Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-21
CHAPTER I

noVW behind her, and s,oou noh and
anu /. a,rds behind her on tne tnne-,,,apS and
slender body leaninsS ,i,rg in deep,
her bres,n IL was May IN Ca,-
ecstatic W. was lust eighteen, anu W
iforpia, S sne minutes she had peen en-
va 10 he married. ,,ar tba, ,sst
aets hardly knew why, a..sa.a rvr 40
fsreweh INC nath and why she nao
swiftly ~ I.p,n The house, ana cioseu wv
flashed ,n'o such noiseless haste. Inere
door o,hine TO run for But ~ was 90
y va sbe feared that the Joy ,,,ght W,h night
might escape rerfumed with ilacs and
that sm, ws ~ wet woods. In TINS rev
the neaess s. NJ hers fear was slreaoy
nsppnisd a sweet fear truly au
rn.,Icious fear, but she had never tea Vas
snything before n ner III lie 100 wonder.
aiIsiu he eO true. that she would AWAKEN III
wv " to,orping TO And II only dream;
w, W., sbe would somehow fall shovt VI
Ws.,,n's ideal-somehow ran @ n,I-
,omehow turn all this magic oi hnsrt-
shine. shine and kisses into ashes anu 'e"' :
oress cay was a miser with her, treasure;
a,, snS she wanted to 1y with II, ana
- hide Il away, and to teat Ns reai,.s
IN secret, alone she had come runn,hs ,hs
srom tho wonderland down by the
N Iron" i's, FOR this Just to prove TO her
gate iust ~ ~ ,.n,,id not vanish In the
se,u,, ~ nnIaceness of the shabby nall
coI,,i1o,t I,,,d mot disappear before tho every
S.w contact of everyday things. -.u,.
Irboro was moonlight here, too raining
ine nl.ar squares on the stairway land
,rv white and mysterious and bewicn,,
ns ns' hut on the other side OF the hnli
s ms. wholesome. cheerful lamphgnt
rrssplng III warm streak under tne
sittlng-ro uoo ,.o sitting room, with
,hs girls, The doctors house Was full
NJ iris Anne, his niece. was twenty
ga,s. Alix. Cherry's sister, three years
ro,,nger-how staid and unmarried ana
undeslred they seemed asa son,sat oio,tsen 10 ps
anne with Allx's erratic help. kept houee
for her uncle and was supposed to Keep
sharp eve on Cherry too. But she
hadn't been sharp enough TO keep Mar
Mn Lloyd from asking her 10 marry
hres.hless and laughing In the darn
Cherry had never had any other home
shan this shabby brown bungalow. and
she knew every inch OF the hall. even
without light to see It. She knew tho
ssSed % rugs, and the study door that
swalIowed UP her father every day. anu
ma table where Alix had put a great
bowl of buttercups. and the glass-paned
door at the back through which the
Doctors girls had looked out at many
frosty morning, and red sunset. ano
sun. n.steeped summer afternoon. Blu
even the old hall had seemed trans
formed tonight, lighted with a beauty
quite new scented with an immorta
sweetness.
khe vanished buttercups twinkled In {
hudden food of light. He had come 4
but a folded tablecloth into the OLE
wardrobe that did for sidebosrd, unde
the stairs. Cherry. descending to. earth
kmed at him, and crossed the hall 4
the sltting-room door.
An older woman might have gone up
ttairs, to dream alone of her new Joy
but Cherry thought that It would b
"fun" to join, the family, and "act as !
child, after all.
Consciously or unconsclously. the
had all tried TO keep her q child. thes
three who looked up to smile at her a
she came in. One of them. rosy. gray
headed, magnificent at sixty. was he
father, whose favorite she knew sh
WAS. He held out his hind to he
without closing the book that was in tn
pther hand, and drew her to the wild
erm Of his chair. where she settled her
hgainst him, her slim ankles crossed
and her cheek dropped against his thic
Filver hair.
Allx was reading. and dreamll
rNuNSHlIlk HtI as SIZE Tedu Ell
was a tall, awkward girl younger IA
II twenty-one than Cherry was at eight
zen. pretty in a gipsyish way, untidy a
70 hair, with round black eyes, higi
hin cheek bones marked with scarle
and q wide, humorous mouth that wa
somehow droll In it's expression eve
when she was angry or serious. Sh
was rarely angry, she was uneXactiny
ood;humored. prefe. ing animals I
people, and .unconvs itionsl in speec
70 hnr nj An,
llmes discussed her anxlously; they cor
essed that they were rather fearft
for AlX For Cherry, neither one ha
ever had dtsqu.eting thought: :
Anne smiling demurely over her whit
woman, with silky hair trinity braided
and rather pale, small face wit
charming and regular features. She wa
rot considered exactly pretty: perhar
The contrast with Cherry's unusuS
older, girls, but she was SO perfect
capable In her little groove. so bus,
,ontented, and necessary in the doctor
h9Iaseh9ld, that II was rather hab
Anne had admirers" too. Cherry r,
neGted, looking at her tonight, bl
helther she nor AliX had ever been Ell
Saged-enSaged-engaged
!, aren't you home early?"' said Doctc
bis youngest daughters cheek In sleep
content He was never quite happ
unless all three girls were IN his sigh
out Tor this girl he had always felt a
Especial protecting, fondness. 1t SCENE
sheeked, sturdy little girl In checke
.hgnam apron, had been trottlng O
%hool; to him 1t was yesterday this
s9e s,e, mad been a ,squarely built baby, dis
has 1h,as N the garden paths, and smiling
EXQUISITE childhood with more than
sSthers usual devotion, perhaps becau.
sne really had been an exceptlonally OF
rihg child, perhaps because she ha
'eb bIagSEetn given him. tiny crying thing
Mo'nerS going had left in his hear
ns mad sympathized with her mIcr,
sglopG Slopi cut fingers. he had smiled into h,
s,v,,nngs damp little face when sf
rlss eDI 70 him long tales of bad dol
~ and big ticks he had brought hi
hsSks and paper dolls and hair Ri
w IN ne loved the diminutive fenIniniI
sVen at three 80 "7''a
IA aux ne proudly called his boy: Al
snT nalr ribbons TO tie up her dog
na na demanded hip boots and an IT, ~
s9t Them, too, and used them h,
NV. ny ne took Alix in his arms she w,
isrd" !" ',p pump his nose violently with h
best to %Sdi9 Wri9rIs Io pbresk bersk, his glasses
bsyi, yi, however, was fraid OF dos
he WoI1,a s%d her sI,, father and OF guns. oSf al
Rsif.houITps cur WIZ up In his arms for hapi
StdHst hsSd .r MS shoulder and her soft III
'Mu tucked into his own, '''' 't'
TAM; mF%; Lloyd G6yydh had to take the o'clo,
NsmuyC CH.GrTy .arXy IA answered her faith
.ome With Tma mo y" ne ca and Peter walk
vi s,lartae Had left them at his own turnIn II,
dIIarter OF a mile away, -" "'''
Mrs NHriEEht NNS9EEht he wasn't going to be-
Ruietly in II" ~ ior dinner" Anne observ
Sttasy Sat aN.Ld asked to the Norths' FOR e dinn
Iinsde evening herself. and She bad u''i, y
rsctIvaao I aor mo no other reason than that y
; Ot to be Martin iSrusn Lloyd was presumab
houxb. wasn't" Cherry said .I