The painted room

By
Margaret Wilson
Author of THE KENWORTHYS and THE ABLE MCLAUGHLINS
Harper & Brothers, Publishers New York and London 1926
THE PAINTED ROOM
Copyright, 1926, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the U. S. A.

THE PAINTED ROOM
Little Martha Kenworthy, to use her own careless expression, was in bad with her dad, as usual. But she was not a girl to be disturbed by a trifle of that sort. She had been home only a few days from her college in the east for her second summer holiday, and had been followed too closely by official comments on her term's work. The only explanation she saw fit to give to her father on that subject was to the effect that he should forget it. Her mother had taken him aside and said privately, firmly, and coaxingly:
Now, Bob, I'm not going to have that child's life made miserable by somebody else's brilliance. It isn't Martha's fault that she hasn't phenomenal brains. I'm not going to have her scolded for being like me.
Miserable! Huh! There's a fat chance of her being miserable. It would be a mighty good thing if some one could make her miserable a few minutes. That's what I'm trying to get at! She's got enough brains, if she wasn't too lazy to use them. She'll be fired next term if she isn't careful, and then where'll you be? I'm going to make her quit this eternal fooling around.
Bronson's spoiled you, Bob. That's all the matter with you. You're always wishing Martha would dazzle people, sort of make them sit up and blink, the way he used to. It's all right for a boy to be so terribly clever, but it would be awkward for a woman. It would make her conspicuous, Bob.