The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-10-01
When A Girl
 Magries
By ANN LISLE
CHAPTER CCCLXXTV. 1919s King Features

SynQ1cHIe, lnC-
 Sunday morning. the day after me )Biask e's life and had sent Val for all enforced visit to DreamWoo, hurried around to the sick-roo1n- me nurse came to the door in response to my knock and stepped out iitlo s'ie hall in evident distress
 Mrs. Crosby's very restless ana irritable I think shed better not see anyone" she stan1nered-
 will you ask her if there's any thing I can do for her rept-su, --s,s with the stiffness people nave way of showing when shut out od SICK rooms to which they flatter them selves they could bring cheer II onlS >oficious nurses didn't forbid them
 Then I saw that Miss McNeli was fa-from officious- Instead, 4aae Tae rae sponsibflfty which made her mlser able. In that second l surm1sed thaI Val had refused to see me anu tic. ~, the nurse was trying to soafe ny feelings. But still I gave no more than a passing thought to Nais apnse of me the day before |,
 Later Miss McNen came down A the breakfast room with anoIher CT message could see she was loa'h to
 Ny patient is very tired. The re- action she explained smiling apologetc tcaIly. ''She thinks shed best
 lie quiet all day and see no one: agree with her. so if you'll all for give me, I'm going to forbid her having any visitors
 Every one seemed to accept this | as the natural reaction from all Val l had gone through the day before. | But I saw that there was more to 1t | than that. Val really wanted to keep | me out of her room. and in order to 1 avoid comment and surmise she was l denving herself to every one. What l I couldn't fathom was the motive that made Val wish to avoid me. Was The events of the afternoon oeep- The events of the aftrnoon deep ened this. mystery which pieued and l troubled me. Jim and I walked over to Mason 1 Towers. We took the short cut | the little green path. But when Jim 1 noticed how I trenb1ed and shook | ben cath all my efforts at self-contro1,
 'T'ln s6rry. dear. that I brought 1 you this way. It's too near the 1 awful scene you witnessed yesterday. It seems queer now to realize how | much difTerence his consideration and decision made.
 When we. got to Mason Towers
 Evvy's co1orless little mother re- ceived us She had the look of a startled rabbit that would love to go back to nibb1ing its greens if only some one would call off the dis turFbers who are making its hutch
 unhappy But she tried to asshme an air of importance and sympathy in keeping with the events about her.
 My poor Evvy can't see you," she said mournfu11y. 'The poor child is keeping to her room. She is so sen sitive and this-this has completely upst her"
 Her words seemed inadequate for the large affairs she was trying to suggest. And she went on with her repetitions and from bad to worse.
 Do you want to see poor Shel- don? The poor boy looks so natural"
 It was true. He did. There was a look of arrested motion about Shel- don even in death. He seemed still radiant, compelling and full of un- fulfilled desires and -magn etism and the wish to live fully. and expansively no matter what the cost. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that the price of life as he had wanted to live it was death. After a minute I went out of the still room where he lay ir even greater stiffness. I wanted Jim to be alone to pay his tribute to the | friend of his boyhood. And the chat tering little woman who kept hitch ing her gray-knitted scarf up on ahe1 shoulders and twitching words from her mumbling mouth. took all the sacredness from death. = When Jim eioined us, Mrs. Masor | began explaining and apologizing | again.
 ''Evvy can't see you. Shes 1yins down to get strength for the journey | Oh, didn't you know? She's goinG South with all that is mortal of the poor boy. Yes, they're taking the poor boy home. Oh, didn't you know: Her cousin, Tom. is going with her We wouldn't consider the poor girls taking the trip alone"
 Jim and I exchanged glances. knew he shared my wonder as tc how this inadequate little mothe. could ever have stopped Evvy from anything the wilful girl wanted to do
 Finally we got away. Dusk was falling. As Jim had promised we sassssEyrzaszz