Mexico Missouri message., 1916-04-20

FRANCES Elton, commonly known as
Tom, short for tomboy, came racing
across the lawn waving towel and
bathing clothes and in a high treble
giving a creditable imitation of an In
dian warwhoop. At Toms cry the
children stampeded on to the veranda
with sibllant cries of, "Sshshp Mrs.
j. Y. looked at Nance and Nance
smiled resignedly. They put away
their work. ordered the wagonette and
the colts-colts no longer, alas, save
in name-and departed with q wagon
load of suppressed youth. From Long
lane fioated back peals of young laugh
ter, breaking bounds as the overhang-
ing trees hid the hill from view.
Glenn sat on the vast window seat
and toyed with a book. ]. Y. came
and dropped down beside her. "Well,
Glen, he's come back"
Glenn nodded. "Are you sure he
doesn't want anything, Uncle John?
He hasn't had a thing to eat since
seven o'clock this morning."
Alan's bell tinkled. Glen started to
her feet and then sat down again.
You'd better CO." But when ]. Y.
| strode off she followed.
"Why is the house so quiet? Is it
on account of the captainT" asked
| Alan.
BLESS you, no. The captain sleeps
for a week at a time. The children
have gone over to the lake."
Il just wanted to tell you that like
their noises-they're new. There's
nothing really the matter with me ex-
cept that I've got to take things in
turn, and lying still and sweating
comes first. After that, perhaps tomor-
row, I'm going to eat The penulti-
mate act on my list is cigarette and
the ultimate is to get up in the old bel
fry and yell" He turned over and
sank his head into the pillows.
"All right, my boy" said ]. Y, smi-
ing. "There's only Glen and myself
here and we'll go and try to make
noises like the children" He came out
of the door in time to catch sight of
Clem's skirt as it whisked around the
corner of the hall. He followed and
found her already seated at the piano.
| 1lOl hhSClb "UhuOltu ONeI Tue Keys
and then her soft, full voice broke out
in one old song after another. She was
happy because she felt that singing
she was with Alan.
Alan stirred in his bed and listened.
He determined that tomorrow he must
be well. Robbed of this afternoon. he
was being robbed of half of life. He
cursed the fever and then, as he felt
how near Clients voice brought her to
him, he blessed it.
At night when all the rest of the
household had gone to bed, J. Y. softly
opened Alan's door and looked in.
Alan was awake and nodded. J. Y.
came in and pottered about the room.
He rolled bit of paper into an ampler
shade and further yelled the night
lamp. The lines in ]. Y.'s rugged face
were softened to lines of sweetness.
He asked If there were nothing he
could do and then turned to leave the
room. With his hand on the door, he
paused and smiled down on Alan. my
boy, you have been far, far away"
Far away" replied Alan drowsily,
'but have come back"
The bracing air of Red Hill and a
long nights sleep enabled Alan to keep
his word with himself. He was up and
out on the day following his arrival
but he still felt delightfully."- lazy and
pitifully weak. Glen took charge of
him. First she tried to settle him in
a hammock with many pillows, but
Alan shrank from the hammock. They
spread rugs instead in nook under
the trees, and Alan stretched himself
out amid a riot of many-colored cush-
ions, while Glen sat close by in low
rocking chair and talked and read and
talked.
Talking or reading, Glen was a
source of unvarying delight to Alan.
Was it possible that one could live
twenty years in an old world. rub
elbows with life for twenty years, and
remain so fresh, so untainted? His
Knocked at him. Was it possible that
one could live thirty years I'm this
same world and be so old? He
shrugged shoulder petuIantly. He
would not think-he refused to think
while he was so weak.
When Clem talked, it was like a
child dreaming aloud; when she was
silent one felt the presence of woman
hood, wise with the unconscious accu-
mutations of generations and una
dashed. When Glen talked Alan was
at ease, but when she was silent he
was moved-troubled. A SCARED man
may play with a child and no harm
to either. He can detach himself from
his past as from the child and at n
safe moral distance turn to watch its
unconscious gambols. But with a
woman it is different. Womanhood is
force; its mission TO embrace, to sac
rifice. 1t Is unreasoning. Like funda-
mental man it demands n god and
worships the god that comes to it's
need. Alan felt this force lowering in
Clem's silences and was troubled.