produced by alicia williams , jeannie howse and the online distributed proofreading team at @url@

lucy maud montgomery short stories , @number@ to @number@

lucy maud montgomery was born at clifton ( now new london ) , prince edward island , canada , on @date@ .

she achieved international fame in her lifetime , putting prince edward island and canada on the world literary map .

best known for her " anne of green gables " books , she was also a prolific writer of short stories and poetry .

she published some @number@ short stories and poems and twenty novels before her death in @number@

the project gutenberg collection of her short stories was gathered from numerous sources and is presented in chronological publishing order :

short stories @number@ to @number@

a correspondence and a climax

at sunset sidney hurried to her room to take off the soiled and faded cotton dress she had worn while milking .

she had milked eight cows and pumped water for the milk-cans afterward in the fag-end of a hot summer day .

she had been thinking it out while she milked the cows in the stuffy little pen behind the barn .

this monthly letter was the only pleasure and stimulant in her life .

existence would have been , so sidney thought , a dreary , unbearable blank without it .

she cast aside her milking-dress with a thrill of distaste that tingled to her rosy fingertips .

as she slipped into her blue-print afternoon dress her aunt called to her from below .

sidney ran out to the dark little entry and leaned over the stair railing .

aunt jane was standing at the foot of the stairs with a lamp in one hand and a year-old baby clinging to the other .

she was a big shapeless woman with a round good-natured face cheerful and vulgar as a sunflower was aunt jane at all times and occasions .

sidney sighed and went downstairs for the baby .

it never would have occurred to her to protest or be petulant about it .

she had all her aunt 's sweetness of disposition , if she resembled her in nothing else .

all her days were alike as far as hard work and dullness went , but she accepted them cheerfully and uncomplainingly .

but she did resent having to look after the baby when she wanted to write her letter .

she got out her box of paper and sat down by the little table at the window with a small kerosene lamp at her elbow .

the room was small a mere box above the kitchen which sidney shared with two small cousins .

her bed and the cot where the little girls slept filled up almost all the available space .

sidney hated that mirror as virulently as she could hate anything .

it seemed to her to typify all that was unlovely in her life .

one of the books had sidney richmond 's name printed on the title-page instead of written on the flyleaf .

presently she began to write , with a flush of real excitement on her face .

it was certainly letter-writing under difficulties , but sidney seemed to deal with them mechanically .

her soul and understanding were elsewhere .

it was a page given over to youthful canadians and filled with their contributions in the way of letters , verses , and prize essays .

often a letter concluded with a request to the club members to correspond with the writer .

one such request went from sidney under the pen-name of " ellen douglas . "

it was from john lincoln of the bar n ranch , alberta .

he never had done so , but " ellen douglas 's " letter was so interesting that he had decided to write to her .

would she be kind enough to correspond with him ?

life on the bar n , ten miles from the outposts of civilization , was lonely .

he was two years out from the east , and had not yet forgotten to be homesick at times .

sidney liked the letter and answered it .

since then they had written to each other regularly .

there was nothing sentimental , hinted at or implied , in the correspondence .

whatever the faults of sidney 's romantic visions were , they did not tend to precocious flirtation .

the plainfield boys , attracted by her beauty and repelled by her indifference and aloofness , could have told that .

she never expected to meet john lincoln , nor did she wish to do so .

in the correspondence itself she found her pleasure .

" the evergreens , " plainfield .

dear mr lincoln :

and i am looking forward to the " dances and delight " of the evening with keen anticipation .

you asked me in your last letter if i did not sometimes grow weary of my endless round of dances and dinners and social functions .

no , no , never !

i enjoy every one of them , every minute of them .

every morning when i awaken the new day seems to me to be a good fairy who will bring me some beautiful gift of joy .

the gift she gave me today was my sunset gallop on my grey mare lady .

the thrill of it is in my veins yet .

on my right was the harbour , silvered over with a rising moon .

i wanted to ride on so forever , straight into the heart of the sunset .

then home and to dinner .

i was terribly in awe of him at first , but when i got acquainted with him i found him charming .

he is not above talking delightful nonsense even to a girl .

i sat by him at dinner , and he talked to me not nonsense , either , this time .

he told me of his political contests and diplomatic battles ; he was wise and witty and whimsical .

i felt as if i were drinking some rare , stimulating mental wine .

what a privilege it is to meet such men and take a peep through their wise eyes at the fascinating game of empire-building !

i met another clever man a few evenings ago .

a lot of us went for a sail on the harbour .

mrs braddon 's house party came too .

we had three big white boats that skimmed down the moonlit channel like great white sea birds .

there was another boat far across the harbour , and the people in it were singing .

the music drifted over the water to us , so sad and sweet and beguiling that i could have cried for very pleasure .

one of mrs braddon 's guests said to me :

" that is the soul of music with all its sense and earthliness refined away . "

i hadn't thought about him before i hadn't even caught his name in the general introduction .

he was a tall , slight man , with a worn , sensitive face and iron-grey hair a quiet man who hadn't laughed or talked .

but he began to talk to me then , and i forgot all about the others .

i never had listened to anybody in the least like him .

he talked of books and music , of art and travel .

he had been all over the world , and had seen everything everybody else had seen and everything they hadn't too , i think .

on my way home after the braddon people had left us somebody asked me how i liked paul moore !

the man i had been talking with was paul moore , the great novelist !

as it was , i had contradicted him twice , and he had laughed and liked it .

but his books will always have a new meaning to me henceforth , through the insight he himself has given me .

it is such meetings as these that give life its sparkle for me .

but much of its abiding sweetness comes from my friendship with margaret raleigh .

you will be weary of my rhapsodies over her .

she is to me mother and sister and wise , clear-sighted friend .

to her i go with all my perplexities and hopes and triumphs .

she has sympathy and understanding for my every mood .

i love life so much for giving me such a friendship !

this morning i wakened at dawn and stole away to the shore before anyone else was up .

i had a delightful run-away .

on the beach the water was purring in little blue ripples , and , oh , the sunrise out there beyond the harbour !

all the eastern heaven was abloom with it .

and there was a wind that came dancing and whistling up the channel to replace the beautiful silence with a music more beautiful still .

the rest of the folks were just coming downstairs when i got back to breakfast .

oh , life is so good to live !

tomorrow uncle james 's new vessel , the white lady , is to be launched .

we are going to make a festive occasion of it , and i am to christen her with a bottle of cobwebby old wine .

but i hear the carriage , and aunt jane is calling me .

you wish me a lovely time at the dance and a full programme , don't you ?

yours sincerely , sidney richmond .

aunt jane came home presently and carried away her sleeping baby .

sidney said her prayers , went to bed , and slept soundly and serenely .

she mailed her letter the next day , and a month later an answer came .

john lincoln 's letter was short , but the pertinent paragraph of it burned itself into sidney 's brain .

he wrote :

i am going east for a visit .

it is six years since i was home , and it seems like three times six .

i shall go by the c.p.r. , which passes through plainfield , and i mean to stop off for a day .

you will let me call and see you , won't you ?

sidney did not sleep that night , but tossed restlessly about or cried in her pillow .

she was so pallid and hollow-eyed the next morning that aunt jane noticed it , and asked her what the matter was .

" nothing , " said sidney sharply .

sidney had never spoken sharply to her aunt before .

the good woman shook her head .

she was afraid the child was " taking something . "

" don't do much today , siddy , " she said kindly .

" just lie around and take it easy till you get rested up .

i 'll fix you a dose of quinine . "

sidney refused to lie around and take it easy .

she swallowed the quinine meekly enough , but she worked fiercely all day , hunting out superfluous tasks to do .

that night she slept the sleep of exhaustion , but her dreams were unenviable and the awakening was terrible .

any day , any hour , might bring john lincoln to plainfield .

what should she do ?

hide from him ?

refuse to see him ?

but he would find out the truth just the same ; she would lose his friendships and respect just as surely .

sidney trod the way of the transgressor , and found that its thorns pierced to bone and marrow .

everything had come to an end nothing was left to her !

in the untried recklessness of twenty untempered years she wished she could die before john lincoln came to plainfield .

the eyes of youth could not see how she could possibly live afterward .

after getting his supper he asked the proprietor if he could direct him to " the evergreens . "

caleb williams looked at his guest in bewilderment .

" never heerd o ' such a place , " he said .

" it is the name of mr conway 's estate mr james conway , " explained john lincoln .

" oh , jim conway 's place ! " said caleb .

" didn't know that was what he called it .

sartin i kin tell you whar ' to find it .

you see that road out thar ' ?

well , just follow it straight along for a mile and a half till you come to a blacksmith 's forge .

jim conway 's house is just this side of it on the right back from the road a smart piece and no other handy .

you can't mistake it . "

he strode along the road in the warm , ruddy sunshine of early evening .

and there was no harbour or glimpse of distant sea visible .

had the hotel-keeper made a mistake ?

perhaps he had meant some other james conway .

presently he found himself before the blacksmith 's forge .

beside it was a rickety , unpainted gate opening into a snake-fenced lane feathered here and there with scrubby little spruces .

he passed down the lane and over the little rustic bridge that spanned the brook .

just beyond was another home-made gate of poles .

" i beg your pardon , " said john lincoln courteously , dropping the gate and lifting his hat .

" i am looking for the house of mr james conway ' the evergreens . '

can you direct me to it ? "

" i don't think he can be the one i mean , " said lincoln perplexedly .

" the man i am thinking of has a niece , miss richmond . "

" there is no other james conway in plainfield , " said the girl .

" this is his place nobody calls it ' the evergreens ' but myself .

i am sidney richmond . "

for a moment they looked at each other across the gate , sheer amazement and bewilderment holding john lincoln mute .

he felt that she was frightened and in trouble , and he wanted to comfort and reassure her .

but how could she be sidney richmond ?

" i don't understand , " he said perplexedly .

" oh ! "

sidney threw out her hands in a burst of passionate protest .

" no , and you never will understand i can't make you understand . "

" i don't understand , " said john lincoln again .

" can you be sidney richmond the sidney richmond who has written to me for four years ? "

" i am . "

" then , those letters "

" were all lies , " said sidney bluntly and desperately .

" there was nothing true in them nothing at all .

this is my home .

we are poor .

everything i told you about it and my life was just imagination . "

" then why did you write them ? " he asked blankly .

" why did you deceive me ? "

" oh , i didn't mean to deceive you !

i never thought of such a thing .

when you asked me to write to you i wanted to , but i didn't know what to write about to a stranger .

i just couldn't write you about my life here , not because it was hard , but it was so ugly and empty .

so i wrote instead of the life i wanted to live the life i did live in imagination .

and when once i had begun , i had to keep it up .

i found it so fascinating , too !

those letters made that other life seem real to me .

i never expected to meet you .

these last four days since your letter came have been dreadful to me .

oh , please go away and forgive me if you can !

i know i can never make you understand how it came about . "

sidney turned away and hid her burning face against the cool white bark of the birch tree behind her .

it was worse than she had even thought it would be .

he was so handsome , so manly , so earnest-eyed !

oh , what a friend to lose !

john lincoln opened the gate and went up to her .

there was a great tenderness in his face , mingled with a little kindly , friendly amusement .

" please don't distress yourself so , sidney , " he said , unconsciously using her christian name .

" i think i do understand .

i 'm not such a dull fellow as you take me for .

after all , those letters were true or , rather , there was truth in them .

you revealed yourself more faithfully in them than if you had written truly about your narrow outward life . "

sidney turned her flushed face and wet eyes slowly toward him , a little smile struggling out amid the clouds of woe .

this young man was certainly good at understanding .

" you you 'll forgive me then ? " she stammered .

" yes , if there is anything to forgive .

and for my own part , i am glad you are not what i have always thought you were .

and as a result i mean to stay a week at plainfield and come to see you every day , if you will let me .

all this if i may .

may i , sidney ? "

he bent forward and looked earnestly into her face .

sidney felt a new , curious , inexplicable thrill at her heart .

" oh , yes .

i suppose so , " she said shyly .

" now , take me up to the house and introduce me to your aunt jane , " said john lincoln in satisfied tone .

an adventure on island rock

" who was the man i saw talking to you in the hayfield ? " asked aunt kate , as uncle richard came to dinner .

" bob marks , " said uncle richard briefly .

" i 've sold laddie to him . "

ernest hughes , the twelve-year-old orphan boy whom uncle " boarded and kept " for the chores he did , suddenly stopped eating .

" oh , mr lawson , you 're not going to sell laddie ? " he cried chokily .

uncle richard stared at him .

" certainly i am , " answered the latter curtly .

" bob offered me twenty dollars for the dog , and he 's coming after him next week . "

" oh , mr lawson , " said ernest , rising to his feet , his small , freckled face crimson .

" oh , don't sell laddie !

please , mr lawson , don't sell him ! "

" what nonsense is this ? " said uncle richard sharply .

he was a man who brooked no opposition from anybody , and who never changed his mind when it was once made up .

" don't sell laddie ! " pleaded ernest miserably .

" he is the only friend i 've got .

i can't live if laddie goes away .

oh , don't sell him , mr lawson ! "

" sit down and hold your tongue , " said uncle richard sternly .

" the dog is mine , and i shall do with him as i think fit .

he is sold , and that is all there is about it .

go on with your dinner . "

but ernest for the first time did not obey .

uncle richard looked angry , but aunt kate hastened to soothe him .

" don't be vexed with the boy , richard , " she said .

" you know he is very fond of laddie .

he 's had to do with him ever since he was a pup , and no doubt he feels badly at the thought of losing him .

i 'm rather sorry myself that you have sold the dog . "

" well , he is sold and there 's an end of it .

i don't say but that the dog is a good dog .

but he is of no use to us , and twenty dollars will come in mighty handy just now .

he 's worth that to bob , for he is a good watch dog , so we 've both made a fair bargain . "

nothing more was said about ernest or laddie .

i had taken no part in the discussion , for i felt no great interest in the matter .

i was spending my vacation at uncle richard 's farm on the nova scotian bay of fundy shore .

" i think i 'll row out to island rock , " i replied .

" i want to take some views of the shore from it . "

uncle richard nodded .

he was much interested in my new camera .

" i 've often thought it would make a handsome picture . "

" after i 've finished taking the pictures , i think i 'll go down shore to uncle adam 's and stay all night , " i said .

" jim 's dark room is more convenient than mine , and he has some pictures he is going to develop tonight , too . "

i started for the shore about two o'clock .

laddie was a handsome and intelligent black-and-white newfoundland , with a magnificent coat .

he and ernest were great chums .

i felt sorry for the boy who was to lose his pet .

" don't take it so hard , ern , " i said , trying to comfort him .

" uncle will likely get another pup . "

" i don't want any other pup ! "

ernest blurted out .

" oh , ned , won't you try and coax your uncle not to sell him ?

perhaps he 'd listen to you . "

i shook my head .

i knew uncle richard too well to hope that .

" not in this case , ern , " i said .

" he would say it did not concern me , and you know nothing moves him when he determines on a thing .

you 'll have to reconcile yourself to losing laddie , i 'm afraid . "

about three hundred yards from the shore was the peculiar formation known as island rock .

this was a large rock that stood abruptly up out of the water .

below , about the usual water-line , it was seamed and fissured , but its summit rose up in a narrow , flat-topped peak .

at low tide twenty feet of it was above water , but at high tide it was six feet and often more under water .

i pushed uncle richard 's small flat down the rough path and rowed out to island rock .

arriving there , i thrust the painter deep into a narrow cleft .

this was the usual way of mooring it , and no doubt of its safety occurred to me .

the sea about the rock was calm , but there was quite a swell on and an off-shore breeze was blowing .

there were no boats visible .

the tide was low , leaving bare the curious caves and headlands along shore , and i secured a number of excellent snapshots .

it was now three o'clock .

i went around to look at it , when i saw a sight that made me stop short in dismay .

this was nothing less than the flat , drifting outward around the point .

the swell and suction of the water around the rock must have pulled her loose and i was a prisoner !

at first my only feeling was one of annoyance .

then a thought flashed into my mind that made me dizzy with fear .

the tide would be high that night .

if i could not escape from island rock i would inevitably be drowned .

i sat down limply on a ledge and tried to look matters fairly in the face .

i looked at my watch .

it was a quarter past three .

the tide would begin to turn about five , but it would be at least ten before the rock would be covered .

i had , then , little more than six hours to live unless rescued .

the flat was by this time out of sight around the point .

i hoped that the sight of an empty flat drifting down shore might attract someone 's attention and lead to investigation .

that seemed to be my only hope .

no alarm would be felt at uncle richard 's because of my non-appearance .

they would suppose i had gone to uncle adam 's .

it afterwards turned out to be a great success , but i have never been able to look at it without a shudder .

at five the tide began to come in .

very , very slowly the water rose around island rock .

up , up , up it came , while i watched it with fascinated eyes , feeling like a rat in a trap .

with some difficulty i climbed to the top and sat there to await the end .

i had no longer any hope of rescue but , by a great effort , i preserved self-control .

if i had to die , i would at least face death staunchly .

but when i thought of my mother at home , it tasked all my energies to keep from breaking down utterly .

suddenly i heard a whistle .

never was sound so sweet .

i stood up and peered eagerly shoreward .

coming around the " hole in the wall " headland , on top of the cliffs , i saw a boy and a dog .

i sent a wild halloo ringing shoreward .

the boy started , stopped and looked out towards island rock .

the next moment he hailed me .

it was ernest 's voice , and it was laddie who was barking beside him .

" ernest , " i shouted wildly , " run for help quick ! quick !

the tide will be over the rock in half an hour !

hurry , or you will be too late ! "

" ernest , " i shouted frantically , " what are you doing ?

why don't you go for help ? "

ernest had by this time reached a narrow ledge of rock just above the water-line .

i noticed that he was carrying something over his arm .

" it would take too long , " he shouted .

" by the time i got to the cove and a boat could row back here , you 'd be drowned .

laddie and i will save you .

is there anything there you can tie a rope to ?

i 've a coil of rope here that i think will be long enough to reach you .

i 've been down to the cove and alec martin sent it up to your uncle . "

i looked about me ; a smooth , round hole had been worn clean through a thin part of the apex of the rock .

" i could fasten the rope if i had it ! "

i called .

" but how can you get it to me ? "

for answer ernest tied a bit of driftwood to the rope and put it into laddie 's mouth .

the next minute the dog was swimming out to me .

as soon as he came close i caught the rope .

ernest held on to the shoreward end of the rope like grim death , a task that was no light one for his small arms .

when i finally scrambled up beside him , his face was dripping with perspiration and he trembled like a leaf .

" ern , you are a brick ! "

i exclaimed .

" you 've saved my life ! "

" no , it was laddie , " said ernest , refusing to take any credit at all .

we hurried home and arrived at uncle richard 's about ten , just as they were going to bed .

when uncle richard heard what had happened , he turned very pale , and murmured , " thank god ! "

i slept like a top and felt none the worse for my experience the next morning .

at the breakfast table uncle richard scarcely spoke .

but , just as we finished , he said abruptly to ernest , " i 'm not going to sell laddie .

you and the dog saved ned 's life between you , and no dog who helped do that is ever going to be sold by me .

henceforth he belongs to you .

i give him to you for your very own . "

" oh , mr lawson ! " said ernest , with shining eyes .

i never saw a boy look so happy .

as for laddie , who was sitting beside him with his shaggy head on ernest 's knee , i really believe the dog understood , too .

the look in his eyes was almost human .

uncle richard leaned over and patted him .

" good dog ! " he said .

" good dog ! "

at five o'clock in the morning

fate , in the guise of mrs emory dropping a milk-can on the platform under his open window , awakened murray that morning .

and it ain't the convenientest thing , nuther and noways , to keep the breakfast table set till the farm folks are thinking of dinner .

but them artist men are not like other people , say what you will , and allowance has to be made for them .

and i must say that i likes him real well and approves of him every other way . "

if murray had slept late that morning well , he shudders yet over that " if . "

it suddenly occurred to him that he had never seen a sunrise on the pond .

he scowled at a letter lying on his dressing table and thrust it into his pocket that it might be out of sight .

he had written it the night before and the writing of it was going to cost him several things a prospective million among others .

so it is hardly to be wondered at if the sight of it did not reconcile him to the joys of early rising .

" what on earth is the matter , mr murray ?

you ain't sick now , surely ?

i told you them pond fogs was p'isen after night !

if you 've gone and got "

but at what hour of the night do you get up , you wonderful woman ?

or rather do you ever go to bed at all ?

here is the sun only beginning to rise and positively yes , you have all your cows milked . "

mrs emory purred with delight .

" folks as has fourteen cows to milk has to rise betimes , " she answered with proud humility .

" laws , i don't complain i 've lots of help with the milking .

how mrs palmer manages , i really cannot comperhend or rather , how she has managed .

i suppose she 'll be all right now since her niece came last night .

i saw her posting to the pond pasture not ten minutes ago .

she 'll have to milk all them seven cows herself .

but dear life and heart !

here i be palavering away and not a bite of breakfast ready for you ! "

" i don't want any breakfast until the regular time for it , " assured murray .

" i 'm going down to the pond to see the sun rise . "

nobody ever had got caught in the marsh , but mrs emory lived in a chronic state of fear lest someone should .

he was very glad he had risen early .

a miracle was being worked before his very eyes .

overhead the sky was a vast high-sprung arch of unstained crystal .

beneath it the pond waters shimmered with a hundred fairy hues , but just before him they were clear as a flawless mirror .

just as the fiery disc of the sun peered over the sand dunes murray heard music that was not of the birds .

" mrs palmer 's niece ! "

murray sprang to his feet and tiptoed cautiously through the maples .

he had heard so much from mrs palmer about her niece that he felt reasonably well acquainted with her .

moreover , mrs palmer had assured him that mollie was a very pretty girl .

now a pretty girl milking cows at sunrise in the meadows sounded well .

mrs palmer had not over-rated her niece 's beauty .

murray 's artistic instinct responded to the whole scene with a thrill of satisfaction .

presently she began to sing again , and this time murray joined in .

she half rose from her milking stool and cast a startled glance at the maples .

that , and the revelation of her full face , decided him .

he sprang over the fence and sauntered across the intervening space of lush clover blossoms .

" good morning , " he said coolly .

" isn't it rather a large contract for you to be milking seven cows all alone ?

may i help you ? "

mollie looked up at him over her shoulder .

she had glorious grey eyes .

her face was serene and undisturbed .

" can you milk ? " she asked .

" unlikely as it may seem , i can , " said murray .

" i have never confessed it to mrs emory , because i was afraid she would inveigle me into milking her fourteen cows .

but i don't mind helping you .

i learned to milk when i was a shaver on my vacations at a grandfatherly farm .

may i have that extra pail ? "

murray captured a milking stool and rounded up another jersey .

before sitting down he seemed struck with an idea .

" my name is arnold murray .

i board at sweetbriar cottage , next farm to orchard knob .

that makes us near neighbours . "

" i suppose it does , " said mollie .

murray mentally decided that her voice was the sweetest he had ever heard .

he was glad he had arranged his cow at such an angle that he could study her profile .

it was amazing that mrs palmer 's niece should have such a profile .

it looked as if centuries of fine breeding were responsible for it .

" what a morning ! " he said enthusiastically .

" it harks back to the days when earth was young .

they must have had just such mornings as this in eden . "

" do you always get up so early ? " asked mollie practically .

" always , " said murray without a blush .

then " but no , that is a fib , and i cannot tell fibs to you .

the truth is your tribute .

i never get up early .

it was fate that roused me and brought me here this morning .

" what did she tell you about me ? " asked mollie , changing cows .

murray discovered that she was tall and that the big blue print apron shrouded a singularly graceful figure .

" she said you were the best-looking girl in bruce county .

i have seen very few of the girls in bruce county , but i know she is right . "

" that compliment is not nearly so pretty as the sunrise one , " said mollie reflectively .

" mrs palmer has told me things about you , " she added .

" curiosity knows no gender , " hinted murray .

" she said you were good-looking and lazy and different from other people . "

" all compliments , " said murray in a gratified tone .

" lazy ? "

" certainly .

i have time to enjoy life . "

" i think that i like you , " said mollie .

" you have the merit of being able to enter into a situation , " he assured her .

when the last jersey was milked they carried the pails down to the spring where the creamers were sunk and strained the milk into them .

murray washed the pails and mollie wiped them and set them in a gleaming row on the shelf under a big maple .

" thank you , " she said .

" you are not going yet , " said murray resolutely .

" the time i saved you in milking three cows belongs to me .

we will spend it in a walk along the pond shore .

i will show you a path i have discovered under the beeches .

it is just wide enough for two .

come . "

he kept her hand in his as they went down the path , and she did not try to withdraw it .

the spirit of youth and love hovered over them and they spoke no word .

" it is a morning left over from eden , isn't it ? " said murray .

" yes , " said mollie softly .

murray bent toward her .

" you are eve , " he said .

" you are the only woman in the world for me .

adam must have told eve just what he thought about her the first time he saw her .

there were no conventionalities in eden and people could not have taken long to make up their minds .

we are in eden just now .

one can say what he thinks in eden without being ridiculous .

you are divinely fair , eve .

your eyes are stars of the morning your cheek has the flush it stole from the sunrise-your lips are redder than the roses of paradise .

and i love you , eve . "

mollie lowered her eyes and the long fringe of her lashes lay in a burnished semi-circle on her cheek .

" i think , " she said slowly , " that it must have been very delightful in eden .

but we are not really there , you know we are only playing that we are .

and it is time for me to go back .

i must get the breakfast that sounds too prosaic for paradise . "

murray bent still closer .

" before we remember that we are only playing at paradise , will you kiss me , dear eve ? "

" you are very audacious , " said mollie coldly .

" we are in eden yet , " he urged .

" that makes all the difference . "

" well , " said mollie .

and murray kissed her .

they had passed back over the fern path and were in the pasture before either spoke again .

then murray said , " we have left eden behind but we can always return there when we will .

and although we were only playing at paradise , i was not playing at love .

i meant all i said , mollie . "

" have you meant it often ? " asked mollie significantly .

" i never meant it or even played at it before , " he answered .

" i did at one time contemplate the possibility of playing at it .

but that was long ago as long ago as last night .

i am glad to the core of my soul that i decided against it before i met you , dear eve .

i have the letter of decision in my coat pocket this moment .

i mean to mail it this afternoon . "

" ' curiosity knows no gender , ' " quoted mollie .

" then , to satisfy your curiosity , i must bore you with some personal history .

my parents died when i was a little chap , and my uncle brought me up .

he has been immensely good to me , but he is a bit of a tyrant .

recently he picked out a wife for me the daughter of an old sweetheart of his .

i have never even seen her .

but she has arrived in town on a visit to some relatives there .

uncle dick wrote to me to return home at once and pay my court to the lady ; i protested .

he wrote again a letter , short and the reverse of sweet .

uncle always means what he says that is one of our family traits , you understand .

i spent some miserable , undecided days .

but it was the thought of alienating uncle dick .

i love the dear , determined old chap like a father .

but last night my guardian angel was with me and i decided to remain my own man .

so i wrote to uncle dick , respectfully but firmly declining to become a candidate for miss mannering 's hand . "

" but you have never seen her , " said mollie .

" she may be almost charming . "

" ' if she be not fair to me , what care i how fair she be ? ' " quoted murray .

" as you say , she may be almost charming ; but she is not eve .

she is merely one of a million other women , as far as i am concerned .

don't let's talk of her .

let us talk only of ourselves there is nothing else that is half so interesting . "

" and will your uncle really cast you off ? " asked mollie .

" not a doubt of it . "

" what will you do ? "

" work , dear eve .

my carefully acquired laziness must be thrown to the winds and i shall work .

that is the rule outside of eden .

don't worry .

i 've painted pictures that have actually been sold .

i 'll make a living for us somehow . "

" us ? "

" of course .

you are engaged to me . "

" i am not , " said mollie indignantly .

" mollie !

mollie !

after that kiss !

fie , fie ! "

" you are very absurd , " said mollie , " but your absurdity has been amusing .

i have yes , positively i have enjoyed your eden comedy .

but now you must not come any further with me .

my aunt might not approve .

here is my path to orchard knob farmhouse .

there , i presume , is yours to sweetbriar cottage .

good morning . "

" i am coming over to see you this afternoon , " said murray coolly .

" but you needn't be afraid .

i will not tell tales out of eden .

i will be a hypocrite and pretend to mrs palmer that we have never met before .

but you and i will know and remember .

now , you may go .

i reserve to myself the privilege of standing here and watching you out of sight . "

that afternoon murray strolled over to orchard knob , going into the kitchen without knocking as was the habit in that free and easy world .

" good afternoon , mrs palmer , " said murray , wondering where mollie was .

" i 'm sorry to see that you look something like an invalid . "

" i 've a raging , ramping headache , " said mrs palmer solemnly .

" i had it all night and i 'm good for nothing .

mollie , you 'd better take them cherries off .

mr murray , this is my niece , mollie booth . "

" what ? " said murray explosively .

" miss mollie booth , " repeated mrs palmer in a louder tone .

murray regained outward self-control and bowed to the blushing mollie .

" and what about eve ? " he thought helplessly .

" who what was she ?

did i dream her ?

was she a phantom of delight ?

no , no , phantoms don't milk cows .

she was flesh and blood .

no chilly nymph exhaling from the mists of the marsh could have given a kiss like that . "

" mollie has come to stay the rest of the summer with me , " said mrs palmer .

" i hope to goodness my tribulations with hired girls is over at last .

they have made a wreck of me . "

murray rapidly reflected .

this development , he decided , released him from his promise to tell no tales .

" i met a young lady down in the pond pasture this morning , " he said deliberately .

" i talked with her for a few minutes .

i supposed her to be your niece .

who was she ? "

" oh , that was miss mannering , " said mrs palmer .

" what ? " said murray again .

" mannering dora mannering , " said mrs palmer loudly , wondering if mr murray were losing his hearing .

" she came here last night just to see me .

i haven't seen her since she was a child of twelve .

i used to be her nurse before i was married .

i was that proud to think she thought it worth her while to look me up .

couldn't prevent her .

she said she had learned to milk for fun one summer when she was in the country , and she did it .

and then she got breakfast for the men mollie didn't come till the ten o'clock train .

miss mannering is as capable as if she had been riz on a farm . "

" where is she now ? " demanded murray .

" oh , she 's gone . "

" what ? "

" gone , " shouted mrs palmer , " gone .

she left on the train mollie come on .

gracious me , has the man gone crazy ?

he hasn't seemed like himself at all this afternoon . "

murray had bolted madly out of the house and was striding down the lane .

blind fool unspeakable idiot that he had been !

he had been blind , besottedly blind .

and now he had lost her !

she would never forgive him ; she had gone without a word or sign .

" mr murray , mr murray , " mollie booth called breathlessly .

" will you please come here just a minute ? "

murray crossed over to the paling rather grumpily .

he did not want to talk with mollie booth just then .

confound it , what did the girl want ?

why was she looking so mysterious ?

mollie produced a little square grey envelope from some feminine hiding place and handed it over the paling .

you went so fast i near died trying to head you off . "

" you dear little soul , " said murray , suddenly radiant .

" it is too bad you have had to put yourself so out of breath on my account .

but i am immensely obliged to you .

the next time your young man wants a trusty private messenger just refer him to me . "

" git away with you , " giggled mollie .

" i must hurry back ' fore aunt emily jane gits wind i 'm gone .

i hope there 's good news in your girl 's letter .

my , but didn't you look flat when aunt said she 'd went ! "

murray beamed at her idiotically .

when she had vanished among the trees he opened his letter .

" dear mr murray , " it ran , " your unblushing audacity of the morning deserves some punishment .

i hereby punish you by prompt departure from orchard knob .

yet i do not dislike audacity , at some times , in some places , in some people .

it is only from a sense of duty that i punish it in this case .

and it was really pleasant in eden .

until then i remain ,

" very sincerely yours , " dora lynne mannering . "

murray kissed the grey letter and put it tenderly away in his pocket .

then he took his letter to his uncle and tore it into tiny fragments .

finally he looked at his watch .

" if i hurry , i can catch the afternoon train to town , " he said .

aunt susanna 's birthday celebration

good afternoon , nora may .

i 'm real glad to see you .

i 've been watching you coming down the hill and i hoping you 'd turn in at our gate .

going to visit with me this afternoon ?

that 's good .

i 'm feeling so happy and delighted and i 've been hankering for someone to tell it all to .

tell you about it ?

well , i guess i might as well .

it ain't any breach of confidence .

you didn't know anne douglas ?

she taught school here three years ago , afore your folks moved over from talcott .

she belonged up montrose way and she was only eighteen when she came here to teach .

she boarded with us and her and me were the greatest chums .

she was just a sweet girl .

anne had yards of brown wavy hair and big , dark blue eyes .

she was a well-spring of joy in the house , and we all loved her .

gilbert martin began to drive her the very first week she was here .

gilbert is my sister julia 's son , and a fine young fellow he is .

it ain't good manners to brag of your own relations , but i 'm always forgetting and doing it .

gil was a great pet of mine .

he was so bright and nice-mannered everybody liked him .

him and anne were a fine-looking couple , nora may .

not but what they had their shortcomings .

anne 's nose was a mite too long and gil had a crooked mouth .

besides , they was both pretty proud and sperrited and high-strung .

but they thought an awful lot of each other .

it made me feel young again to see ' em .

i used to love her for it .

and i used to love to see the way gil 's face would light up when she came into a room or place where he was .

amanda perkins , she says to me once , " anne douglas and gil martin are most terrible struck on each other . "

and she said it in a tone that indicated that it was a dreadful disgraceful and unbecoming state of affairs .

amanda had a disappointment once and it soured her .

and so it was .

you 're rather too young to be thinking of such things , nora may , but you 'll remember my words when the time comes .

well , he said their love was idyllic , i ain't very sure what that means .

james ebenezer isn't married ; he was to have been , and she died a month afore the wedding day .

he was never the same man again .

well , to get back to gilbert and anne .

when anne 's school year ended in june she resigned and went home to get ready to be married .

anne thought that nobody could quilt like me .

i don't know rightly how the trouble began .

other folks jealous folks made mischief .

anne was thirty miles away and gilbert couldn't see her every day to keep matters clear and fair .

besides , as i 've said , they were both proud and high-sperrited .

the upshot of it was they had a terrible quarrel and the engagement was broken .

the more you love anybody , nora may , the more he can hurt you .

to be sure , you 're too young to be thinking of such things .

it all came like a thunderclap on gil 's friends here at greendale , because we hadn't ever suspected things were going wrong .

it just about broke his parents ' hearts .

he was their only child and they just worshipped him .

ninety-nine times out of a hundred the last state of a meddler and them she meddles with is worse than the first .

so i just set tight and said nothing , while everybody else in the clan was talking anne and gil sixty words to the minute .

well , last birthday morning i was feeling terrible disperrited .

emma matilda and george and the children were all well and happy and wanted for nothing that i could give them .

i begun to be afraid i 'd lived long enough , nora may .

when a woman gets to the point where she can't give a gift of joy to anyone , there ain't much use in her living .

i felt real old and worn out and useless .

and with that the gate banged and there was nancy jane whitmore 's boy , sam , with two letters for me .

one was from anne up at st mary 's and the other was from gil out in manitoba .

i read anne 's first .

she just struck right into things in the first paragraph .

she said she was just broken-hearted about gilbert , and would always love him to the day of her death .

new dresses !

by the most curious coincidence he had opened his heart to me too .

he wrote that he was going to klondike and would start in a month 's time .

he was sick of living now that he 'd lost anne .

i thought real hard .

so i did a mean , dishonourable thing , nora may .

i sent anne 's letter to gilbert and gilbert 's to anne .

i asked emma matilda to address them , and emma matilda did it and asked no questions .

i brought her up that way .

then i settled down to wait .

in less than a month gilbert 's mother had a letter from him saying that he was coming home to settle down and marry anne .

he arrived home yesterday and last night anne came to springdale on her way home from st mary 's .

they came to see me this morning and said things to me i ain't going to repeat because they would sound fearful vain .

they said their new joy was my birthday gift to them .

the wedding is to be in september and i 'm going to montrose in august to help anne with her quilts .

i don't think anything will happen to prevent this time no quarrelling , anyhow .

those two young creatures have learned their lesson .

you 'd better take it to heart too , nora may .

it 's less trouble to learn it at second hand .

don't you ever quarrel with your real beau it don't matter about the sham ones , of course .

don't take offence at trifles or listen to what other people tell you about him outsiders , that is , that want to make mischief .

what you think about him is of more importance than what they do .

to be sure , you 're too young yet to be thinking of such things at all .

but just mind what old aunt susanna told you when your time comes .

bertie 's new year

he stood on the sagging doorstep and looked out on the snowy world .

his hands were clasped behind him , and his thin face wore a thoughtful , puzzled look .

the door behind him opened jerkingly , and a scowling woman came out with a pan of dishwater in her hand .

" ain't you gone yet , bert ? " she said sharply .

" what in the world are you hanging round for ? "

" it 's early yet , " said bertie cheerfully .

" i thought maybe george fraser 'd be along and i 'd get a lift as far as the store . "

" well , i never saw such laziness !

no wonder old sampson won't keep you longer than the holidays if you 're no smarter than that .

goodness , if i don't settle that boy ! " as the sound of fretful crying came from the kitchen behind her .

" what is wrong with william john ? " asked bertie .

" why , he wants to go out coasting with those robinson boys , but he can't .

he hasn't got any mittens and he would catch his death of cold again . "

her voice seemed to imply that william john had died of cold several times already .

bertie looked soberly down at his old , well-darned mittens .

it was very cold , and he would have a great many errands to run .

then he suddenly pulled off his mittens and held them out .

" here he can have mine .

i 'll get on without them well enough . "

" nonsense ! " said mrs ross , but less unkindly .

" the fingers would freeze off you .

don't be a goose . "

" it 's all right , " persisted bertie .

" i don't need them much .

and william john doesn't hardly ever get out . "

he had to stop a great many times that day to breathe on his purple hands .

it was sunset when bertie laid an armful of parcels down on the steps of doctor forbes 's handsome house .

" just look at that poor little boy , amy , " said the taller of the two .

" he is almost frozen , i believe .

why doesn't caroline hurry and open the door ? "

" there she goes now , " said amy .

" edie , couldn't we coax her to let him come in and get warm ?

he looks so cold . "

and she drew her sister out into the hall , where the housekeeper was taking bertie 's parcels .

" he 's used to the cold , i warrant you , " said the housekeeper rather impatiently .

" it won't hurt him . "

it 's a cold day . "

bertie shyly followed her to the kitchen .

" what 's your name ? " asked caroline .

" robert ross , ma'am . "

" oh , you 're mrs ross 's nephew then , " said caroline , breaking eggs into her cake-bowl , and whisking them deftly round .

" and you 're sampson 's errand boy just now ?

my goodness , " as the boy spread his blue hands over the fire , " where are your mittens , child ?

you 're never out without mittens a day like this ! "

" i lent them to william john he hadn't any , " faltered bertie .

he did not know but that the lady might consider it a grave crime to be mittenless .

" no mittens ! " exclaimed amy in dismay .

" why , i have three pairs .

and who is william john ? "

" he is my cousin , " said bertie .

" and he 's awful sickly .

he wanted to go out to play , and he hadn't any mittens , so i lent him mine .

i didn't miss them much . "

" what kind of a christmas did you have ? "

" we didn't have any . "

" no christmas ! " said amy , quite overcome .

" oh , well , i suppose you are going to have a good time on new year 's instead . "

bertie shook his head .

" no 'm , i guess not .

we never have it different from other times . "

amy was silent from sheer amazement .

edith understood better , and she changed the subject .

" have you any brothers or sisters , bertie ? "

" no 'm , " returned bertie cheerfully .

" i guess there 's enough of us without that .

i must be going now .

i 'm very much obliged to you . "

edith slipped from the room as he spoke , and met him again at the door .

she held out a pair of warm-looking mittens .

" these are for william john , " she said simply , " so that you can have your own .

they are a pair of mine which are too big for me .

i know papa will say it is all right .

goodbye , bertie . "

" goodbye and thank you , " stammered bertie , as the door closed .

then he hastened home to william john .

that evening doctor forbes noticed a peculiarly thoughtful look on edith 's face as she sat gazing into the glowing coal fire after dinner .

he laid his hand on her dark curls inquiringly .

" what are you musing over ? "

" there was a little boy here today , " began edith .

" oh , such a dear little boy , " broke in amy eagerly from the corner , where she was playing with her kitten .

" his name was bertie ross .

he brought up the parcels , and we asked him in to get warm .

he had no mittens , and his hands were almost frozen .

and , oh , papa , just think ! he said he never had any christmas or new year at all . "

" poor little fellow ! " said the doctor .

" i 've heard of him ; a pretty hard time he has of it , i think . "

" he was so pretty , papa .

and edie gave him her blue mittens for william john . "

" the plot deepens .

who is william john ? "

" oh , a cousin or something , didn't he say edie ?

anyway , he is sick , and he wanted to go coasting , and bertie gave him his mittens .

and i suppose he never had any christmas either . "

" there are plenty who haven't , " said the doctor , taking up his paper with a sigh .

" oh , papa ! " said edith , her eyes shining like stars .

the doctor laughed .

and this was how it came to pass that bertie received the next day his first invitation to dine out .

it was with the same expression that he opened the door at home in the evening .

his aunt was stirring some oatmeal mush on the stove .

" is that you , bert ? "

she spoke sharply .

she always spoke sharply , even when not intending it ; it had grown to be a habit .

" yes 'm , " said bertie meekly , as he hung up his cap .

" i s'pose you 've only got one day more at the store , " said mrs ross .

" sampson didn't say anything about keeping you longer , did he ? "

" no .

he said he couldn't i asked him . "

" well , i didn't expect he would .

you 'll have a holiday on new year 's anyhow ; whether you 'll have anything to eat or not is a different question . "

" i 've an invitation to dinner , " said bertie timidly , " me and william john .

it 's from doctor forbes 's little girls the ones that gave me the mittens . "

he caught cold coasting yesterday .

i told him he would , but he was bound to go , and now he 's laid up for a week .

listen to him barking in the bedroom there . "

" i wouldn't go there all alone . "

" you 're a goose ! " said his aunt .

" they wouldn't eat you .

but as i said , please yourself .

anyhow , hold your tongue about it to william john , or you 'll have him crying and bawling to go too . "

the caution came too late .

" come , william john , i want to rub you . "

" i don't want to be rubbed g'way , " sobbed william john .

" i heard you out there you needn't think i didn't .

bertie 's going to doctor forbes 's to dinner and i can't go . "

" well , you've only yourself to thank for it , " returned his mother .

little boys who won't do as they 're told always get into trouble .

stop crying , now .

i dare say if bertie goes they 'll send you some candy , or something . "

but william john refused to be comforted .

" well , william john , how are you ? "

" i ain't any better , " replied william john mournfully .

" i s'pose you 'll have a great time tomorrow night , bertie ? "

" oh , i 'm not going since you can't , " said bertie cheerily .

he thought this would comfort william john , but it had exactly the opposite effect .

william john had cried until he could cry no more , but he turned around and sobbed .

" there now ! " he said in tearless despair .

" that 's just what i expected .

i did s'pose if i couldn't go you would , and tell me about it .

you 're mean as mean can be . "

" come now , william john , don't be so cross .

i thought you 'd rather have me home , but i 'll go , if you want me to . "

" honest , now ? "

" yes , honest .

i 'll go anywhere to please you .

i must be off to the store now .

goodbye . "

thus committed , bertie took his courage in both hands and went .

the next evening at dusk found him standing at doctor forbes 's door with a very violently beating heart .

he was carefully dressed in his well-worn best suit and a neat white collar .

the frosty air had crimsoned his cheeks and his hair was curling round his face .

caroline opened the door and showed him into the parlour , where edith and amy were eagerly awaiting him .

" happy new year , bertie , " cried amy .

" and but , why , where is william john ? "

" he couldn't come , " answered bertie anxiously he was afraid he might not be welcome without william john .

" he 's real sick .

he caught cold and has to stay in bed ; but he wanted to come awful bad . "

" oh , dear me !

poor william john ! " said amy in a disappointed tone .

but all further remarks were cut short by the entrance of doctor forbes .

" how do you do ? " he said , giving bertie 's hand a hearty shake .

" but where is the other little fellow my girls were expecting ? "

bertie patiently reaccounted for william john 's non-appearance .

" it 's a bad time for colds , " said the doctor , sitting down and attacking the fire .

" i dare say , though , you have to run so fast these days that a cold couldn't catch you .

i suppose you 'll soon be leaving sampson 's .

he told me he didn't need you after the holiday season was over .

what are you going at next ?

have you anything in view ? "

bertie shook his head sorrowfully .

" no , sir ; but , " he added more cheerfully , " i guess i 'll find something if i hunt around lively .

i almost always do . "

he forgot his shyness ; his face flushed hopefully , and he looked straight at the doctor with his bright , earnest eyes .

the doctor poked the fire energetically and looked very wise .

but just then the girls came up and carried bertie off to display their holiday gifts .

and there was a fur cap and a pair of mittens for him !

he wondered whether he was dreaming .

" and here 's a picture-book for william john , " said amy , " and there is a sled out in the kitchen for him .

oh , there 's the dinner-bell .

i 'm awfully hungry .

papa says that is my ' normal condition , ' but i don't know what that means . "

as for that dinner bertie might sometimes have seen such a repast in delightful dreams , but certainly never out of them .

it was a feast to be dated from .

" so mr sampson can't keep you ? "

bertie 's face sobered at once .

he had almost forgotten his responsibilities .

" no , sir .

he says i 'm too small for the heavy work . "

" well , you are rather small but no doubt you will grow .

boys have a queer habit of doing that .

i think you know how to make yourself useful .

i need a boy here to run errands and look after my horse .

if you like , i 'll try you .

you can live here , and go to school .

i sometimes hear of places for boys in my rounds , and the first good one that will suit you , i 'll bespeak for you .

how will that do ? "

" oh , sir , you are too good , " said bertie with a choke in his voice .

" well , that is settled , " said the doctor genially .

" come on monday then .

and perhaps we can do something for that other little chap , william , or john , or whatever his name is .

will you have some more pudding , bertie ? "

" no , thank you , " said bertie .

pudding , indeed !

he could not have eaten another mouthful after such wonderful and unexpected good fortune .

" off , are you ? " said the doctor , looking up from his paper .

" well , i 'll expect you on monday , remember . "

" yes , sir , " said bertie happily .

he was not likely to forget .

as he went out amy came through the hall with a red sled .

" here is william john 's present .

i 've tied all the other things on so that they can't fall off . "

edith was at the door-with a parcel .

" here are some nuts and candies for william john , " she said .

" and tell him we all wish him a ' happy new year . ' "

" thank you , " said bertie .

" i 've had a splendid time .

i 'll tell william john .

goodnight . "

he stepped out .

it was frostier than ever .

he was quite sure he could never forget this wonderful new year .

between the hill and the valley

it was one of the moist , pleasantly odorous nights of early spring .

jeffrey miller was considered a handsome man , and bayside people had periodical fits of wondering why he had never married .

one of jeffrey 's dogs was with him now the oldest one , with white breast and paws and a tawny coat .

they came down the hill together .

a group of men were standing on the bridge in the hollow , discussing colonel stuart 's funeral of the day before .

jeffrey caught sara 's name and paused on the outskirts of the group to listen .

" yes , the old kunnel's gone at last , " christopher jackson was saying .

" he took his time dyin ' , that 's sartain .

must be a kind of relief for sara she 's had to wait on him , hand and foot , for years .

but no doubt she 'll feel pretty lonesome .

wonder what she 'll do ? "

" is there any particular reason for her to do anything ? " asked alec churchill .

" well , she 'll have to leave pinehurst .

the estate 's entailed and goes to her cousin , charles stuart . "

there were exclamations of surprise from the other men on hearing this .

jeffrey drew nearer , absently patting his dog 's head .

he had not known it either .

" oh , yes , " said christopher , enjoying all the importance of exclusive information .

" i thought everybody knew that .

pinehurst goes to the oldest male heir .

the old kunnel felt it keen that he hadn't a son .

of course , there 's plenty of money and sara 'll get that .

but i guess she 'll feel pretty bad at leaving her old home .

sara ain't as young as she used to be , neither .

let me see she must be thirty-eight .

well , she 's left pretty lonesome . "

" maybe she 'll stay on at pinehurst , " said job crowe .

" it 'd only be right for her cousin to give her a home there . "

christopher shook his head .

" no , i understand they 're not on very good terms .

sara don't like charles stuart or his wife and i don't blame her .

she won't stay there , not likely .

probably she 'll go and live in town .

strange she never married .

she was reckoned handsome , and had plenty of beaus at one time . "

jeffrey swung out of the group and started homeward with his dog .

to stand by and hear sara stuart discussed after this fashion was more than he could endure .

the men idly watched his tall , erect figure as he went along the valley .

" queer chap , jeff , " said alec churchill reflectively .

" jeff 's all right , " said christopher in a patronizing way .

" there ain't a better man or neighbour alive .

i 've lived next farm to him for thirty years , so i ought to know .

but he 's queer sartainly not like other people kind of unsociable .

he don't care for a thing ' cept dogs and reading and mooning round woods and fields .

that ain't natural , you know .

but i must say he 's a good farmer .

he 's got the best farm in bayside , and that 's a real nice house he put up on it .

ain't it an odd thing he never married ?

never seemed to have no notion of it .

i can't recollect of jeff miller 's ever courting anybody .

that 's another unnatural thing about him . "

" i 've always thought that jeff thought himself a cut or two above the rest of us , " said tom scovel with a sneer .

" maybe he thinks the bayside girls ain't good enough for him . "

" there ain't no such dirty pride about jeff , " pronounced christopher conclusively .

" and the millers are the best family hereabouts , leaving the kunnel's out .

and jeff 's well off nobody knows how well , i reckon , but i can guess , being his land neighbour .

jeff ain't no fool nor loafer , if he is a bit queer . "

meanwhile , the object of these remarks was striding homeward and thinking , not of the men behind him , but of sara stuart .

he must go to her at once .

he had not intruded on her since her father 's death , thinking her sorrow too great for him to meddle with .

but this was different .

perhaps she needed the advice or assistance only he could give .

to whom else in bayside could she turn for it but to him , her old friend ?

was it possible that she must leave pinehurst ?

the thought struck cold dismay to his soul .

how could he bear his life if she went away ?

he had loved sara stuart from childhood .

to the end of his life the boy was to carry in his heart the picture she made there under the pines .

" little boy , " she had said , with a friendly smile , " will you show me where the mayflowers grow ? "

the boy was thrilled with delight .

she was a fairy queen who thus graciously smiled on him and chattered blithely as they searched for mayflowers in the fresh spring sunshine .

he thought it a wonderful thing that it had so chanced .

a few days later a message came from mrs stuart on the hill to mrs miller in the valley .

would she let her little boy go up now and then to play with sara ?

sara was very lonely because she had no playmates .

so jeff , overjoyed , had gone to his divinity 's very home , where the two children played together many a day .

all through their childhood they had been fast friends .

sara 's parents placed no bar to their intimacy .

they had soon concluded that little jeff miller was a very good playmate for sara .

he was gentle , well-behaved , and manly .

sara never went to the district school which jeff attended ; she had her governess at home .

with no other boy or girl in bayside did she form any friendship , but her loyalty to jeff never wavered .

as for jeff , he worshipped her and would have done anything she commanded .

he belonged to her from the day they had hunted arbutus on the hill .

when sara was fifteen she had gone away to school .

jeff had missed her sorely .

for four years he saw her only in the summers , and each year she had seemed taller , statelier , further from him .

he looked these facts unflinchingly in the face until he had grown used to them , and then he laid down his course for himself .

he loved sara and he did not wish to conquer his love , even if it had been possible .

it were better to love her , whom he could never win , than to love and be loved by any other woman .

sara had not forgotten her old friend .

but their former comradeship was now impossible ; they could be friends , but never again companions .

the democracy of childhood past , there was no common ground on which they might meet .

only one thing jeffrey had found it impossible to contemplate calmly .

some day sara would marry a man who was her equal , who sat at her father 's table as a guest .

in spite of himself , jeffrey 's heart filled with hot rebellion at the thought ; it was like a desecration and a robbery .

but , as the years went by , this thing he dreaded did not happen .

sara did not marry , although gossip assigned her many suitors not unworthy of her .

she and jeffrey were always friends , although they met but seldom .

jeffrey 's calendar from year to year was red-lettered by these small happenings , of which nobody knew , or , knowing , would have cared .

so he and sara drifted out of youth , together yet apart .

it hurt him , that shadow ; he would have given anything in his power to have banished it .

and now this long friendship was to be broken .

sara was going away .

at first he had thought only of her pain , but now his own filled his heart .

how could he live without her ?

how could he dwell in the valley knowing that she had gone from the hill ?

never to see her light shine down on him through the northern gap in the pines at night !

never to feel that perhaps her eyes rested on him now and then as he went about his work in the valley fields !

never to stoop with a glad thrill over the first spring flowers because it was his privilege to take them to her !

jeffrey groaned aloud .

no , he could not go up to see her that night ; he must wait he must strengthen himself .

then his heart rebuked him .

this was selfishness ; this was putting his own feelings before hers a thing he had sworn never to do .

perhaps she needed him perhaps she had wondered why he had not come to offer her such poor service as might be in his power .

it was dark now , and a few stars were shining in the silvery sky .

the wind sighed among the pines as he walked under them .

sometimes he felt that he must turn back that his pain was going to master him ; then he forced himself to go on .

the old grey house where sara lived seemed bleak and stricken in the dull light , with its leafless vines clinging to it .

there were no lights in it .

it looked like a home left soulless .

jeffrey went around to the garden door and knocked .

he had expected the maid to open it , put sara herself came .

" why , jeff , " she said , with pleasure in her tones .

" i am so glad to see you .

i have been wondering why you had not come before . "

" i did not think you would want to see me yet , " he said hurriedly .

" i have thought about you every hour but i feared to intrude . "

" you couldn't intrude , " she said gently .

" yes , i have wanted to see you , jeff .

come into the library . "

he followed her into the room where they had always sat in his rare calls .

sara lighted the lamp on the table .

as the light shot up she stood clearly revealed in it a tall , slender woman in a trailing gown of grey .

her face was quite unlined a little pale , perhaps , with more finely cut outlines than those of youth .

perhaps it was the fine patience and serenity in her face that told her tale of years .

youth can never acquire it .

her eyes brightened when she saw the mayflowers he carried .

she came and took them from him , and her hands touched his , sending a little thrill of joy through him .

" how lovely they are !

and the first i have seen this spring .

you always bring me the first , don't you , jeff ?

do you remember the first day we spent picking mayflowers together ? "

jeff smiled .

could he forget ?

but something held him back from speech .

sara put the flowers in a vase on the table , but slipped one starry pink cluster into the lace on her breast .

some impulse that would not be denied made him lean over and take her hand .

she left it unresistingly in his clasp .

" i am very lonely now , jeff , " she said sadly .

" father has gone .

i have no friends left . "

" you have me , " said jeffrey quietly .

" yes .

i shouldn't have said that .

you are my friend , i know , jeff .

but , but i must leave pinehurst , you know . "

" i learned that tonight for the first time , " he answered .

" but , no , it couldn't seem so to a man .

only a woman could fully understand what i mean .

that is how i feel now .

while i had father to live for it wasn't so hard .

but now there is nothing .

and i must go away . "

" is there anything i can do ? " muttered jeffrey miserably .

he knew now that he had made a mistake in coming tonight ; he could not help her .

his own pain had unmanned him .

presently he would say something foolish or selfish in spite of himself .

sara turned her eyes on him .

" there is nothing anybody can do , jeff , " she said piteously .

her eyes , those clear child-eyes , filled with tears .

" i shall be braver stronger after a while .

but just now i have no strength left .

i feel like a lost , helpless child .

oh , jeff ! "

she put her slender hands over her face and sobbed .

every sob cut jeffrey to the heart .

" don't don't , sara , " he said huskily .

" i can't bear to see you suffer so .

i 'd die for you if it would do you any good .

i love you i love you !

i never meant to tell you so , but it is the truth .

i oughtn't to tell you now .

don't think that i 'm trying to take any advantage of your loneliness and sorrow .

i know i have always known that you are far above me .

but that couldn't prevent my loving you just humbly loving you , asking nothing else .

you may be angry with my presumption , but i can't help telling you that i love you .

that 's all .

i just want you to know it . "

sara had turned away her head .

jeffrey was overcome with contrition .

ah , he had no business to speak so he had spoiled the devotion of years .

who was he that he should have dared to love her ?

silence alone had justified his love , and now he had lost that justification .

she would despise him .

he had forfeited her friendship for ever .

" are you angry , sara ? " he questioned sadly , after a silence .

" i think i am , " said sara .

she kept her stately head averted .

" if if you have loved me , jeff , why did you never tell me so before ? "

" how could i dare ? " he said gravely .

" i knew i could never win you that i had no right to dream of you so .

oh , sara , don't be angry !

my love has been reverent and humble .

i have asked nothing .

i ask nothing now but your friendship .

don't take that from me , sara .

don't be angry with me . "

" i am angry , " repeated sara , " and i think i have a right to be . "

" perhaps so , " he said simply , " but not because i have loved you .

such love as mine ought to anger no woman , sara .

but you have a right to be angry with me for presuming to put it into words .

i should not have done so but i could not help it .

it rushed to my lips in spite of me .

forgive me . "

" i don't know whether i can forgive you for not telling me before , " said sara steadily .

" that is what i have to forgive not your speaking at last , even if it was dragged from you against your will .

" sara ! " he said , aghast .

" i i you were as far above me as a star in the sky i never dreamed i never hoped "

" that i could care for you ? " said sara , looking round at last .

" then you were more modest than a man ought to be , jeff .

i did not know that you loved me , or i should have found some way to make you speak out long ago .

i should not have let you waste all these years .

i 've loved you ever since we picked mayflowers on the hill , i think ever since i came home from school , i know .

i never cared for anyone else although i tried to , when i thought you didn't care for me .

it mattered nothing to me that the world may have thought there was some social difference between us .

there , jeff , you cannot accuse me of not making my meaning plain . "

" sara , " he whispered , wondering , bewildered , half-afraid to believe this unbelievable joy .

" sara , will you be my wife ? "

" yes . "

she said the word clearly and truly .

" and i will think myself a proud and happy and honoured woman to be so , jeff .

oh , i don't shrink from telling you the truth , you see .

you mean too much to me for me to dissemble it .

she lifted her delicate , high-bred face , fearless love shining in every lineament , to his , and they exchanged their first kiss .

clorinda 's gifts

" it is a dreadful thing to be poor a fortnight before christmas , " said clorinda , with the mournful sigh of seventeen years .

aunt emmy smiled .

" i suppose it is worse then than at any other time , " she admitted .

that was one of the nice things about aunt emmy .

she always sympathized and understood .

" i 'm worse than poor this christmas ....y

i 'm stony broke , " said clorinda dolefully .

" my spell of fever in the summer and the consequent doctor 's bills have cleaned out my coffers completely .

not a single christmas present can i give .

and i did so want to give some little thing to each of my dearest people .

but i simply can't afford it ... that 's the hateful , ugly truth . "

clorinda sighed again .

that kind of gift is just as much out of the question for me as any other . "

" that was not what i meant , " said aunt emmy .

" what did you mean , then ? " asked clorinda , looking puzzled .

aunt emmy smiled .

" suppose you think out my meaning for yourself , " she said .

" that would be better than if i explained it .

besides , i don't think i could explain it .

take the beautiful line of a beautiful poem to help you in your thinking out : ' the gift without the giver is bare . ' "

" that is my predicament exactly .

well , i hope by next christmas i 'll not be quite bankrupt .

i 'm going into mr callender 's store down at murraybridge in february .

he has offered me the place , you know . "

" won't your aunt miss you terribly ? " said aunt emmy gravely .

clorinda flushed .

there was a note in aunt emmy 's voice that disturbed her .

" oh , yes , i suppose she will , " she answered hurriedly .

" but she 'll get used to it very soon .

and i will be home every saturday night , you know .

i can help aunt mary , too .

i 'm to get four dollars a week . "

" i think she would rather have your companionship than a part of your salary , clorinda , " said aunt emmy .

" but of course you must decide for yourself , dear .

it is hard to be poor .

i know it .

i am poor . "

" you poor ! " said clorinda , kissing her .

" why , you are the richest woman i know , aunt emmy rich in love and goodness and contentment . "

" and so are you , dearie ... rich in youth and health and happiness and ambition .

aren't they all worth while ? "

" of course they are , " laughed clorinda .

" only , unfortunately , christmas gifts can't be coined out of them . "

" did you ever try ? " asked aunt emmy .

" think out that question , too , in your thinking out , clorinda . "

" well , i must say bye-bye and run home .

i feel cheered up you always cheer people up , aunt emmy .

how grey it is outdoors .

i do hope we 'll have snow soon .

wouldn't it be jolly to have a white christmas ?

we always have such faded brown decembers . "

clorinda lived just across the road from aunt emmy in a tiny white house behind some huge willows .

but aunt mary lived there too the only relative clorinda had , for aunt emmy wasn't really her aunt at all .

clorinda had always lived with aunt mary ever since she could remember .

clorinda went home and upstairs to her little room under the eaves , where the great bare willow boughs were branching athwart her windows .

she was thinking over what aunt emmy had said about christmas gifts and giving .

" i 'm sure i don't know what she could have meant , " pondered clorinda .

" i do wish i could find out if it would help me any .

i 'd love to remember a few of my friends at least .

there 's miss mitchell ....v she 's been so good to me all this year and helped me so much with my studies .

and there 's mrs martin out in manitoba .

if i could only send her something !

she must be so lonely out there .

i shall never feel the same to her again .

but she gave me a present last christmas , and so out of mere politeness i ought to give her something . "

clorinda stopped short suddenly .

she had just remembered that she would not have liked to say that last sentence to aunt emmy .

therefore , there was something wrong about it .

clorinda had long ago learned that there was sure to be something wrong in anything that could not be said to aunt emmy .

so she stopped to think it over .

clorinda puzzled over aunt emmy 's meaning for four days and part of three nights .

then all at once it came to her .

" i 've solved the problem of my christmas giving for this year , " she told aunt emmy .

" i have some things to give after all .

that is what mr grierson would call a paradox , isn't it ?

i 'll explain all about it to you on christmas day . "

on christmas day , clorinda went over to aunt emmy 's .

it was a faded brown christmas after all , for the snow had not come .

but clorinda did not mind ; there was such joy in her heart that she thought it the most delightful christmas day that ever dawned .

she put the queer cornery armful she carried down on the kitchen floor before she went into the sitting room .

aunt emmy was lying on the sofa before the fire , and clorinda sat down beside her .

" i 've come to tell you all about it , " she said .

aunt emmy patted the hand that was in her own .

" from your face , dear girl , it will be pleasant hearing and telling , " she said .

clorinda nodded .

" aunt emmy , i thought for days over your meaning ....y thought until i was dizzy .

i thought of something new every day for a week .

at first i didn't think i could give some of them , and then i thought how selfish i was .

i got over that , though , aunt emmy .

now i 'm going to tell you what i did give .

" first , there was my teacher , miss mitchell .

i gave her one of father 's books .

that is , i felt that on second thought .

i was afraid she would think it queer of me to give her such a present .

so i gave it to her , and she understood .

i think it pleased her so much , the real meaning in it .

she said it was like being given something out of another 's heart and life .

" then you know mrs martin ... last year she was miss hope , my dear sunday school teacher .

she married a home missionary , and they are in a lonely part of the west .

well , i wrote her a letter .

not just an ordinary letter ; dear me , no .

i took a whole day to write it , and you should have seen the postmistress's eyes stick out when i mailed it .

i just told her everything that had happened in greenvale since she went away .

i made it as newsy and cheerful and loving as i possibly could .

everything bright and funny i could think of went into it .

" the next was old aunt kitty .

you know she was my nurse when i was a baby , and she 's very fond of me .

she is always glad when i go to see her , but i 've never gone except when i couldn't help it .

she is very deaf , and rather dull and stupid , you know .

well , i gave her a whole day .

i took my knitting yesterday , and sat with her the whole time and just talked and talked .

i told her all the greenvale news and gossip and everything else i thought she 'd like to hear .

she was so pleased and proud ; she told me when i came away that she hadn't had such a nice time for years .

" then there was ....y

florence .

you know , aunt emmy , we were always intimate friends until last year .

then florence once told rose watson something i had told her in confidence .

i found it out and i was so hurt .

i couldn't forgive florence , and i told her plainly i could never be a real friend to her again .

well , aunt emmy , that was my christmas gift to her ... my forgiveness .

" i gave aunt mary her gift this morning .

i told her i wasn't going to murraybridge , that i just meant to stay home with her .

she was so glad and i 'm glad , too , now that i 've decided so . "

" your gifts have been real gifts , clorinda , " said aunt emmy .

" something of you the best of you went into each of them . "

clorinda went out and brought her cornery armful in .

" i didn't forget you , aunt emmy , " she said , as she unpinned the paper .

there was a rosebush clorinda 's own pet rosebush all snowed over with fragrant blossoms .

aunt emmy loved flowers .

she put her finger under one of the roses and kissed it .

" it 's as sweet as yourself , dear child , " she said tenderly .

" and it will be a joy to me all through the lonely winter days .

you 've found out the best meaning of christmas giving , haven't you , dear ? "

" yes , thanks to you , aunt emmy , " said clorinda softly .

cyrilla 's inspiration

they were sitting in that front room , scowling out at the weather .

at least , carol and mary were scowling .

" for pity 's sake , cyrilla , put that grammar away , " moaned mary .

" there is something positively uncanny about a girl who can study greek on saturday afternoons at least , this early in the term . "

" i 'm not really studying , " said cyrilla , tossing the book away .

" i 'm only pretending to .

i 'm really just as bored and lonesome as you are .

but what else is there to do ?

have you any better employment to offer me ? "

" if it were only a mild drizzle we might go around and see the patterson girls , " sighed carol .

" but there is no venturing out in such a downpour .

cyrilla , you are supposed to be the brainiest one of us .

prove your claim to such pre-eminence by thinking of some brand-new amusement , especially suited to rainy afternoons .

that will be putting your grey matter to better use than squandering it on greek verbs out of study limits . "

" if only i 'd got a letter from home today , " said mary , who seemed determined to persist in gloom .

" i wouldn't mind the weather .

letters are such cheery things : especially the letters my sister writes .

they 're so full of fun and nice little news .

the reading of one cheers me up for the day .

cyrilla blair , what is the matter ?

you nearly frightened me to death ! "

cyrilla had bounded from her bed to the centre of the floor , waving her greek grammar wildly in the air .

" girls , i have an inspiration ! " she exclaimed .

" good !

let's hear it , " said carol .

" let's write letters rainy-day letters to everyone in the house , " said cyrilla .

let's write them the jolliest , nicest letters we can compose and get nora jane to take them to their rooms .

you knew she has been awfully nice to us in spite of the oil stove ukase .

that 's six two apiece .

let's do it , girls . "

cyrilla 's sudden enthusiasm for her plan infected the others .

" it 's a nice idea , " said mary , brightening up .

" but who 's to write to whom ?

i 'm willing to take anybody but miss marshall .

i couldn't write a line to her to save my life .

" better leave miss marshall out , " suggested carol .

" you know she disapproves of us anyhow .

she 'd probably resent a letter of the sort , thinking we were trying to play some kind of joke on her . "

" it would never do to leave her out , " said cyrilla decisively .

wouldn't that sour anybody ?

you know it would .

you 'd be cranky and grumbly and disagreeable too , i dare say .

i 'm really sorry for miss marshall .

she 's had a very hard life .

mrs plunkett told me all about her one day .

i don't think we should mind her biting little speeches and sharp looks .

so she needs a letter most of all .

i 'll write to her , since it 's my suggestion .

we 'll draw lots for the others . "

besides miss marshall , the new music teacher fell to cyrilla 's share .

mary drew mrs plunkett and the dressmaker , and carol drew mrs johnson and old mr grant .

for the next two hours the girls wrote busily , forgetting all about the rainy day , and enjoying their epistolary labours to the full .

it was dusk when all the letters were finished .

" why , hasn't the afternoon gone quickly after all ! " exclaimed carol .

" i just let my pen run on and jotted down any good working idea that came into my head .

cyrilla blair , that big fat letter is never for miss marshall !

what on earth did you find to write her ? "

" it wasn't so hard when i got fairly started , " said cyrilla , smiling .

" now , let's hunt up nora jane and send the letters around so that everybody can read his or hers before tea-time .

we should have a choice assortment of smiles at the table instead of all those frowns and sighs we had at dinner . "

miss marshall was feeling as lonely and dreary as she looked and as she had often felt in her life of sixty years .

she thought her boarding-house acquaintances disliked her and she resented their dislike , without admitting to herself that her ungracious ways were responsible for it .

i 'm sick and tired of their giggling and whispering . "

in the midst of these amiable reflections miss marshall heard a knock at her door .

when she opened it there stood nora jane , her broad red face beaming with smiles .

" please , miss , here 's a letter for you , " she said .

" a letter for me ! "

miss marshall shut her door and stared at the fat envelope in amazement .

who could have written it ?

the postman came only in the morning .

was it some joke , perhaps ?

those giggling girls ?

miss marshall 's face grew harder as she lighted her lamp and opened the letter suspiciously .

so i 'm going to write to you just a letter of friendly nonsense . "

pages of " nonsense " followed , and very delightful nonsense it was , for cyrilla possessed the happy gift of bright and easy letter-writing .

before miss marshall had finished reading that letter she had cried three times and laughed times past counting .

more tears came at the end happy , tender tears such as miss marshall had not shed for years .

something warm and sweet and gentle seemed to thrill to life within her heart .

so those girls were not such selfish , heedless young creatures as she had supposed !

how kind it had been in cyrilla blair to think of her and write so to her .

she no longer felt lonely and neglected .

her whole sombre world had been brightened to sunshine by that merry friendly letter .

mrs plunkett 's table was surrounded by a ring of smiling faces that night .

everybody seemed in good spirits in spite of the weather .

all the others declared that they were delighted with their letters all except miss marshall .

she said nothing but later on , when cyrilla was going upstairs , she met miss marshall in the shadows of the second landing .

i was so so lonely and tired and discouraged .

it heartened me right up .

i i know you have thought me a cross and disagreeable person .

i 'm afraid i have been , too .

but but i shall try to be less so in future .

if i can't succeed all at once don't mind me because , under it all , i shall always be your friend .

and i mean to keep your letter and read it over every time i feel myself getting bitter and hard again . "

" dear miss marshall , i 'm so glad you liked it , " said cyrilla frankly .

" we 're all your friends and would be glad to be chummy with you .

only we thought perhaps we bothered you with our nonsense . "

" come and see me sometimes , " said miss marshall with a smile .

" i 'll try to be ' chummy ' perhaps i 'm not yet too old to learn the secret of friendliness .

your letter has made me think that i have missed much in shutting all young life out from mine as i have done .

i want to reform in this respect if i can . "

when cyrilla reached the front room she found mrs plunkett there .

only do be careful not to set the place on fire .

please be particularly careful not to set it on fire . "

" we 'll try , " promised cyrilla with dancing eyes .

when the door closed behind mrs plunkett the three girls looked at each other .

" cyrilla , that idea of yours was a really truly inspiration , " said carol solemnly .

" i believe it was , " said cyrilla , thinking of miss marshall .

dorinda 's desperate deed

dorinda had been home for a whole wonderful week and the little pages were beginning to feel acquainted with her .

mrs page , albeit she was poor nobody but herself knew how poor and a widow with five children besides dorinda , hesitated at first .

so , to comfort her , mrs page had let dorinda go , stipulating that she must come home in the spring .

in the spring , when dorinda 's bed of violets was growing purple under the lilac bush , aunt mary wrote again .

dorinda was contented and happy , she said .

would not emily let her stay for the summer ?

mrs page cried bitterly over that letter and took sad counsel with herself .

to let dorinda stay with her aunt for the summer really meant , she knew , to let her stay altogether .

in the end she agreed to let dorinda stay for the summer and dorinda had never been home since .

aunt mary had died very suddenly and her only son , dorinda 's cousin , had gone to japan .

leicester had been nine and jean seven when dorinda went away ; now they were respectively fourteen and twelve .

at first they were a little shy with this big , practically brand-new sister , but this soon wore off .

nobody could be shy long with dorinda ; nobody could help liking her .

in a week dorinda felt herself one of the family again , with all the cares and responsibilities thereof resting on her strong young shoulders .

mrs page sighed and said she really did not know what to do .

dorinda sewed hard and pursed up her red lips determinedly .

" don't you worry , mother page , " she said briskly .

" we 'll be like that glorious old roman who found a way or made it .

i like overcoming difficulties .

i 've lots of old admiral page 's fighting blood in me , you know .

most important of all comes "

" leicester , " said mrs page .

dorinda winked her eyes as she always did when she was doubtful .

" well , i knew he was one of them , but i wasn't going to put him the very first .

however , we will .

leicester 's case stands thus .

he is a pretty smart boy if he wasn't my brother , i 'd say he was a very smart boy .

" no , " mourned mrs . page , " and the poor boy feels so badly over it .

his heart is set on going to college and being a doctor like his father .

he believes he could work his way through , if he could only get a start .

but there isn't any chance .

and i can't afford to keep him at school any longer .

he is going into mr churchill 's store at willow centre in the fall .

mr churchill has very kindly offered him a place .

leicester hates the thought of it i know he does , although he never says so . "

" next to leicester 's college course we want "

" music lessons for jean . "

dorinda winked again .

" are music lessons for jean really a difficulty ? " she said .

" that is , one spelled with a capital ? "

" oh , yes , dorinda dear .

at least , i 'm worried over it .

i 've had to keep her home so much to help me with the work .

she has been such a good , patient little girl too , and her heart is set on music lessons . "

" well , she must have them then after we get leicester 's year at the academy for him .

that 's two .

the third is a new "

" the roof must be shingled this fall , " said mrs page anxiously .

" it really must , dorinda .

it is no better than a sieve .

we are nearly drowned every time it rains .

but i don't know where the money to do it is going to come from . "

" shingles for the roof , three , " said dorinda , as if she were carefully jotting down something in a mental memorandum .

yes , yes , you must have them , dearest .

it 's absolutely necessary .

but a new dress and coat for you we must , shall , and will have , however it is to be brought about . "

" if your uncle eugene would only help us a little , until leicester got through !

he really ought to .

but of course he never will . "

" have you ever asked him ? " said dorinda .

" i don't see why you shouldn't , " said dorinda seriously .

" oh , dorinda , uncle eugene hates us all .

he is terribly bitter against us .

he would never , never listen to any request for help , even if i could bring myself to make it . "

" mother , what was the trouble between us and uncle eugene ?

i have never known the rights of it .

i was too small to understand when i was home before .

what made him our enemy ?

and how did he come to get all of grandfather page 's property when father got nothing ? "

" well , you know , dorinda , that your grandfather page was married twice .

eugene was his first wife 's son , and your father the second wife 's .

eugene was a great deal older than your father he was twenty-five when your father was born .

he was always an odd man , even in his youth , and he had been much displeased at his father 's second marriage .

they then quarrelled ; the cause of the quarrel was insignificant ; with anyone else than eugene a reconciliation would soon have been effected .

but eugene never was friendly with your father from that time .

i think he was jealous of old grandfather 's affection ; thought the old man loved your father best .

and then , as i have said , he was very eccentric and stubborn .

well , your father went away to college and graduated , and then we were married .

grandfather page was very angry with him for marrying me .

he wanted him to marry somebody else .

he told him he would disinherit him if he married me .

i did not know this until we were married .

but grandfather page kept his word .

he sent for a lawyer and had a new will made , leaving everything to eugene .

" and uncle eugene has been our enemy ever since ? "

" yes , ever since .

so you see , dorinda dear , that i cannot ask any favours of uncle eugene . "

" yes , i see , " said dorinda understandingly .

to herself she added , " but i don't see why i shouldn't . "

dorinda thought hard and long for the next few days about the capital difficulties .

she could think of only one thing to do and , despite old admiral page 's fighting blood , she shrank from doing it .

" i wouldn't cry over it , dorinda ; i hope i 'm more of a man than that .

but i do really feel rather cut up because i 've no chance of getting to college .

and i hate the thought of going into a store .

only only "

and then leicester got up and whistled and went to the window and stood with his back to dorinda .

" that settles it , " said dorinda out loud , as she brushed her hair before the glass that night .

" i 'll do it . "

" do what ? " asked jean from the bed .

" a desperate deed , " said dorinda solemnly , and that was all she would say .

next day mrs page and leicester went to town on business .

in the afternoon dorinda put on her best dress and hat and started out .

" i wonder if i am a little scared , ' way down deep , " said dorinda .

" i believe i am .

but i 'm going to do it for all that , and the scareder i get the more i 'll do it . "

oaklawn , where uncle eugene lived , was two miles away .

it was a fine old place in beautiful grounds .

dorinda stood up , dusky and crimson , with brave , glowing eyes .

uncle eugene looked at her sharply .

" who are you ? " he said bluntly .

" i am your niece , dorinda page , " said dorinda steadily .

but dorinda remained standing .

it is easier to fight on your feet .

and i want you to lend me the money to shingle our house and get mother a new dress and fur coat for the winter .

i 'll pay you back sometime for that , because i am going to set up as a dressmaker pretty soon . "

" anything more ? " said uncle eugene , when dorinda stopped .

" nothing more just now , i think , " said dorinda reflectively .

" why don't you ask for something for yourself ? " said uncle eugene .

" i don't want anything for myself , " said dorinda promptly .

" or yes , i do , too .

i want your friendship , uncle eugene . "

" be kind enough to sit down , " said uncle eugene .

dorinda sat .

" you are a page , " said uncle eugene .

" i saw that as soon as i came in .

i will send leicester to college and i shall not ask or expect to be paid back .

jean shall have her music lessons , and a piano to practise them on as well .

the house shall be shingled , and the money for the new dress and coat shall be forthcoming .

you and i will be friends . "

" thank you , " gasped dorinda , wondering if , after all , it wasn't a dream .

" i would have gladly assisted your mother before , " said uncle eugene , " if she had asked me .

i had determined that she must ask me first .

i knew that half the money should have been your father 's by rights .

i was prepared to hand it over to him or his family , if i were asked for it .

but i wished to humble his pride , and the carter pride , to the point of asking for it .

not a very amiable temper , you will say ?

i admit it .

i am not amiable and i never have been amiable .

you must be prepared to find me very unamiable .

i shall hope and expect to have you visit me often .

if your mother and your brothers and sisters see fit to come with you , i shall welcome them also .

i think that this is all it is necessary to say just now .

will you stay to tea with me this evening ? "

dorinda stayed to tea , since she knew that jean was at home to attend to matters there .

she and uncle eugene got on famously .

when she left , uncle eugene , grim and hard-lipped as ever , saw her to the door .

" good evening , niece dorinda .

you are a page and i am proud of you .

tell your mother that many things in this life are lost through not asking for them .

i don't think you are in need of the information for yourself . "

her own people

the taunton school had closed for the summer holidays .

constance was the youngest teacher on the staff , and had charge of the primary department .

miss channing was the oldest teacher on the staff , and taught the fifth grade .

she was short and stout and jolly ; nothing , not even the iciest reserve , ever daunted miss channing .

" isn't it good to think of two whole blessed months of freedom ? " she said jubilantly .

to be sure , i love them every one , but i 'll love them all the more for a bit of a rest from them .

isn't it good ? "

" it 's very good , if you have anywhere to go , or anybody who cares where you go , " she said bitterly .

" for my own part , i 'm sorry school is closed .

i 'd rather go on teaching all summer . "

" heresy ! " said miss channing .

" rank heresy !

what are your vacation plans ? "

" i haven't any , " said constance wearily .

" i 've put off thinking about vacation as long as i possibly could .

you 'll call that heresy , too , miss channing . "

" it 's worse than heresy , " said miss channing briskly .

" it 's a crying necessity for blue pills , that 's what it is .

your whole mental and moral and physical and spiritual system must be out of kilter , my child .

no vacation plans !

you must have vacation plans .

you must be going somewhere . "

" oh , i suppose i 'll hunt up a boarding place somewhere in the country , and go there and mope until september . "

" have you no friends , constance ? "

" no no , i haven't anybody in the world .

that is why i hate vacation , that is why i 've hated to hear you and the others discussing your vacation plans .

you all have somebody to go to .

it has just filled me up with hatred of my life . "

miss channing swallowed her honest horror at such a state of feeling .

" constance , tell me about yourself .

i 've often wanted to ask you , but i was always a little afraid to .

you seem so reserved and and , as if you didn't want to be asked about yourself . "

" i know it .

i know i 'm stiff and hateful , and that nobody likes me , and that it is all my own fault .

no , never mind trying to smooth it over , miss channing .

it 's the truth , and it hurts me , but i can't help it .

i 'm getting more bitter and pessimistic and unwholesome every day of my life .

sometimes it seems as if i hated all the world because i 'm so lonely in it .

i 'm nobody .

my mother died when i was born and father oh , i don't know .

one can't say anything against one 's father , miss channing .

but i had a hard childhood or rather , i didn't have any childhood at all .

we were always moving about .

we didn't seem to have any friends at all .

my mother might have had relatives somewhere , but i never heard of any .

i don't even know where her home was .

father never would talk of her .

he died two years ago , and since then i 've been absolutely alone . "

" oh , you poor girl , " said miss channing softly .

" i want friends , " went on constance , seeming to take a pleasure in open confession now that her tongue was loosed .

" i 've always just longed for somebody belonging to me to love .

i don't love anybody , miss channing , and when a girl is in that state , she is all wrong .

she gets hard and bitter and resentful i have , anyway .

i struggled against it at first , but it has been too much for me .

it poisons everything .

there is nobody to care anything about me , whether i live or die . "

" oh , yes , there is one , " said miss channing gently .

" god cares , constance . "

constance gave a disagreeable little laugh .

" that sounds like miss williams she is so religious .

god doesn't mean anything to me , miss channing .

i 've just the same resentful feeling toward him that i have for all the world , if he exists at all .

there , i 've shocked you in good earnest now .

you should have left me alone , miss channing . "

" god means nothing to you because you 've never had him translated to you through human love , constance , " said miss channing seriously .

" no , you haven't shocked me at least , not in the way you mean .

i 'm only terribly sorry . "

" oh , never mind me , " said constance , freezing up into her reserve again as if she regretted her confidences .

" i 'll get along all right .

this is one of my off days , when everything looks black . "

miss channing walked on in silence .

she must help constance , but constance was not easily helped .

" you spoke of boarding , " she said , when constance paused at the door of her boarding-house .

" have you any particular place in view ?

no ?

well , i know a place which i am sure you would like .

i was there two summers ago .

it is a country place about a hundred miles from here .

pine valley is its name .

it 's restful and homey , and the people are so nice .

if you like , i 'll give you the address of the family i boarded with . "

" thank you , " said constance indifferently .

" i might as well go there as anywhere else . "

" yes , but listen to me , dear .

don't take your morbidness with you .

besides , there are other unhappy people in the world try to help them when you meet them , and you 'll forget about yourself .

good-by for now , and i hope you 'll have a pleasant vacation in spite of yourself . "

constance went to pine valley , but she took her evil spirit with her .

not even the beauty of the valley , with its great balmy pines , and the cheerful friendliness of its people could exorcise it .

nevertheless , she liked the place and found a wholesome pleasure in the long tramps she took along the piney roads .

" i saw such a pretty spot in my ramble this afternoon , " she told her landlady one evening .

" it is about three miles from here at the end of the valley .

such a picturesque , low-eaved little house , all covered over with honeysuckle .

it was set between a big orchard and an old-fashioned flower garden with great pines at the back . "

" heartsease farm , " said mrs hewitt promptly .

" bless you , there 's only one place around here of that description .

mr and mrs. bruce , uncle charles and aunt flora , as we all call them , live there .

they are the dearest old couple alive .

you ought to go and see them , they 'd be delighted .

aunt flora just loves company .

they 're real lonesome by times . "

" haven't they any children ? " asked constance indifferently .

her interest was in the place , not in the people .

" no .

they had a niece once , though .

they brought her up and they just worshipped her .

she ran away with a worthless fellow i forget his name , if i ever knew it .

he was handsome and smooth-tongued , but he was a scamp .

she died soon after and it just broke their hearts .

they don't even know where she was buried , and they never heard anything more about her husband .

i 've heard that aunt flora 's hair turned snow-white in a month .

i 'll take you up to see her some day when i find time . "

mrs hewitt did not find time , but thereafter constance ordered her rambles that she might frequently pass heartsease farm .

the quaint old spot had a strange attraction for her .

she had prolonged her ramble unseasonably , and it was now nearly night , and very certainly a rainy night at that .

she was three miles from home and without even an extra wrap .

she hurried down the lane , but by the time she reached the main road , the few drops had become a downpour .

she must seek shelter somewhere , and heartsease farm was the nearest .

she pushed open the gate and ran up the slope of the yard between the hedges of sweetbriar .

" i saw you coming from upstairs , " said aunt flora gleefully , " and i just ran down as fast as i could .

dear , dear , you are a little wet .

but we 'll soon dry you .

come right in i 've a bit of a fire in the grate , for the evening is chilly .

they laughed at me for loving a fire so , but there 's nothing like its snap and sparkle .

you 're rained in for the night , and i 'm as glad as i can be .

i know who you are you are miss foster .

i 'm aunt flora , and this is uncle charles . "

constance let herself be put into a cushiony chair and fussed over with an unaccustomed sense of pleasure .

the rain was coming down in torrents , and she certainly was domiciled at heartsease farm for the night .

somehow , she felt glad of it .

she found herself strangely attracted to the old couple .

the name of their farm was in perfect keeping with their atmosphere .

constance 's frozen soul expanded in it .

she chatted merrily and girlishly , feeling as if she had known them all her life .

when bedtime came , aunt flora took her upstairs to a little gable room .

" my spare room is all in disorder just now , dearie , we have been painting its floor .

so i 'm going to put you here in jeannie 's room .

someway you remind me of her , and you are just about the age she was when she left us .

it is so sacred to me .

i keep it just as she left it , not a thing is changed .

good night dearie , and i hope you 'll have pleasant dreams . "

when constance found herself alone in the room , she looked about her with curiosity .

it was a very dainty , old-fashioned little room .

the floor was covered with braided mats ; the two square , small-paned windows were draped with snowy muslin .

there was a little blue rocker and an ottoman with a work-basket on it .

in the work-basket was a bit of unfinished , yellowed lace with a needle sticking in it .

a small bookcase under the sloping ceiling was filled with books .

constance picked up one and opened it at the yellowing title-page .

she gave a little cry of surprise .

the name written across the page in a fine , dainty script was " jean constance irving , " her mother 's name !

for a moment constance stood motionless .

then she turned impulsively and hurried downstairs again .

mr and mrs. bruce were still in the sitting room talking to each other in the firelight .

" oh , " cried constance excitedly .

" i must know , i must ask you .

this is my mother 's name , jean constance irving , can it be possible she was your little jeannie ? "

a fortnight later miss channing received a letter from constance .

" i am so happy , " she wrote .

" it was such a strange coincidence , no , aunt flora says it was providence , and i believe it was , too .

i came here one rainy night , and aunty put me in my mother 's room , think of it !

my own dear mother 's room , and i found her name in a book .

and now the mystery is all cleared up , and we are so happy .

she no longer seems dead to me .

i feel that she lives and loves me , and i am learning to know her better every day .

i have her room and her books and all her little girlish possessions .

when i read her books , with their passages underlined by her hand , i feel as if she were speaking to me .

" i said that this was almost the dearest and most beautiful thing .

the very dearest and most beautiful is this god means something to me now .

he means so much !

but i have now , and it has led me to him .

" i am not going back to taunton .

i have sent in my resignation .

i am going to stay home with aunty and uncle .

it is so sweet to say home and know what it means .

" aunty says you must come and spend all your next vacation with us .

you see , i have lots of vacation plans now , even for a year ahead .

after all , there is no need of the blue pills !

" i feel like a new creature , made over from the heart and soul out .

i look back with shame and contrition on the old constance .

i want you to forget her and only remember your grateful friend , the new constance . "

ida 's new year cake

mary and josie had been home for christmas , so they didn't really feel so badly off .

but ida and sara hadn't even that consolation .

ida was a third-year student at the clifton academy ; she had holidays , and nowhere , so she mournfully affirmed , to spend them .

mary and josie were clerks in a clifton bookstore , and sara was stenographer in a clifton lawyer 's office .

and they were all jolly and thoughtless and very fond of one another .

" this will be the first new year 's i have ever spent away from home , " sighed sara , nibbling chocolate fudge .

" it does make me so blue to think of it .

and not even a holiday i 'll have to go to work just the same .

now ida here , she doesn't really need sympathy .

she has holidays a whole fortnight and nothing to do but enjoy them . "

" holidays are dismal things when you 've nowhere to holiday , " said ida mournfully .

" the time drags horribly .

but never mind , girls , i 've a plummy bit of news for you .

it will be along tomorrow and , girls , we 'll celebrate when it comes .

i 've asked everybody in the house up to my room for new year 's eve , and we 'll have a royal good time . "

" how splendid ! " said mary .

you 'll give me a good big piece , won't you , ida ? "

" as much as you can eat , " promised ida .

" i can warrant mother 's fruit cake .

yes , we 'll have a jamboree .

miss monroe has promised to come in too .

she says she has a weakness for fruit cake . "

" oh ! " breathed all the girls .

miss monroe was their idol , whom they had to be content to worship at a distance as a general thing .

she was a clever journalist , who worked on a paper , and was reputed to be writing a book .

if she ever had time to speak to one of them about the weather , that fortunate one put on airs for a week .

and now to think that she had actually promised to drop into ida 's room on new year 's eve and eat fruit cake !

" there goes that funny little namesake of yours , ida , " said josie , who was sitting by the window .

" she seems to be staying in town over the holidays too .

wonder why .

perhaps she doesn't belong anywhere .

she really is a most forlorn-appearing little mortal . "

there were two ida mitchells attending the clifton academy .

the other ida was a plain , quiet , pale-faced little girl of fifteen who was in the second year .

beyond that , none of the third-year ida mitchell 's set knew anything about her , or tried to find out .

" she must be very poor , " said ida carelessly .

" she dresses so shabbily , and she always looks so pinched and subdued .

i was there once on the trail of a book i had lost .

going , girls ?

well , don't forget tomorrow night . "

ida spent the next day decorating her room and watching for the arrival of her cake .

it hadn't come by tea-time , and she concluded to go down to the express office and investigate .

it would be dreadful if that cake didn't turn up in time , with all the girls and miss monroe coming in .

ida felt that she would be mortified to death .

inquiry at the express office discovered two things .

a box had come in for miss ida mitchell , clifton ; and said box had been delivered to miss ida mitchell , clifton .

" there must be some mistake , " said ida in perplexity .

" i don't know any of the clerks here .

oh why there 's another ida mitchell in town !

can it be possible my cake has gone to her ? "

the manager thought it very possible , and offered to send around and see .

but ida said it was on her way home and she would call herself .

at the dismal little house on marlboro road she was sent up three flights of stairs to the other ida mitchell 's small hall bedroom .

the other ida mitchell opened the door for her .

" why , how do you do , miss mitchell ! " exclaimed the other ida with shy pleasure .

" come in .

i didn't know you were in town .

it 's real good of you to come and see me .

and just see what i 've had sent to me !

isn't it a beauty ?

i was so surprised when it came and , oh , so glad !

i was feeling so blue and lonesome as if i hadn't a friend in the world .

i i yes , i was crying when that cake came .

it has just made the world over for me .

do sit down and i 'll cut you a piece .

i 'm sure you 're as fond of fruit cake as i am . "

ida sat down in a chair , feeling bewildered and awkward .

this was a nice predicament !

how could she tell that other ida that the cake didn't belong to her ?

the poor thing was so delighted .

and , oh , what a bare , lonely little room !

the big , luxurious cake seemed to emphasize the bareness and loneliness .

" who who sent it to you ? " she asked lamely .

" it must have been mrs henderson , because there is nobody else who would , " answered the other ida .

" two years ago i was going to school in trenton and i boarded with her .

when i left her to come to clifton she told me she would send me a cake for christmas .

well , i expected that cake last year and it didn't come .

i can't tell you how disappointed i was .

you 'll think me very childish .

but i was so lonely , with no home to go to like the other girls .

but she sent it this year , you see .

it is so nice to think that somebody has remembered me at new year 's .

it isn't the cake itself it 's the thought behind it .

it has just made all the difference in the world .

there just sample it , miss mitchell . "

the other ida cut a generous slice from the cake and passed it to her guest .

her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed .

she was really a very sweet-looking little thing not a bit like her usual pale , timid self .

ida ate the cake slowly .

what was she to do ?

she couldn't tell the other ida the truth about the cake .

but the girls she had asked in to help eat it that very evening !

and miss monroe !

oh , dear , it was too bad .

but it couldn't be helped .

she wouldn't blot out that light on the other ida 's face for anything !

" it 's delicious , " said ida heartily , swallowing her own disappointment with the cake .

" i 'm i'm glad i happened to drop in as i was passing . "

ida hoped that speech didn't come under the head of a fib .

" so am i , " said the other ida brightly .

" oh , i 've been so lonesome and downhearted this week .

i 'm so alone , you see there isn't anybody to care .

father died three years ago , and i don't remember my mother at all .

there is nobody but myself , and it is dreadfully lonely at times .

when the academy is open and i have my lessons to study , i don't mind so much .

but the holidays take all the courage out of me . "

" we should have fraternized more this week , " smiled ida , regretting that she hadn't thought of it before .

" i couldn't go home because of the measles , and i 've moped a lot .

we might have spent the time together and had a real nice , jolly holiday . "

the other ida blushed with delight .

" i 'd love to be friends with you , " she said slowly .

" i 've often thought i 'd like to know you .

isn't it odd that we have the same name ?

it was so nice of you to come and see me .

i i 'd love to have you come often . "

" i will , " said ida heartily .

" perhaps you will stay the evening , " suggested the other ida .

they are all clerks in stores and some of them are so tired and lonely .

it 's so nice to have a pleasure to share with them .

won't you stay ? "

" i 'd like to , " laughed ida , " but i have some guests of my own invited in for tonight .

i must hurry home , for they will most surely be waiting for me . "

she laughed again as she thought what else the guests would be waiting for .

but her face was sober enough as she walked home .

" but i 'm glad i left the cake with her , " she said resolutely .

" poor little thing !

it means so much to her .

it meant only ' a good feed , ' as josie says , to me .

i 'm simply going to make it my business next term to be good friends with the other ida mitchell .

i 'm afraid we third-year girls are very self-centred and selfish .

and i know what i 'll do !

i won't say that , just for a moment , ida didn't regret that she had given up her cake .

" good evening , miss mitchell , " cried mary craig gaily .

" walk right in and make yourself at home in your own room , do !

we all met in the hall , and knocked and knocked .

finally miss monroe came , so we made bold to walk right in .

where is the only and original fruit cake , ida ?

my mouth has been watering all day . "

then she told the whole story .

their " best " proved to be a very good thing .

they had a jolly new year 's eve , and miss monroe sparkled and entertained most brilliantly .

they kept their celebration up until twelve to welcome the new year in , and then they bade ida good night .

but miss monroe lingered for a moment behind the others to say softly :

" i want to tell you how good and sweet i think it was of you to give up your cake to the other ida .

that little bit of unselfishness was a good guerdon for your new year . "

and ida , radiant-faced at this praise from her idol , answered heartily :

" i 'm afraid i 'm anything but unselfish , miss monroe .

the other ida mitchell isn't going to have to depend on that fruit cake alone for comfort and encouragement for the next twelve months . "

in the old valley

the man halted on the crest of the hill and looked sombrely down into the long valley below .

it was evening , and although the hills around him were still in the light the valley was already filled with kindly , placid shadows .

but high up their tops were green and caught the saffron light of the west .

he knew now that there had always been a longing in his heart to hear the wind-chant in the firs .

he had called that longing by other names , but he knew it now for what it was when , hearing , he was satisfied .

he was a tall man with iron-grey hair and the face of a conqueror strong , pitiless , unswerving .

it told of power and intellect , but the soul of the man was a hidden thing .

the old bond held .

should he go down to it ?

this was the question he asked himself .

he had come back to it , heartsick of his idols of the marketplace .

his gods mocked him and he wearied of their service .

were there not better things than these , things he had once known and loved and forgotten ?

where were the ideals of his youth , the lofty aspirations that had upborne him then ?

where might he find them again ?

were they yet to be had for the seeking in the old valley ?

with the thought came a great yearning for home .

he had had many habitations , but he realized now that he had never thought of any of these places as home .

that name had all unconsciously been kept sacred to the long , green , seaward-looking glen where he had been born .

so he had come back to it , drawn by a longing not to be resisted .

but at the last he felt afraid .

there had been many changes , of that he felt sure .

would it still be home ?

and if not , would not the loss be most irreparable and bitter ?

no , he would not go down .

he could not enter again into the heritage of boyhood and the heart of youth .

he could not find there the old dreams and hopes that had made life sweet .

he understood that he could not bring back to the old valley what he had taken from it .

his was a name that stood for millions , but he was beggared of hope and purpose .

no , he would not go down .

there was no one left there , unchanged and unchanging , to welcome him .

he would be a stranger there , even among his kin .

" what is over the hills ? " he had asked of his mother .

with a smile she had made answer ,

" many things , laddie .

wonderful things , beautiful things , heart-breaking things . "

" some day i shall go over the hills and find them all , mother , " he had said stoutly .

she had laughed and sighed and caught him to her heart .

he had lived on the homestead until he was twenty .

he had tilled the broad fields and gone in and out among the people , and their life had been his life .

but his heart was not in his work .

he wanted to go beyond the hills and seek what he knew must be there .

the valley was too narrow , too placid .

he longed for conflict and accomplishment .

he felt power and desire and the lust of endeavour stirring in him .

oh , to go over the hills to a world where men lived !

such had been the goal of all his dreams .

when his mother died he sold the farm to his cousin , stephen marshall .

he supposed it still belonged to him .

perhaps so .

there had been joyce .

he wondered where joyce was now and whom she had married , for of course she had married .

did she too live somewhere down there in the valley , the matronly , contented mother of lads and lassies ?

how true and strong and womanly and gentle she had always been !

when he left home he had meant to go back to her some day .

they had parted without pledge or kiss , yet he knew she loved him and that he loved her .

at first they corresponded , then the letters began to grow fewer .

it was his fault ; he had gradually forgotten .

the new , fierce , burning interests that came into his life crowded the old ones out .

boyhood 's love was scorched up in that hot flame of ambition and contest .

he had not heard from or of joyce for many years .

now , again , he remembered as he looked down on the homeland fields .

the old places had changed little , whatever he might fear of the people who lived in them .

there was the school he had attended , a small , low-eaved , white-washed building set back from the main road among green spruces .

beyond it , amid tall elms , was the old church with its square tower hung with ivy .

he recalled the many times he had walked to it on the peaceful sunday afternoons , sometimes with his mother , sometimes with joyce .

the sun set far out to sea and sucked down with it all the light out of the winnowed dome of sky .

the stars came out singly and crystal clear over the far purple curves of the hills .

he smiled a little , remembering that in boyhood it had been held a good omen to see the new moon over the right shoulder .

down in the valley the lights began to twinkle out here and there like earth-stars .

he would wait until he saw the kitchen light from the window of his old home .

then he would go .

he waited until the whole valley was zoned with a glittering girdle , but no light glimmered out through his native trees .

why was it lacking , that light he had so often hailed at dark , coming home from boyish rambles on the hills ?

he felt anxious and dissatisfied , as if he could not go away until he had seen it .

when it was quite dark he descended the hill resolutely .

he must know why the homelight had failed him .

when he found himself in the old garden his heart grew sick and sore with disappointment and a bitter homesickness .

cuthbert marshall sat down on the old red sandstone step of the door and bowed his head in his hands .

this was what he had come back to this ghost and wreck of his past !

oh , bitterness !

after a long time he went over to it and knocked at the door .

stephen came to it , a stout grizzled farmer , with a chubby boy on his shoulder .

cuthbert was obliged to tell who he was .

he was made instantly and warmly welcome .

the boys and girls , too , soon made friends with him .

yet he felt himself the stranger and the alien , whom the long , swift-passing years had shut forever from his old place .

he and stephen talked late that night , and in the morning he yielded to their entreaties to stay another day with them .

he spent it wandering about the farm and the old haunts of wood and stream .

yet he could not find himself .

he asked stephen fully about all his old friends and neighbours with one exception .

he could not ask him what had become of joyce cameron .

the question was on his lips a dozen times , but he shrank from uttering it .

he had a vague , secret dread that the answer , whatever it might be , would hurt him .

in the evening he yielded to a whim and went across to the cameron homestead , by the old footpath which was still kept open .

he walked slowly and dreamily , with his eyes on the far hills scarfed in the splendour of sunset .

the stile he remembered was gone , replaced by a little rustic gate .

so she had stood , so she had looked many an evening of the long-ago .

she had not changed ; he realized that in the first amazed , incredulous glance .

" joyce ! " he said , stupidly , unbelievingly .

she smiled and put out her hand .

" i am glad to see you , cuthbert , " she said simply .

" stephen 's mary told me you had come .

and i thought you would be over to see us this evening . "

" is it possible you are here still , joyce ? " he said slowly .

" and you have not changed at all . "

she coloured slightly and pulled away her hands , laughing .

" oh , indeed i have .

i have grown old .

the twilight is so kind it hides that , but it is true .

come into the house , cuthbert .

father and mother will be glad to see you . "

" after a little , " he said imploringly .

" let us stay here awhile first , joyce .

i want to make sure that this is no dream .

if i had known you were here !

you have lived here in the old valley all these years ? "

" all these years , " she said gently , " i suppose you think it must have been a very meagre life ? "

" no .

i am much wiser now than i was once , joyce .

i have learned wisdom beyond the hills .

one learns there in time but sometimes the lesson is learned too late .

shall i tell you what i have learned , joyce ?

i did not miss these things for a long while ; i did not even know i had lost them .

but i have discovered my loss . "

" yet you have been a very successful man , " she said wonderingly .

" as the world calls success , " he answered bitterly .

" i have place and wealth and power .

but that is not success , joyce .

i am tired of these things ; they are the toys of grown-up children ; they do not satisfy the man 's soul .

he was silent , remembering that he had forfeited all right to her help in the quest .

yet he realized clearly that only she could help him , only she could guide him back to the path he had missed .

hers was the master word , but how should he dare ask her to utter it ?

they walked among the firs until the stars came out , and they talked of many things .

she had kept her freshness of soul and her ideals untarnished .

in the peace of the old valley she had lived a life , narrow outwardly , wondrously deep and wide in thought and aspiration .

her native hills bounded the vision of her eyes , but the outlook of the soul was far and unhindered .

in the quiet places and the green ways she had found what he had failed to find the secret of happiness and content .

oh , fool and blind that he had been !

while he had sought and toiled afar , the best that god had meant for him had been here in the home of youth .

when darkness came down through the firs he told her all this , haltingly , blunderingly , yearningly .

" joyce , is it too late ?

can you forgive my mistake , my long blindness ?

can you care for me again a little ? "

she turned her face upward to the sky between the swaying fir tops and he saw the reflection of a star in her eyes .

" i have never ceased to care , " she said in a low tone .

" i never really wanted to cease .

it would have left life too empty .

if my love means so much to you it is yours , cuthbert it always has been yours . "

jane lavinia

" next thing you 'll be wanting to wear your best muslin to go for the cows , " said aunt rebecca sarcastically .

" you go right back upstairs and take off that chiffon hat .

your last summer 's sailor is plenty good enough to go to the whittakers ' in , jane lavinia . "

" but mr stephens and his wife are from new york , " pleaded jane lavinia , " and she 's so stylish . "

" well , it 's likely they 're used to seeing chiffon hats , " aunt rebecca responded , more sarcastically than ever .

" it isn't probable that yours would make much of a sensation .

mr stephens didn't send for you to show him your chiffon hat , did he ?

if he did , i don't see what you 're lugging that big portfolio along with you for .

go and put on your sailor hat , jane lavinia . "

jane lavinia obeyed .

she always obeyed aunt rebecca .

but she took off the chiffon hat and pinned on the sailor with bitterness of heart .

she had always hated that sailor .

it jarred on jane lavinia 's artistic instincts .

besides , it was very unbecoming .

she forgot to fling the sailor hat into its box with her usual energy of dislike .

just then jane lavinia had a soul above hats .

she looked at herself in the glass and nodded with friendliness .

" you 'll do something yet , " she said .

" mr stephens said you would .

oh , i like you , jane lavinia , you dear thing !

sometimes i haven't liked you because you 're nothing to look at , and i didn't suppose you could really do anything worthwhile .

but i do like you now after what mr stephens said about your drawings . "

jane lavinia smiled radiantly into the little cracked glass .

just then she was pretty , with the glow on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes .

her uncertainly tinted hair and an all-too-certain little tilt of her nose no longer troubled her .

such things did not matter ; nobody would mind them in a successful artist .

and mr stephens had said that she had talent enough to win success .

jane lavinia sat down by her window , which looked west into a grove of firs .

they grew thickly , close up to the house , and she could touch their wide , fan-like branches with her hand .

the stained walls were covered with jane lavinia 's pictures most of them pen-and-ink sketches , with a few flights into water colour .

aunt rebecca sniffed at them and deplored the driving of tacks into the plaster .

all the other girls in chestercote made rugs and tidies and afghans .

why must jane lavinia keep messing with ink and crayons and water colours ?

jane lavinia only knew that she must she could not help it .

there was something in her that demanded expression thus .

she indulged in some harmless manoeuvring which , with the aid of good-natured mrs whittaker , was crowned with success .

one day , when mr whittaker was getting better , mr stephens had asked her to show him some of her work .

jane lavinia , wearing the despised sailor hat , had gone over to the whittaker place with some of her best sketches .

she came home again feeling as if all the world and herself were transfigured .

jane lavinia sighed .

" but i 'm going , anyway , " said jane lavinia decidedly .

" if aunt rebecca won't give me the money , i 'll find some other way .

i 'm not afraid of any amount of work .

after what mr stephens said , i believe i could work twenty hours out of the twenty-four .

jane lavinia sighed in luxurious renunciation .

oh , it was good to be alive to be a girl of seventeen , with wonderful ambitions and all the world before her !

the years of the future sparkled and gleamed alluringly .

jane lavinia , with her head on the window sill , looked out into the sunset splendour and dreamed .

jane lavinia !

ain't you going for the cows tonight ? "

jane lavinia started up guiltily ; she had forgotten all about the cows .

" it 'll be dark before we get the cows milked .

i s'pose you 've been day-dreaming again up there .

i do wish , jane lavinia , that you had more sense . "

jane lavinia made no response .

the air was moist and sweet .

at the top of the lane a wild plum tree hung out its branches of feathery bloom against the crimson sky .

jane lavinia lingered , in spite of aunt rebecca 's hurry , to look at it .

it satisfied her artistic instinct and made her glad to be alive in the world where wild plums blossomed against springtime skies .

jane lavinia tried to speak and couldn't .

for a wonder , aunt rebecca spared her the trouble .

" well , what did mr stephens think of your pictures ? " she asked shortly .

" oh ! "

everything that jane lavinia wanted to say came rushing at once and together to her tongue 's end .

" oh , aunt rebecca , he was delighted with them !

and he said i had remarkable talent , and he wants me to go to new york and study in an art school there .

so it won't cost much .

and he said he would help me and , oh , aunt rebecca , can't i go ? "

jane lavinia 's breath gave out with a gasp of suspense .

it doesn't seem to me that i have anything to say in the matter , jane lavinia . "

" but , oh , aunt rebecca , " said jane lavinia tremulously .

" i can't go unless you 'll help me .

i 'll have to pay for my lessons at the art school , you know . "

" so that 's it , is it ?

and do you expect me to give you the money to pay for them , jane lavinia ? "

" not give exactly , " stammered jane lavinia .

" i 'll pay it back some time , aunt rebecca .

oh , indeed , i will when i 'm able to earn money by my pictures ! "

" the security is hardly satisfactory , " said aunt rebecca immovably .

" you know well enough i haven't much money , jane lavinia .

aunt rebecca turned and went into the house .

jane lavinia , feeling sore and bruised in spirit ; fled to her own room and cried herself to sleep .

her eyes were swollen the next morning , but she was not sulky .

jane lavinia never sulked .

she did her morning 's work faithfully , although there was no spring in her step .

" you 'd better go down to the store and get ten yards of white cotton , jane lavinia , " she said .

" if you 're going to new york , you 'll have to get a supply of underclothing made . "

jane lavinia opened her eyes .

" oh , aunt rebecca , am i going ? "

" you can go if you want to .

i 'll give you all the money i can spare .

it ain't much , but perhaps it 'll be enough for a start . "

" oh , aunt rebecca , thank you ! " exclaimed jane lavinia , crimson with conflicting feelings .

" but perhaps i oughtn't to take it perhaps i oughtn't to leave you alone "

if aunt rebecca had shown any regret at the thought of jane lavinia 's departure , jane lavinia would have foregone new york on the spot .

but aunt rebecca only said coldly , " i guess you needn't worry over that .

i can get along well enough . "

and with that it was settled .

jane lavinia lived in a whirl of delight for the next week .

she felt few regrets at leaving chestercote .

jane lavinia had never thought that aunt rebecca had any affection for her .

she had been a very little girl when her parents had died , and aunt rebecca had taken her to bring up .

accordingly she had been " brought up , " and she was grateful to aunt rebecca , but there was no closer bond between them .

jane lavinia would have given love for love unstintedly , but she never supposed that aunt rebecca loved her .

on the morning of departure jane lavinia was up and ready early .

she put on her chiffon hat to travel in , and aunt rebecca did not say a word of protest .

jane lavinia cried when she said good-by , but aunt rebecca did not cry .

she shook hands and said stiffly , " write when you get to new york .

you needn't let mrs stephens work you to death either . "

jane lavinia went slowly over the bridge and up the lane .

if only aunt rebecca had been a little sorry !

jane lavinia 's spirits rose and bubbled over in a little trill of song .

then she stopped in dismay .

she had forgotten her watch her mother 's little gold watch ; she had left it on her dressing table .

jane lavinia hurried down the lane and back to the house .

in the open kitchen doorway she paused , standing on a mosaic of gold and shadow where the sunshine fell through the morning-glory vines .

oh , what shall i do ?

and she didn't care she was glad to go glad to get away .

well , it ain't any wonder .

i 've always been too cranky with her .

but i loved her so much all the time , and i was so proud of her !

i liked her picture-making real well , even if i did complain of her wasting her time .

oh , i don't know how i 'm ever going to keep on living now she 's gone ! "

jane lavinia listened with a face from which all the sparkle and excitement had gone .

yet amid all the wreck and ruin of her tumbling castles in air , a glad little thrill made itself felt .

aunt rebecca was sorry aunt rebecca did love her after all !

jane lavinia turned and walked noiselessly away .

after all , it was nicer to be loved than to be rich and admired and famous .

when she reached mr whittaker 's , everybody was out in the yard ready to start .

" hurry up , jane lavinia , " said mr whittaker .

" blest if we hadn't begun to think you weren't coming at all .

lively now . "

" i am not going , " said jane lavinia calmly .

" not going ? " they all exclaimed .

" no .

i 'm very sorry , and very grateful to you , mr stephens , but i can't leave aunt rebecca .

she 'd miss me too much . "

" well , you little goose ! " said mrs whittaker .

mrs stephens said nothing , but frowned coldly .

perhaps her thoughts were less of the loss to the world of art than of the difficulty of hunting up another housemaid .

mr stephens looked honestly regretful .

" i 'm sorry , very sorry , miss slade , " he said .

" you have exceptional talent , and i think you ought to cultivate it . "

" i am going to cultivate aunt rebecca , " said jane lavinia .

nobody knew just what she meant , but they all understood the firmness of her tone .

her trunk was taken down out of the express wagon , and mr and mrs. stephens drove away .

then jane lavinia went home .

she found aunt rebecca washing the breakfast dishes , with the big tears rolling down her face .

" goodness me ! " she cried , when jane lavinia walked in .

" what 's the matter ?

you ain't gone and been too late ! "

" no , i 've just changed my mind , aunt rebecca .

they 've gone without me .

i am not going to new york i don't want to go .

i 'd rather stay at home with you . "

for a moment aunt rebecca stared at her .

then she stepped forward and flung her arms about the girl .

" oh , jane lavinia , " she said with a sob , " i 'm so glad !

i couldn't see how i was going to get along without you , but i thought you didn't care .

you can wear that chiffon hat everywhere you want to , and i 'll get you a pink organdy dress for sundays . "

[ illustration : she eyed chester sourly . ]

mackereling out in the gulf

it was about the middle of the afternoon , and intensely warm and breathless .

the headlands and coves were blurred by a purple heat haze .

the little cluster of fishing houses nearby were bleached to a silvery grey by long exposure to wind and rain .

far off were several " yankee " fishing schooners , their sails dimly visible against the white horizon .

two boats were hauled upon the " skids " that ran from the rocks out into the water .

a couple of dories floated below them .

now and then a white gull , flashing silver where its plumage caught the sun , soared landward .

a young man was standing by the skids , watching the fishing boats through a spyglass .

he was tall , with a straight , muscular figure clad in a rough fishing suit .

presently three people came down the steep path from the fish-houses .

one of them , a girl , ran lightly forward and touched benjamin selby 's arm .

he lowered his glass with a start and looked around .

a flash of undisguised delight transfigured his face .

" why , mary stella !

i didn't expect you 'd be down this hot day .

you haven't been much at the shore lately , " he added reproachfully .

" not just now .

who is that stranger with your father , mary stella ? "

" that is a cousin of ours a mr braithwaite .

are you very busy , benjamin ? "

" not busy at all idle as you see me .

why ? "

" will you take me out for a little row in the dory ?

i haven't been out for so long . "

" of course .

come here 's the dory your namesake , you know .

i had her fresh painted last week .

she 's as clean as an eggshell . "

the girl stepped daintily off the rocks into the little cream-coloured skiff , and benjamin untied the rope and pushed off .

" where would you like to go , mary stella ? "

" oh , just upshore a little way not far .

and don't go out into very deep water , please , it makes me feel frightened and dizzy . "

benjamin smiled and promised .

he was rowing along with the easy grace of one used to the oar .

he had been born and brought up in sound of the gulf 's waves ; its never-ceasing murmur had been his first lullaby .

he knew it and loved it in every mood , in every varying tint and smile , in every change of wind and tide .

there was no better skipper alongshore than benjamin selby .

mary stella waved her hand gaily to the two men on the rocks .

benjamin looked back darkly .

" who is that young fellow ? " he asked again .

" where does he belong ? "

she made frank come down here this summer and hunt us up .

he is splendid , i think .

he is a new york lawyer and very clever . "

benjamin made no response .

he pulled in his oars and let the dory float amid the ripples .

the bottom of white sand , patterned over with coloured pebbles , was clear and distinct through the dark-green water .

mary stella leaned over to watch the distorted reflection of her face by the dory 's side .

" have you had pretty good luck this week , benjamin ?

father couldn't go out much he has been so busy with his hay , and leon is such a poor fisherman . "

" we 've had some of the best hauls of the summer this week .

some of the rustler boats caught six hundred to a line yesterday .

we had four hundred to the line in our boat . "

mary stella began absently to dabble her slender brown hand in the water .

he could not recall the time when he had not loved mary stella .

it seemed to him that she had always been a part of his inmost life .

he loved her with the whole strength and fidelity of a naturally intense nature .

he hoped that she loved him , and he had no rival that he feared .

in secret he exalted and deified her as something almost too holy for him to aspire to .

the roughest labour was glorified if it lifted him a step nearer the altar of his worship .

but today he felt faintly disturbed .

in some strange , indefinable way it seemed to him that mary stella was different from her usual self .

the impression was vague and evanescent gone before he could decide wherein the difference lay .

he told himself that he was foolish , yet the vexing , transient feeling continued to come and go .

presently mary stella said it was time to go back .

benjamin was in no hurry , but he never disputed her lightest inclination .

he turned the dory about and rowed shoreward .

mr murray and braithwaite were standing by the skids , watching the dory .

" who is that young fellow ? " asked the latter .

" what a splendid physique he has !

it 's a pleasure to watch him rowing . "

he 's been high line all along the gulf shore for years .

i don't know a finer man every way you take him .

maybe you 'll think i 'm partial , " he continued with a smile .

" you see , he and mary stella think a good deal of each other .

i expect to have benjamin for a son-in-law some day if all goes well . "

braithwaite 's expression changed slightly .

he walked over to the dory and helped mary stella out of it while benjamin made the painter fast .

when the latter turned , mary stella was walking across the rocks with her cousin .

benjamin 's blue eyes darkened , and he strode moodily over to the boats .

" you weren't out this morning , mr murray ? "

" no , that hay had to be took in .

reckon i missed it pretty good catch , they tell me .

are they getting any now ? "

" no .

it 's not likely the fish will begin to bite again for another hour . "

" i see someone standing up in that off boat , don't i ? " said mr murray , reaching for the spyglass .

" no , that 's only rob leslie 's crew trying to fool us .

they 've tried it before this afternoon .

they think it would be a joke to coax us out there to broil like themselves . "

" frank , " shouted mr murray , " come here , i want you . "

aside to benjamin he said , " he 's my nephew a fine young chap .

you 'll like him , i know . "

braithwaite came over , and mr murray put one hand on his shoulder and one on benjamin 's .

" boys , i want you to know each other .

benjamin , this is frank braithwaite .

frank , this is benjamin selby , the high line of the gulf shore , as i told you . "

while mr murray was speaking , the two men looked steadily at each other .

the few seconds seemed very long ; when they had passed , benjamin knew that the other man was his rival .

braithwaite was the first to speak .

he put out his hand with easy cordiality .

his frank courtesy compelled some return .

benjamin took the proffered hand with restraint .

" i 'm sorry there 's no mackerel going this afternoon , " continued the american .

" i wanted to have a chance at them .

i never saw mackerel caught before .

i suppose i 'll be very awkward at first . "

" it 's not a very hard thing to do , " said benjamin stiffly , speaking for the first time since their meeting .

" most anybody could catch mackerel for a while it 's the sticking to it that counts . "

he turned abruptly and went back to his boat .

he could not force himself to talk civilly to the stranger , with that newly born demon of distrust gnawing at his heart .

" i think i 'll go out , " he said .

" it 's freshening up .

i shouldn't wonder if the mackerel schooled soon . "

" i 'll go , too , then , " said mr murray .

" hi , up there !

leon and pete !

hi , i say ! "

two more french canadians came running down from the murray fish-house , where they had been enjoying a siesta .

they fished in the murray boat .

" think you 'll try it , frank ? " shouted mr murray .

" well , not this afternoon , " was the answer .

" it 's rather hot .

i 'll see what it is like tomorrow . "

the boats were quickly launched and glided out from the shadow of the cliffs .

benjamin stood at his mast .

mary stella came down to the water 's edge and waved her hand gaily .

" good luck to you and the best catch of the season , " she called out .

benjamin waved his hat in response .

his jealousy was forgotten for the moment and he felt that he had been churlish to braithwaite .

" you 'll wish you 'd come , " he shouted to him .

" it 's going to be a great evening for fish . "

when the boats reached the fishing grounds , they came to and anchored , their masts coming out in slender silhouette against the sky .

frank braithwaite went out fishing the next day and caught @number@ mackerel .

he was boyishly proud of it .

he visited the shore daily after that and soon became very popular .

he never put on any " airs , " and he stoutly took leon 's part against the aggressive mosey louis .

even the french canadians , those merciless critics , admitted that the " yankee " was a good fellow .

benjamin selby alone held stubbornly aloof .

one evening the loaded boats came in at sunset .

benjamin sprang from his as it bumped against the skids , and ran up the path .

braithwaite 's back was to benjamin ; he held the girl 's hand in his and was talking earnestly .

mary stella was looking up at him , her delicate face thrown back a little .

there was a look in her eyes that benjamin had never seen there before but he knew what it meant .

his face grew pale and rigid ; he clenched his hands and a whirlpool of agony and bitterness surged up in his heart .

all the great blossoms of the hope that had shed beauty and fragrance over his rough life seemed suddenly to shrivel up into black unsightliness .

he turned and went swiftly and noiselessly down the road to his boat .

the murmur of the sea sounded very far off .

mosey louis was busy counting out the mackerel , xavier was dipping up buckets of water and pouring it over the silvery fish .

it was all real and yet unreal .

benjamin went to work mechanically .

presently mary stella came down to her father 's boat .

braithwaite followed slowly , pausing a moment to exchange some banter with saucy mosey louis .

it was late when they finished .

the tired french canadians went quickly off to their beds in the fish-house loft .

he leaned against a huge boulder and laid his head on his arm , looking up into the dark sky .

when benjamin lifted his head he saw frank braithwaite standing between him and the luminous water .

he took a step forward , and they came face to face as braithwaite turned with a start .

benjamin clenched his hands and fought down a hideous temptation to thrust his rival off the rock .

" i saw you today , " he said in a low , intense tone .

" what do you think of yourself , coming down here to steal the girl i loved from me ?

weren't there enough girls where you came from to choose among ?

i hate you .

i 'd kill you "

" selby , stop !

you don't know what you are saying .

if i have wronged you , i swear i did it unintentionally .

i loved stella from the first who could help it ?

but i thought she was virtually bound to you , and i did not try to win her away .

you don't know what it cost me to remain passive .

i know that you have always distrusted me , but hitherto you have had no reason to .

but today i found that she was free that she did not care for you !

and i found or thought i found that there was a chance for me .

i took it .

i forgot everything else then . "

" so she loves you ? " said benjamin dully .

" yes , " said braithwaite softly .

benjamin turned on him with sudden passion .

" i hate you and i am the most miserable wretch alive , but if she is happy , it is no matter about me .

you 've won easily what i 've slaved and toiled all my life for .

you won't value it as i 'd have done but if you make her happy , nothing else matters .

i 've only one favour to ask of you .

don't let her come to the shore after this .

i can't stand it . "

august throbbed and burned itself out .

affairs along shore continued as usual .

benjamin shut his sorrow up in himself and gave no outward sign of suffering .

as if to mock him , the season was one of phenomenal prosperity ; it was a " mackerel year " to be dated from .

he worked hard and unceasingly , sparing himself in no way .

braithwaite seldom came to the shore now .

mary stella never .

mr murray had tried to speak of the matter , but benjamin would not let him .

" it 's best that nothing be said , " he told him with simple dignity .

he was so calm that mr murray thought he did not care greatly , and was glad of it .

the older man regretted the turn of affairs .

braithwaite would take his daughter far away from him , as his sister had been taken , and he loved benjamin as his own son .

one afternoon benjamin stood by his boat and looked anxiously at sea and sky .

the french canadians were eager to go out , for the other boats were catching .

" i don't know about it , " said benjamin doubtfully .

" i don't half like the look of things .

i believe we 're in for a squall before long .

it was just such a day three years ago when that terrible squall came up that joe otway got drowned in . "

the sky was dun and smoky , the glassy water was copper-hued , the air was heavy and breathless .

the sea purred upon the shore , lapping it caressingly like some huge feline creature biding its time to seize and crunch its victim .

" i reckon i 'll try it , " said benjamin after a final scrutiny .

" if a squall does come up , we 'll have to run for the shore mighty quick , that 's all . "

they launched the boat speedily ; as there was no wind , they had to row .

as they pulled out , braithwaite and leon came down the road and began to launch the murray boat .

" if dem two gits caught in a squall dey'll hav a tam , " grinned mosey louis .

" dat leon , he don't know de fust ting ' bout a boat , no more dan a cat ! "

benjamin came to anchor close in , but braithwaite and leon kept on until they were further out than any other boat .

" reckon dey's after cod , " suggested xavier .

the mackerel bit well , but benjamin kept a close watch on the sky .

suddenly he saw a dark streak advancing over the water from the northwest .

he wheeled around .

" boys , the squall 's coming !

up with the anchor quick ! "

" dere 's plenty tam , " grumbled mosey louis , who hated to leave the fish .

" none of de oder boats is goin ' in yit . "

the squall struck the boat as he spoke .

she lurched and staggered .

the water was tossing choppily .

there was a sudden commotion all through the fleet and sails went rapidly up .

mosey louis turned pale and scrambled about without delay .

benjamin was halfway to the shore before the sail went up in the murray boat .

" don ' know what dey're tinkin ' of , " growled mosey louis .

" dey 'll be drown fust ting ! "

benjamin looked back anxiously .

every boat was making for the shore .

the gale was steadily increasing .

he had his doubts about making a landing himself , and braithwaite would be twenty minutes later .

" but it isn't my lookout , " he muttered .

benjamin had landed and was hauling up his boat when mr murray came running down the road .

" frank ? " he gasped .

" him and leon went out , the foolish boys !

they neither of them know anything about a time like this . "

" i guess they 'll be all right , " said benjamin reassuringly .

" they were late starting .

they may find it rather hard to land . "

the other boats had all got in with more or less difficulty .

the murray boat alone was out .

men came scurrying along the shore in frightened groups of two and three .

the boat came swiftly in before the wind .

mr murray was half beside himself .

" it 'll be all right , sir , " said one of the men .

" if they can't land here , they can beach her on the sandshore . "

" if they only knew enough to do that , " wailed the old man .

" but they don't they'll come right on to the rocks . "

" why don't they lower their sail ? " said another .

" they will upset if they don't . "

" they 're lowering it now , " said benjamin .

the boat was now about @number@ yards from the shore .

the sail did not go all the way down it seemed to be stuck .

" good god , what 's wrong ? " exclaimed mr murray .

as he spoke , the boat capsized .

a yell of horror rose i from the beach .

mr murray sprang toward benjamin 's boat , but one of the men held him back .

" you can't do it , sir .

i don't know that anybody can . "

braithwaite and leon were clinging to the boat .

benjamin selby , standing in the background , his lips set , his hands clenched , was fighting the hardest battle of his life .

there was a bare chance and a great risk .

this man whom he hated was drowning before his eyes .

let him drown , then !

why should he risk ay , and perchance lose his life for his enemy ?

no one could blame him for refusing and if braithwaite were out of the way , mary stella might yet be his !

the temptation and victory passed in a few brief seconds .

he stepped forward , cool and self-possessed .

" i 'm going out .

i want one man with me .

no one with child or wife .

who 'll go ? "

" i will , " shouted mosey louis .

" i haf some spat wid dat leon , but i not lak to see him drown for all dat ! "

benjamin offered no objection .

the french canadian 's arm was strong and he possessed skill and experience .

mr murray caught benjamin 's arm .

" no , no , benjamin not you i can't see both my boys drowned . "

benjamin gently loosed the old man 's hold .

" it 's for mary stella 's sake , " he said hoarsely .

" if i don't come back , tell her that . "

they launched the large dory with difficulty and pulled out into the surf .

benjamin did not lose his nerve .

his quick arm , his steady eye did not fail .

a dozen times the wild-eyed watchers thought the boat was doomed , but as often she righted triumphantly .

at last the drowning men were reached and somehow or other hauled on board benjamin 's craft .

it was easier to come back , for they beached the boat on the sand .

benjamin went home before anyone knew he had gone .

" dat leon , he not tink he know so much now ! " he said .

braithwaite came to the shore next day somewhat pale and shaky .

he went straight to benjamin and held out his hand .

" thank you , " he said simply .

benjamin bent lower over his work .

" you needn't thank me , " he said gruffly .

" i wanted to let you drown .

but i went out for mary stella 's sake .

tell me one thing i couldn't bring myself to ask it of anyone else .

when are you to be married ? "

" the 12th of september . "

benjamin did not wince .

he turned away and looked out across the sea for a few moments .

the last agony of his great renunciation was upon him .

then he turned and held out his hand .

" for her sake , " he said earnestly .

frank braithwaite put his slender white hand into the fisherman 's hard brown palm .

there were tears in both men 's eyes .

they parted in silence .

on the morning of the 12th of september benjamin selby went out to the fishing grounds as usual .

the catch was good , although the season was almost over .

in the afternoon the french canadians went to sleep .

benjamin intended to row down the shore for salt .

he stood by his dory , ready to start , but he seemed to be waiting for something .

at last it came : a faint train whistle blew , a puff of white smoke floated across a distant gap in the sandhills .

mary stella was gone at last gone forever from his life .

the honest blue eyes looking out over the sea did not falter ; bravely he faced his desolate future .

millicent 's double

[ illustration : " ' nonsense , ' said millicent , pointing to their reflected faces " ]

they were total strangers , but when two girls look enough alike to be twins , it is not necessary to stand on ceremony .

after the first blank stare of amazement , both laughed outright .

millicent held out her hand .

" we ought to know each other right away , " she said frankly .

" my name is millicent moore , and yours is ? "

" worth gordon , " responded worth , taking the proffered hand with dancing eyes .

" you actually frightened me when you came around that corner .

for a moment i had an uncanny feeling that i was a disembodied spirit looking at my own outward shape .

i know now what it feels like to have a twin . "

" isn't it odd that we should look so much alike ? " said millicent .

" do you suppose we can be any relation ?

i never heard of any relations named gordon . "

worth shook her head .

" i 'm quite sure we're not , " she said .

" well , you 'll really have to count me as a relative after this , " laughed millicent .

" i 'm sure a girl who looks as much like you as i do must be at least as much relation as a stepaunt . "

seen apart it was impossible to tell which was which except by their clothes and style of hairdressing .

seen together there were , of course , many minor differences which served to distinguish them .

both girls were slight , with dark-brown hair , blue eyes and fair complexions .

but millicent had more colour than worth .

even in repose , millicent 's face expressed mirth and fun ; when worth was not laughing or talking , her face was rather serious .

worth 's eyes were darker , and her nose in profile slightly more aquiline .

but still , the resemblance between them was very striking .

in disposition they were also very similar .

both were merry , fun-loving girls , fond of larks and jokes .

" it 's a perfect evening , worth .

we had the jolliest tramp .

you should have come with us instead of staying in moping over your books . "

worth smiled ruefully .

" i simply had to prepare those problems for tomorrow , " she said .

" you see , millie dear , there is a big difference between us in some things at least .

i 'm poor .

i simply have to pass my exams and get a teacher 's licence .

so i can't afford to take any chances .

you 're just attending high school for the sake of education alone , so you don't really have to grind as i do . "

" i 'd like to do pretty well in the exams , though , for dad 's sake , " answered millicent , throwing aside her wraps .

" but i don't mean to kill myself studying , just the same .

time enough for that when exams draw nigh .

they 're comfortably far off yet .

but i 'm in a bit of a predicament , worth , and i don't know what to do .

here are two invitations for saturday afternoon and i simply must accept them both .

now , how can i do it ?

you 're a marvel at mathematics so work out that problem for me .

" see , here 's a note from mrs kirby inviting me to tea at beechwood .

she called on me soon after the term opened and invited me to tea the next week .

but i had another engagement for that afternoon , so couldn't go .

mr kirby is a business friend of dad 's , and they are very nice people .

the other invitation is to the annual autumn picnic of the alpha gammas .

now , worth gordon , i simply must go to that .

i wouldn't miss it for anything .

but i don't want to offend mrs kirby , and i 'm afraid i shall if i plead another engagement a second time .

mother will be fearfully annoyed at me in that case .

" what 's the matter ? "

" there are two of me !

what 's the use of a double if not for a quandary like this !

worth , you must go to tea at beechwood saturday afternoon in my place .

they 'll think you are my very self .

they 'll never know the difference .

go and keep my place warm for me , there 's a dear . "

" impossible , " cried worth .

" i 'd never dare !

they 'd know there was something wrong . "

" they wouldn't they couldn't .

none of the kirbys have ever seen me except mrs kirby , and she only for a few minutes one evening at dusk .

they don't know i have a double and they can't possibly suspect .

do go , worth .

why , it 'll be a regular lark , the best little joke ever !

and you 'll oblige me immensely besides .

worthie , please . "

worth did not consent all at once ; but the idea rather appealed to her for its daring and excitement .

it would be a lark just at that time worth did not see it in any other light .

besides , she wanted to oblige millicent , who coaxed vehemently .

finally , worth yielded and promised millicent that she would go to beechwood in her place .

" you darling ! " said millicent emphatically , flying to her table to write acceptances of both invitations .

saturday afternoon worth got ready to keep millicent 's engagement .

" nonsense , " said millicent , pointing to their reflected faces .

" the kirbys can never suspect .

why , if it weren't for the hair and the dresses , i 'd hardly know myself which of those reflections belonged to which . "

" what if they begin asking me about the welfare of the various members of your family ? "

" they won't ask any but the most superficial questions .

we 're not intimate enough for anything else .

i 've coached you pretty thoroughly , and i think you 'll get on all right . "

worth 's courage carried her successfully through the ordeal of arriving at beechwood and meeting mrs kirby .

she was unsuspectingly accepted as millicent moore , and found her impersonation of that young lady not at all difficult .

no dangerous subject of conversation was introduced and nothing personal was said until mr kirby came in .

he looked so scrutinizingly at worth as he shook hands with her that the latter felt her heart beating very fast .

did he suspect ?

" upon my word , miss moore , " he said genially , " you gave me quite a start at first .

you are very like what a half-sister of mine used to be when a girl long ago .

of course the resemblance must be quite accidental . "

" of course , " said worth , without any very clear sense of what she was saying .

her face was uncomfortably flushed and she was glad when tea was announced .

as nothing more of an embarrassing nature was said , worth soon recovered her self-possession and was able to enter into the conversation .

it was not fear she was not at all afraid of betraying herself now .

it had even been easier than she had expected .

then what was it ?

suddenly worth flushed again .

she knew now it was shame .

she was a guest in that house as an impostor !

what she had done seemed no longer a mere joke .

what would her host and hostess say if they knew ?

that they would never know made no difference .

she herself could not forget it , and her realization of the baseness of the deception grew stronger under mrs kirby 's cordial kindness .

worth never forgot that evening .

she compelled herself to chat as brightly as possible , but under it all was that miserable consciousness of falsehood , deepening every instant .

she was thankful when the time came to leave .

" you must come up often , miss moore , " said mrs kirby kindly .

" look upon beechwood as a second home while you are in kinglake .

we have no daughter of our own , so we make a hobby of cultivating other people 's . "

when millicent returned home from the alpha gamma outing , she found worth in their room , looking soberly at the mirror .

something in her chum 's expression alarmed her .

" worth , what is it ?

did they suspect ? "

" no , " said worth slowly .

" they never suspected .

they think i am what i pretended to be millicent moore .

but , but , i wish i 'd never gone to beechwood , millie .

it wasn't right .

it was mean and wrong .

it was acting a lie .

i can't tell you how ashamed i felt when i realized that . "

" nonsense , " said millicent , looking rather sober , nevertheless .

" no harm was done .

it 's only a good joke , worth . "

" yes , harm has been done .

i 've done harm to myself , for one thing .

i 've lost my self-respect .

i don't blame you , millie .

it 's all my own fault .

i 've done a dishonourable thing , dishonourable . "

millicent sighed .

" the alpha gamma picnic was horribly slow , " she said .

" i didn't enjoy myself a bit .

i wish i had gone to beechwood .

i didn't think about it 's being a practical falsehood before .

i suppose it was .

and i 've always prided myself on my strict truthfulness !

it wasn't your fault , worth !

it was mine .

but it can't be undone now . "

" no , it can't be undone , " said worth slowly , " but it might be confessed .

we might tell mrs kirby the truth and ask her to forgive us . "

" i couldn't do such a thing , " cried millicent .

" it isn't to be thought of ! "

nevertheless , millicent did think of it several times that night and all through the following sunday .

she couldn't help thinking of it .

a dishonourable trick !

that thought stung millicent .

monday evening millicent flung down the book from which she was vainly trying to study .

" worthie , it 's no use .

you were right .

there 's nothing to do but go and ' fess up to mrs kirby .

i can't respect millicent moore again until i do .

i 'm going right up now . "

" i 'll go with you , " said worth quietly .

" i was equally to blame and i must take my share of the humiliation . "

when the girls reached beechwood , they were shown into the library where the family were sitting .

mrs kirby came smilingly forward to greet millicent when her eyes fell upon worth .

" why ! why ! " she said .

" i didn't know you had a twin sister , miss moore . "

" neither i have , " said millicent , laughing nervously .

" this is my chum , worth gordon , but she is no relation whatever . "

at the mention of worth 's name , mr kirby started slightly , but nobody noticed it .

millicent went on in a trembling voice .

" we 've come up to confess something , mrs kirby .

i 'm sure you 'll think it dreadful , but we didn't mean any harm .

we just didn't realize , until afterwards . "

then millicent , with burning cheeks , told the whole story and asked to be forgiven .

" i , too , must apologize , " said worth , when millicent had finished .

" can you pardon me , mrs kirby ? "

mrs kirby had listened in amazed silence , but now she laughed .

" certainly , " she said kindly .

" i don't suppose it was altogether right for you girls to play such a trick on anybody .

but i can make allowances for schoolgirl pranks .

i was a school girl once myself , and far from a model one .

you have atoned for your mistake by coming so frankly and confessing , and now we 'll forget all about it .

i think you have learned your lesson .

both of you must just sit down and spend the evening with us .

dear me , but you are bewilderingly alike ! "

" i 've something i want to say , " interposed mr kirby suddenly .

" you say your name is worth gordon , " he added , turning to worth .

" may i ask what your mother 's name was ? "

" worth mowbray , " answered worth wonderingly .

" i was sure of it , " said mr kirby triumphantly , " when i heard miss moore mention your name .

your mother was my half-sister , and you are my niece . "

everybody exclaimed and for a few moments they all talked and questioned together .

then mr kirby explained fully .

" i was born on a farm up-country .

my mother was a widow when she married my father , and she had one daughter , worth mowbray , five years older than myself .

when i was three years old , my mother died .

worth went to live with our mother 's only living relative , an aunt .

my father and i removed to another section of the country .

he , too , died soon after , and i was brought up with an uncle 's family .

i never saw her again and eventually lost trace of her .

many years later i endeavoured to find out her whereabouts .

our aunt was dead , and the people in the village where she had lived informed me that my sister was also dead .

there is no doubt that you are her daughter .

well , well , this is a pleasant surprise , to find a little niece in this fashion ! "

it was a pleasant surprise to worth , too , who had thought herself all alone in the world and had felt her loneliness keenly .

they had a wonderful evening , talking and questioning and explaining .

mr kirby declared that worth must come and live with them .

" we have no daughter , " he said .

" you must come to us in the place of one , worth . "

mrs kirby seconded this with a cordiality that won worth 's affection at once .

the girl felt almost bewildered by her happiness .

" i feel as if i were in a dream , " she said to millicent as they walked to their boarding-house .

" it 's really all too wonderful to grasp at once .

you don't know , millie , how lonely i 've felt often under all my nonsense and fun .

but now i 'm so happy ! "

hasn't it all turned out strangely ?

if you had never gone to beechwood in my place , this would never have happened . "

" say rather that if we hadn't gone to confess our fault , it would never have happened , " said worth gently .

" i 'm very , very glad that i have found uncle george and such a loving welcome to his home .

but i 'm gladder still that i 've got my self-respect back .

i feel that i can look worth gordon in the face again . "

" i 've learned a wholesome lesson , too , " admitted millicent .

the blue north room

i have endured all the rest .

i did not grumble when uncle joel came here to live because he wanted to be ' near his dear nephew 's children . '

i felt it my christian duty to look pleasant when we had to give cousin caroline a home to save her from the poorhouse .

but my endurance and philosophy , and worst of all , my furniture , has reached a limit .

i cannot have aunt josephina come here to spend the winter , because i have no room to put her in . "

" hello , sally , what 's the matter ? " asked ray , coming in with a book .

it would have been hard to catch ray without a book ; he generally took one even to bed with him .

" you look all rumpled up in your conscience , beloved sis , " the boy went on , chaffingly .

" my conscience is all right , " said sara severely .

" it 's worse than that .

if you please , here 's a letter from aunt josephina !

she writes that she is very lonesome .

" well , why not ? " asked ray serenely .

nothing ever bothered ray .

" the more the merrier . "

" ray sheldon !

where are we to put her ?

we have no spare room , as you well know . "

" can't she room with cousin caroline ? "

" cousin caroline 's room is too small for two .

it 's full to overflowing with her belongings now , and aunt josephina will bring two trunks at least .

try again , bright boy . "

" what 's the matter with the blue north room ? "

" there is nothing the matter with it oh , nothing at all !

we could put aunt josephina there , but where will she sleep ?

where will she wash her face ?

will it not seem slightly inhospitable to invite her to sit on a bare floor ?

" i 'll give it up , " said ray .

you must write the letter , ray .

make it as polite as you can , but above all make it firm . "

poor aunt josephina must really be rather lonely , and it 's only natural she should want to visit her relations . "

" we 're not her relations , " cried sara .

" we 're not a speck of relation really .

she 's only the half-sister of mother 's half-brother .

that sounds nice and relationy , doesn't it ?

and she 's fussy and interfering , and she will fight with cousin caroline , everybody fights with cousin caroline "

anyhow , where could we put her even if we wanted her to come ?

no , we can't have her ! "

" mother was always very fond of aunt josephina , " said ray reflectively .

sara had her lips open , all ready to answer whatever ray might say , but she shut them suddenly and the boy went on .

" aunt josephina thought a lot of mother , too .

she used to say she knew there was always a welcome for her at maple hollow .

" i shall leave it to willard , " said sara abruptly .

" if he says to let her come , come she shall , even if dorothy and i have to camp in the barn . "

" i 'm going to have a prowl around the garret , " said ray , apropos of nothing .

" and i shall get the tea ready , " answered sara briskly .

" dorothy will be home from school very soon , and i hear uncle joel stirring .

willard won't be back till dark , so there is no use waiting for him . "

at twilight sara decided to walk up the lane and meet willard .

she always liked to meet him thus when he had been away for a whole day .

sara thought there was nobody in the world as good and dear as willard .

the world looked very dull and dispirited , and sara sighed .

she could not help thinking of the dark side of things just then .

" everything is wrong , " said poor sara dolefully .

" willard has to work like a slave , and yet with all his efforts he can barely pay the interest on the mortgage .

and ray ought to go to college .

but i don't see how we can ever manage .

to be sure , he won't be ready until next fall , but we won't have the money then any more than now .

if he could just have a year there he could teach and earn his own way through college .

but we might as well hope for the moon as one hundred and fifty dollars . "

sara sighed again .

she was only eighteen , but she felt very old .

willard was nineteen , and willard had never had a chance to be young .

the little mother had died two years ago , and the household cares had all fallen on sara 's shoulders since .

sometimes , as now , they pressed very heavily , but a talk with willard always heartened her up .

willard had his blue spells too , but sara thought it a special providence that their blue turns never came together .

when one got downhearted the other was always ready to do the cheering up .

sara was glad to hear willard whistling when he drove into the lane ; it was a sign he was in good spirits .

he pulled up , and sara climbed into the wagon .

" things go all right today , sally ? " he asked cheerfully .

i thought at first we just couldn't have her , but i decided to leave it to you . "

" well , we 've got a pretty good houseful already , " said willard thoughtfully .

" but i suppose if aunt josephina wants to come we 'd better have her .

i always liked aunt josephina , and so did mother , you know . "

" i don't know where we can put her .

we haven't any spare room , will . "

" ray and i can sleep in the kitchen loft .

you and dolly take our room , and let aunt josephina take yours . "

" the kitchen loft isn't really fit to sleep in , " said sara pessimistically .

" it 's awfully cold , and there 're mice and rats ugh !

you and ray will get nibbled in spots .

but it 's the only thing to do if we must have aunt josephina .

i 'll get ray to write to her tomorrow .

i couldn't put enough cordiality into the letter if i wrote it myself . "

ray came in while willard was at supper .

there were cobwebs all over him from his head to his heels .

" i 've solved the aunt j ..y problem , " he announced cheerfully .

" we will furnish the blue north room . "

" with what ? " asked sara disbelievingly .

" i 've been poking about in the garret and in the carriage house loft , " said ray , " and i 've found furniture galore .

it 's very old and cobwebby witness my appearance and very much in want of scrubbing and a few nails .

but it will do . "

" i 'd forgotten about those old things , " said sara slowly .

" they 've never been used since i can remember , and long before .

they were discarded before mother came here .

but i thought they were all broken and quite useless . "

" not at all .

i believe we can furbish them up sufficiently to make the room habitable .

it will be rather old-fashioned , but then it 's hobson 's choice .

there are the pieces of an old bed out in the loft , and they can be put together .

i found it under a pile of old carpet .

one leg is broken off , but i hunted around and found it , and i guess we can fix it on .

and there are two more old chairs and a queer little oval table with a cracked swing mirror on it . "

it won't do to put anything modern with those old things .

one would kill the other .

oh , i believe it will be lots of fun . "

it was .

for a week the sheldons hammered and glued and washed and consulted .

the north room was already papered with a blue paper of an old-fashioned stripe-and-diamond pattern .

the rag carpet was put down , and the braided rugs laid on it .

on the washstand sara placed a quaint old basin and ewer which had been grandma sheldon 's .

the cupboard was set up in a corner , and beside it stood the spinning-wheel from the kitchen loft .

above them was hung the faded sampler that grandma sheldon had worked ninety years ago when she was a little girl .

the things all seem to suit each other , some way , and they look good , don't they ?

i mean they look real , clear through .

i believe that table and those drawers are solid mahogany .

and look at the carving on those bedposts .

cleaning them has made such a difference .

i do hope aunt josephina won't mind their being so old . "

aunt josephina didn't .

" oh , it will be all right , " she said , plainly determined to make the best of things .

" those old things are thought a lot of now , anyhow .

i can't say i fancy them much myself i like something a little brighter .

but the rich folks have gone cracked over them .

she says it 's her hobby , and she spends a heap on it .

she 'd be in raptures if she saw this old room of yours , sary . "

" do you mean , " said sara slowly , " that there are people who would buy old things like these ? "

" yes , and pay more for them than would buy a real nice set with a marble-topped burey .

you may well say there 's lots of fools in the world , sary . "

sara was not saying or thinking any such thing .

but she did not forget what aunt josephina had said .

the winter passed away .

aunt josephina plainly enjoyed her visit , whatever the sheldons felt about it .

in march her son returned , and aunt josephina went home to him .

for a week she looked so mysterious that willard and ray could not guess what she was plotting .

at the end of that time mrs stanton came .

mrs stanton always declared afterwards that the mere sight of that blue north room gave her raptures .

such a find !

such a discovery !

a bedstead with carved posts , a claw-footed table , real old willow-ware plates with the birds ' bills meeting !

here was luck , if you like !

when willard and ray came home to tea sara was sitting on the stairs counting her wealth .

" sally , where did you discover all that long-lost treasure ? " demanded ray .

" mrs stanton of boston was here today , " said sara , enjoying the moment of revelation hugely .

" she makes a hobby of collecting old furniture .

i sold her every blessed thing in the blue north room except mother 's carpet and grandma 's mats and sampler .

she wanted those too , but i couldn't part with them .

" it wouldn't be fair to take it for that , " said ray , flushing .

" you and will " " will and i say you must take it , " said sara .

" don't we , will ?

there is nothing we want so much as to give you a college start .

it is an enormous burden off my mind to think it is so nicely provided for .

" you must take it , of course , ray , " said willard .

" nothing else would give sara and me so much pleasure .

a blessing on aunt josephina . "

" amen , " said sara and ray .

the christmas surprise at enderly road

" phil , i 'm getting fearfully hungry .

when are we going to strike civilization ? "

the speaker was my chum , frank ward .

it was getting late and we wished to go home .

" i have an idea that we ought to strike civilization somewhere up the enderly road pretty soon , " i answered .

" do you call that civilization ? " said frank , with a laugh .

enderly road was a miserable little settlement straggling back from blackburn hill .

it was a forsaken looking place , and the people , as a rule , were poor and shiftless .

presently frank and i came out on the enderly road .

we sat on the fence a few minutes to rest and discuss our route home .

" if we go by the road it 's three miles , " said frank .

" isn't there a short cut ? "

" here is someone coming now ; we 'll inquire , " said frank , looking up the curve of the hard-frozen road .

she was a pale , pinched little thing , and her jacket and red hood seemed very old and thin .

" has your teacher kept you in for being naughty ? "

the mite dashed her little red knuckles across her eyes and answered indignantly , " no , indeed .

i stayed after school with minnie lawler to sweep the floor . "

" and did you and minnie quarrel , and is that why you are crying ? " asked frank solemnly .

" minnie and i never quarrel .

i am crying because we can't have the school decorated on monday for the examination , after all .

" very bad behaviour on the part of the dickeys , " commented frank .

" but can't you decorate the school without them ? "

" why , of course not .

they are the only big boys in the school .

by dint of questioning frank soon found out the whole story .

the semi-annual public examination was to be held on monday afternoon , the day before christmas .

miss davis had been drilling her little flock for the occasion ; and a program of recitations , speeches , and dialogues had been prepared .

for this it was necessary to ask the help of the boys .

boys were scarce at enderly school , but the dickeys , three in number , had promised to see that the thing was done .

" and now they won't , " sobbed maggie .

matt just makes all the boys do as he says .

i feel dreadful bad , and so does minnie . "

" well , i wouldn't cry any more about it , " said frank consolingly .

" crying won't do any good , you know .

can you tell us where to find the wood-lane that cuts across to blackburn hill ? "

maggie could , and gave us minute directions .

so , having thanked her , we left her to pursue her disconsolate way and betook ourselves homeward .

" i would like to spoil matt dickey 's little game , " said frank .

" he is evidently trying to run things at enderly road school and revenge himself on the teacher .

let us put a spoke in his wheel and do maggie a good turn as well . "

" agreed .

but how ? "

it was dark when we reached the enderly road schoolhouse .

fortunately , it was quite out of sight of any inhabited spot , being surrounded by woods .

hence , mysterious lights in it at strange hours would not be likely to attract attention .

the door was locked , but we easily got in by a window , lighted our lantern , and went to work .

our basket was full of mottoes made from letters cut out of cardboard and covered with lissome sprays of fir .

they were , moreover , adorned with gorgeous pink and red tissue roses , which carrie and mabel had contributed .

" it looks nice , " said frank in a tone of satisfaction .

" hope maggie will like it . "

we swept up the litter we had made , and then scrambled out of the window .

" i 'd like to see matt dickey 's face when he comes monday morning , " i laughed , as we struck into the back lands .

" i 'd like to see that midget of a maggie 's , " said frank .

" see here , phil , let's attend the examination monday afternoon .

i 'd like to see our decorations in daylight . "

we decided to do so , and also thought of something else .

snow fell all day sunday , so that , on monday morning , sleighs had to be brought out .

frank and i drove down to the store and invested a considerable share of our spare cash in a varied assortment of knick-knacks .

after dinner we drove through to the enderly road schoolhouse , tied our horse in a quiet spot , and went in .

our arrival created quite a sensation for , as a rule , blackburn hillites did not patronize enderly road functions .

the side benches were lined with enderly road parents , and all the pupils were in their best attire .

our friend maggie was there , of course , and she smiled and nodded towards the wreaths when she caught our eyes .

the examination was a decided success , and the program which followed was very creditable indeed .

maggie and minnie , in particular , covered themselves with glory , both in class and on the platform .

wonderful things came out of that basket .

in the confusion santa claus discreetly disappeared , and school was dismissed .

" you decorated the school , " cried maggie excitedly .

" i know you did .

i told minnie it was you the minute i saw it . "

" you 're dreaming , child , " said frank .

" oh , no , i'm not , " retorted maggie shrewdly , " and wasn't matt dickey mad this morning !

oh , it was such fun .

i think you are two real nice boys and so does minnie don't you minnie ? "

minnie nodded gravely .

evidently maggie did the talking in their partnership .

" this has been a splendid examination , " said maggie , drawing a long breath .

" real christmassy , you know .

we never had such a good time before . "

" well , it has paid , don't you think ? " asked frank , as we drove home .

" rather , " i answered .

it did " pay " in other ways than the mere pleasure of it .

there was always a better feeling between the roaders and the hillites thereafter .

the dissipation of miss ponsonby

we hadn't been very long in glenboro before we managed to get acquainted with miss ponsonby .

her father wouldn't let her .

no , it simply happened because her window was right across the alleyway from ours .

patchwork seemed to be miss ponsonby 's sole and only dissipation of any kind .

we guessed her age to be forty-five at least , but we found out afterward that we were mistaken .

she was only thirty-five .

but then i doubt if miss ponsonby had any idea what her nose was really like .

i don't believe she ever looked at herself critically in a mirror in her life .

jerry and i sat a great deal at ours , laughing and talking , but miss ponsonby never lifted her head or eyes .

then jerry , whose name is geraldine only in the family bible , talked to her about the weather .

jerry can talk interestingly about anything .

in five minutes she had performed a miracle she had made miss ponsonby laugh .

at the end of a quarter of an hour they were exchanging confidences about their favourite books .

jerry was a confirmed kiplingomaniac , but miss ponsonby adored laura jean libbey .

she said sorrowfully she supposed she ought not to read novels at all since her father disapproved .

poor miss ponsonby had to keep her laura jeans locked up in her trunk , and it wasn't often she got a new one .

from that day dated our friendship with miss ponsonby , a curious friendship , only carried on from window to window .

we never saw miss ponsonby anywhere else ; we asked her to come over but she said her father didn't allow her to visit anybody .

her meekness fairly infuriated jerry .

but we liked miss ponsonby and we pitied her .

she confided to us that she was very lonely and that she wrote poetry .

we never asked to see the poetry , although i think she would have liked to show it .

but , as jerry says , there are limits .

we thought we knew all about miss ponsonby 's past ; but even pale , drab , china-blue women can have their secrets and keep them .

it was a full half year before we discovered miss ponsonby 's .

in october , stephen shaw came home from the west to visit his father and mother after an absence of fifteen years .

jerry and i met him at a party at his brother-in-law 's .

on the contrary , he was a tall , handsome man with clear-cut features , laughing black eyes like a boy 's , and iron-grey hair .

he was as gay as the youngest , danced splendidly , went everywhere , and took all the glenboro girls about impartially .

it was a glorious moonlight night , with just a hint of october frost in the air enough to give sparkle and tang .

after a few moments i became aware that miss ponsonby was also " musing " at her window in the shadow of the acacia tree .

in that dim light she looked quite pretty .

it seemed odd , somehow , to think of miss ponsonby as young and pretty .

she seemed so essentially middle-aged and faded .

" lovely night , miss ponsonby , " i said brilliantly .

" i 'm mopy , " i said frankly .

" jerry has concentrated herself on stephen shaw for the evening and i 'm left on the fringe of things . "

miss ponsonby didn't say anything for a few moments .

" did i understand you to say that geraldine was entertaining stephen shaw ? "

" yes .

he 's home from the west and he 's delightful , " i replied .

" all the glenboro girls are quite crazy over him .

jerry and i are as bad as the rest .

he isn't at all young but he 's very fascinating . "

" stephen shaw ! " repeated miss ponsonby faintly .

" so stephen shaw is home again ! "

" yes , i used to know him , " said miss ponsonby very slowly .

presently she got up and went away from her window .

deserted even by miss ponsonby , i went grumpily to bed .

then mrs george hubbard gave a big dance .

jerry and i were pleasantly excited .

the hubbards were the smartest of the glenboro smart set and their entertainments were always quite brilliant affairs for a small country village like ours .

this party was professedly given in honour of stephen shaw , who was to leave for the west again in a week 's time .

on the evening of the party jerry and i went to our room to dress .

and there , across at her window in the twilight , sat miss ponsonby , crying .

i had never seen miss ponsonby cry before .

" what is the matter ? "

i called out softly and anxiously .

" then why don't you ? " said jerry briskly .

jerry had to dodge behind the curtain to hide a smile .

" it 's too bad , " i said sympathetically , but wondering a little why miss ponsonby seemed so worked up about it .

i knew she had sometimes been invited out before and had not been allowed to go , but she had never cared apparently .

" well , what is to be done ? "

i whispered to jerry .

" take miss ponsonby to the party with us , of course , " said jerry , popping out from behind the curtain .

he was a delightful sort of person , that old mr ponsonby .

jerry poked her head as far as she could out of the window .

" it is impossible , " said miss ponsonby resignedly .

" nothing is impossible when i make up my mind , " said jerry firmly .

" you must get dressed , climb down that acacia tree , and join us in our yard .

it will be pitch dark in a few minutes and your father will never know . "

i had a frantic vision of miss ponsonby scrambling down that acacia tree like an eloping damsel .

but jerry was in dead earnest , and really it was quite possible if miss ponsonby only thought so .

i did not believe she would think so , but i was mistaken .

her thorough course in libbey heroines and their marvellous escapades had quite prepared her to contemplate such an adventure calmly in the abstract at least .

but another obstacle presented itself .

" it 's impossible , " she said again , after her first flash hope .

" i haven't a fit dress to wear i 've nothing at all but my black cashmere and it is three years old . "

but the more hindrances in jerry 's way when she sets out to accomplish something the more determined and enthusiastic she becomes .

i listened to her with amazement .

" i have a dress i 'll lend you , " she said resolutely .

" and i 'll go over and fix you up as soon as it 's a little darker .

go now and bathe your eyes and just trust to me . "

miss ponsonby 's long habit of obedience to whatever she was told stood her in good stead now .

she obeyed jerry without another word .

jerry seized me by the waist and waltzed me around the room in an ecstasy .

" jerry elliott , how are you going to carry this thing through ? "

i demanded sternly .

" easily enough , " responded jerry .

" you know that black lace dress of mine the one with the apricot slip .

it 's a trifle old-fashioned , but that won't matter for glenboro , and it will fit miss ponsonby all right .

she 's about my height and figure .

i 'm determined that poor soul shall have a dissipation for once in her life since she hankers for it .

come on now , elizabeth .

it will be a lark . "

they wouldn't have stood daylight , but they looked all right after night .

as we left the room i caught up some pale pink roses on my table .

i wanted to shriek with laughter , the whole thing seemed so funny and unreal .

in a very short time i heard miss ponsonby and jerry at the opposite window , and i rushed to mine to see the sight .

there were possibilities in miss ponsonby .

in two more minutes they were both safe in our room .

then jerry threw off miss ponsonby 's wraps and stepped back .

i know i stared until my eyes stuck out of my head .

was that miss ponsonby that !

it was high-necked , just cut away slightly at the throat , and had great , loose , hanging frilly sleeves of lace .

it suited her tremendously and seemed to alter the whole character of her face , giving verve and piquancy to her delicate little features .

the excitement had flushed her cheeks into positive pinkness and her eyes were starry .

the roses were pinned on her shoulder .

miss ponsonby , as she stood there , was a pretty woman , with fifteen apparent birthdays the less .

" oh , alicia , you look just lovely ! "

i gasped .

the name slipped out quite naturally .

i never thought about it at all .

" my dear elizabeth , " she said , " it 's like a dream of lost youth . "

miss ponsonby was breathless with terror .

she was sure every footstep she heard behind her was her father 's in pursuit .

she almost fainted on the spot when a belated man came tearing along the street .

jerry and i breathed a sigh of devout thanksgiving when we found ourselves safely in the hubbard parlour .

we were early , but stephen shaw was there before us .

he came up to us at once , and just then miss ponsonby turned around .

" alicia ! " he said .

" how do you do , stephen ? " she said tremulously .

jerry and i just simply melted away .

we can see through grindstones when there are holes in them !

we went out and sat down on the stairs .

now that i come to think of it , the first night he called he asked me about her .

wanted to know if her father were the same old blustering tyrant he always was , and if we knew her at all .

i 'm afraid i made a little mild fun of her , and he didn't say anything more .

well , i 'm awfully glad now that i didn't fall in love with him .

i could have , but i wouldn't . "

miss ponsonby 's appearance at the hubbards ' party was the biggest sensation glenboro had had for years .

and in her way , she was a positive belle .

jerry and i revelled in her triumph , for did we not feel that it was due to us ?

there were no explanations on the road home , for miss ponsonby walked behind us with stephen shaw in the pale , late-risen october moonshine .

miss ponsonby gave a little , shy , nervous laugh .

" stephen shaw and i were engaged to be married long ago , " she said simply .

" but father disapproved .

stephen was poor then .

and so and so i sent him away .

what else could i do ? " for jerry had snorted " father had to be obeyed .

but it broke my heart .

stephen went away he was very angry and i have never seen him since .

when susan hubbard invited me to the party i felt as if i must go i must see stephen once more .

i never thought for a minute that he remembered me or cared still ....n . "

" but he does ? " said jerry breathlessly .

jerry never scruples to ask anything right out that she wants to know .

" yes , " said miss ponsonby softly .

" isn't it wonderful ?

i could hardly believe it i am so changed .

but he said tonight he had never thought of any other woman .

he he came home to see me .

but when i never went anywhere , even when i must know he was home , he thought i didn't want to see him .

if i hadn't gone tonight oh , i owe it all to you two dear girls ! "

" when are you to be married ? " demanded that terrible jerry .

" as soon as possible , " said miss ponsonby .

" stephen was going away next week , but he says he will wait until i can get ready . "

" do you think your father will object this time ? "

i queried .

" no , i don't think so .

stephen is a rich man now , you know .

that wouldn't make any difference with me but father is very practical .

stephen is going to see him tomorrow . "

" but what if he does object ? "

i persisted anxiously .

" the acacia tree will still be there , " said miss ponsonby firmly .

the falsoms ' christmas dinner

" well , so it 's all settled , " said stephen falsom .

" yes , " assented alexina .

" yes , it is , " she repeated , as if somebody had questioned it .

then alexina sighed .

josephine tracy and her brother duncan were strolling about the yard in the pleasant december sunshine , arm in arm , laughing and talking .

they appeared to be a nice , harmless pair of people , but the sight of them did not seem to please alexina .

" just as soon as we can sell the furniture and move away , " said stephen moodily .

" heigh-ho !

" i don't dare to complain , " said alexina slowly .

" we ought to be so thankful to get the positions .

i am thankful .

and i don't mind so very much about my music .

but i do wish you could have gone to college , stephen . "

" never mind me , " said stephen , brightening up determinedly .

" i 'm going to go into the lumber business enthusiastically .

you don't know what unsuspected talents i may develop along that line .

the worst of it is that we can't be together .

but i 'll keep my eyes open , and perhaps i 'll find a place for you in lessing . "

alexina said nothing .

her separation from stephen was the one point in their fortunes she could not bear to discuss .

there were times when alexina did not see how she was going to exist without stephen .

but she never said so to him .

she thought he had enough to worry him without her making matters worse .

" well , " said stephen , getting up , " i 'll run down to the office .

and see here , lexy .

day after tomorrow is christmas .

are we going to celebrate it at all ?

if so i 'd better order the turkey . "

alexina looked thoughtful .

" i don't know , stephen .

we 're short of money , you know , and the fund is dwindling every day .

don't you think it 's a little extravagant to have a turkey for two people ?

and somehow i don't feel a bit christmassy .

i think i 'd rather spend it just like any other day and try to forget that it is christmas .

everything would be so different . "

" that 's true , lexy .

and we must look after the bawbees closely , i 'll admit . "

but she had to cry a little .

as she had said , everything was so different from what it had been a year ago .

their father had been alive then and they had been very cosy and happy in the little house at the end of the street .

there had been no mother there since alexina 's birth sixteen years ago .

alexina had kept house for her father and stephen since she was ten .

stephen was a clever boy and intended to study medicine .

alexina had a good voice , and something was to be done about training it .

the tracys lived next door to them .

duncan tracy was stephen 's particular chum , and josephine tracy was alexina 's dearest friend .

alexina was never lonely when josie was near by to laugh and chat and plan with .

then , all at once , troubles came .

in june the firm of which mr falsom was a member failed .

there was some stigma attached to the failure , too , although the blame did not rest upon mr falsom , but with his partner .

worry and anxiety aggravated the heart trouble from which he had suffered for some time , and a month later he died .

alexina and stephen were left alone to face the knowledge that they were penniless , and must look about for some way of supporting themselves .

at first they hoped to be able to get something to do in thorndale , so that they might keep their home .

this proved impossible .

to make matters worse , duncan tracy and stephen had quarrelled in october .

it was only a boyish disagreement over some trifle , but bitter words had passed .

duncan , who was a quick-tempered lad , had twitted stephen with his father 's failure , and stephen had resented it hotly .

duncan was sorry for and ashamed of his words as soon as they were uttered , but he would not humble himself to say so .

alexina had taken stephen 's part and her manner to josie assumed a tinge of coldness .

josie quickly noticed and resented it , and the breach between the two girls widened almost insensibly , until they barely spoke when they met .

each blamed the other and cherished bitterness in her heart .

when stephen came home from the post office he looked excited .

" were there any letters ? " asked alexina .

" well , rather !

one from uncle james ! "

" uncle james , " exclaimed alexina , incredulously .

" yes , beloved sis .

oh , you needn't try to look as surprised as i did .

and i ordered the turkey after all .

uncle james has invited himself here to dinner on christmas day .

you 'll have a chance to show your culinary skill , for you know we 've always been told that uncle james was a gourmand . "

alexina read the letter in a maze .

that was all .

but alexina instantly saw a future of rosy possibilities .

" oh , stephen , if he likes you , and if he offers to educate you ! " breathed alexina .

" perhaps he will if he is favourably impressed .

but we 'll have to be so careful , he is so whimsical and odd , at least everybody has always said so .

a little thing may turn the scale either way .

anyway , we must have a good dinner for him .

i 'll have plum pudding and mince pie . "

for the next thirty-six hours alexina lived in a whirl .

there was so much to do .

alexina was perfectly reckless ; no matter how big a hole it made in their finances uncle james must have a proper christmas dinner .

a favourable impression must be made .

stephen 's whole future alexina did not think about her own at all just then might depend on it .

christmas morning came , fine and bright and warm .

alexina was up at daybreak , cleaning and decorating at a furious rate .

by eleven o'clock everything was finished or going forward briskly .

the plum pudding was bubbling in the pot , the turkey burton 's plumpest was sizzling in the oven .

the shelf in the pantry bore two mince pies upon which alexina was willing to stake her culinary reputation .

and stephen had gone to the train to meet uncle james .

from her kitchen window alexina could see brisk preparations going on in the tracy kitchen .

she knew josie and duncan were all alone ; their parents had gone to spend christmas with friends in lessing .

in spite of her hurry and excitement alexina found time to sigh .

last christmas josie and duncan had come over and eaten their dinner with them .

but now last christmas seemed very far away .

and josie had behaved horridly .

alexina was quite clear on that point .

then stephen came with uncle james .

uncle james was a rather pompous , fussy old man with red cheeks and bushy eyebrows .

" h'm !

smells nice in here , " was his salutation to alexina .

" i hope it will taste as good as it smells .

i 'm hungry . "

alexina soon left uncle james and stephen talking in the parlour and betook herself anxiously to the kitchen .

she felt sure that stephen was making a favourable impression .

just at this moment stephen stuck his head in at the hall door .

" lexy , do you know where that letter of governor howland 's to father is ?

uncle james wants to see it . "

alexina , not waiting to shut the oven door for delay might impress uncle james unfavourably rushed upstairs to get the letter .

she was ten minutes finding it .

then , remembering her pies , she flew back to the kitchen .

in the middle of the floor she stopped as if transfixed , staring at the table .

the turkey was gone .

and the plum pudding was gone !

and the mince pies were gone !

nothing was left but the platters !

for a moment alexina refused to believe her eyes .

alexina did not make a fuss .

even at that horrible moment she remembered the importance of making a favourable impression .

" is the turkey burned , lexy ? " he cried .

" burned !

no , it 's ten times worse , " gasped alexina .

" it 's gone gone , stephen .

and the pudding and the mince pies , too .

oh , what shall we do ?

who can have taken them ? "

but the only reasonable explanation of the mystery was that a tramp had entered the kitchen and made off with the good things .

the falsom house was right at the end of the street .

the narrow backyard opened on a lonely road .

across the road was a stretch of pine woods .

there was no house very near except the tracy one .

stephen reached this conclusion with a bound .

he ran out to the yard gate followed by the distracted alexina .

the only person visible was a man some distance down the road .

stephen leaped over the gate and tore down the road in pursuit of him .

alexina went back to the doorstep , sat down upon it , and began to cry .

she couldn't help it .

her hopes were all in ruins around her .

there was no dinner for uncle james .

josephine tracy saw her crying .

now , josie honestly thought that she had a grievance against alexina .

for a moment josie hesitated .

then she slowly went out and across the yard to the fence .

" what is the trouble ? " she asked .

" our dinner is gone , " she sobbed .

" and there is nothing to give uncle james to eat except vegetables and i do so want to make a favourable impression ! "

but before she could speak stephen returned , looking rueful .

" no use , lexy .

that man was only old mr byers , and he had seen no signs of a tramp .

there is a trail of grease right across the road .

the tramp must have taken directly to the woods .

we 'll simply have to do without our christmas dinner . "

" by no means , " said josie quickly , with a little red spot on either cheek .

" our dinner is all ready turkey , pudding and all .

let us lend it to you .

don't say a word to your uncle about the accident . "

alexina flushed and hesitated .

" it 's very kind of you , " she stammered , " but i 'm afraid it would be too much "

" not a bit of it , " josie interrupted warmly .

" didn't duncan and i have christmas dinner at your house last year ?

just come and help us carry it over . "

" if you lend us your dinner you and duncan must come and help us eat it , " said alexina , resolutely .

stephen coloured too .

" duncan must come , " he said quietly .

" i 'll go and ask him . "

two minutes later a peculiar procession marched out of the tracy kitchen door , across the two yards , and into the falsom house .

josie headed it , carrying a turkey on a platter .

alexina came next with a plum pudding .

stephen and duncan followed with a hot mince pie apiece .

and in a few more minutes alexina gravely announced to uncle james that dinner was ready .

the dinner was a pronounced success , marked by much suppressed hilarity among the younger members of the party .

uncle james ate very heartily and seemed to enjoy everything , especially the mince pie .

" this is the best mince pie i have ever sampled , " he told alexina .

" i am glad to know that i have a niece who can make such a mince pie . "

alexina cast an agonized look at josie , and was on the point of explaining that she wasn't the maker of the pie .

but josie frowned her into silence .

" nonsense , " said josie .

" it wasn't as if you couldn't make mince pies .

your mince pies are better than mine , if it comes to that .

it might have spoiled everything if you 'd said a word .

i must go home now .

won't you and stephen come over after your uncle goes , and spend the evening with us ?

we 'll have a candy pull . "

" i want to have a little talk with you two .

i 'm sorry i 've let so many years go by without making your acquaintance , because you seem worth getting acquainted with .

now , what are your plans for the future ? "

" i 'm going into a lumber mill at lessing and alexina is going into the t morson store , " said stephen quietly .

" tut , tut , no , you 're not .

and she's not .

you 're coming to live with me , both of you .

as for you , alexina , stephen tells me you can sing .

well , there 's a good conservatory of music in town .

wouldn't you rather go there instead of behind a counter ? "

" oh , uncle james ! " exclaimed alexina with shining eyes .

she jumped up , put her arms about uncle james ' neck and kissed him .

uncle james said , " tut , tut , " again , but he liked it .

when stephen had seen his uncle off on the six o'clock train he returned home and looked at the radiant alexina .

" well , you made your favourable impression , all right , didn't you ? " he said gaily .

" but we owe it to josie tracy .

isn't she a brick ?

i suppose you 're going over this evening ? "

" yes , i am .

i 'm so tired that i feel as if i couldn't crawl across the yard , but if i can't you 'll have to carry me .

go i will .

i 'm glad that tramp stole the dinner and i hope he enjoyed it .

i don't grudge him one single bite ! "

the fraser scholarship

he was thumped on the back and shaken hands with amid a hurricane of shouts and congratulations .

" good for you , campbell !

you 've won the fraser .

see your little name tacked up there at the top of the list , bracketed off all by itself for the winner ?

' elliott h campbell , ninety-two per cent . '

a class yell for campbell , boys ! "

yes , he had won the fraser scholarship .

his name headed the list of seven competitors .

roger brooks , who was at his side , read over the list aloud :

" ' elliott h campbell , ninety-two . '

i said you 'd do it , my boy .

' edward stone , ninety-one ' old ned ran you close , didn't he ?

but of course with that name he 'd no show .

' kay milton , eighty-eight . '

who 'd have thought slow-going old kay would have pulled up so well ?

' seddon brown , eighty-seven ; oliver field , eighty-four ; arthur mcintyre , eighty-two ' a very respectable little trio .

and ' carl mclean , seventy . '

whew ! what a drop !

just saved his distance .

it was only his name took him in , of course .

he knew you weren't supposed to be strong in mathematics . "

they seized the opportunity to escape .

" that has lifted a great weight off my mind , " he said frankly .

" a good deal depended on my winning the fraser .

i couldn't have come back next year if i hadn't got it .

that four hundred will put me through the rest of my course . "

" that 's good , " said roger brooks heartily .

he liked elliott campbell , and so did all the sophomores .

yet none of them was at all intimate with him .

he had no chums , as the other boys had .

he boarded alone , " dug " persistently , and took no part in the social life of the college .

roger brooks came nearest to being his friend of any , yet even roger knew very little about him .

elliott had never before said so much about his personal affairs as in the speech just recorded .

" i 'm poor woefully poor , " went on elliott gaily .

his success seemed to have thawed his reserve for the time being .

" i had just enough money to bring me through the fresh and soph years by dint of careful management .

whew !

i made faces over the prospect . "

" no wonder , " commented roger .

" the class would have been sorry if you had had to drop out , campbell .

we want to keep all our stars with us to make a shining coruscation at the finish .

besides , you know we all like you for yourself .

it would have been an everlasting shame if that little cad of a mclean had won out .

nobody likes him . "

" oh , i had no fear of him , " answered elliott .

" i don't see what induced him to go in , anyhow .

he must have known he'd no chance .

" you must have known that .

mclean was the only competitor you had to fear . "

" i don't understand you , " said elliott blankly .

" you must know the conditions of the fraser ! " exclaimed roger .

" certainly , " responded elliott .

" ' the fraser scholarship , amounting to four hundred dollars , will be offered annually in the sophomore class .

isn't that correct ? "

" so far as it goes , old man .

you forget the most important part of all .

you don't mean to tell me that you didn't know that ! "

" are you joking ? " demanded elliott with a pale face .

" not a joke .

why , man , it 's in the calendar . "

" i didn't know it , " said elliott slowly .

" i read the calendar announcement only once , and i certainly didn't notice that condition . "

" well , that 's curious .

but how on earth did you escape hearing it talked about ?

it 's always discussed extensively among the boys , especially when there are two competitors of the favoured names , which doesn't often happen . "

" i 'm not a very sociable fellow , " said elliott with a faint smile .

" you know they call me ' the hermit . '

as it happened , i never talked the matter over with anyone or heard it referred to .

i i wish i had known this before . "

" why , what difference does it make ?

it 's all right , anyway .

their only hope was that you would both fall below seventy .

it 's an absurd condition , but there it is in old professor fraser 's will .

he was rich and had no family .

so he left a number of bequests to the college on ordinary conditions .

i suppose he thought he might humour his whim in one .

his widow is a dear old soul , and always makes a special pet of the boy who wins the fraser .

well , here 's my street .

so long , campbell . "

elliott responded almost curtly and walked onward to his boarding-house with a face from which all the light had gone .

the fraser announcement , as far as he had read it , ended at the foot of the page .

elliott flung himself into a chair by his table and bowed his head on his hands .

he had no right to the fraser scholarship .

they returned to their native province of nova scotia and settled in a small country village .

his mother had died when he was ten years old and his stepfather when he was fifteen .

on his deathbed he asked elliott to retain his name .

" i 've cared for you and loved you since the time you were born , lad , " he said .

" you seem like my own son , and i 've a fancy to leave you my name .

see that you do likewise , and you 'll have your mother 's blessing and mine . "

elliott fought a hard battle that spring evening .

" hold your tongue and keep the fraser , " whispered the tempter .

" campbell is your name .

you 've borne it all your life .

and the condition itself is a ridiculous one no fairness about it .

you made the highest marks and you ought to be the winner .

it isn't as if you were wronging stone or any of the others who worked hard and made good marks .

if you throw away what you 've won by your own hard labour , the fraser goes to mclean , who made only seventy .

besides , you need the money and he doesn't .

his father is a rich man . "

" but i 'll be a cheat and a cad if i keep it , " elliott muttered miserably .

for it would be stained , even though nobody but myself knew it .

father said it was a clean name when he left it , and i cannot soil it . "

the tempter was not silenced so easily as that .

elliott passed a sleepless night of indecision .

but next day he went to marwood and asked for a private interview with the president .

carl mclean was posted as winner .

it was good to have done the right thing and be able to look your conscience in the face .

he was young and strong and could work his own way through marwood in time .

" no condolences , please , " he said to roger brooks with a smile .

" i 'm sorry i lost the fraser , of course , but i 've my hands and brains left .

next winter i 'll be a flourishing pedagogue in some up-country district . "

he was not , however .

the next afternoon he received a summons to the president 's office .

the president was there , and with him was a plump , motherly-looking woman of about sixty .

" mrs fraser , this is elliott hanselpakker , or campbell , as i understand he prefers to be called .

elliott , i told your story to mrs fraser last evening , and she was greatly interested when she heard your rather peculiar name .

she will tell you why herself . "

" i had a young half-sister once , " said mrs fraser eagerly .

" she married a man named john hanselpakker and went west , and somehow i lost all trace of her .

there was , i regret to say , a coolness between us over her marriage .

i disapproved of it because she married a very poor man .

when i heard your name , it struck me that you might be her son , or at least know something about her .

her name was mary helen rodney , and i loved her very dearly in spite of our foolish quarrel . "

" then you are my nephew , " exclaimed mrs fraser .

" i am your aunt alice .

my boy , you don't know how much it means to a lonely old woman to have found you .

i 'm the happiest person in the world ! "

she slipped her arm through elliott 's and turned to the sympathetic president with shining eyes .

" he is my boy forever , if he will be .

blessings on the fraser scholarship ! "

" blessings rather on the manly boy who wouldn't keep it under false colours , " said the president with a smile .

" i think you are fortunate in your nephew , mrs fraser . "

so elliott hanselpakker campbell came back to marwood the next year after all .

the girl at the gate

something very strange happened the night old mr lawrence died .

i did not dream it ....v

i saw and heard , waking .

we had not expected mr lawrence to die then .

he did not seem very ill ... not nearly so ill as he had been during his previous attack .

when we heard of his illness i went over to woodlands to see him , for i had always been a great favourite with him .

the big house was quiet , the servants going about their work as usual , without any appearance of excitement .

i was told that i could not see mr lawrence for a little while , as the doctor was with him .

it was an evening in june .

woodlands was very lovely ; to my right was the garden , and before me was a little valley abrim with the sunset .

in places under the big trees it was quite dark even then .

there was something unusually still in the evening ... a stillness as of waiting .

it set me thinking of the last time mr lawrence had been ill ... nearly a year ago in august .

one night during his convalescence i had watched by him to relieve the nurse .

he had been sleepless and talkative , telling me many things about his life .

finally he told me of margaret .

i knew a little about her ... that she had been his sweetheart and had died very young .

mr lawrence had remained true to her memory ever since , but i had never heard him speak of her before .

" she was very beautiful , " he said dreamily , " and she was only eighteen when she died , jeanette .

she had wonderful pale-golden hair and dark-brown eyes .

i have a little ivory miniature of her .

when i die it is to be given to you , jeanette .

i have waited a long while for her .

you know she promised she would come . "

i did not understand his meaning and kept silence , thinking that he might be wandering a little in his mind .

" she promised she would come and she will keep her word , " he went on .

" i was with her when she died .

i held her in my arms .

and when your time is at hand i will come to make your deathbed easy as you have made mine .

i will come , herbert . '

she solemnly promised , jeanette .

we made a death-tryst of it .

and i know she will come . "

he had fallen asleep then and after his recovery he had not alluded to the matter again .

i had forgotten it , but i recalled it now as i sat on the steps among the geraniums that june evening .

she had been a sister of my grandfather , and people told me that i resembled her slightly .

perhaps that was why old mr lawrence had always made such a pet of me .

presently the doctor came out and nodded to me cheerily .

i asked him how mr lawrence was .

" better ....y better , " he said briskly .

" he will be all right tomorrow .

the attack was very slight .

yes , of course you may go in .

don't stay longer than half an hour . "

mrs stewart , mr lawrence 's sister , was in the sickroom when i went in .

she took advantage of my presence to lie down on the sofa a little while , for she had been up all the preceding night .

mr lawrence turned his fine old silver head on the pillow and smiled a greeting .

he seemed quite well and talked naturally and easily of many commonplace things .

at the end of the doctor 's half-hour i rose to go .

mrs stewart had fallen asleep and he would not let me wake her , saying he needed nothing and felt like sleeping himself .

i promised to come up again on the morrow and went out .

it was dark in the hall , where no lamp had been lighted , but outside on the lawn the moonlight was bright as day .

it was the clearest , whitest night i ever saw .

i turned aside into the garden , meaning to cross it , and take the short way over the west meadow home .

i went along it , enjoying the night .

the bushes were white with roses , and the ground under my feet was all snowed over with their petals .

the air was still and breezeless ; again i felt that sensation of waiting ... of expectancy .

as i came up to the little gate i saw a young girl standing on the other side of it .

she stood in the full moonlight and i saw her distinctly .

she was tall and slight and her head was bare .

i saw that her hair was a pale gold , shining somewhat strangely about her head as if catching the moonbeams .

her face was very lovely and her eyes large and dark .

even at the time i found myself wondering where she could have picked it .

it was not a woodlands rose .

all the woodlands roses were smaller and less double .

she was a stranger to me , yet i felt that i had seen her or someone very like her before .

possibly she was one of mr lawrence 's many nieces who might have come up to woodlands upon hearing of his illness .

as i opened the gate i felt an odd chill of positive fear .

then she smiled as if i had spoken my thought .

" do not be frightened , " she said .

" there is no reason you should be frightened .

i have only come to keep a tryst . "

the words reminded me of something , but i could not recall what it was .

the strange fear that was on me deepened .

i could not speak .

she came through the gateway and stood for a moment at my side .

we who have loved truly love always and this makes our heaven . "

she walked on after she had spoken , down the long rose path .

i watched her until she reached the house and went up the steps .

in truth i thought the girl was someone not quite in her right mind .

when i reached home i did not speak of the matter to anyone , not even to inquire who the girl might possibly be .

there seemed to be something in that strange meeting that demanded my silence .

the next morning word came that old mr . lawrence was dead .

i never saw such a look on a dead face before . "

" who is here besides mrs stewart ? "

i asked .

" nobody , " said mrs yeats .

" we have sent word to all his friends but they have not had time to arrive here yet . "

" i met a young girl in the garden last night , " i said slowly .

" she came into the house .

i did not know her but i thought she must be a relative of mr lawrence 's . "

mrs yeats shook her head .

" no .

it must have been somebody from the village , although i didn't know of anyone calling after you went away . "

i said nothing more to her about it .

after the funeral mrs stewart gave me margaret 's miniature .

i had never seen it or any picture of margaret before .

the face was very lovely also strangely like my own , although i am not beautiful .

it was the face of the young girl i had met at the gate !

the light on the big dipper

" don't let nellie run out of doors , mary margaret , and be careful of the fire , mary margaret .

i expect we 'll be back pretty soon after dark , so don't be lonesome , mary margaret . "

mary margaret laughed and switched her long , thick braid of black hair from one shoulder to the other .

" no fear of my being lonesome , mother campbell .

nellie and i will have just the nicest kind of a time .

i won't get lonesome , but if i should feel just tempted to , i 'll think , father is on his way home .

he will soon be here . '

and that would drive the lonesomeness away before it dared to show its face .

don't you worry , mother campbell . "

mother campbell smiled .

she knew she could trust mary margaret careful , steady , prudent little mary margaret .

little !

ah , that was just the trouble .

mrs campbell felt that she hardly dared to go away under such circumstances .

and yet she must dare it .

if five-year-old nellie had been quite well mrs campbell would have taken both her and mary margaret and locked up the house .

but nellie had a very bad cold and was quite unfit to go sailing across the harbour on a raw , chilly november day .

so there was nothing to do but leave mary margaret in charge , and mary margaret was quite pleased at the prospect .

" you know , mother campbell , i 'm not afraid of anything except tramps .

and no tramps ever come to the dippers .

you see what an advantage it is to live on an island !

there , uncle martin is waving .

run along , little mother . "

it was rather nice to be left in sole charge like this it made you feel so important and grown-up .

she would do everything very nicely and mother would see when she came back what a good housekeeper her daughter was .

mary margaret and nellie and mrs campbell had been living on the little dipper ever since the preceding april .

before that they had always lived in their own cosy home at the harbour head .

after some discussion it was so arranged , and mrs campbell and her two girls moved to the little dipper .

mary margaret thought the lighthouse was a wonderful place .

uncle george taught her how to light the lamps and manage the light .

mary margaret found plenty to do that day and wasn't a bit lonesome .

but when evening came she didn't feel quite so cheerful .

nellie had fallen asleep , and there wasn't another living creature except the cat on the little dipper .

besides , it looked like a storm .

the harbour was glassy calm , but the sky was very black and dour in the northeast like snow , thought weather-wise mary margaret .

she hoped her mother would get home before it began , and she wished the lighthouse star would gleam out on the big dipper .

it would seem like the bright eye of a steady old friend .

" i 'll sit down by the window and watch for it , " said mary margaret to herself .

" then , when it is lighted , i 'll get up a nice warm supper for mother and uncle martin . "

mary margaret sat down by the kitchen window to watch .

minute after minute passed , but no light flashed out on the big dipper .

what was the matter ?

mary margaret began to feel uneasy .

she lighted a lamp , got the almanac , and hunted out the exact time of sunsetting .

the sun had been down fifteen minutes !

and there was no light on the big dipper !

mary margaret felt alarmed and anxious .

what was wrong at the big dipper ?

was uncle george away ?

or had something happened to him ?

mary margaret was sure he had never forgotten !

fifteen minutes longer did mary margaret watch restlessly at the window .

then she concluded that something was desperately wrong somewhere .

it was half an hour after sunset and the big dipper light , the most important one along the whole coast , was not lighted .

what would she do ?

what could she do ?

the answer came swift and dear into mary margaret 's steady , sensible little mind .

she must go to the big dipper and light the lamps !

but could she ?

difficulties came crowding thick and fast into her thoughts .

it was going to snow ; the soft broad flakes were falling already .

could she row the two miles to the big dipper in the darkness and the snow ?

if she could , dare she leave nellie all alone in the house ?

oh , she couldn't !

somebody at the harbour head would surely notice that the big dipper light was unlighted and would go over to investigate the cause .

but suppose they shouldn't ?

if the snow came thicker they might never notice the absence of the light .

mary margaret hesitated no longer .

she must go .

bravely , briskly and thoughtfully she made her preparations .

finally she wakened nellie .

i 'll be back as quickly as i can , and mother and uncle martin will soon be here .

you won't be afraid to stay alone , will you , dearie ?

you mustn't be afraid , because i have to go .

then mary margaret tied the chair fast to the wall so that nellie couldn't upset it .

that 's safe , she thought .

nellie can't run out now or fall on the stove or set herself afire .

mary margaret put on her jacket , hood and mittens , and took uncle martin 's lantern .

as she went out and closed the door , a little wail from nellie sounded on her ear .

for a moment she hesitated , then the blackness of the big dipper confirmed her resolution .

she must go .

nellie was really quite safe and comfortable .

it would not hurt her to cry a little , and it might hurt somebody a great deal if the big dipper light failed .

setting her lips firmly , mary margaret ran down to the shore .

like all the harbour girls , mary margaret could row a boat from the time she was nine years old .

nevertheless , her heart almost failed her as she got into the little dory and rowed out .

the snow was getting thick .

could she pull across those black two miles between the dippers before it got so much thicker that she would lose her way ?

well , she must risk it .

with a murmured prayer for help and guidance she pulled staunchly away .

it was a long , hard row for the little twelve-year-old arms .

fortunately there was no wind .

but thicker and thicker came the snow ; finally the kitchen light was hidden in it .

by the aid of her lantern she rowed to the landing , sprang out and made her boat fast .

a minute later she was in the lighthouse kitchen .

the door leading to the tower stairs was open and at the foot of the stairs lay uncle george , limp and white .

" oh , uncle george , " gasped mary margaret , " what is the matter ?

what has happened ? "

" mary margaret !

thank god !

i was just praying to him to send somebody to ' tend the light .

who 's with you ? "

" nobody ....y .

i got frightened because there was no light and i rowed over .

mother and uncle martin are away . "

" you don't mean to say you rowed yourself over here alone in the dark and snow !

well , you are the pluckiest little girl about this harbour !

it 's a mercy i 've showed you how to manage the light .

run up and start it at once .

don't mind about me .

i 've been lying here for three mortal hours and they 've seemed like three years .

hurry with the light , mary margaret . "

mary margaret hurried .

soon the big dipper light was once more gleaming cheerfully athwart the stormy harbour .

then she ran back to her uncle .

" he 'll have to hurry .

it 's blowing up now ... hear it ....n and snowing thick .

if your mother and martin haven't left the harbour head before this , they won't leave it tonight .

but , anyhow , the light is lit .

i don't mind my getting smashed up compared to that .

i thought i 'd go crazy lying here picturing to myself a vessel out on the reefs . "

that night was a very long and anxious one .

the storm grew rapidly worse , and snow and wind howled around the lighthouse .

mary margaret ran to the shore and gazed eagerly across at the little dipper .

no smoke was visible from uncle martin 's house !

she could not leave uncle george , who was raving wildly , and yet it was necessary to obtain assistance somehow .

suddenly she remembered the distress signal .

she must hoist it .

how fortunate that uncle george had once shown her how !

that is mother and uncle martin , but who can the other man be ? wondered mary margaret .

mary margaret just gave one look at the man .

then she flew across the room with a cry of delight .

" father ! "

for ten minutes not one intelligible word was said , what with laughing and crying and kissing .

mary margaret was the first to recover herself and say briskly , " now , do explain , somebody .

tell me how it all happened . "

" martin and i got back to harbour head too late last night to cross over , " said her mother .

" it would have been madness to try to cross in the storm , although i was nearly wild thinking of you two children .

it 's well i didn't know the whole truth or i 'd have been simply frantic .

we stayed at the head all night , and first thing this morning came your father . "

but , mary margaret , if that light hadn't appeared , we 'd never have got in past the reefs .

you 've saved your father 's ship and all the lives in her , my brave little girl . "

" oh ! "

mary margaret drew a long breath and her eyes were starry with tears of happiness .

" oh , i 'm so thankful i went over .

and i had to tie nellie in her chair , mother , there was no other way .

the prodigal brother

miss hannah was cutting asters in her garden .

beyond , to the north , was the great crescent of the gulf , whose murmur had been miss hannah 's lullaby all her life .

when ralph came home , of course , he might like a livelier place and they might move to town or up-country as he wished .

he 'll be for building me a mansion , i expect , and i 'd like it fine .

but until he comes i must be contented with things as they are . "

people always smiled to each other when miss hannah talked like this .

but they took care not to let her see the smile .

the day was one of october 's rarest , and miss hannah loved fine days .

the air was clear as golden-hued crystal , and all the slopes around her were mellow and hazy in the autumn sunshine .

presently a wagon drove down her lane and pulled up outside of her white garden paling .

she had heard a great deal of the beauty of this strange girl .

prospect people had been talking of nothing else for a week , and miss hannah was filled with a harmless curiosity concerning her .

she always liked to look at pretty people , she said ; they did her as much good as her flowers .

" good afternoon , miss hannah , " said jacob delancey .

" busy with your flowers , as usual , i see . "

" oh , yes , " said miss hannah , managing to stare with unobtrusive delight at the girl while she talked .

" well , miss hannah , it 's flowers i 'm after myself just now .

" of course , " said miss hannah , " you can have these .

i meant them for millie , but i can cut the west bed for her . "

she opened the gate and carried the asters over to the buggy .

miss delancey took them with a smile that made miss hannah remember the date forever .

" lovely day , " commented jacob genially .

" yes , " said miss hannah dreamily .

" it reminds me of the day ralph went away twenty years ago .

it doesn't seem so long .

don't you think he 'll be coming back soon , jacob ? "

" oh , sure , " said jacob , who thought the very opposite .

" i have a feeling that he 's coming very soon , " said miss hannah brightly .

" it will be a great day for me , won't it , jacob ?

i 've been poor all my life , but when ralph comes back everything will be so different .

he will be a rich man and he will give me everything i 've always wanted .

he said he would .

a fine house and a carriage and a silk dress .

oh , and we will travel and see the world .

you don't know how i look forward to it all .

i 've got it all planned out , all i 'm going to do and have .

and i believe he will be here very soon .

a man ought to be able to make a fortune in twenty years , don't you think , jacob ? "

" oh , sure , " said jacob .

but he said it a little uncomfortably .

he did not like the job of throwing cold water , but it seemed to him that he ought not to encourage miss hannah 's hopes .

" of course , you shouldn't think too much about it , miss hannah .

he mightn't ever come back , or he might be poor . "

" you know quite well he will come back .

i 'm as sure of it as that i 'm standing here .

and he will be rich , too .

people are always trying to hint just as you 've done to me , but i don't mind them .

i know . "

she turned and went back into her garden with her head held high .

" of course , jacob doesn't know , and i shouldn't have snapped him up so quick .

it 'll be my turn to crow when ralph does come .

my , but isn't that girl pretty .

i feel as if i 'd been looking at some lovely picture .

it just makes a good day of this .

something pleasant happens to me most every day and that girl is today 's pleasant thing .

i just feel real happy and thankful that there are such beautiful creatures in the world and that we can look at them . "

" well , of all the queer delusions ! "

jacob delancey was ejaculating as he and his niece drove down the lane .

" what is it all about ? " asked miss delancey curiously .

" well , it 's this way , dorothy .

long ago miss hannah had a brother who ran away from home .

it was before their father and mother died .

ralph walworth was as wild a young scamp as ever was in prospect and a spendthrift in the bargain .

nobody but hannah had any use for him , and she just worshipped him .

i must admit he was real fond of her too , but he and his father couldn't get on at all .

so finally he ups and runs away ; it was generally supposed he went to the mining country .

there 's never been a word heard tell of him since , and in my opinion it 's doubtful if he 's still alive .

but miss hannah , as you saw , is sure and certain he 'll come back yet with gold dropping out of his pockets .

she 's as sane as anyone everyway else , but there is no doubt she 's a little cracked on that p'int .

if he never turns up she 'll go on hoping quite happy to her death .

if he came back poor , after all her boasting about him , i don't fancy he 'd get much of a welcome from her .

and she 'd never hold up her head again , that 's certain .

when october had passed and the grey november days came , the glory of miss hannah 's garden was over .

she was very lonely without her flowers .

she missed them more this year than ever .

on fine days she paced up and down the walks and looked sadly at the drooping , unsightly stalks and vines .

miss hannah was mournfully patting a frosted chrysanthemum under its golden chin when she saw a man limping slowly down the lane .

" now , who can that be ? " she murmured .

" it isn't any prospect man , for there 's nobody lame around here . "

she went to the garden gate to meet him .

he came haltingly up the slope and paused before her , gazing at her wistfully .

he looked old and bent and broken , and his clothes were poor and worn .

who was he ?

miss hannah felt that she ought to know him , and her memory went groping back amongst all her recollections .

yet she could think of nobody but her father , who had died fifteen years before .

" don't ye know me , hannah ? " said the man wistfully .

" have i changed so much as all that ? "

" ralph ! "

it was between a cry and a laugh .

miss hannah flew through the gate and caught him in her arms .

" ralph , my own dear brother !

oh , i always knew you 'd come back .

if you knew how i 've looked forward to this day ! "

she was both laughing and crying now .

her face shone with a soft gladness .

ralph walworth shook his head sadly .

" it 's a poor wreck of a man i am come back to you , hannah , " he said .

" i 've never accomplished anything and my health 's broken and i 'm a cripple as ye see .

it 's naught but a wreck i am , hannah . "

" you 're my own dear brother , " cried miss hannah .

" do you think i care how poor you are ?

come right in .

you 're shivering in this wind .

i 'll mix you a good hot currant drink .

i knew them black currants didn't bear so plentiful for nothing last summer .

oh , this is a good day and no mistake ! "

in twenty-four hours ' time everybody in prospect knew that ralph walworth had come home , crippled and poor .

jacob delancey shook his head as he drove away from the station with ralph 's shabby little trunk standing on end in his buggy .

the station master had asked him to take it down to miss hannah 's , and jacob did not fancy the errand .

he was afraid miss hannah would be in a bad way and he did not know what to say to her .

" so you 've brought ralph 's trunk , mr delancey .

now , that was real good of you .

he 's lying down asleep now .

he 's just real tired .

he brought this seaweed up from the shore for me this morning and it played him out .

he ain't strong .

but didn't i tell you he was coming back soon ?

you only laughed at me , but i knew . "

" he isn't very rich , though , " said jacob jokingly .

he was relieved to find that miss hannah did not seem to be worrying over this .

" that doesn't matter , " cried miss hannah .

" why , he 's my brother !

isn't that enough ?

i 'm rich if he isn't , rich in love and happiness .

and i 'm better pleased in a way than if he had come back rich .

he might have wanted to take me away or build a fine house , and i 'm too old to be making changes .

and then he wouldn't have needed me .

i 'd have been of no use to him .

as it is , it 's just me he needs to look after him and coddle him .

oh , it 's fine to have somebody to do things for , somebody that belongs to you .

i was just dreading the loneliness of the winter , and now it 's going to be such a happy winter .

i declare last night ralph and i sat up till morning talking over everything .

he 's had a hard life of it .

bad luck and illness right along .

and last winter in the lumber woods he got his leg broke .

but now he 's come home and we 're never going to be parted again as long as we live .

i could sing for joy , jacob . "

" oh , sure , " assented jacob cordially .

he felt a little dazed .

" only i kind of thought , we all thought , you had such plans . "

" well , they served their turn , " interrupted miss hannah briskly .

" they amused me and kept me interested till something real would come in their place .

if i 'd had to carry them out i dare say they 'd have bothered me a lot .

things are more comfortable as they are .

i 'm happy as a bird , jacob . "

" oh , sure , " said jacob .

he pondered the business deeply all the way back home , but could make nothing of it .

" but i ain't obliged to , " he concluded sensibly .

" miss hannah 's satisfied and happy and it 's nobody else 's concern .

however , i call it a curious thing . "

the redemption of john churchill

the day was well on to late afternoon in mid-spring , and the world was abloom .

before him and behind him wound a road that ran like a red ribbon through fields of lush clovery green .

the roadside was sprinkled over with the gold dust of dandelions and the pale stars of wild strawberry blossoms .

but john churchill walked laggingly , with bent head .

some of them he knew for friends of the old time .

ten years had not changed them as he had been changed .

they had spent those ten years in freedom and good repute , under god 's blue sky , in his glad air and sunshine .

he , john churchill , had spent them behind the walls of a prison .

he had never seen them since , but he knew what had happened in his absence .

his wife had died two months later , leaving behind her a baby boy ; his father had died within the year .

she had never forgiven her brother and she never wrote to him .

he knew that she would have brought the boy up either in ignorance of his father 's crime or in utter detestation of it .

the best his friends had been able to do for him was to forget him .

he was filled with bitterness and despair and a gnawing hatred of the world of brightness around him .

he had no place in it ; he was an ugly blot on it .

in his extremity he hated god and man , burning with futile resentment against both .

only one feeling of tenderness yet remained in his heart ; it centred around the thought of his little son .

when he left the prison he had made up his mind what to do .

he had a little money which his father had left him , enough to take him west .

he would go there , under a new name .

there would be novelty and adventure to blot out the memories of the old years .

he did not care what became of him , since there was no one else to care .

he knew in his heart that his future career would probably lead him still further and further downward , but that did not matter .

but there was nobody to care .

so he would go to his own place .

but first he must see little joey , who must be quite a big boy now , nearly ten years old .

he would go home and see him just once , even although he dreaded meeting aversion in the child 's eyes .

" i 'll go straight to the devil then , " he said sullenly .

" that 's where i belong , a jail-bird at whom everybody except other jail-birds looks askance .

to think what i was once , and what i am now !

it 's enough to drive a man mad !

as for repenting , bah !

who 'd believe that i really repented , who 'd give me a second chance on the faith of it ?

not a soul .

repentance won't blot out the past .

it won't give me back my wife whom i loved above everything on earth and whose heart i broke .

it won't restore me my unstained name and my right to a place among honourable men .

there 's no chance for a man who has fallen as low as i have .

if emily were living , i could struggle for her sake .

but who 'd be fool enough to attempt such a fight with no motive and not one chance of success in a hundred .

not i ..y i 'm down and i 'll stay down .

there 's no climbing up again . "

he celebrated his first day of freedom by getting drunk , although he had never before been an intemperate man .

nobody at the station where he alighted recognized him or paid any attention to him .

he was as a dead man who had come back to life to find himself effaced from recollection and his place knowing him no more .

it was three miles from the station to where his sister lived , and he resolved to walk the distance .

now that the critical moment drew near , he shrank from it and wished to put it off as long as he could .

when he reached his sister 's home he halted on the road and surveyed the place over its snug respectability of iron fence .

his courage failed him at the thought of walking over that trim lawn and knocking at that closed front door .

he walked furtively up the back way between high , screening hedges of spruce .

when he came to the gate of the yard , he paused .

was that joey , could that be his little son ?

yes , it was ; he would have known him anywhere by his likeness to emily .

the argument was long and warm and finally culminated in personalities .

just as john churchill dropped on one knee behind the hedge , the better to see joey 's face , jimmy morris said scornfully :

" i don't care what you say .

nobody believes you .

your father is in the penitentiary . "

the taunt struck home as it always did .

it was not the first time that joey had been twitted with his father by his boyish companions .

but never before by jimmy !

it always hurt him , and he had never before made any response to it .

but that jimmy , his best beloved chum , should say such a thing to him ; oh , it hurt terribly .

there is nothing so merciless as a small boy .

jimmy saw his advantage and vindictively pursued it .

" your father stole money , that 's what he did !

you know he did .

i 'm pretty glad my father isn't a thief .

your father is .

and when he gets out of prison , he 'll go on stealing again .

my father says he will .

nobody 'll have anything to do with him , my father says .

his own sister won't have anything to do with him .

so there , joey churchill ! "

" there will somebody have something to do with him ! " cried joey hotly .

he slid off the bench and faced jimmy proudly and confidently .

the grey eyes were alight with a steady , fearless glow .

" i 'll have something to do with him .

he is my father and i love him .

i don't care what he did , i love him just as well as if he was the best man in the world .

i love him better than if he was as good as your father , because he needs it more .

i 've always loved him ever since i found out about him .

i 'd write to him and tell him so , if aunt beatrice would tell me where to send the letter .

aunt beatrice won't ever talk about him or let me talk about him , but i think about him all the time .

and he 's going to be a good man yet , yes , he is , just as good as your father , jimmy morris .

i 'm going to make him good .

i made up my mind years ago what i would do and i 'm going to do it , so there , jimmy . "

" i 'll tell you what i can do ! "

joey was confronting all the world now , with his head thrown back and his face flushed with his earnestness .

" i can love him and stand by him , and i will .

when he gets out of of prison , he 'll come to see me , i know he will .

and i 'm just going to hug him and kiss him and say , ' never mind , father .

i know you 're sorry for what you 've done , and you 're never going to do it any more .

you 're going to be a good man and i 'm going to stand by you . '

yes , sir , that 's just what i 'm going to say to him .

i 'm all the children he has and there 's nobody else to love him , because i know aunt beatrice doesn't .

and i 'm going with him wherever he goes . "

" you can't , " said jimmy in a scared tone .

" your aunt beatrice won't let you . "

" yes , she will .

she 'll have to .

i belong to my father .

and i think he 'll be coming pretty soon some way .

i 'm pretty sure the time must be ' most up .

i wish he would come .

i want to see him as much as can be , ' cause i know he 'll need me .

and i 'll be proud of him yet , jimmy morris , yes , i 'll be just as proud as you are of your father .

when i get bigger , nobody will call my father names , i can tell you .

i 'll fight them if they do , yes , sir , i will .

my father and i are going to stand by each other like bricks .

aunt beatrice has lots of children of her own and i don't believe she 'll be a bit sorry when i go away .

she 's ashamed of my father ' cause he did a bad thing .

but i 'm not , no , sir .

i 'm going to love him so much that i 'll make up to him for everything else .

and you can just go home , jimmy morris , so there ! "

on the other side of the spruce hedge knelt john churchill with bowed head .

the tears were running freely down his face , but there was a new , tender light in his eyes .

the bitterness and despair had fallen out of his heart , leaving a great peace and a dawning hope in their place .

bless that loyal little soul !

there was something to live for after all there was a motive to make the struggle worthwhile .

aye , and , god helping him , he would .

he would redeem the past .

he would go west , but under his own name .

for his boy 's sake he must cleanse his name from the dishonour he had brought on it .

under his breath he said , looking heavenward :

" god be merciful to me , a sinner . "

" joey boy , " he said huskily .

" joey boy . "

joey sprang to his feet with tears still glistening in his eyes .

he saw before him a bent , grey-headed man looking at him lovingly and wistfully .

joey knew who it was the father he had never seen .

with a glad cry of welcome he sprang into the outstretched arms of the man whom his love had already won back to god .

the schoolmaster 's letters

at sunset the schoolmaster went up to his room to write a letter to her .

every evening he wrote thus to her , and the hour so spent glorified the entire day .

and doubly sacred when , as tonight , it followed upon an hour spent with her ?

its mingled delight and pain were almost more than he could bear .

link houseman , sprawled out on the platform before the kitchen door , saw him pass with that rapt face , and chuckled .

link was ill enough to look at any time , with his sharp , freckled features and foxy eyes .

when he chuckled his face was that of an unholy imp .

but the schoolmaster took no heed of him .

neither did he heed the girl whom he met in the hall .

" sis , " whispered link piercingly , " come out here !

i 've got a joke to tell you , something about the master and his girl .

you ain't to let on to him you know , though .

i found it out last night when he was off to the shore .

that old key of uncle jim 's was just the thing .

he 's a softy , and no mistake . "

upstairs in his little room , the schoolmaster was writing his letter .

and here , in the rose-radiance of the sunset , with the sea-music in the dim air , he wrote his letter to her .

my lady : how beautiful it is to think that there is nothing to prevent my loving you !

there is much everything to prevent me from telling you that i love you .

for so much , dear , i thank life , even though the price of the permission must always be the secret and the silence .

i have just come from you , my lady .

your voice is still in my ears ; your eyes are still looking into mine , gravely yet half smilingly , sweetly yet half provokingly .

oh , how dear and human and girlish and queenly you are half saint and half very womanly woman !

you do not know it , my sweet , and you must never know it .

that is all i ask , dear lady , and i ask that only in my own heart .

i am content to love you and be forgotten .

i weave a chaplet of them , dear , and crown you with it .

they will never fade , for such love is eternal .

it is a whole summer since i first met you .

i had been waiting for you all my life before and did not know it .

but i knew it when you came and brought with you a sense of completion and fulfilment .

this has been the precious year of my life , the turning-point to which all things past tended and all things future must look back .

oh , my dear , i thank you for this year !

it has been your royal gift to me , and i shall be rich and great forever because of it .

nothing can ever take it from me , nothing can mar it .

it were well to have lived a lifetime of loneliness for such a boon the price would not be too high .

i would not give my one perfect summer for a generation of other men 's happiness .

there are those in the world who would laugh at me , who would pity me , una .

oh , my dear , they do not know , they cannot understand .

the love i have given you has not left me poorer .

i could not have helped loving you .

there are those who strive to forget a hopeless love .

to me , the greatest misfortune that life could bring would be that i should forget you .

i want to remember you always and love you and long for you .

that would be unspeakably better than any happiness that could come to me through forgetting .

dear lady , good night .

a kiss on each of your white hands , dear .

tonight i am too humble to lift my thoughts to your lips .

then he took from his shabby trunk a little inlaid box and unlocked it with a twisted silver key .

it was full of letters his letters to una .

the first had been written months ago , in the early promise of a northern spring .

they linked together the golden weeks of the summer .

now , in the purple autumn , the box was full , and the schoolmaster 's term was nearly ended .

he took out the letters reverently and looked over them , now and then murmuring below his breath some passages scattered through the written pages .

i will love you forever and ever .

and even though you know it not , surely such love will hover around you all your life .

sometimes i let myself dream .

and in those dreams you love me , and we go out to meet life together .

i have dreamed that you kissed me dreamed it so reverently that the dream did your womanhood no wrong .

i have dreamed that you put your hands in mine and said , " i love you . "

oh , the rapture of it !

we may give all we will if we do not ask for a return .

there should be no barter in love .

i have a memory of a blush of yours a rose of the years that will bloom forever in my garden of remembrance .

tonight you blushed when i came upon you suddenly among the flowers .

i shall see you forever as you looked at that time .

i shall be able to picture forevermore how you would look at one you loved .

tonight the moon was low in the west .

it hung over the sea like a shallop of ruddy gold moored to a star in the harbour of the night .

you told me once that you always watched the moon set .

it has been a bond between us ever since .

this morning i rose at dawn and walked on the shore to think of you , because it seemed the most fitting time .

it was before sunrise , and the world was virgin .

all the east was a shimmer of silver and the morning star floated in it like a dissolving pearl .

the sea was a great miracle .

i walked up and down by it and said your name over and over again .

the hour was sacred to you .

it was as pure and unspoiled as your own soul .

una , who will bring into your life the sunrise splendour and colour of love ?

do you know how beautiful you are , una ?

let me tell you , dear .

you are tall , yet you have to lift your eyes a little to meet mine .

such dear eyes , una !

they are dark blue , and when you smile they are like wet violets in sunshine .

but when you are pensive they are more lovely still the spirit and enchantment of the sea at twilight passes into them then .

your hair has the gloss and brownness of ripe nuts , and your face is always pale .

your lips have a trick of falling apart in a half-smile when you listen .

they told me before i knew you that you were pretty .

pretty !

the word is cheap and tawdry .

you are beautiful , with the beauty of a pearl or a star or a white flower .

do you remember our first meeting ?

it was one evening last spring .

you were in your garden .

the snow had not all gone , but your hands were full of pale , early flowers .

you wore a white shawl over your shoulders and head .

your face was turned upward a little , listening to a robin 's call in the leafless trees above you .

i thought god had never made anything so lovely and love-deserving .

i loved you from that moment , una .

this is your birthday .

the world has been glad of you for twenty years .

it is fitting that there have been bird songs and sunshine and blossom today , a great light and fragrance over land and sea .

i sent them to you with a little book , an old book .

a new book , savouring of the shop and marketplace , however beautiful it might be , would not do for you .

so i sent the book that was my mother 's .

she read it and loved it the faded rose-leaves she placed in it are there still .

at first , dear , i almost feared to send it .

would you miss its meaning ?

would you laugh a little at the shabby volume with its pencil marks and its rose-leaves ?

but i knew you would not ; i knew you would understand .

today i saw you with the child of your sister in your arms .

i felt as the old painters must have felt when they painted their madonnas .

the next moment you were laughing with him two children playing together .

but i had looked upon you in that brief space .

oh , the pain and joy of it !

love wishes to do so much for the beloved !

i can do so little for you , but that little is sweet .

this evening i read to you the poem which you had asked me to read .

you sat before me with your brown head leaning on your hands and your eyes cast down .

i stole dear glances at you between the lines .

when i finished i put a red , red rose from your garden between the pages and crushed the book close on it .

that poem will always be dear to me , stained with the life-blood of a rose-like hour .

i do not know which is the sweeter , your laughter or your sadness .

when you laugh you make me glad , but when you are sad i want to share in your sadness and soothe it .

i think i am nearer to you in your sorrowful moods .

today i met you by accident at the turn of the lane .

nothing told me that you were coming not even the wind , that should have known .

i was sad , and then all at once i saw you , and wondered how i could have been sad .

you walked past me with a smile , as if you had tossed me a rose .

i stood and watched you out of sight .

that meeting was the purple gift the day gave me .

the old words other men have used in singing to their loves seemed too worn and common for you .

so i burned the verses that were so unworthy of you .

una , some day you will love .

you will watch for him ; you will blush at his coming , be sad at his going .

oh , i cannot think of it !

today i saw you when you did not see me .

i was walking on the shore , and as i came around a rock you were sitting on the other side .

i drew back a little and looked at you .

your hands were clasped over your knees ; your hat had fallen back , and the sea wind was ruffling your hair .

your face was lifted to the sky , your lips were parted , your eyes were full of light .

you seemed to be listening to something that made you happy .

i crept gently away , that i might not mar your dream .

of what were you thinking , una ?

i must leave you soon .

sometimes i think i cannot bear it .

oh , una , how selfish it is of me to wish that you might love me !

if you loved me , i fear i should be weak enough to do you the wrong of wooing you .

i want you so much , dear !

the schoolmaster added the last letter to the others and locked the box .

when he unlocked it again , two days later , the letters were gone .

he gazed at the empty box with dilated eyes .

at first he could not realize what had happened .

the letters could not be gone !

he must have made a mistake , have put them in some other place !

with trembling fingers he ransacked his trunk .

there was no trace of the letters .

with a groan he dropped his face in his hands and tried to think .

the inmost secrets of his soul had been betrayed .

who had done this hideous thing ?

he rose and went downstairs .

in the farmyard he found link tormenting his dog .

link was happy only when he was tormenting something .

it cowed the boy , because it was something he could not understand .

he only realized that he was in the presence of a force that was not to be trifled with .

" link , where are my letters ? " said the schoolmaster .

" i didn't take ' em , master ! " cried link , crumpling up visibly in his sheer terror .

" i didn't .

i never teched ' em !

it was sis .

i told her not to i told her you 'd be awful mad , but she wouldn't tend to me .

it was sis took ' em .

ask her , if you don't believe me . "

the schoolmaster believed him .

nothing was too horrible to believe just then .

" what has she done with them ? " he said hoarsely .

" she she sent ' em to una clifford , " whimpered link .

" i told her not to .

she 's mad at you , cause you went to see una and wouldn't go with her .

she thought una would be mad at you for writing ' em , cause the cliffords are so proud and think themselves above everybody else .

so she sent ' em .

i i told her not to . "

the schoolmaster said not another word .

he turned his back on the whining boy and went to his room .

he felt sick with shame .

the indecency of the whole thing revolted him .

he felt stunned as if by a physical blow .

after a time his fierce anger and shame died into a calm desperation .

the deed was done beyond recall .

it only remained for him to go to una , tell her the truth , and implore her pardon .

then he must go from her sight and presence forever .

it was dusk when he went to her home .

have you thought from his letters that she was a wonderful woman of marvellous beauty ?

not so .

she was a sweet and slender slip of girlhood , with girlhood 's own charm and freshness .

there were thousands like her in the world thank god for it ! but only one like her in one man 's eyes .

he stood before her mute with shame , his boyish face white and haggard .

her eyes were downcast and her breath came shortly .

he thought her silence the silence of anger and scorn .

he wished that he might fling himself in the dust at her feet .

" una miss clifford forgive me ! " he stammered miserably .

" i i did not send them .

i never meant that you should see them .

a shameful trick has been played upon me .

forgive me ! "

" for what am i to forgive you ? " she asked gravely .

she did not look up , but her lips parted in the little half-smile he loved .

the blush was still on her face .

" for my presumption , " he whispered .

" i i could not help loving you , una .

if you have read the letters you know all the rest . "

" i have read the letters , every word , " she answered , pressing her hand a little more closely to her breast .

" perhaps i should not have done so , for i soon discovered that they were not meant for me to read .

i do not know who sent them , but i am very grateful to the sender . "

" grateful ? " he said wonderingly .

" yes .

i have something to forgive you , but not not your presumption .

it is your blindness , i think and and your cruel resolution to go away and never tell me of your your love for me .

if it had not been for the sending of these letters i might never have known .

how can i forgive you for that ? "

" una ! " he said .

he had been very blind , but he was beginning to see .

he took a step nearer and took her hands .

she threw up her head and gazed , blushingly , steadfastly , into his eyes .

from the folds of her gown she drew forth the little packet of letters and kissed it .

" your dear letters ! " she said bravely .

" they have given me the right to speak out .

i will speak out !

i love you , dear !

i will be content to wait through long years until you can claim me .

i i have been so happy since your letters came ! "

he put his arms around her and drew her head close to his .

their lips met .

the story of uncle dick

i had two schools offered me that summer , one at rocky valley and one at bayside .

at first i inclined to rocky valley ; it possessed a railway station and was nearer the centres of business and educational activity .

i had reason to be glad of my choice , for in bayside i met uncle dick .

thereafter i daily passed close by the fence that i might have the privilege of looking over it .

it would be hard to define the charm of that garden .

for the rest , i think the real charm must have been in its unexpectedness .

at every turn and in every nook you stumbled on some miracle of which you had never dreamed .

or perhaps the charm was simply that the whole garden was an expression of uncle dick 's personality .

in one corner a little green dory , filled with earth , overflowed in a wave of gay annuals .

in the centre of the garden an old birch-bark canoe seemed sailing through a sea of blossoms , with a many-coloured freight of geraniums .

paths twisted and turned among flowering shrubs , and clumps of old-fashioned perennials were mingled with the latest fads of the floral catalogues .

it was a power for good within me , making its influence felt in many ways .

finally i caught uncle dick in his garden .

later i discovered that his splendid beard was uncle dick 's only vanity .

" how do you do , master ? " he said heartily .

( the bayside pedagogue was invariably addressed as " master " by young and old . )

" i 'm glad to see you .

here i am , trying to save my rosebushes .

there are green bugs on ' em , master green bugs , and they 're worrying the life out of me . "

i smiled , for uncle dick looked very unlike a worrying man , even over such a serious accident as green bugs .

" your roses don't seem to mind , mr oliver , " i said .

" they are the finest i have ever seen . "

the compliment to his roses , well-deserved as it was , did not at first engage his attention .

he pretended to frown at me .

" don't get into any bad habit of mistering me , master , " he said .

" you 'd better begin by calling me uncle dick from the start and then you won't have the trouble of changing .

because it would come to that it always does .

but come in , come in !

there 's a gate round here .

i want to get acquainted with you .

i have a taste for schoolmasters .

i didn't possess it when i was a boy " ( a glint of fun appeared in his blue eyes ) .

" it 's an acquired taste . "

i accepted his invitation and went , not only into his garden but , as was proved later , into his confidence and affection .

he linked his arm with mine and piloted me about to show me his pets .

" i potter about this garden considerable , " he said .

" it pleases the women folks to have lots of posies . "

i laughed , for uncle dick was a bachelor and considered to be a hopeless one .

" don't laugh , master , " he said , pressing my arm .

" i 've no woman folk of my own about me now , ' tis true .

but all the girls in the district come to uncle dick when they want flowers for their little diversions .

besides perhaps sometimes "

uncle dick broke off and stood in a brown study , looking at an old stump aflame with nasturtiums for fully three minutes .

later on i was to learn the significance of that pause and reverie .

i spent the whole evening with uncle dick .

after we had explored the garden he took me into his house and into his " den . "

the house was a small white one and wonderfully neat inside , considering the fact that uncle dick was his own housekeeper .

we soon became close friends .

uncle dick had always " chummed with the masters , " as he said , but our friendship went deeper .

for my own part , i preferred his company to that of any young man i knew .

there was a perennial spring of youth in uncle dick 's soul that yet had all the fascinating flavour of ripe experience .

i knew uncle dick 's outward history as the bayside people knew it .

it was not a very eventful one .

he had lost his father in boyhood ; before that there had been some idea of dick 's going to college .

" nobody knows what he had to put up with , for he never complained , " mrs lindsay , my landlady , told me .

" she was out of her mind once and she was liable to go out of it again if she was crossed in anything .

he was that good and patient with her .

she was dreadful fond of him too , for all she did almost worry his life out .

no doubt she was the reason he never married .

he couldn't leave her and he knew no woman would go in there .

uncle dick never courted anyone , unless it was rose lawrence .

she was a cousin of my man 's .

i 've heard he had a kindness for her ; it was years ago , before i came to bayside .

but anyway , nothing came of it .

her father 's health failed and he had to go out to california .

rose had to go with him , her mother being dead , and that was the end of uncle dick 's love affair . "

but that was not the end of it , as i discovered when uncle dick gave me his confidence .

" those little girls are very sweet , " said uncle dick abruptly .

" little blossoms of life !

" yes , i have , " i answered frankly .

" it has not been a matter of choice , " said uncle dick gently .

" we can't always order our lives as we would , master .

i loved a woman once and she loved me .

and we love each other still .

do you think i could bear life else ?

i 've an interest in it that the bayside folk know nothing of .

it has kept youth in my heart and joy in my soul through long , lonely years .

and it 's not ended yet , master it 's not ended yet !

some day i hope to bring a wife here to my old house my wife , my rose of joy ! "

he was silent for a space , gazing at the stars .

after a time he said gently ,

" shall i tell you about it , master ?

i mean , do you care to know ? "

" yes , " i answered , " i do care to know .

and i shall respect your confidence , uncle dick . "

" i know that .

i couldn't tell you , otherwise , " he said .

" i don't want the bayside folk to know it would be a kind of desecration .

they would laugh and joke me about it , as they tease other people , and i couldn't bear that .

nobody in bayside knows or suspects , unless it 's old joe hammond at the post office .

and he has kept my secret , or what he knows of it , well .

but somehow i feel that i 'd like to tell you , master .

" twenty-five years ago i loved rose lawrence .

the lawrences lived where you are boarding now .

she was sweet and fair , like a white rose with just a hint of pink in its cup .

we loved each other , but we couldn't marry then .

rose said i was right in doing it .

she said she was willing to wait for me , but she didn't know , poor girl , how long the waiting was to be .

then her father 's health failed completely , and the doctor ordered him to another climate .

they went to california .

that was a hard parting , master .

but we promised each other that we would be true , and we have been .

i 've never seen my rose of joy since then , but i 've had a letter from her every week .

when the mother died , five years ago , i wanted to move to california and marry rose .

but she wrote that her father was so poorly she couldn't marry me yet .

so i had to take a new lease of patience , master .

one learns how to wait in twenty years .

but i shall have her some day , god willing .

our love will be crowned yet .

so i wait , master , and try to keep my life and soul clean and wholesome and young for her .

he did talk often to me of her , and i soon came to realize what this far-away woman meant in his life .

she was for him the centre of everything .

his love was strong , pure , and idyllic the ideal love of which the loftiest poets sing .

it glorified his whole inner life with a strange , unfailing radiance .

i found that everything he did was done with an eye single to what she would think of it when she came .

especially did he put his love into his garden .

" every flower in it stands for a thought of her , master , " he said .

" it is a great joy to think that she will walk in this garden with me some day .

it will be complete then my rose of joy will be here to crown it . "

his big voice trembled as he said ,

" master , she 's coming home .

her father is dead and she has nobody in the world now but me .

in a month she will be here .

don't talk to me of it yet i want to taste the joy of it in silence for a while . "

later on , we sat on one of the old stone benches and uncle dick tried to talk practically .

bayside people soon found out that rose lawrence was coming home to marry uncle dick .

uncle dick was much teased , and suffered under it ; it seemed , as he had said , desecration .

but the real goodwill and kindly feeling in the banter redeemed it .

he went to the station to meet rose lawrence the day she came .

when i went home from school mrs lindsay told me she was in the parlour and took me in to be introduced .

i was bitterly disappointed .

instead , i found in rose lawrence a small , faded woman of forty-five , gowned in shabby black .

she had evidently been very pretty once , but bloom and grace were gone .

her face had a sweet and gentle expression , but was tired and worn , and her fair hair was plentifully streaked with grey .

alas , i thought compassionately , for uncle dick 's dreams !

what a shock the change to her must have given him !

could this be the woman on whom he had lavished such a life-wealth of love and reverence ?

i tried to talk to her , but i found her shy and timid .

she seemed to me uninteresting and commonplace .

and this was uncle dick 's rose of joy !

i was so sorry for uncle dick that i shrank from meeting him .

nevertheless , i went over after tea , fearing that he might misunderstand , nay , rather , understand , my absence .

he was in the garden , and he came down the path where the buds were just showing .

there was a smile on his face and the glory in his eyes was quite undimmed .

" master , she 's come .

and she 's not a bit changed .

i feared she would be , but she is just the same my sweet little rose of joy ! "

i looked at uncle dick in some amazement .

he was thoroughly sincere , there was no doubt of that , and i felt a great throb of relief .

he had found no disillusioning change .

i saw rose lawrence merely with the cold eyes of the stranger .

he saw her through the transfiguring medium of a love that made her truly his rose of joy .

and all was well .

they were married the next morning and walked together over the clover meadow to their home .

in the evening i went over , as i had promised uncle dick to do .

they were in the garden , with a great saffron sky over them and a glory of sunset behind the poplars .

i paused unseen at the gate .

uncle dick was big and splendid in his fine new wedding suit , and his faded little bride was hanging on his arm .

happiness clothed them as a garment ; they were crowned king and queen in the bridal realm of the springtime .

the understanding of sister sara

june first .

i began this journal last new year 's wrote two entries in it and then forgot all about it .

i feel the need of a confidant of some kind , even if it is only an inanimate journal .

i have no other .

and i cannot talk my thoughts over with sara she is so unsympathetic .

sara is a dear good soul and i love her as much as she will let me .

i am also very grateful to her .

she brought me up when our mother died .

but sara did her duty unflinchingly and well , it 's not for me to say that the result does her credit .

but it really does , considering the material she had to work with .

i 'm a bundle of faults as it is , but i tremble to think what i would have been if there had been no sara .

yes , i love sara , and i 'm grateful to her .

but she doesn't understand me in the least .

she laughs at things i consider the most sacred and calls me a romantic girl , in a tone of humorous toleration .

i am chilled and thrown back on myself , and the dreams and confidences i am bubbling over with have no outlet .

sara couldn't understand she is so practical .

better go and sew it on before you forget again .

' a stitch in time saves nine . ' "

better go and change your stockings , my dear .

' an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure . ' "

so i have given up trying to talk things over with sara .

this old journal will be better .

last night sara and i went to mrs trent 's musicale .

i had to sing and i had the loveliest new gown for the occasion .

at first sara thought my old blue dress would do .

she said we must economize this summer and told me i was entirely too extravagant in the matter of clothes .

i cried about it after i went to bed .

sara looked at me very sharply the next morning without saying anything .

in the afternoon she went uptown and bought some lovely pale yellow silk organdie .

she made it up herself sara is a genius at dressmaking and it was the prettiest gown at the musicale .

sara wore her old grey silk made over .

sara doesn't care anything about dress , but then she is forty .

walter shirley was at the trents ' .

the shirleys are a new family here ; they moved to atwater two months ago .

he is very handsome and distinguished-looking and everybody says he is so clever .

he plays the violin just beautifully and has such a melting , sympathetic voice and the loveliest deep , dark , inscrutable eyes .

i asked sara when we came home if she didn't think he was splendid .

" he 'd be a nice boy if he wasn't rather conceited , " said sara .

after that it was impossible to say anything more about mr shirley .

i am glad he is going to be in atwater all summer .

i wonder if i shall see mr shirley soon again .

june thirtieth .

it does not seem possible that it is only a month since my last entry .

it seems more like a year a delightful year .

i can't believe that i am the same beatrice mason who wrote then .

and i am not , either .

she was just a simple little girl , knowing nothing but romantic dreams .

i feel that i am very much changed .

life seems so grand and high and beautiful .

i want to be a true noble woman .

only such a woman could be worthy of of a fine , noble man .

but when i tried to say something like this to sara she replied calmly :

" my dear child , the average woman is quite good enough for the average man .

and that reminds me , i saw holes in your black lace stockings yesterday .

better go and darn them at once .

' procrastination is the thief of time . ' "

sara cannot understand .

blanche lawrence was married yesterday to ted martin .

i thought it the most solemn and sacred thing i had ever listened to the marriage ceremony , i mean .

i had never thought much about it before .

i must say i do not like fair men .

" oh , sara , " i cried , " she has married the man she loves and who loves her .

what better is there to do ?

i thought it beautiful . "

" they should have waited another year at least , " said sara severely .

" ted martin has only been practising law for a year , and he had nothing to begin with .

he can't have made enough in one year in atwater to justify him in setting up housekeeping .

i think a man ought to be ashamed of himself to take a girl from a good home to an uncertainty like that . "

" not if she loved him and was willing to share the uncertainty , " i said softly .

besides , blanche is a mere child , far too young to be burdened with the responsibilities of life . "

blanche is twenty two years older than i am .

but sara talks as if i were a mere infant .

july thirtieth .

oh , i am so happy !

i wonder if there is another girl in the world as happy as i am tonight .

no , of course there cannot be , because there is only one walter !

walter and i are engaged .

it happened last night when we were sitting out in the moonlight under the silver maple on the lawn .

and i don't remember just what i said .

but we understood each other perfectly at last .

of course sara had to do her best to spoil things .

beatrice !

have you your rubbers on ?

and don't you think it is too damp out there for you in that heavy dew ?

better come into the house , both of you .

walter has a cold now . "

" oh , we 'll be in soon , sara , " i said impatiently .

oh , i wish i had a mother !

she could understand .

but sara cannot .

walter and i have decided to keep our engagement a secret for a month just our own beautiful secret unshared by anyone .

then before he goes back to college he is going to tell sara and ask her consent .

i don't think sara will refuse it exactly .

she really likes walter very well .

but i know she will be horrid and i just dread it .

oh , i know sara !

but i want to dream my dreams first and sara will wake me up so early to realities .

this is why we determined to keep one month sacred to ourselves .

walter will graduate next spring he is to be a doctor and then he intends to settle down in atwater and work up a practice .

i am sure he will succeed for everyone likes him so much .

i know sara will talk about risk and waiting and all that just as she did in ted martin 's case .

but then sara does not understand .

oh , i am so happy !

it almost frightens me i don't see how anything so wonderful can last .

oh , i want to be so good and noble for his sake .

i want to make life " one grand sweet song . "

i have gone about the house today feeling like a woman consecrated and set apart from other women by walter 's love .

sara said she really did not know what would happen to me some day if i was so careless and forgetful .

but then , sara does not understand .

august twentieth .

it is all over .

life is ended for me and i do not know how i can face the desolate future .

walter and i have quarrelled and our engagement is broken .

he is gone and my heart is breaking .

i hardly know how it began .

i 'm sure i never meant to flirt with jack ray .

i never did flirt with him either , in spite of walter 's unmanly accusations .

i danced with him three times and sat out another dance just to talk with him in a real sisterly fashion .

then he went away and slammed the front door .

i cried all night , but today i went about the house singing .

i would not for the world let other people know how walter has treated me .

i will hide my broken heart under a smiling face bravely .

but , oh , i am so miserable !

just as soon as i am old enough i mean to go away and be a trained nurse .

there is nothing else left in life for me .

sara does not suspect that anything is wrong and i am so thankful she does not .

she would not understand .

september sixth .

today i read this journal over and thought i would burn it , it is so silly .

but on second thought i concluded to keep it as a reminder of how blind and selfish i was and how good sara is .

for i am happy again and everything is all right , thanks to sara .

the very day after our quarrel walter left atwater .

i smiled squarely at mollie as if i didn't care a particle , but i can't describe how i felt .

i knew then that i had really been hoping that something would happen in three weeks to make our quarrel up .

in a small place like atwater people in the same set can't help meeting .

i bore it in silence for three weeks , but i will shudder to the end of my life when i remember those three weeks .

night before last sara came up to my room where i was lying on my bed with my face in the pillow .

i wasn't crying i couldn't cry .

there was just a dreadful dull ache in everything .

" beatrice , " she said gently , " i want to know what the trouble is .

you can't hide it from me that something is wrong .

i 've noticed it for some time .

you don't eat anything and you cry all night oh , yes , i know you do .

what is it , dear ? "

" oh , sara ! "

write to walter and tell him you are sorry . "

" sara , i never could !

he doesn't love me any longer he said he hoped he 'd never see me again . "

" didn't you say the same to him , child ?

he meant it as little as you did .

don't let your foolish pride keep you miserable . "

" if walter won't come back to me without my asking him he 'll never come , sara , " i said stubbornly .

sara didn't scold or coax any more .

she patted my head and kissed me and made me bathe my face and go to bed .

then she tucked me in just as she used to do when i was a little girl .

" now , don't cry , dear , " she said , " it will come right yet . "

give the bread a good kneading in an hour 's time and be careful not to bake it too much . "

that was a dismal day .

it began to rain soon after sara left and it just poured .

i never saw a soul all day except the milkman , and i was really frantic by night .

i never was so glad of anything as when i heard sara 's step on the verandah .

i only guessed then what i knew later on .

sara had heard from mrs shirley that walter was going to marlboro that day without coming back to atwater .

sara knew that he must change trains at junction falls and she went there to meet him .

but walter came at last on the 7 : 50 train and there was sara to pounce on him .

but just at the moment of his coming i didn't care how he had come or who had brought him .

i just realized that he was there and that was enough .

sara came in behind him .

but sara never said a word about colds and dampness .

she just smiled , went on into the sitting-room , and shut the door .

sara understood .

the unforgotten one

it was christmas eve , but there was no frost , or snow , or sparkle .

it was a green christmas , and the night was mild and dim , with hazy starlight .

a little wind was laughing freakishly among the firs around ingleside and rustling among the sere grasses along the garden walks .

there were handshakings and greetings and laughter .

" we 're not all here , " she murmured under her breath .

" miss avis isn't here .

oh , how can they be so glad ?

how can they have forgotten ? "

but nobody heard or heeded nanny she was only the little orphan " help " girl at ingleside .

there was no bond of blood to unite her to them , and she was left on the fringe of things .

after supper they all gathered around the open fireplace of the hall , hung with its berries and evergreens in honour of the morrow .

the circle was smaller by one than it had been the year before , but none spoke of that .

there was a smile on every face and happiness in every voice .

the father and mother sat in the centre , grey-haired and placid , their fine old faces written over with the history of gracious lives .

margaret 's husband and fritz 's wife were playing games with the children in the parlour , whence shrieks of merriment drifted out into the hall .

oh , how could they have forgotten so soon ?

it was not yet a full year since miss avis had gone .

she had made it out of the bits left over from the decorations .

miss avis had loved holly ; miss avis had loved every green , growing thing .

" so you do remember her , gyppy , " said nanny , patting his head .

" come along then .

we 'll go together . "

they slipped out into the night .

the old church was there , with its square tower , and the white stones gleaming all around it .

nanny went straight to a shadowy corner and knelt on the sere grasses while she placed her holly wreath on miss avis 's grave .

the tears in her eyes brimmed over .

" oh , miss avis !

miss avis ! " she sobbed .

" i miss you so i miss you so !

it can't ever seem like christmas to me without you .

you were always so sweet and kind to me .

but i hate them for forgetting you yes , i do !

i 'll never forget you , darling miss avis !

i 'd rather be here alone with you in the dark than back there with them . "

nanny sat down by the grave .

the old dog lay down by her side with his forepaws on the turf and his eyes fixed on the tall white marble shaft .

and underneath the lines of her own choosing :

" say not good night , but in some brighter clime bid me good morning . "

but they had forgotten her oh , they had forgotten her already !

when half an hour had passed , nanny was startled by approaching footsteps .

doctor fritz , coming to the grave , thought himself alone with the dead .

he knelt down by the headstone and pressed his face against it .

and i want to talk to you , avis , as i have always talked to you every christmastide since we were children together .

i could not bear to speak your name , the aching sense of loss was so bitter .

amid all the christmas mirth and good fellowship i felt the sorrow of your vacant chair .

avis , i wanted to tell you what the year had brought to me .

my theory has been proved ; it has made me a famous man .

last christmas , avis , i told you of it , and you listened and understood and believed in it .

dear avis , once again i thank you for all you have been to me all you are yet .

i have brought you your roses ; they are as white and pure and fragrant as your life . "

other footsteps came so quickly on doctor fritz ' retreating ones that nanny could not rise .

it was laddie this time gay , careless , thoughtless laddie .

" roses ?

so fritz has been here !

i have brought you lilies , avis .

oh , avis , i miss you so !

you were so jolly and good you understood a fellow so well .

i had to come here tonight to tell you how much i miss you .

it doesn't seem half home without you .

avis , i 'm trying to be a better chap more the sort of man you 'd have me be .

i 've given the old set the go-by i 'm trying to live up to your standard .

it would be easier if you were here to help me .

when i was a kid it was always easier to be good for awhile after i 'd talked things over with you .

i 've got the best mother a fellow ever had , but you and i were such chums , weren't we , avis ?

i thought i 'd just break down in there tonight and put a damper on everything by crying like a baby .

if anybody had spoken about you , i should have .

hello ! "

" hello , boys , " said laddie huskily .

" so you 've come to see her grave too ? "

" yes , " said cecil solemnly .

" we we just had to .

we couldn't go to bed without coming .

oh , isn't it lonesome without cousin avis ? "

" she was always so good to us , " said sid .

" she used to talk to us so nice , " said cecil chokily .

" but she liked fun , too . "

" boys , " said laddie gravely , " never forget what cousin avis used to say to you .

never forget that you have got to grow up into men she 'd be proud of . "

" oh , avis , " she whispered .

" i want to see you so much !

i want to tell you all about it about him .

you would understand so well .

he is the best and dearest lover ever a girl had .

you would think so too .

oh , avis , i miss you so much !

there 's a little shadow even on my happiness because i can't talk it over with you in the old way .

oh , avis , it was dreadful to sit around the fire tonight and not see you .

perhaps you were there in spirit .

i love to think you were , but i wanted to see you .

you were always there to come home to before , avis , dear . "

sobbing , she went away ; and then came margaret , the grave , strong margaret .

" dear cousin , dear to me as a sister , it seemed to me that i must come to you here tonight .

i cannot tell you how much i miss your wise , clear-sighted advice and judgment , your wholesome companionship .

a little son was born to me this past year , avis .

how glad you would have been , for you knew , as none other did , the bitterness of my childless heart .

how we would have delighted to talk over my baby together , and teach him wisely between us !

avis , avis , your going made a blank that can never be filled for me ! "

margaret was still standing there when the old people came .

" father !

mother !

isn't it too late and chilly for you to be here ? "

" no , margaret , no , " said the mother .

" i couldn't go to my bed without coming to see avis 's grave .

i brought her up from a baby her dying mother gave her to me .

she was as much my own child as any of you .

and oh !

i miss her so .

you only miss her when you come home , but i miss her all the time every day ! "

" we all miss her , mother , " said the old father , tremulously .

" she was a good girl avis was a good girl .

good night , avis ! "

" ' say not good night , but in some brighter clime bid her good morning , ' " quoted margaret softly .

" that was her own wish , you know .

let us go back now .

it is getting late . "

when they had gone nanny crept out from the shadows .

but her heart was full of joy .

" oh , miss avis , i 'm so glad , i 'm so glad !

they haven't forgotten you after all , miss avis , dear , not one of them .

i 'm sorry i was so cross at them ; and i 'm so glad they haven't forgotten you .

i love them for it . "

then the old dog and nanny went home together .

the wooing of bessy

a two-hundred-acre farm and a substantial bank account were worth going in for .

trust an eastman for knowing upon which side his bread was buttered .

lawrence was only twenty , and looked even younger , owing to his smooth , boyish face , curly hair , and half-girlish bloom .

bessy houghton was in reality no more than twenty-five , but lynnfield people had the impression that she was past thirty .

she had always been older than her years a quiet , reserved girl who dressed plainly and never went about with other young people .

her mother had died when bessy was very young , and she had always kept house for her father .

the responsibility made her grave and mature .

when she was twenty her father died and bessy was his sole heir .

she kept the farm and took the reins of government in her own capable hands .

she made a success of it too , which was more than many a man in lynnfield had done .

bessy had never had a lover .

mrs eastman , lawrence 's mother , was a widow with two sons .

george , the older , was the mother 's favourite , and the property had been willed to him by his father .

to lawrence had been left the few hundreds in the bank .

he stayed at home and hired himself to george , thereby adding slowly to his small hoard .

in reality nobody was more surprised over this than lawrence himself .

bessy assented and got into his buggy .

at first she was very silent , and lawrence , who was a bashful lad at the best of times , felt tongue-tied and uncomfortable .

but presently bessy , pitying his evident embarrassment , began to talk to him .

she could talk well , and lawrence found himself entering easily into the spirit of her piquant speeches .

she was very different from the other girls he knew , but he decided that he liked the difference .

" i don't know , " she answered .

" i 'm invited but i 'm all alone and parties have never been very much in my line . "

and if you like , i 'll call around and take you . "

he wondered if she would think him very presumptuous .

he thought her voice sounded colder as she said : " i am afraid that it would be too much trouble for you . "

" it wouldn't be any trouble at all , " he stammered .

" i 'll be very pleased to take you . "

in the end bessy had consented to go , and the next evening lawrence called for her in the rose-red autumn dusk .

bessy was ready and waiting .

she was dressed in what was for her unusual elegance , and lawrence wondered why people called bessy houghton so plain .

her figure was strikingly symmetrical and softly curved .

her cheeks were delicately flushed , and her wood-brown eyes were sparkling under her long lashes .

she offered him a half-opened bud for his coat and pinned it on for him .

as he looked down at her he noticed what a sweet mouth she had full and red , with a half child-like curve .

the fact that lawrence eastman took bessy houghton to the baileys ' party made quite a sensation at that festal scene .

people nodded and winked and wondered .

" an old maid and her money , " said milly fiske spitefully .

milly , as was well known , had a liking for lawrence herself .

lawrence began to " go with " bessy houghton regularly after that .

in his single-mindedness he never feared that bessy would misjudge his motives or imagine him to be prompted by mercenary designs .

he never thought of her riches himself , and it never occurred to him that she would suppose he did .

he soon realized that he loved her , and he ventured to hope timidly that she loved him in return .

she was always rather reserved , but the few favours that meant nothing from other girls meant a great deal from bessy .

matters had gone thus far before mrs eastman got her eyes opened .

mrs eastman was a proud woman and a determined one .

" where is lawrie ? " she asked abruptly ; as she entered the small kitchen where george eastman was lounging by the fire .

" out in the stable grooming up lady grey , " responded her older son sulkily .

" i suppose he 's gadding off to see bessy houghton again , the young fool that he is !

why don't you put a stop to it ? "

" i am going to put a stop to it , " said mrs eastman grimly .

" i 'd have done it before if i 'd known .

you should have told me of it if you knew .

i 'm going out to see lawrence right now . "

george eastman muttered something inaudible as the door closed behind her .

he was a short , thickset man , not in the least like lawrence , who was ten years his junior .

he had hated her bitterly ever since .

lawrence was brushing his pet mare 's coat until it shone like satin , and whistling " annie laurie " until the rafters rang .

bessy had sung it for him the night before .

then he had stepped back , filled with dismay at his own audacity .

but bessy had said no word of rebuke , and only blushed hotly crimson .

she must care for him , he thought happily , or else she would have been angry .

when his mother came in at the stable door her face was hard and uncompromising .

" lawrie , " she said sharply , " where are you going again tonight ?

you were out last night . "

" well , mother , i promise you i wasn't in any bad company .

come now , don't quiz a fellow too close . "

" you are going to dangle after bessy houghton again .

it 's time you were told what a fool you were making of yourself .

she 's old enough to be your mother .

the whole settlement is laughing at you . "

lawrence looked as if his mother had struck him a blow in the face .

a dull , purplish flush crept over his brow .

" this is some of george 's work , " he broke out fiercely .

" he 's been setting you on me , has he ?

yes , he 's jealous he wanted bessy himself , but she would not look at him .

he thinks nobody knows it , but i do .

bessy marry him ?

it 's very likely ! "

" lawrie eastman , you are daft .

george hasn't said anything to me .

you surely don't imagine bessy houghton would marry you .

and if she would , she is too old for you .

now , don't you hang around her any longer . "

" i will , " said lawrence flatly .

" i don't care what anybody says .

you needn't worry over me .

i can take care of myself . "

mrs eastman looked blankly at her son .

he had never defied or disobeyed her in his life before .

she had supposed her word would be law .

rebellion was something she had not dreamed of .

her lips tightened ominously and her eyes narrowed .

" you 're a bigger fool than i took you for , " she said in a voice that trembled with anger .

" bessy houghton laughs at you everywhere .

she knows you 're just after her money , and she makes fun "

" prove it , " interrupted lawrence undauntedly , " i 'm not going to put any faith in lynnfield gossip .

prove it if you can . "

" i can prove it .

maggie hatfield told me what bessy houghton said to her about you .

moreover , she felt quite sure that lawrence would never ask maggie hatfield anything about it .

lawrence turned white to the lips , " is that true , mother ? " he asked huskily .

" i 've warned you , " replied his mother , not choosing to repeat her statement .

" if you go after bessy any more you can take the consequences . "

she drew her shawl about her pale , malicious face and left him with a parting glance of contempt .

" i guess that 'll settle him , " she thought grimly .

" bessy houghton turned up her nose at george , but she shan't make a fool of lawrence too . "

alone in the stable lawrence stood staring out at the dull red ball of the winter sun with unseeing eyes .

he had implicit faith in his mother , and the stab had gone straight to his heart .

bessy houghton listened in vain that night for his well-known footfall on the verandah .

bessy walked home alone .

annie hillis , her " help , " was out .

she was alone in the big house with her misery and despair .

she went dizzily upstairs to her own room and flung herself on the bed in the chill moonlight .

" it is all over , " she said dully .

all night she lay there , fighting with her pain .

" what a fool i have been to imagine he could care for me ! " she said bitterly .

" he has only been amusing himself with my folly .

and to think that i let him kiss me the other night ! "

she thought of that kiss with a pitiful shame .

she hated herself for the weakness that could not check her tears .

her lonely life had been brightened by the companionship of her young lover .

maggie hatfield came that day to sew .

bessy had intended to have a dark-blue silk made up and an evening waist of pale pink cashmere .

she would have neither it nor the silk made up now .

she put them both away and instead brought out an ugly pattern of snuff-brown stuff , bought years before and never used .

" but where is your lovely pink , bessy ? " asked the dressmaker .

" aren't you going to have it for the party ? "

" no , i 'm not going to have it made up at all , " said bessy listlessly .

" it 's too gay for me .

i was foolish to think it would ever suit me .

this brown will do for a spring suit .

it doesn't make much difference what i wear . "

bessy was looking her oldest and plainest just then , with her hair combed severely back from her pale , dispirited face .

" it must be her money he is after , " thought the dressmaker .

" she looks over thirty , and she can't pretend to be pretty .

i believe she thinks a lot of him , though . "

for the most part , lynnfield people believed that bessy had thrown lawrence over .

this opinion was borne out by his woebegone appearance .

he was thin and pale ; his face had lost its youthful curves and looked hard and mature .

he was moody and taciturn and his speech and manner were marked by a new cynicism .

in april a well-to-do storekeeper from an adjacent village began to court bessy houghton .

she couldn't expect to do any better , they said , and she was looking terribly old and dowdy all at once .

in june maggie hatfield went to the eastmans ' to sew .

mrs eastman twitched her thread viciously .

" bessy houghton was born an old maid , " she said sharply .

" she thinks nobody is good enough for her , that is what 's the matter .

lawrence got some silly boy-notion into his head last winter , but i soon put a stop to that . "

" i always had an idea that bessy thought a good deal of lawrence , " said maggie .

" she has never been the same since he left off going with her .

" nonsense ! " said mrs eastman decisively .

" she would never think of taking a boy like him when she 'd turned up her nose at better men .

and i didn't want her for a daughter-in-law anyhow .

i can't bear her .

so i put my foot down in time .

lawrence sulked for a spell , of course boy-fashion and he 's been as fractious as a spoiled baby ever since . "

" well , i dare say you 're right , " assented the dressmaker .

" but i must say i had always imagined that bessy had a great notion of lawrence .

of course , she 's so quiet it is hard to tell .

she never says a word about herself . "

there was an unsuspected listener to this conversation .

he shrank from believing his mother untrue , yet where else could the crookedness come in ?

" mercy me , how you scared me ! " she exclaimed nervously .

" maggie , " said lawrence seriously , " i want to ask you a question .

did bessy houghton ever say anything to you about me or did you ever say that she did ?

give me a straight answer . "

the dressmaker peered at him curiously .

" no .

why ? "

" thank you .

that was all i wanted to know , " said lawrence , ignoring her question , and disappearing as suddenly as he had come .

that evening at moonrise he passed through the kitchen dressed in his sunday best .

his mother met him at the door .

" where are you going ? " she asked querulously .

lawrence looked her squarely in the face with accusing eyes , before which her own quailed .

mrs eastman flushed crimson and opened her lips to speak .

but something in lawrence 's grave , white face silenced her .

she turned away without a word , knowing in her secret soul that her youngest-born was lost to her forever .

lawrence found bessy in the orchard under apple trees that were pyramids of pearly bloom .

she looked at him through the twilight with reproach and aloofness in her eyes .

but he put out his hands and caught her reluctant ones in a masterful grasp .

" listen to me , bessy .

don't condemn me before you 've heard me .

he told his story simply and straightforwardly .

in strict justice he could not keep his mother 's name out of it , but he merely said she had been mistaken .

perhaps bessy understood none the less .

she knew what mrs eastman 's reputation in lynnfield was .

" you might have had a little more faith in me , " she cried reproachfully .

" i know i know .

but i was beside myself with pain and wretchedness .

oh , bessy , won't you forgive me ?

i love you so !

if you send me away i 'll go to the dogs .

forgive me , bessy . "

and she , being a woman , did forgive him .

" i 've loved you from the first , lawrence , " she said , yielding to his kiss .

their girl josie

they had been too proud of paul ... their only son and such a clever fellow ... and this was their punishment !

he had married an actress !

they could not be brought to see it in any other light .

as their neighbours said , " cy morgan never hilt up his head again after paul married the play-acting woman . "

he wrote one angry , unfilial letter back and then came silence .

between grief and shame cyrus and deborah morgan grew old rapidly in the year that followed .

after the funeral cyrus morgan brought home to his wife their son 's little daughter , joscelyn morgan .

her aunt , annice ashton , had wanted the baby .

cyrus morgan had been almost rude in his refusal .

but in spring valley , if anywhere , it might be eradicated .

at first neither cyrus nor deborah cared much for joscelyn .

all the morgans had been fair .

if joscelyn had had paul 's blue eyes and golden curls her grandfather and grandmother would have loved her sooner .

but the love came ... it had to .

no living mortal could have resisted joscelyn .

she was the most winsome and lovable little mite of babyhood that ever toddled .

her big dark eyes overflowed with laughter before she could speak , her puckered red mouth broke constantly into dimples and cooing sounds .

she had ways that no orthodox spring valley baby ever thought of having .

every smile was a caress , every gurgle of attempted speech a song .

her grandparents came to worship her and were stricter than ever with her by reason of their love .

because she was so dear to them she must be saved from her mother 's blood .

joscelyn shot up through a roly-poly childhood into slim , bewitching girlhood in a chill repressive atmosphere .

cyrus and deborah were nothing if not thorough .

the girl was never allowed to visit her aunt annice , although frequently invited .

the path thus set for joscelyn 's dancing feet to walk in was indeed sedate and narrow .

but joscelyn 's vitality was such that all her bonds and bands served but little to check or retard the growth of her rich nature .

do what they might they could not make a morgan of her .

she seemed to them charged with dangerous tendencies all the more potent from repression .

yet they loved her and were proud of her .

when joscelyn was seventeen deborah morgan noticed a change in her .

mrs morgan thought the child needed a tonic and gave her sulphur and molasses .

one day the revelation came .

cyrus and deborah had driven across the valley to visit their married daughter .

not finding her at home they returned .

mrs morgan went into the house while her husband went to the stable .

joscelyn was not in the kitchen , but the grandmother heard the sound of voices and laughter in the sitting room across the hall .

" cyrus , josie is play-acting in the room ....y laughing and reciting and going on .

i heard her .

oh , i 've always feared it would break out in her and it has !

come you and listen to her . "

the old couple crept through the kitchen and across the hall to the open parlour door as if they were stalking a thief .

joscelyn 's laugh rang out as they did so ....x a mocking , triumphant peal .

cyrus and deborah shivered as if they had heard sacrilege .

it transformed her into a woman .

joscelyn , rapt away from her surroundings , did not perceive her grandparents .

her face was turned from them and she was addressing an unseen auditor in passionate denunciation .

she spoke , moved , posed , gesticulated , with an inborn genius shining through every motion and tone like an illuminating lamp .

" josie , what are you doing ? "

it was cyrus who spoke , advancing into the room like a stern , hard impersonation of judgment .

joscelyn 's outstretched arm fell to her side and she turned sharply around ; fear came into her face and the light went out of it .

joscelyn 's face , that had grown pale , flamed scarlet again .

she lifted her head proudly .

" i was trying aunt annice 's part in her new play , " she answered .

" i have not been doing anything wrong , grandfather . "

" wrong !

it 's your mother 's blood coming out in you , girl , in spite of all our care !

where did you get that play ? "

" aunt annice sent it to me , " answered joscelyn , casting a quick glance at the book on the table .

don't take it away . "

" i am going to burn it , " said cyrus morgan sternly .

" oh , don't , grandfather , " cried joscelyn , with a sob in her voice .

" don't burn it , please .

i ....v

i ... won't practise out of it any more .

i 'm sorry i 've displeased you .

please give me my book . "

" no , " was the stern reply .

" go to your room , girl , and take off that rig .

there is to be no more play-acting in my house , remember that . "

he flung the book into the fire that was burning in the grate .

for the first time in her life joscelyn flamed out into passionate defiance .

" you are cruel and unjust , grandfather .

i have done no wrong ... it is not doing wrong to develop the one gift i have .

it 's the only thing i can do ... and i am going to do it .

my mother was an actress and a good woman .

so is aunt annice .

so i mean to be . "

" oh , josie , josie , " said her grandmother in a scared voice .

her grandfather only repeated sternly , " go , take that rig off , girl , and let us hear no more of this . "

joscelyn went but she left consternation behind her .

cyrus and deborah could not have been more shocked if they had discovered the girl robbing her grandfather 's desk .

they talked the matter over bitterly at the kitchen hearth that night .

" we haven't been strict enough with the girl , mother , " said cyrus angrily .

" we 'll have to be stricter if we don't want to have her disgracing us .

did you hear how she defied me ?

' so i mean to be , ' she says .

mother , we 'll have trouble with that girl yet . "

" don't be too harsh with her , pa ....x it 'll maybe only drive her to worse , " sobbed deborah .

" i ain't going to be harsh .

what i do is for her own good , you know that , mother .

josie is as dear to me as she is to you , but we 've got to be stricter with her . "

they were .

from that day josie was watched and distrusted .

she was never permitted to be alone .

there were no more solitary walks .

she felt herself under the surveillance of cold , unsympathetic eyes every moment and her very soul writhed .

joscelyn morgan , the high-spirited daughter of high-spirited parents , could not long submit to such treatment .

joscelyn rebelled , but she did nothing secretly ... that was not her nature .

she wrote to her aunt annice , and when she received her reply she went straight and fearlessly to her grandparents with it .

" grandfather , this letter is from my aunt .

she wishes me to go and live with her and prepare for the stage .

i told her i wished to do so .

i am going . "

cyrus and deborah looked at her in mute dismay .

" i know you despise the profession of an actress , " the girl went on with heightened colour .

" i am sorry you think so about it because it is the only one open to me .

i must go ....v

i must . "

" yes , you must , " said cyrus cruelly .

" it 's in your blood ... your bad blood , girl . "

" my blood isn't bad , " cried joscelyn proudly .

" my mother was a sweet , true , good woman .

you are unjust , grandfather .

but i don't want you to be angry with me .

i love you both and i am very grateful indeed for all your kindness to me .

i wish that you could understand what ....v . "

" we understand enough , " interrupted cyrus harshly .

" this is all i have to say .

go to your play-acting aunt if you want to .

your grandmother and me won't hinder you .

but you 'll come back here no more .

we 'll have nothing further to do with you .

you can choose your own way and walk in it . "

with this dictum joscelyn went from spring valley .

she clung to deborah and wept at parting , but cyrus did not even say goodbye to her .

on the morning of her departure he went away on business and did not return until evening .

joscelyn went on the stage .

her aunt 's influence and her mother 's fame helped her much .

she missed the hard experiences that come to the unassisted beginner .

but her own genius must have won in any case .

when joscelyn morgan was twenty-two she was famous over two continents .

deborah obeyed .

she thought her husband was right , albeit she might in her own heart deplore the necessity of such a decree .

joscelyn had disgraced them ; could that be forgiven ?

nevertheless both the old people missed her terribly .

the house seemed to have lost its soul with that vivid , ripely tinted young life .

they got their married daughter 's oldest girl , pauline , to come and stay with them .

yet neither cyrus nor deborah took to her , and they let her go unregretfully when they found that she wished to return home .

" she hasn't any of josie 's gimp , " was old cyrus 's unspoken fault .

deborah spoke , but all she said was , " polly 's a good girl , father , only she hasn't any snap . "

joscelyn wrote to deborah occasionally , telling her freely of her plans and doings .

if it hurt the girl that no notice was ever taken of her letters she still wrote them .

deborah read the letters grimly and then left them in cyrus 's way .

cyrus would not read them at first ; later on he read them stealthily when deborah was out of the house .

when joscelyn began to succeed she sent to the old farmhouse papers and magazines containing her photographs and criticisms of her plays and acting .

deborah cut them out and kept them in her upper bureau drawer with joscelyn 's letters .

once she overlooked one and cyrus found it when he was kindling the fire .

he got the scissors and cut it out carefully .

a month later deborah discovered it between the leaves of the family bible .

but joscelyn 's name was never mentioned between them , and when other people asked them concerning her their replies were cold and ungracious .

in a way they had relented towards her , but their shame of her remained .

they could never forget that she was an actress .

" that fool dunno what he 's talking about , " was all he would say .

deborah had her share of curiosity .

the paper was the national gazette and she knew that their next-door neighbour , james pennan , took it .

with one exception she read all its columns carefully without finding anything to explain her husband 's anger .

then she doubtfully plunged into the exception ... a column of " stage notes . "

halfway down she came upon an adverse criticism of joscelyn morgan and her new play .

it was malicious and vituperative .

deborah morgan 's old eyes sparkled dangerously as she read it .

" i guess somebody is pretty jealous of josie , " she muttered .

" i don't wonder pa was riled up .

but i guess she can hold her own .

she 's a morgan . "

no long time after this cyrus took a notion he 'd like a trip to the city .

he 'd like to see the horse fair and look up cousin hiram morgan 's folks .

" hiram and me used to be great chums , mother .

and we 're getting kind of mossy , i guess , never stirring out of spring valley .

let's go and dissipate for a week what say ? "

cyrus was as pleased as a child over their trip .

he bought a ticket apologetically and sneaked in to his seat .

it was a matinee performance , and joscelyn morgan was starring in her famous new play .

if deborah were ever to find out ....n but deborah must never find out !

for the first time in their married life the old man deliberately plotted to deceive his old wife .

the curtain went up and cyrus rubbed his eyes .

the building rang with applause ; one old man pulled out a red bandanna and wiped tears of joy and pride from his eyes .

she hadn't changed josie hadn't changed .

play-acting hadn't spoiled her couldn't spoil her .

wasn't she paul 's daughter !

and all this applause was for her for josie .

joscelyn 's new play was a homely , pleasant production with rollicking comedy and heart-moving pathos skilfully commingled .

joscelyn pervaded it all with a convincing simplicity that was really the triumph of art .

cyrus morgan listened and exulted in her ; at every burst of applause his eyes gleamed with pride .

cyrus morgan went out into the daylight feeling as if he had awakened from a dream .

at the outer door he came upon mrs hiram and deborah .

deborah 's face was stained with tears , and she caught at his hand .

" oh , pa , wasn't it splendid wasn't our girl josie splendid !

i 'm so proud of her .

oh , i was bound to hear her .

oh , i 've just been crying the whole time .

wasn't it splendid !

wasn't our girl josie splendid ? "

cyrus morgan cleared his throat and said , " it was great , mother , great .

she took the shine off the other play-actors all right .

i knew that national gazette man didn't know what he was talking about .

mother , let us go and see josie right off .

she 's stopping with her aunt at the maberly hotel i saw it in the paper this morning .

i 'm going to tell her she was right and we were wrong .

josie 's beat them all , and i 'm going to tell her so ! "

when jack and jill took a hand

jack 's side of it

that is so like jill .

she is such a good hand at forgetting .

why , it was she who suggested the plot to me .

how could i tell dick would act so like a mule ?

i thought grown-up folks had more sense .

aunt tommy was down on me for weeks , while she thought jill a regular heroine .

but there !

jill says i will change my mind when i grow up , but i won't .

still , jill is a pretty good sort of girl .

i have to scold her sometimes , but if any other chap tried to i would punch his head for him .

i suppose it is time i explained who dick and aunt tommy are .

dick is our minister .

he hasn't been it very long .

he only came a year ago .

i shall never forget how surprised jill and i were that first sunday we went to church and saw him .

we had always thought that ministers had to be old .

all the ministers we knew were .

mr grinnell , the one before dick came , must have been as old as methuselah .

but dick was young and good-looking .

dick was tall and pale and looked as if he had heaps of brains .

she never saw an archangel .

i liked his nose .

it was so straight and finished-looking .

mr grinnell had the worst-looking nose you ever saw .

jill and i used to make poetry about it in church to keep from falling asleep when he preached such awful long sermons .

dick preached great sermons .

they were so nice and short .

dick came to owlwood that 's our place ; i hate these explanations quite a lot , even before aunt tommy came .

he and father were chums ; they had been in college together and father said dick was the best football player he ever knew .

jill and i soon got acquainted with him and this was another uncanny thing .

we had never thought it possible to get acquainted with a minister .

jill said she didn't think it proper for a real live minister to be so chummy .

but then jill was a little jealous because dick and i , being both men ; were better friends than he and she could be .

he taught me to skate that winter and fence with canes and do long division .

i could never understand long division before dick came , although i was away on in fractions .

jill has just been in and says i ought to explain that dick 's name wasn't dick .

i do wish jill would mind her own business .

of course it wasn't .

only we had to be careful not to let father and mother hear us .

mother wouldn't even let father call dick " stephen " ; she said it would set a bad example of familiarity to the children .

mother is an old darling .

she won't believe we 're half as bad as we are .

well , early in may comes aunt tommy .

i must explain who aunt tommy is or jill will be at me again .

she is father 's youngest sister and her real name is bertha gordon , but father has always called her tommy and she likes it .

she called jill elizabeth , and jill would adore a hottentot who called her elizabeth .

aunt tommy is the prettiest girl i ever saw .

aunt tommy is all white and dimpled .

she has curly red hair and big jolly brown eyes and scrumptious freckles .

i do like freckles in a girl , although jill goes wild if she thinks she has one on her nose .

when we talked of writing this story jill said i wasn't to say that aunt tommy had freckles because it wouldn't sound romantic .

but i don't care .

she has freckles and i think they are all right .

we went to church with aunt tommy the first sunday after she came , one on each side of her .

aunt tommy is the only girl in the world i 'd walk hand in hand with before people .

she looked fine that day .

she had on a gorgeous dress , all frills and ruffles , and a big white floppy hat .

i was proud of her for an aunt , i can tell you , and i was anxious for dick to see her .

aunt tommy and dick shook hands and dick got as red as anything .

it was funny to see him .

the very next evening he came down to owlwood .

we hadn't expected him until tuesday , for he never came monday night before .

that is father 's night for going to a lodge meeting .

mother was away this time too .

but in a minute aunt tommy came in and she and dick began to talk , and i just couldn't get a word in edgewise .

i got so disgusted i started out , but i don't believe they ever noticed i was gone .

outside i came across jill .

i sat down beside her , for i wanted sympathy .

" dick 's in there talking to aunt tommy , " i said .

" i don't see what makes him want to talk to her . "

" what a goose you are ! " said jill in that aggravatingly patronizing way of hers .

" why , dick has fallen in love with aunt tommy ! "

honest , i jumped .

i never was so surprised .

" how do you know ? "

i asked .

" because i do , " said jill .

" i knew it yesterday at church and i think it is so romantic . "

" i don't see how you can tell , " i said and i didn't .

" you 'll understand better when you get older , " said jill .

sometimes jill talks as if she were a hundred years older than i am , instead of being a twin .

and really , sometimes i think she is older .

" i didn't think ministers ever fell in love , " i protested .

" some do , " said jill sagely .

" mr. grinnell wouldn't ever , i suppose .

but dick is different .

i 'd like him for a husband myself .

but he 'd be too old for me by the time i grew up , so i suppose i 'll have to let aunt tommy have him .

it will be all in the family anyhow that is one comfort .

" jill , you take my breath away , " i said , and she did .

my imagination couldn't travel as fast as that .

but after i had thought the idea over a bit i liked it .

it was a good deal like a book ; and , besides , a minister is a respectable thing to have in a family .

" we must help them all we can , " said jill .

" what can we do ? "

i asked .

" i don't want to give up being chums with dick , " i grumbled .

" we must be self-sacrificing , " said jill .

and that sounded so fine it reconciled me to the attempt .

we sat there and watched dick and aunt tommy for an hour .

i thought they were awfully prim and stiff .

if i 'd been dick i 'd have gone over and hugged her .

i said so to jill and jill was shocked .

she said it wouldn't be proper when they weren't even engaged .

when dick went away aunt tommy came out to the verandah and discovered us .

she sat down between us and put her arms about us .

aunt tommy has such cute ways .

" i like your minister very much , " she said .

" he 's bully , " i said .

" he 's as handsome as a prince , " jill said .

" he preaches splendid sermons he makes people sit up in church , i can tell you , " i said .

" he has a heavenly tenor voice , " jill said .

" he 's got a magnificent muscle , " i said .

" he has the most poetical eyes , " jill said .

" he swims like a duck , " i said .

" he looks just like a greek god , " jill said .

i 'm sure jill couldn't have known what a greek god looked like , but i suppose she got the comparison out of some novel .

jill is always reading novels .

she borrows them from the cook .

aunt tommy laughed and said , " you darlings . "

for the next three months jill and i were wild .

it was just like reading a serial story to watch dick and aunt tommy .

we knew we hadn't much time , so we began right off .

" aunt tommy is the jolliest girl i know , " i said .

" she is as beautiful as a dream , " jill said .

" she can play games as good as a boy , " i said .

" she does the most elegant fancy work , " jill said .

" she never gets mad , " i said .

" she plays and sings divinely , " jill said .

" she can cook awfully good things , " i said , for i was beginning to run short of compliments .

jill was horrified ; she said afterwards that it wasn't a bit romantic .

but i don't care i believe dick liked it , for he smiled with his eyes i just as he always does when he 's pleased .

girls don't understand everything .

but at the end of three months we began to get anxious .

things were going so slow .

dick and aunt tommy didn't seem a bit further ahead than at first .

jill said it was because aunt tommy didn't encourage dick enough .

" i do wish we could hurry them up a little , " she said .

" at this rate they will never be married this year and by next i 'll be too big to be a flower girl .

i 'm stretching out horribly as it is .

mother has had to let down my frocks again . "

" i wish they would get engaged and have done with it , " i said .

" my mind would be at rest then .

it 's all dick 's fault .

why doesn't he ask aunt tommy to marry him ?

what 's making him so slow about it ?

if i wanted a girl to marry me but i wouldn't ever i 'd tell her so right spang off . "

" i suppose ministers have to be more dignified , " said jill , " but three months ought to be enough time for anyone .

and aunt tommy is only going to be here another month .

if dick could be made a little jealous it would hurry him up .

and he could be made jealous if you had any spunk about you . "

" i guess i 've got more spunk than you have , " i said .

" the trouble with dick is this , " said jill .

" there is nobody else coming to see aunt tommy and he thinks he is sure of her .

if you could tell him something different it would stir him up . "

" are you sure it would ? "

i asked .

" it always does in novels , " said jill .

and that settled it , of course .

i told her sarcastically that she 'd better say it herself and then it would be done properly .

jill said she would if it were aunt tommy , but when it was dick it was better for a man to do it .

so of course i agreed .

i didn't know when i would have a chance to stir dick up , but providence so jill said favoured us .

aunt tommy didn't expect dick down the next night , so she and father and mother all went away somewhere .

dick came after all , and jill sent me into the parlour to tell him .

he was standing before the mantel looking at aunt tommy 's picture .

there was such an adoring look in his eyes .

i could see it quite plain in the mirror before him .

" well , jack , old man , " said dick , sitting down on the sofa .

i sat down before him .

" aunt tommy is out , " i said , to get the worst over .

" i guess you like aunt tommy pretty well , don't you , mr richmond ? "

" yes , " said dick softly .

" so do other men , " i said mysterious , as jill had ordered me .

dick thumped one of the sofa pillows .

" yes , i suppose so , " he said .

" there 's a man in new york who just worships aunt tommy , " i said .

" he writes her most every day and sends her books and music and elegant presents .

i guess she 's pretty fond of him too .

she keeps his photograph on her bedroom table and i 've seen her kissing it . "

i stopped there , not because i had said all i had to say , but because dick 's face scared me honest , it did .

it had all gone white , like it does in the pulpit sometimes when he is tremendously in earnest , only ten times worse .

but all he said was ,

" is your aunt bertha engaged to this this man ? "

dick got up .

" i think i won't wait this evening , " he said .

" i wish you 'd stay and have a talk with me , " i said .

" i haven't had a talk with you for ages and i have a million things to tell you . "

dick smiled as if it hurt him to smile .

" i can't tonight , jacky .

some other time we 'll have a good powwow , old chap . "

he took his hat and went out .

then jill came flying in to hear all about it .

i told her as well as i could , but she wasn't satisfied .

if dick took it so quietly , she declared , i couldn't have made it strong enough .

" if you had seen dick 's face , " i said , " you would have thought i made it plenty strong .

and i 'd like to know what aunt tommy will say to all this when she finds out . "

" well , you didn't tell a thing but what was true , " said jill .

the night after that was prayer-meeting night .

dick had always walked home with aunt tommy and us , but that night he didn't .

he only just bowed and smiled as he passed us in the porch .

aunt tommy hardly spoke all the way home , only just held tight to jill 's and my hands .

but after we got home she seemed in great spirits and laughed and chatted with father and mother .

" what does this mean ? " asked jill , grabbing me in the hall on our way to bed .

" you 'd better get another novel from the cook and find out , " i said grouchily .

i was disgusted with things in general and dick in particular .

the three weeks that followed were awful .

dick never came near owlwood .

jill and i fought every day , we were so cross and disappointed .

nothing had come out right , and jill blamed it all on me .

she said i must have made it too strong .

there was no fun in anything , not even in going to church .

dick hardly thumped the pulpit at all and when he did it was only a measly little thump .

but aunt tommy didn't seem to worry any .

she sang and laughed and joked from morning to night .

" she doesn't mind dick 's making an ass of himself , anyway , that 's one consolation , " i said to jill .

" she is breaking her heart about it , " said jill , " and that 's your consolation ! "

" i don't believe it , " i said .

" what makes you think so ? "

" she cries every night , " said jill .

" i can tell by the look of her eyes in the morning . "

" she doesn't look half as woebegone over it as you do , " i said .

" if i had her reason for looking woebegone i wouldn't look it either , " said jill .

i asked her to explain her meaning , but she only said that little boys couldn't understand those things .

things went on like this for another week .

then they reached so jill says a climax .

if jill knows what that means i don't .

but pinky carewe was the climax .

pinky 's name is james , but jill and i always called him pinky because we couldn't bear him .

he took to calling at owlwood and one evening he took aunt tommy out driving .

then jill came to me .

" something has got to be done , " she said resolutely .

" i am not going to have pinky carewe for an uncle tommy and that is all there is about it .

you must go straight to dick and tell him the truth about the new york man . "

i looked at jill to see if she were in earnest .

you can do it yourself , jill gordon . "

" you didn't tell him anything that wasn't true , " said jill .

" i don't know how a minister might look upon it , " i said .

" anyway , i won't go . "

" then i suppose i 've got to , " said jill very dolefully .

" yes , you 'll have to , " i said .

and this finishes my part of the story , and jill is going to tell the rest .

but you needn't believe everything she says about me in it .

jill 's side of it

jacky has made a fearful muddle of his part , but i suppose i shall just have to let it go .

you couldn't expect much better of a boy .

but i am determined to re-describe aunt tommy , for the way jacky has done it is just disgraceful .

i know exactly how to do it , the way it is always done in stories .

aunt tommy is divinely beautiful .

her magnificent wealth of burnished auburn hair flows back in amethystine waves from her sun-kissed brow .

her creamy skin is as fair and flawless as the inner petals of a white lily .

( she may have a weeny teeny freckle or two in summer , but you 'd never notice . )

her slender form is matchless in its symmetry and her voice is like the ripple of a woodland brook .

there , i 'm sure that 's ever so much better than jacky 's description , and now i can proceed with a clear conscience .

so i went the next morning .

i put on my very prettiest pink organdie dress and did my hair the new way , which is very becoming to me .

when you are going to have an important interview with a man it is always well to look your very best .

" with your shield or upon it , jill , " said jacky when i started .

( this is another classical allusion . )

i went straight up the hill and down the road to the manse where dick lived with his old housekeeper , mrs dodge .

mrs dodge went upstairs and came right back saying would i please go up to the study .

there was a madonna on his desk that looked just like aunt tommy .

" good evening , miss elizabeth , " said dick , just as if i were grown up , you know .

" won't you sit down ?

try that green velvet chair .

i am sure it was created for a pink dress and unfortunately neither mrs dodge nor i possess one .

how are all your people ? "

" we are all pretty well ; thank you , " i said , " except aunt tommy .

so i said instead " she has got a cold . "

" and jack and i are terribly harrowed up in our minds , " i went on .

" that is what i 've come up to see you about . "

" well , tell me all about it , " said dick .

" i 'm afraid to , " i said .

" i know you 'll be cross even if you are a minister .

it 's about what jack told you about that man in new york and aunt tommy . "

dick turned as red as fire .

" i 'd rather not discuss your aunt bertha 's affairs , " he said stiffly .

" it 's all a mistake .

there is a man in new york and he just worships aunt tommy and she just adores him .

that 's all , cross my heart solemn and true . "

you never saw anything like dick 's face when i stopped .

it looked just like a sunrise .

but he said slowly , " why did jacky tell me such a tell me it in such a way ? "

" we wanted to make you jealous , " i said .

" i put jacky up to it . "

" i didn't think it was in either of you to do such a thing , " said dick reproachfully .

" oh , dick , " i cried fancy my calling him dick right to his face !

jacky will never believe i really did it .

he says i would never have dared .

but it wasn't daring at all , it was just forgetting .

" oh , dick , we didn't mean any harm .

we thought you weren't getting on fast enough and we wanted to stir you up like they do in books .

we thought if we made you jealous it would work all right .

we didn't mean any harm .

oh , please forgive us ! "

i was just ready to cry .

but that dear dick leaned over the table and patted my hand .

" there , there , it 's all right .

i understand and of course i forgive you .

don't cry , sweetheart . "

the way dick said " sweetheart " was perfectly lovely .

i envied aunt tommy , and i wanted to keep on crying so that he would go on comforting me .

" and you 'll come back to see aunt tommy again ? "

i said .

dick 's face clouded over ; he got up and walked around the room several times before he said a word .

then he came and sat down beside me and explained it all to me , just as if i were grown up .

" sweetheart , we 'll talk this all out .

you see , it is this way .

your aunt bertha is the sweetest woman in the world .

but i 'm only a poor minister and i have no right to ask her to share my life of hard work and self-denial .

and even if i dared i know she wouldn't do it .

she doesn't care anything for me except as a friend .

so now that i 'm out of the habit of going i think it would be wisest to stay out .

it hurts dreadfully , but it would hurt worse after a while .

don't you agree with me , miss elizabeth ? "

i thought hard and fast .

so i spoke right up .

" no , i don't , mr richmond ; aunt tommy does care you just ask her .

she cries every blessed night because you never come to owlwood . "

" oh , elizabeth ! " said dick .

he got up and stalked about the room again .

" you 'll come back ? "

i said .

" yes , " he answered .

i drew a long breath .

it was such a responsibility off my mind .

even if he is rich he 's a perfect pig . "

dick got his hat and came .

we walked up the road in lovely creamy yellow twilight and i was , oh , so happy .

" isn't it just like a novel ? "

i said .

you don't know how squelched i felt .

and i knew i would have to promise , too , for dick can make me do anything he likes .

when we got to owlwood i left dick in the parlour and flew up to aunt tommy 's room .

i found her all scrunched up on her bed in the dark with her face in the pillows .

" aunt tommy , dick is down in the parlour and he wants to see you , " i said .

didn't aunt tommy fly up , though !

" oh , jill but i 'm not fit to be seen tell him i 'll be down in a few minutes . "

i knew aunt tommy wanted to fix her hair and dab rose-water on her eyes , so i trotted meekly down and told dick .

then i flew out to jacky and dragged him around to the glass door .

it was all hung over with vines and a wee bit ajar so that we could see and hear everything that went on .

jacky said it was only sneaks that listened but he didn't say it until next day .

at the time he listened just as hard as i did .

i didn't care if it was mean .

i just had to listen .

presently in sweeps aunt tommy , in an elegant dress , not a hair out of place .

she looked perfectly sweet , only her nose was a little red .

dick looked at her for just a moment , then he stepped forward and took her right into his arms .

" oh bertha i love you i love you , " he said , just like that , all quick and jerky .

" you you have taken a queer way of showing it , " said aunt tommy , all muffled .

" i i was led to believe that there was another man whom you cared for and i thought you were only trifling with me .

so i sulked like a jealous fool .

bertha , darling , you do love me a little , don't you ? "

aunt tommy lifted her head and stuck up her mouth and he kissed her .

and there it was , all over , and they were engaged as quick as that , mind you .

he didn't even go down on his knees .

there was nothing romantic about it and i was never so disgusted in my life .

i left jacky peeking still and i went to bed .

after a long time aunt tommy came up to my room and sat down on my bed in the moonlight .

" you dear blessed elizabeth ! " she said .

" it 's all right then , is it ? "

i asked .

" yes , it is all right , thanks to you , dearie .

we are to be married in october and somebody must be my little flower girl . "

" i think dick will make a splendid husband , " i said .

" but aunt tommy , you mustn't be too hard on jacky .

he only wanted to help things along , and it was i who put him up it in the first place . "

i 'll forgive him , of course , but i 'll punish him by not letting him know that i will for a little while .

then i 'll ask him to be a page at my wedding . "

well , the wedding came off last week .

it was a perfectly gorgeous affair .

aunt tommy 's dress was a dream and so was mine , all pink silk and chiffon and carnations .

jacky made a magnificent page too , in a suit of white velvet .

the wedding cake was four stories high , and dick looked perfectly handsome .

he kissed me too , right after he kissed aunt tommy .

so everything turned out all right , and i believe dick would never have dared to speak up if we hadn't helped things along .

but jacky and i have decided that we will never meddle in an affair of the kind again .

it is too hard on the nerves .

end of the project gutenberg ebook of lucy maud montgomery short stories , @number@ to @number@ by lucy maud montgomery