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be no trouble or publicity over it. If there is...well.

• •

No one could have been more surprised than I at his statement, so pleased was I that I quickly promised. Our family never took promises lightly, they were sacred, and I have never broken that promise. But after the conversation when I had time to think it over, I realized that his word had carried a far deeper import--that his opposition was really. violent but that he was too smart to try to stop it by an ultimatum. Mother later on confirmed my opinion. He had told her he felt that there was nothing that would make it so attractive as to forbid it, so he hoped that his less possitive approach would be more effective.

Effective it was too, for a time. A month or more went by without my wearing a thing of feminine nature. But there was the constant desire to do so, now kept under con- trol by my remembrance of Father's talk. One thing I did do, however, was continue allowing my hair to grow. By the time school ended for the summer it was amazingly long and kept presentable only by dint of vast amounts of dressing and short only at the very nape of my neck. Whenever I wash- ed it and was thus able to really see it's luxuriant growth that the thought of what I was missing almost made me react and cut it all off. But every time I was able to stifle the urge and keep my wonderful but frustrating possibilities Sis naturally resented the large sized inroads her per- iodic trips to the beauty shop made in her allowance, and though she frequently pleaded with Dad he maintained that such things as permanents were pure luxuries that he wasn't going to pay for. Thus the wonderful savings made possible by the then new home permanent kits were irresistable to her. One day about a week after school ended she arrived home with one and asked Mother to give it to her the next morning. Mother was most hesitant about it, as it was new and she knew nothing about the possibilities that the results might be disastrous to Sis and she didn't wish to take a chance. Sis however, hardly in a position to do it for herself, kept urg- ing Mother. Mother kept refusing until Sis, in a moment of inspiration, grabbed hold of my hair, and pulling it out so Mother could see it's length, said. "At least Mother, you

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