Serf 25 Archaic: you 26 To find fault needlessly 27 Plane surface 28 Male 30 Vast age 32 High volley 34 Hamilton is its capital 36 Possessive pronoun 39 Relinquishes 41 Fictitious narratives 45 Arouses 47 Depression between two mountains 48 Spanish article 49 Identical 51 Salt-water food fish 52 Biblical garden 53 Tall grass 54 Insect 55 Constellation 59 By Answer to Puzzle Number SO Series H-47 “Must I get down on my knees to you? Is that what you want?” Glowed dully. “Too late, then. ... All right, dear. I’ll be packed and on my way in an hour. Would you—do you mind if I kiss you goodbye? Just for old times sake. I—won’t bother you any more.” He permitted it quite nobly, and when she had leaned and kissed him full on the lips he turned away from her and toward the fire once more. The door closed behind her. A N HOUR, she had said. Well, he would wait that long before going back to the house. No use having more farewells. He did not stir for a long while, frowning at the fireplace. The one big chunk had only a tiny bit of red ness along one edge. The rest was cold gray ash, smoking fitfully and not pretty to look at. She had been right. They had been exactly like the fire, blazing up for a time and then cooling to drabness. “I won’t bother you any more.” What had she meant by that? Never see him again? He realized sud denly that he WANTED to see her again. It wouldn’t be right not to. You can’t live with a person ten years and simply forget it, like that. Maybe they could even be good friends, after the divorce, and have some of the fun they missed before. Without the ties of marriage, or the restraints— He knew he was being very fool ish, thinking things like that. It was all over, and she would be strange and distant whenever—IF ever— they met. Friends? Hardly. Jan was out of his life for good—that was settled. The cabin was getting cold. He had no idea how long he had been sitting alone. Was the hour up? He rose to stir his aching legs and con sidered hunting more wood for the fire. With the tongs he probed at the ashy big chunk and at his touch tha wood which had seemed so cold—. so lifeless—jumped into flames, warm, surprising, beautiful. A single touch had done that. HI3 touch. He gazed open-eyed. And then in quick, bounding leaps he ran up the hill and into the house. Up the stairs. Through a door he had not opened for so very long. The hour was not yet gone. “Jan,” he said. “Jan. You’re as slim as you ever were. I’ll carry you over, again.” THE NEWBERRY SUN. NEWBERRY. S. C. Transform Vegetables Into Savory Dishe* For Lunch or Supper Asparagus takes on a pleasing look as well as extra flavor when green tips are tucked in between layers of cheese biscuit, topped with sauce and garnished with slices of hard-cooked eggs. Remember when we just cooked vegetables in boiling, salted water and put them on the table without any thought as to subtle season ing or attractive serving? Thank modern cookery experts for real izing the infinite possibilities of vegetables and for transforming vegetables Into one of the glamor groups of cookery. First of all, there are innumer able sauces you can use with “per fection cooked” vegetables to bring out all their hidden flavors. Then, if you want to forego the sauce, you can combine vegetables with other foods to make them palate-pleasing and tempting. Whichever way you prefer to serve your vegetables, always re member that the overcooked vege table can never be guaranteed to make friends or influence eaters to come back for seconds, as they should. Cook vegetables so there is still a bit of their garden crispness left. If cooked to this point and served immediately, you will also lose less of their lovely colors. Golden Cauliflower (Serves 6) 1 medium head cauliflower 1 cup raw carrots, diced Vi cup onions, chopped Salt Paprika 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup rich milk 1 cup Wisconsin Natural Ameri can Cheese, grated Break cauliflower into flower- ettes. Arrange cauliflower and car rots in buttered casserole. Cover with onion, seasonings, and butter. Pour milk over contents. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover. Bake in a mod erate oven (350 degrees) 1 hour, re moving cover the last 15 minutes. •Red Cabbage and Apples (Serves 8 to 10) 2 quarts red cabbage, shredded 1 cup apples, pared and chopped 1 teaspoon salt Vi cup butter 2 tablespoons flour Vi cup vinegar Vi cup brown sugar Buttered crumbs Cook cabbage with apples 10 min utes in salted water, drain (save water). Melt but ter, add flour, mix. Add Vi cup drained water, vinegar, and brown sugar, stir until thick ened. Add apples and c a b b a g e. Bake in buttered casserole in hot oven (400 degrees) until crumbs are brown. Sweet Potato Cecelia ^Serves 8 to 10) 3 pounds sweet potatoes Vi cup butter Salt Pepper Vi teaspoon nutmeg or mace Vi teaspoon cinnamon Vi to 1 cup apple cider Mash cooked sweet potatoes. Add Vi cup butter, seasonings, and cider, mix well. Put in buttered baking dish, dot with remaining butter. Bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees) 30 to 40 minutes, until top is brown. LYNN SAYS: Spice, Seasoning Lend New Tang to Foods If you want a really delicious sauce for your fish, melt butter, add flour, and in place of milk, blend in sour cream. Add to this a bit of salt and pepper and chopped chives. A blade of mace and a few cloves heated with the liquid when making orange or lemon jelly will give it added spice. Strain the liquid to re move spices. LYNN CHAMBERS’ MENU Baked Spareribs •Red Cabbage and Apples Baked Sweet Potatoes Molded Pear in Lime Gelatin Cornbread Butter Lemon Chiffon Pie •Recipe given. Stalled Eggplant Cut a lid from one large eggplant lengthwise, scoop out pulp and cook in boiling salted water until tender, drain and chop fine. Saute one small minced onion in butter until soft, not brown, add eggplant, one half cup of bread crumbs, one half cup of chopped pecans, and two well-beaten eggs. Mix well with seasonings. Lastly add enough wa ter in which the eggplant was cooked to make the mixture quite thin. Fill shell and sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot with butter and bake about twenty minutes. Spinach Balls Wash one peck of spinach in sev eral waters, then cover tightly and steam with just the drippings from the washing for about fifteen min utes. Squeeze as dry as possible. Chop and press through a coarse sieve. Into this puree mix two slightly beaten egg yolks, one table spoon of grated onion, one table spoon of olive oil, and salt and pep per to taste. Mix Well and form into balls, dip in beaten egg, then in fine bread crumbs, and fry in hot fat to a golden brown. Asparagus-Cheese Shortcake (Serves 6 to 8) I No. 2 can asparagus tips 3 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon minced onion 4 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon salt % teaspoon pepper 2 cups milk 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced for garnish > Melt butter in saucepan; add minced onion and cook slowly for 3 minutes or until tender. Add flour and seasonings and blend. Gradu ally add milk, while stirring; cook over low heat until smooth and thickened, stirring constantly. Cheese Biscuits 2 cups biscuit mix V4 cup grated cheese 1 cup milk Add grated cheese to biscuit mix and blend. Add milk, mix with fork. Roll out to Vi to V« inch thickness on floured board and cut into squares or cir cles. Bake on a greased pan in a hot oven (450 degrees) 12 min utes. Split and place hot asparagus tips between biscuits. Pour hot cream sauce over the top and— garnish with hard- cooked egg slices. A vegetable bowl of snowy white cauliflower surrounded with green peas is hard to resist. Tasty butter sauce variations will add sparkle to humdrum vegetable dishes. Here are two possibilities: Lemon-Butter Sauce V4 cup butter Juice of Vi lemon 3 tablespoons parsley (if you prefer) Melt butter, add lerr/on juice and blend thoroughly. Add parsley and serve hot with vegetables. An extra dish of the lemon-butter sauce may be served on the side. Brown-Butter Sauce Vi cup butter 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Salt Pepper 3 tablespoons lemon juice Melt butter in a frying pan and stir until a golden brown. Add chopped parsley, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot on vegetables or fish. Released by Western Newspaper Union. Don’t forget thht dates added to muffins make them a party treat. When you’re using clams, don’t forget that a pinch of thyme will do wonders. CraBmeat and mustard with may onnaise makes a nice salad for a light luncheon. When you want to add a different touch to frankfurters, they can b* stuffed with all variety of things— mashed potatoes—strips of cheese, bread dressing, sauerkraut of pickle relish. -w - —w— * SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 3:5-7; 4:23; 6:16-19: 9:10; 14:34; 15:1: 16:18; 21:3’ 22:1; 27:1, 2; 28:1; 29:18; James 4:17. DEVOTIONAL READING: Proverbs 16:1-9. Guidance From Proverbs Dr. Newton ^READY TRADE-MARK Lesson for September 21, 1947 O UR study of Sunday’s lessor centers about the idea of good ness, which is a rather trite-sound ing theme, but very vital, I assure you, and quite in teresting. The HI Scripture passages KM are a y ( oun (i ir Proverbs, save one and that from the very practical preacher of the New Testament James, chapter 4, verse 17. Perhaps you wil find the passages from Proverbs a» helpful and inter esting as I did. I: will require but two minutes to read them—Proverbs 3:5-7; 4:23; 6:16 19; 9:10; 14:34; 15:1; 16:18; 21:3; 22:1; 27:1, 2; 28:1; 29:18. And aftei you have devoted two minutes to th* reading of these passages, you wiV have something to think about foi the rest of the day, the week, all your life. • • • One Man’s Experience A VERY successful business mar in Atlanta, a shoe manufactur er, was telling me his life story on« day as we fished together at Ho- mosassa, Fla. Finally, he said: “Do you know the passage in th« Bible that has meant most to me ai a rule and guide for my faith and practice?” I wondered what he would say. And then he quoted from Proverbs 3:5-7. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” The Essence of Goodness YXTHAT is goodness? We talk VV a bout good men and bad men good times and bad times, good luck and bad luck. Just what is good* ness? Jesus himself once said to a young man; “There is none good but One, that is. God.” Mark 10:18. Goodness then, permit me to sug gest, is what happens when God lives in us. We can never know goodness apart from God, try as we may. The essence of goodness, therefore, is found in that heart, it that life, that sincerely prays, “Thy will be done.” • • • The Essence of Badness G UIDANCE from these great Proverbs identifies the thing; that we are to shun as well as the things we are to do—the essence ol badness as well as the essence oi goodness. Here are the sever things that God hates—the seven qualities of heart that constitute the essence of badness: “Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deliberately plans wick edness, feet which are swift in run ning to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.” Analyze these seven qualities of heart, and you have the explanation of the woes of the world. Many clever modem books toy with these deadly sins, trying to make them seem good, but no amount of deco ration can atone for the heart that consistently entertains these can cers of hell. * • • The Individual and Society T LIKE the impact of these Prov- erbs. They begin with the indi vidual They fruit in society. In dividuals who “trust in the Lord with all thine heart,” will “exalt a nation.” It is not enough to put better food in peoples’ stomachs, better clothes on their bodies, better roofs over their heads. These are essential as expressing the better life; but you have got to give peo ple something to live for as well as something to live on. Good business depends upon good business men. Good inter national relations depend upon good nations. Good race relations depend upon good races. We have been greatly enheart- ened by the establishment of United Nations as a world idea and ideal. Will it succeed? The answer is found not in dollars and bullets, but in hearts that always “trust in the Lord.” ’’Except the Lord build the house, They labor in vain that build it; Except the Lord keep th^e city, The watchman waketh but in vain." —Psalm 127:1 (Copyright by the International Council oi Religious Education on behali oi 00 Protestant denominations. Released by WNU Features.) FLASHLIGHT BATTERIES /Vm/^sf93Z6fryer/* Enough Energy to Hurl This Daring Miss Over 100 FEET! Imagine!—the girl weighs 110 pounds! Yet the total energy in one tiny ’’Eveready” flash light cell—properly expended —is equal to the charge that sends her flying up—up—over the gasping audience, to land over 100 feet away. HOW O : "aK / 93X MORE ENERGY * To you, this means nearly twice the energy ... almost two times longer life of bright white light. 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