This Week May 2, 1990. 7 b PRIME TIME Mrs. Myles and her man had tongues wagging wasn't there when the rumor got start- 2 ed. I was only 10 at the time and had j just got home from spending a holiday : with my city cousin. While I was away, __ word had got out that Miss Myles, of all people, had been entertaining a man. One @ Would have to know Myles to understand how _ out-of-character this would be. My mother said there was nothing to it, but even she was beginning to waiver. Miss Myles was a teacher who had retired to a small frame bungalow on the edge of town. She was a loner, like me, and I suppose that is why we liked each other. I first met her when I start- donation to one of the women’s clubs. Now, Mrs. Wilson was not a malicious woman, but she dearly loved gossip. She liked to know everything about everyone, but about Miss Myles she knew nothing. Seated at the kitchen table, which was as far into the house as Myles would let her get, she distinctly saw a man sitting on the chesterfield in the living room. She knew it had to be a man, even if all she couuld see were trousers and a pair of well-cut but rather old-fashioned oxfords. He must have been reading a paper, be- cause she could see the corner of it. And it must have been very inter- ed delivering our big brown farm eggs to town customers esting because he hardly moved. She got up for a closer once a week. Myles was last look, but Myles quietly closed on my list, and I always hurried with the rest so I ' could spend more time with her. She was always encour- aging me to think, to use my imagination. = I remember once she hand- ed me a small blossom and told me to study it quietly for a few moments, and then describe it to her as if she | was blind. And then there | were her “dolls” and about ‘=6oldenrod= By IVY KENT the door. There! Wouldn’t you know it? The woman’s hiding something. It was almost too much for Mrs. Wilson’s active imagination, and she wasted no time in sharing her gems of knowledge. After all, it wasn’t as if she was making things up. She had seen him with her own eyes, had she not? Up to that time, Myles had shipped all her models folded _ these I had been sworn to secrecy, although I never could figure out exactly why. And they weren’t really dolls, _ either, but lifesize handmade mannequins, _ Inade for displays in a big museum in the "east. I couldn’t wait to go over and ask her about the rumor, although I thought I had a pretty | good idea of how it got started. And as it | happened I was right. She had been working on a model of an gvelderly country doctor when I left, and now she had him all but completed. I had helped her with some of the stitching and we had even given him a name. We called him Dr. Arthur. One day, when she was putting the finish- ing touches to his collar, there was a knock on the back door. Mrs. Wilson had called for a double in large packing box- es. It seemed undignified to ship Arthur the same way, considering the boost he had given to her reputation. We talked it over that Saturday afternoon, and gave Dr. Arthur his last spruce up. He did look good, tall, well muscled and handsome, for all his iron grey hair. Then, chuckling to ourselves, we planned the get-away. Myles owned a Model A Ford. The next morning after service, when everyone was standing around in front of the church, we heard a car. Cars not being overly plentiful in those days, everyone stopped talking and watched to see who it was. Finally, around the corner drove Myles. She was dressed in her Sunday best, and by her side, evidently listening attentively to her every word, sat Dr. Arthur. Myles smiled and WALKING SHOE Saucony % Reg. $79.99 SECOND | ANNIVERSARY | SALE A FIT FOR WOMEN ONLY, Not an imitation of a man’s shoe Mostwomen have a wide forefoot and are somewhat narrow in the heel. And that’s how we make our women’s shoe. 64,00 i Offer expires May 12/90 © Chec