After supper Pat and me washed the dishes and we put Teddy to bed and then the three of us played parcheesy until we got tired. It was lots of fun, only Patsy kept asking where was Mama and Henry. Jack finally said they went to town to find out what happened to Papa, and he was to take care of us until they got back. Patsy said when would that be, and I wish she hadn’t because it set Jack off again on one of his bad spells. He just sat there and cried and cried and cried. I hope Mama won’t be long.
Jan. 26th, my room.
Here’s a puzzle. Patsy is gone too. When I woke up she already left. Jack said he didn’t know where she went, but we found a note on the kitchen table, from Patsy. It said she was going to try to walk over to the Jensen’s house. I don’t think it was a smart idea, because they live way down the road, and the snow is awful deep. Jack was just wonderful today and he played hide and seek with Teddy and me all morning. After lunch he read to us and then we played some more parcheesy, only that wasn’t so good because Teddy is too little for it. We put Teddy to bed right after supper and played Old Maid six times. It was just like playing house all day, for real. Now I am going to bed. Mama should get back tomorrow. Anyway, I hope so. It would be nice if someone came to call on us, but the snow is coming down again, so I guess that’s out. I bet one really good hot day would melt everything. But you can’t expect a hot spell in Jan, I suppose.
Jan. 27th, the kitchen.
Nothing happened all day, except the snow stopped again. We used most of the fire wood so I told Jack I was going out to the woodshed for some more. He got real excited and nasty and went out to get it himself. He said if I put one foot outside the house I’d be sorry. If Mama doesn’t come tomorrow I’m going to start worrying.
Jan. 28th, my room.
No Mama, but we played the loveliest and noisiest games all day long, I clean forgot about worrying. It was nice not having any one yelling at us to stop.
Jan. 29th, my room.
At last the storm is really over and the sun is out good and strong. It would be nice to go out and play, only Jack says we can’t because the snow’s too deep. So we played hide and seek again. Jack was having a bad day, but he wanted to play anyway. That’s when Teddy got sick. I was It and Jack and Teddy ran to hide. After a long time (because I count slow) I went to find them. I looked all over except Teddy’s room because the door was locked. Jack finally came down stairs and said Teddy fell down and hurt himself and he’d have to stay in bed for a while. I wanted to go up and see him but Jack said he needs lot of sleep, so I didn’t. The best part of the whole day was we stayed up until midnight! We were listening to the radio, and Jack was talking back to it. He was very funny, and we both laughed a lot.
Jan. 30th, the kitchen.
Jack has been very bad all day long. He started crying right in the middle of breakfast and now it is after supper and he is still crying. I spent the whole day with my coloring books, coloring.
Jan. 31st, the living room.
Jack started out real good today, but right after lunch the phone rang. I ran to answer it, but Jack beat me to it. He stood there with his hand on it but he didn’t pick it up. Finally it stopped and we played Old Maid again. Jack was the Old Maid five times and I was the Old Maid two times. I wish we answered the phone. It might have been Mama.
February 1st, my room.
As soon as I woke up this morning I remembered about Teddy. I tried to open his door but it was still locked, so I woke Jack up, but he said Teddy needed more sleep. When I said he might be hungry Jack said to fix him some cereal and he’d take it up. I did, with lots and lots of sugar and gave it to Jack. I watched from the hall. Jack unlocked Teddy’s door and put the tray inside real quick and locked the door again. He looked at me kind of funny when he saw me, but I didn’t say anything because I thought he was going to have a bad spell. I can sort of tell when they’re coming. But he was all right in the afternoon and went out to the front yard to make a snow man for me to look at. Watching him in the snow was almost as good as going out in it myself, only I knew I couldn’t when I saw it came up to his waist line. On me it would have been over my shoulders. When he was about half done, the phone rang again. I knew Jack wouldn’t want me to answer it, but I thought it might be Mama, so I picked it up, only I waited too long because it stopped ringing just before I touched it. I decided not to tell Jack about the phone, in case it would make him mad.
Feb. 2nd, my room.
When Jack came in from making the snow man, he was soaking wet and he changed all his clothes. I was hanging up the wet ones on the kitchen chairs when the bedroom keys fell out of his pocket. I wanted to take them because he might have a bad day and not remember where he put them and we’d have to break Teddy’s door down to get in to feed him. Papa sure wouldn’t like that. Right then the phone rang again and I ran for it, only Jack was all changed by then and beat me to it as usual. Just like before, he wouldn’t answer it. I told him he was mean since it might be Mama, and he said to look out, I might fall down and get hurt like Teddy. I went into the kitchen quick and took the key to Teddy’s room and then gave him the rest of them. He never missed Teddy’s key.
Feb. 3rd, Teddy’s room.
7 A.M.
I got up real early this morning and went down to the kitchen and took all the food I could carry and brought it up to the hall outside Teddy’s room. I don’t think Jack’s been giving Teddy enough to eat. Just when I unlocked Teddy’s door, Jack came out of his room, so I had to slam the door real quick without even turning the lights on or pulling the shade up. I locked it from the inside just as fast as I could. Jack told me to come out but I wouldn’t. I’m too mad at him. Teddy isn’t even here! I pulled the shade up and saw the room was empty. The cereal bowls are right on the floor where Jack set them, and I’m not unlocking the door until he tells me where Teddy is.
9 A.M.
I am putting the times down because it is good practice in telling time, and because this is the first time I ever wrote more than once a day in my diary. Jack is still right outside the door, yelling at me. This is his worse day so far. The sun is out again.
11 A.M.
Finally Jack went away from the door and down stairs. From this window I can see the woodshed, and that’s where he went, and came right out again with Papa’s ax that he’s not even supposed to touch and came back to the house with it. I just heard him climb up the stairs again and right now he’s making a terrific racket trying to get in here. I guess he’s awful mad at me, but I better open the door and take that ax away before he hurts himself.
11:15 A.M.
I opened the door, but he wouldn’t let go of the ax and he wouldn’t let me out of the room. So I am just sitting here writing because there isn’t anything else to do. I can hear Jack now, coming up behind me. I bet he’s going to apologize for...
Grudge Fight
by Frank Hardy
The fight took place some time ago in a small mining town in Australia. It was a grudge fight and a blood bath, A toe to toe, bare knuckled slug jest. Or, as the towns folk might refer to it, “a fair dinkum bit of stoush.”
“I’m as good as ever I was!” Darky said, tapping his chest.
He laughed, throwing his head back and thumping his empty beer pot on the counter — but there was something forced about that laugh; it didn’t come from the belly or the heart.