Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-03-20
CHAPTER XIV.
The Anniversary.

the new arrival at Damory Court as
the owner of yesterdays stalled mo
tor; the afternoon raid on the jessa-
mine, the conversation with John Va
liant in the woods.
Mrs. cambridge, gazing into the fire,
listened without comment, but more
than once Shirley saw her hands clasp
themselves together and thought, too,
hat she seemed strangely pale. The
swift and tragic sequel to that meet
ing was the hardest to tell, and as she
ended she put up her hand to her
shoulder, holding it hard. 1T was
horrible!" she said. Yet now she did
not shudder. Strangely enough, the
sense of loathing which had been
surging over her at recurrent inter-
walls ever since that hour in the wood,
had vanished utterly
She read the newspaper article
aloud and her mother listened with an
expression that puzzled her. When
she finished, both were silent for a
moment, then she asked, You must
have known his father, dearest; didn't
your"
Yes" said Mrs. cambridge after a
pause. "I-knew his father"
Shirley said no more, and facing
each other in the candle-glow, across
the spotless damask, they talked, as
with common consent, of other things.
She thought she had never seen her
mother more brilliant. An odd excite
ment was flooding her cheek with red
and she chatted and laughed as she
had not done for years.
But after dinner the gaiety and eff
fervescence faded quickly and Mrs.
cambridge went early to her room.
She mounted the stair with her arm
thrown about Shirley's plant waist.
At her door she kissed her, looking at
her with a strange smile. How GU
rious," she said, as if to herself, that
it should have happened today!"
The reading-lamp had been lighted
on her table. She drew a slim gold
chain from the bosom of her dress
and held to the light a little locket-
brooch it carried. 1t was of black en-
amel, with a tiny laurel-wreath OF
pearls on one side encircling a single
diamond. The other side was of crys-
tai and covered a baby's ~russet-col-
ored curl. In her fingers 1t opened
and disclosed a miniature at which
she looked closely for a moment.
Her eyes turned restlessly about the
room. 1t had been hers as a girl, for
Rosewood had been the old Garland
homestead. 1t seemed now all at once
to be full of calling memories of her
youth.
= . =
How strange that 1t should have
been today!" 1t had been on Shirley's
lips to question, but the door had
closed, and she went slowly down
stairs. She sat a while thinking, but
at length grew restless and began to
walk to and fro across the floor, her
hands clasped behind her head so that
the cool air filled her flowing sleeves.
In the hall she could hear the leisure
ly kon-kon-kon-kon of the tall clock.
The evening outside was exquisitely
still and the metallic monotone was
threaded with the airy fiddle-fddle of
crickets in the grass and ~punctuated
with the rain-glad cloap of a frog.
Shirley stepped lightly down to the
wet grass. Looking back, she could
see her mothers lighted blind. All
around the ground was splotched with
rose-petals, looking in the squares of
light like bloody rain. She skinned
the lawn and ran a little way down
the lane. A shuffling sound presently
fell on her ear.
rs that you. Unc' Jefferson?" she
called softly.
"Yas'm!" The footsteps came near
or. "Et's me. Miss Shirley" He tit
tered noiselessly, and she could see
his bent form vibrating in the gloom.
"Yo' reck'n All done fergit?'
mo. indeed. l knew you wouldn't
do that. How is he?"
He right much bettah," he replied
In the same guarded tone. "Doctah
he say he be all right in err few days,
on'y he gotter lay up er while. Dat
was er ugly nip he got f'om dat 'spis-
able reptile"
DO you think there can be any
others about the grounds?"
Nom. Dey mostly keeps ter de
m~a'sh-lan' en- on'y runs whah de I'M
dah-bresh ez thick. I gwineter fix dat
ter-morrow. Mars Valiant he tell me
ter grub ct all out en- make er bon
fab OBJ It."
That's right, Unc' Jefferson. Good
night, and thank you for coming"
She started back to the house. when
his voice stopped her.
Mis- Shirley, yo' don keer eff de
ole man geddahs two er three OBJ dem
roses? Seems LAX young mars
moughty fon' OBJ dem. He got one in
er glass but cts mos daid now"
Wait a minute" she said, and dis
| appeared In the darkness, returning
quickly with a handful which she put
an h4o 0roon