Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-02-10

didn't care! My life seems SO full,
now, Of real things, thanks to all you
have done for me, hat whether 1 can
walk or not is insignificant. And I
snail always have yoA, anyway, Nan
cyl" Aunt Milly had said with the
warming look in her eyes hat Nancy
knew SO well.
What would Anut Milly say when
she knew?
How had she, Nancy betrayed sa-
brina's trust?
Rapidly, as n can at such mo-
ments, Nancy's mind vent over the
weeks Of her stay at Happy House.
She had let herself go 90 far; she had
taught these people she was deceiv-
ing to grow fond of her-to need her!
And she had grown fond of them
that. was her punishment. She had
grown fond Of Happy House; she
wanted to be the real Anne Leavitt
and belong to Happy House and its
precious traditions, that she had
mocked; she wanted to have the right
to rejoice, now. in the vindication of
that brother who had gone away,
years before.
Poor little Nancy. shivering there
IN the chill and. silence of the night,
her world, her girls world, fell away
from her. Like one looking in from
without, she saw her own life as
might hold for her! She saw it
stripped Of the little superficialities
OF youth she saw clearly, with uncan-
ny preciseness, causes and effects, the
havoc, too, of her own thoughtlessness
and weakness.
Something in the vision frightened
her, but challenged the best in her,
too. One had only one life to live
and each wasted day counted so much
each wasted hour cost so dearly!
In the striving for the far goal one
that lay close at hand, the little,
worthwhile, sometimes hard things.
she had gone a long way down the
wrong road. but she's turn squarely!
Her head went high-she would make
a clean breast of 1t ALTO them all:
Aunt Sabrina, Aunt Milly-Peter
Hyde.
Her face went down against her
arms; n wanted to hide, even in
darkness, the flush that mantled her
cheeks. She could see his eyes as they
In h orchard. Oh, why had she not
told him the truth. then and there;
II she had he would have despised
her, but it would have killed forever
the hope she had read in his face.
Nancy, girlishly eager to struggle in
l'fe's tide not facing the greatest thing
IN life, shrank back, afraid. She
wanted. oh SO much. to be little
again; there had always been some
one. then. to whom to turn when prob
lens pressed-Daddy, even Mrs. Fin
negan-the Seniors in college, the
Dean herself. Now-she felt alone.
Lighting her lamp. she pulled q
chair to the table and spread out
sheets of paper. She wanted to tell
it all. while her courage lasted. She
wrote furiously, her lips pressed in a
straight line. She would not. spare
herself one bit-Peter Hyde must
know Just what she had done.
But. at the end. she yielded to a
longing too strong to resist.
Please. please don't think too bad
Anne and how her heart was set on
going. to Russia. and sho was sure
that If she told her relatives about
going they'd stop her. And that
seemed, then, the only important
thing-neither Of Us thought Of the
wrong we'd. be doing the people
here. 1t seemed. too. a very little
thing for me to do for her. But I
just can't bear to have you hate me!''
TOE IlONleuI cue nelQ neF pencil
over the last words. then hastily seal
ed the letter and addressed It.
The last paragraph stayed in her
mind. How silly we. were. Anne
she said aloud. mentally arraignins
those two very young creatures OF
college dayA.
Her confession made. a load rolled
from Nancy's heart. Anyway, he'll
know the truth" was her soothing
thought as she craWledc into bed. In
the morning she would. tell Aunt Sa.
brina.
But Nancy's frH waking thought
at q very late hour. for her. over-.ired
body had taken its due in sbund sleep
was that she was very, very unhap.
py, As she dressed. With trembling
haste. she wondered Il she haa not
better plan to catch the afternoon
train at North Hero.
She sought out Jonathan FIRST and
dispatched him with her letter. then
walked ,slowly back Into the house to
face Aunt GHbfank.
On the nsSel Pos OF the stairs
were letters that Jonathan haA Just