But it isn't the bee stings that hurt him so much. Mary's
been willed a good farm and a big lump of cash by some aunt that died a
month ago and hated Mert like poison. And the thing's just gone to
Mary's head.
"She's gone into the city on regular spending sprees and Mert's wild.
He can't touch the farm and he's afraid Mary'll have that lump of money
all spent before he gets out of bed. Everybody's hoping she will and
advising her to buy every blessed thing she ever had a hankering for
and things she never even heard of. Mrs. Brownlee, the president of
the Civic League, even told her to buy a dish-washing machine, and
heavens, if Mary didn't go right down and buy it. Doc Philipps advised
her to buy herself the very best springs and mattress on the
market--that it would help her back to sleep decently of nights. She's
having hot-water heat put in and is going to do her washing with an
electric washer. Seth Curtis put her up to that. And as soon as Mert
gets better she's going visiting her sister in Colorado. She says
she'll likely die of homesickness but that she's just got to go off
somewhere to get used to and learn to wear properly all the new clothes
she's got.
"Well, Mary's buying all these labor-saving machines got the whole town
to thinking and spending.
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