Mr. Bridge_ A Novel - Evan S. Connell [14]
At last Mr. Thayer had had enough. One Friday afternoon when she located every animal, bird, snake, butterfly, pygmy, and hunter in his jungle he disqualified her. Carolyn was dumbfounded; she glared at him and her face turned red, then she ran out of the drugstore hysterical with rage and ran all the way home and told her mother what the druggist had done. Mrs. Bridge was disturbed not only because Carolyn was in such a state of emotion but because she, too, felt the druggist had been unfair. Not knowing exactly what to do, she waited until her husband came home from the office.
He listened to what she said, then he called Carolyn into the study and listened to her account. He inquired if she did not think she had won often enough. Maybe, he suggested, she ought to let other children win the prize.
Carolyn rejected this. She wanted her money.
Mr. Bridge realized the problem was not going to be solved as simply as he had thought. Carolyn obviously had no intention of sharing the wealth. She had discovered the joy of money and she was not about to relinquish this luxury to which she was becoming accustomed, certainly not in exchange for some neighborhood utopia where each boy and girl had a dollar. She wanted all of it. Her face was tight and pinched. Suddenly she burst into frantic sobs. He opened his arms. She rushed to him and clung to him, crying bitterly while he stroked her head and patted her shoulder.
When she had exhausted herself he asked if she knew what the word “avarice” meant. She did not, so he said: “I want you to go downstairs and look in the dictionary. Find out what word means. Then come back and tell me.” She asked how to spell it. He spelled it for her and she went away.
Very soon she was back. She stared at him reproachfully. They discussed the matter some more. She was sullen and peevish. She was not yet reconciled to what had happened, but he thought the point of her rage had been deflected because she was no longer accusing the druggist; her quarrel now was with the implication that she was greedy.
He reflected, too, on the alacrity and the imagination with which she defended herself. Whatever qualities Ruth and Douglas might have to recommend themselves, it was becoming clear that Carolyn was the cleverest of the three.
18 The Pony
Not long after Mr. Thayer disqualified her for winning too many of his jungle contests Carolyn entered another contest, this one sponsored by the Golden Grocery Stores to promote a new brand of ice cream. Any child who bought a quart of Golden Ice Cream was given a map of the world. The countries and the oceans were to be colored and the map returned to the neighborhood store. Prizes would be awarded for the best coloring. First prize was a deluxe bicycle loaded with accessories or a Shetland pony named Jiggs. The bicycle and Jiggs were photographed side by side on the entry blank. There were two second prizes, ten third prizes, and one hundred fourth prizes. Carolyn decided she would be satisfied with first or second, which was a five-tube radio, so she came home from school one afternoon carrying a quart of strawberry ice cream, the map, and the entry blank.
After some deliberation she went to work with a set of colored pencils. They were prettier than wax crayons, and watercolors would cause the paper to pucker. Every night for about three weeks she worked on the map. She worked carefully, and when it was done it was very nicely done—even her brother admitted this. Her mother announced that she was sure to win the contest, but her father reminded everybody that there would be quite a few maps colored just as neatly. Carolyn thought about this. She resented her father’s remark but she knew it was true. Then it occurred to her to emphasize the boundaries of each country with india ink. She consulted the rules. Outlining boundaries was not specifically prohibited. She bought a lettering pen in the dime store, went over the map with it, and was pleased with the