Graham guardian., 1921-09-02

was happy away from her home J"
"Not even to visit her own family?"
persisted AllX
''NOt ever" he answered. "We nj.
ways planned a long visit In the East
but she never would go without me.
She went to your Uncle yincent's
house in Pnlo Alto once bur she came
home the next day-didn't feel conf
Portable away from home"
"How long do you suppose Martin
will let us have CherryT' Alix asked.
Her father looked quickly at her
and troubled expression crossed his
face.
"rhe circumstances seem to make II
wise TO keep her here until he Is sure
that this new position is the right
one!" he said.
III ! know anything about Martin"
Allx said, mo position is ever going
to be the right one for him. mean"
she added as her father gave her an
alarmed look. ~ simply mean that he
is that sort of man. And II seems
to me-odd the way he and Cherry
take their marriagel She doesn't
seem like other married women. And
the thing is, will she ever want TO go
back, If she isn't--rather coerced?
Martin is odd. you know; he has a
kind Of stolid, stupid pride. He wrote
her weeks ago and asked her to come,
and she wrote back that II he would
find her cottage, she would; she
couldn't 20 to his boarding house, she
hated boardingl Martin answered
that he would, some day, and she said
to me, oh. now he's crossr Now,
mind you," Alix broke of vehemently,
"I'd change the entire institution OF
marriage, II 1t was mel I'd end all
this"
well, we won't go into that" her
father interrupted her, hastily, for
Allx had aired these Views before and
he was not in sympathy with them.
"And ] guess you're right: the child
is woman now, with woman's re-
sponsibilities," he added. "And her
place is with her husband. They'll
have to solve life together, to learn to-
gether. I'll speak to Cherryr
Alix, watching him walk away,
thought that she had never seen Dad
look old before She saw the shadow
on his kind face all the rest Of that
day.
II was only the next morning when
he opened the question with Cherry.
II was brilliant morning, with
spring already in the air. Cherry, on
the porch steps, was reading a letter
from Martin. Her father sat down be-
side her. She had on one OF her old
gowns and, bathed in soft sunlight,
looked eighteen again. The air was
sweet and pungent and damp and
fresh. the sky high and blue, and
across the granite face Of Tamalpais
h a last scarf of mist was floating.
swell, what has Martin to say"
asked the doctor.
'Oh, he doesn't like 1t much !" Cher.
ry said, making little face. HE de-
SNhiDtS tiiC NLIdSC 40 ptiAcShs hobC
less. He's moved Into the little house
In Il street, and gotten two stoves
up"
"And when does he'iwant his girl"
her father pursued.
"He doesn't say" Cherry answered,
Innocently. 81 think he Is really hap
pier to have me here, where he knows
am well off /" she said. II know l
am" she ended after moments
thought.
Her father was conscious of a pang;
he had not even formed the thought
in his own mind that Cherry was un-
happy. The child, he told himself. had
good husband home and health,
and undeveloped resources within
herself. 1t was puzzling and painful
to him to realize that there was need
ed something more-and that that
something was lacking. He felt sud
den anger at Martin; why wasn't Mar
tin managing this AFFAIR."
'Mart doesn't mention any time"
he mused.
"Thanks to you" Cherry said,
dimpling mischievously. "He wrote
quite firmly, just before Christmas"
she added, "but told him that Dad
had been such an angel and liked so
much to have me here" And Cher
ry's smile was full of childish triumph.
"My dear" her father said, spurred
a. hxy trn
that the matter might easily become
serious, "you mustn't abuse his gem
eroslty. Suppose you write that
you'll Join hlm--this Is March--sup-
pose you say the first of Aprilf
Cherry flushed and looked down.
Her lips trembled. There was mo-
ment of unhappy silence.
"Yery well, Dad" she said In a low
voice. A second later she had jumped
to her feet and vanished In the house.
Her father roamed the woods In
wretched misglvings, coming In at
lunch time to find her In her place,
smiling, but traces OF tears about her
lovely eyes.
Nothing more was said for day or
two, and then Cherry read aloud to
the family an nffectlonate letter In
which Martin said that everything
would be ready for her whenever she
came now.
CHAPTER VII.
The last day of March and Of Cher