The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-05-29
A SUMMER EVENING

Inc DIE CLOCK OF tiie Sl!ldSs CnuIcl1
struck six. 1t struck loudly, insistingly.
as is the way of country clocks. con-
fident in its own value, land knowing that
1t gives the law 20 everything within
hearing. Town clocks have a kind of
apologize way of mixing with the gen
eral tulnult; excepting q few others of
this calibre, they generally sound inef-
fective 1T is the right time, and we
want to tell you. but the noise of those
omnibuses won't let us-they interfere SO.
And there goes a dray, No, it really is
OF no user' And they finish their striking
in hurried and perfunctory manner.
Nothing Of the sort happened here. The
country was quite still, and the sound
swung away over the quiet fields till it
died out in the hush of the summer eve
ming. The cows were standing knee deep
In the toll graas and the buttercups-
swtshing placidly at the flies with their
tails. The air was filled with the sleepy
twittering OF the birds and the chirp of
the numberless insects which make up
the silence Of summers day. And be-
hind and through every sound could be
heard the solemn voice Of the river which
ran past the old gray church. winding its
The Mast workman had shouldered his
tools, and had betaken himself home, or
elsewhere as he felt inclined, when any
body passing by might have seen three
children moving with much appearance
of secrecy toward a wood which edged
the bank that sloped- down to the river
, opposite the church. They had a favorite
. :.aunt there, where, with much labor,
! they had raised little summer house,
made OF boughs fastened together with
bits of string and odd nails. There in the
intervals of theri education, when their
mother was away, which usually hap
pened for about nine months out Of the
twelve, and the French governess was
reading novels in the seclusion of her
bedroom. which was also no uncommon
occurrence they had constructed some
furniture made out of soap boxes and
other handy pieces of wood. Why they
kept il a secret they could hardly have
told. They had begun it long before,
from the innate desire of children to have
something secret from their elders, and
now they were older they were afraid Of
being laughed at. At all events, no one
except the old butler, who knew every
meeting place, and even now, when they
were inside their little arbor, which
would barely hold them, sitting, with
great caution, on the home made seat
which required so much hufnoring, they
felt an intense relief from the humdrum
life of the schoolroom, and the little wood
took a glamour not its own, and became
the home of adventure and mystery.
They had trained magnificent honey
suckle, which grew near, over the roof,
and the scent OF the flowers was heavy
cn the evening air. But they only no
ticed is unconsciously, for they were
thinking. as the young always are think
ing, Of the golden future.
This place is slow" said Gerald, the
only son of the house, who was sitting on
his own seat in the corner. a box which
was frankly a box and made no pre-
tensions to he anything else. Gerald's
movements were not adapted to humor
fraii articles of furniture
'.Of course, it's all right for you girls"
He ficked a. careless finger in their direc-
ton "But I shall be glad to be at
school"
.I wonder how you will like it?' said
Gertrude. the eldest of the three. She
walked with a slight limp. and her face
aaad the patient look on it which comes
20 those who know themselves to be
heavily weighted in the race of life. and
Is the seal of a class apart.
You know Mr. Brokn said you would
dnd 1t a great change at first"
Mr.. Brown had been Gerald's tutor and
had labored hard, though somewhat un-
successfully. TO guide him into the paths
of Tearing. Gerald was fourteen, but he
was delicate. or, at all events. 1t had al
ways been SO believed, and he had never
been allowed to go TO a preparatory
school. Now he was to plunge at once
into Eton.
Brown was all very we'll" replied
Gerald, with the magnificent contempt of
the young for everybody else, but there
are lots Of things he doesn't understand. |
1 shall set on all right. And then I'm
going into the guards That will be oily. |
shall so racing. and hunt like father |
does
IT, said the youngest girl, solemnly- |
she had not yet spoken-''am going to be I
a beauty"
Gerald started so violently that it was |
lucky he had been relegated TO the solid |
box; no homemade bench would have |
stood such treatment.
"A beauty" he said. derisively, as soon
as he recovered his breath. with your
big mouth and your straggly yellow hair! /
Ha, ha, What next. indeed?"
He took bat of the despised hair be- |
tween h.s finger and thumb, and pulled /
Il as he spoke.
Ada moved her head away. As a gem /
oral thing she would have fallen upon |
him and boxed his ears, but the mantle /
OF the prophet was upon her. and she 1
felt that such manifestations of feeling, /
however excusable, would be iucon- |
gruous.
Il know I shall be a beauty" she re- /
peated. more solemnly than before. Il
heard mother talking about it to made !
moiselle. She said that with my hair /
and eyes and contour whats that I Won /
der?) that when She had made my figure /
and complexion what they should be Il /
wonder how she will do that0 1 should /
make 4 sensation. and mademoiselle said /
quite gravely, Ellie ira lion! I wish |
knew exactly what they meant
None of the children had ever been al |
lowed to associate much with others. and /
they Were in consequence very in noCent |
and childiike in many ways still. They 1
had no near neighbors. and Lady Nerrier /
had never taken them up To London. She |
did not take Lord Nerrier either when /
she could help it. bat that was some
times unavoidable.
Gertrude looked at them both with soft.
wistful eyes In many ways she felt so 1
much older than her brother and sister.