Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-11
CHAPTER x (continued). i

"'Tain't necessary" said woolcraft,
our own, I guesst' 4
She gave up, then, and went of
with him. leaving the garden. to
Adam, a half-a-hundred noisy SPAR
rows, and the watchfuls cat.
For an hour he worked happily,
singing and whistling. Once he
caught himself on a. refrain OF
Pearls. n stopped the wicked little
tune with a laugh. But for the most
part 1t was old tunes that came into
his head. s5-
Songs Of college days. jiggitys and
funnily old-fashioned now, in that
strange way Of tunes which come and
go like the shape Of sleeves in a won1-
ans dress. and after a little while
seem as ridiculously out Of date. And
a silly little song he remembered
learning as a child at school. about.
On, the I'LL n moon were shin
Ing dark and bright"
He scarcely knew that he sang, but
knew that his work was being done,
and that he plants were growing
we'll: The earth sent up that fine,
strange odor which comes only after
long rain, as II 1t breathed forth. all
its richness through newly-freshened
pores. The green things stiffened
and Strengthened UP. One could al
most see them. move: sometimes &C.
tually succeed in. doing so by watch
Ing closely. Leaf and bud put forth
their sweetest fragrance, wooing the
insects who came, magically, from no.
where, delighting in this garden-spot
amid the neighboring stone and steel.
A great golden -drone, gorgeous as
any country bee, doomed about near
Adam, matching songs with him. A
deer-nouse, strayed perhaps from the
rlver-park, peeped out from under
the fence, and scuttling' in, buried it.
SELF under a row of hollyhocks, Adam
threw a pebble at it, and missed it,
stirring a group of sparrows> into soft
ly whirring fight. They perched on
the fence. discussing the matter in in
dlgnant tones, decided to forgive him,
and returned to the path, and their
bath in a puddle.
bourgeois pigeons, shockingly
devoted and rfdiculously faithful, fut-
tered down from a neighboring livery
stable roof to make a substantial meal
from a measure of grass seed. Adam
chased the fat little couple. relented,.
and threw them a pinch Of seed,
which they accepted in a n1atter-of-
course way. He thought how odd it
was that such rotund, commonplace
bodies should wear a feather dress of
such opalescence. On either side of
the garden the tall apartment houses
reared Whitley. the rain seeming to
have given their lime-washed walls a
new cleanness, their windows blazing
and winking at the sun. The city
chattered and ran and chuckled
cheerily beyond the fence. The barges
on the river carolled, the ferry-boats
quacked like happy ducks. the very
clang of the distant car-bells was mu-
sic. The universe seemed speeded up
after the quiet rainpause. And so for
an hour.
Adam was SO absorbed in trans
planting coslnos-a delicate task
that he did not at first grasp the sig
nlncance of the summons which was
being tapped out upon the gate. But
when the sound finally reached his
consciousness. he dropped his work
with a smothered exclamation, and
fairly ran to answer it.
1t was Evelyn IEnditott, as he
guessed. Spring had tempted her out
without a hat, and he noted that the
smooth coils of her hair glinted redly
IN the SUM-. She wore a short dark
skirt and a trim white waist with
ciose-ftting collar and linked cuffs,
IKE a boys, and an orange tie which
made a dull flare Of becoming color
under her chin. The spirit of the day
>sparkled in her eyes and in her
smile. and the light wind had
u a soft, dark flush to her clear
olive cheeks. To Adam it seemed as
though the whole of the beautiful life
giving morning had become incarnate
in her,
Good morning, Mr.. Junk-man!"
said she laughingly. How is my
dog-child? I hope the bad weather
hasn't given him a setback"
II hardly think So" replied Adam,
scarcely aware of what he said.
Aren't you coming in to see
She stepped in, and he closed the
gate and leaned against it, looking at
her ~unfeisnedly glad. But she was
looking at the garden, her face light
ing anew at sight Of it.
oh! How wonderful" she cried.
Why, it's grown like a school girl
one hasn't seen fora year,"
Very nice!" said Adam. "It is like
q young girl; sort of awkward and un-
tidy; n overgrown. but lovely and
fresh and full Of promise
She gave a little sigh of satisfac-
you always understand so WELL"
she said. May I have a flower?"
"All Of them!" she said recklessly.
Come over and see the pansies."
Il will" said Eve. And without
even mentioning that they look like
little faces too! AS a matter of fact
they look like-pansies!"
Right you are!" said Adam, bend
ing over the mottled mass Of color in
the cold-frame where the flowers
grew. II don't see why these poetic
fellows are always having TO compare
everything to something else. Things,
especially flowers, are pretty good in
themselves"
Don't you ever make such COM
PARSONS, yourself? 2, she asked.
He poured a handful Of pansies in
to her outheld handkerchief before
replying.
mitted.
know why"
mot necessarily" said Adam. slow
~. Il don't know why I do lots of
things-breathe or exist, for that
matter"
eou unae:e said sri bv. big .w questions ess on II
guess at them. Bat the lesser things.
like this comparison idea: Why do
you do it? Come, now"
Why do I compare 9 person to a
flower, or an aeroplane to a bird, or a
bird to a thought"
Yes, think hard!.
II suppose said he. that IT'S a
kind Of acknowledgment OF the-the
oneness of things" 4
~ "There!" she cried, triumphantly, to
the garden and the lighthouses, and
the universe at large. II knew you
would see It! You e 81 much, you
have such-such fine qualities that L
can't understand fl simply can't!!"
Adam looked at her in surprise. For
once he could not Tor the life Of him
imagine what she meant.