Graham guardian., 1921-08-19

! by wearing loose velvet gown in
| which she fancied herself; Anne had
conscientiously decorated the table,
had seen to 1t that there was ice
| cream, and chicken, and all the acces-
sOries that make Il Sunday dinner In
the country national institution,
Cherry had done nothing helpful.
On the contrary, she had disgraced
herself and infuriated Hong by decid-
ing to make fudge the last minute.
Hong had finally relegated her to the
laundry, and 1t was from this limbo
that Martin, laughing joyousy, eXtrl-
Gated her, when, sticky and repentant,
she had called for help. 1t was Mar
| tin who united the checked brown
apron, disentangllng from the strings
the silky gold tendrils that were blow
ing over Cherrys white neck, and
Martin who opened the door for her
sugary fingers, and Martin who
watched the flying little figure out of
sight with q prolonged "Whew-w-w p
of utter astonishment. The child was
q beauty.
Her eighteenth birthday! Martin
had been shown her birthday gifts;
books and silver belt buckle and a
gold pen and stationery and handker-
chiefs. A day or two later she had
had another gift; had opened the tiny
Shreve box with sudden hammering
at her heart, with a presage OF delight
She had found a silver-topped candy
Jar, and the card of Mr.. John Martin
Lloyd, and under the name, In tiny
letters, the words "Oh, fudge!" The
girls laughed over this nonsense ap-
preciatively, but there was more than
laughter In Cherry's heart.
From that moment the world was
changed. Her father, her sister, her
cousin had second place, now. Cherry
had put out her innocent little hand,
and had opened the gate, and had
passed through it pto the world That
hour was the brShsiing, and II had led
her surely, steadily to ii,e oti,ei hour
tonight when she had been kissed,
and had kissed in return.
"So-we walk hoL,e with young
menY muscd the doctor, smiling.
Look here, girls, this little Miss Muf-
fet will be cutting you both out with
that young man, il you're not care
fulw
Allx, deep In her story, did not hear
him, hut Anne smiled family. and
taintly frowned rs she shook her
head. She considered Cherry sufIi-
GENTLY precocious without Uncle Lees
ill-considered tolerance.
He would have had them always
children, this tender, simple, innocent
Dr. Strickland. He was In many
ways child himself, He had never
made money il. his profession; he and
his wife and the tive tiny girls had
had a hard enough struggle sometimes.
Anne and her own father had Joined
the family eight years ago, In the
same year that the Strickland patent
fire eXtingulsher, over which the doc
tor had been puttering for years. had
been sold. 1t did not sell, MS his
nelghbors believed, for million dol
lars, but for perhaps one-tenth of that
sum. 1t was enough. and more than
enough, whatever 1t was. After
Anne's father died 1t meant that the
doctor could live on in the brown
house under the redwoods. with his
girls, reading, fussing with a new in
vention, walking, consulting with
Anne, laughing at Alix, and spelling
his youngest-born.
1t was perfect life for the old
man; it was only lately that he begun
uneasily to suspect that they would
some day want something more. that
they would some day tire of empty
forest and blowing mountain ridge,
and go away from the shadow Of Mt.
Tamalpais, and into the world.
Anne, pow--wns she beginning to
fancy this young Lloyd? DR.. Strick-
land was surprised with the fervor
with which he repudiated the thought.
This young engineer, who had driftcd
already into n dozen different and dis
tant places, WAS not the man for stald
little. Anne.
''Wlat did you want to see Mr..
Lloyd about tomorrow, Dada" Cherry
interrupted his thoughts TO ask.
THE rose vine. What did he say
about coming over, Cherry?"
Cherry remarked, between two rend-
Ing yawns, that Mr.. Lloyd was coming
over tomorrow ut ten o'clock, and
Peter, too
"Peter won't be much good!" AliS
commented. Cherry looked at her re-
proochfully.
+. you're awfully mean to Peter, late
ly!" she protested. Her father gave
her shrewd look, with his goodnight
kiss, and Immediately afterward both
the younger girls dragged their way
up to bed.
Alix and Cherry shared bare,
woody-smelllng room tucked away I'M
der brown caves. The walls were Of
raw pine, the latticed windows, In
bungalow fashion, opened into the
fragrant darkness of the night. The
beds were really hunks. and above her
bunk each girl had an extra berth, for
occasional guests. There was scant
prettiness In the room. and yet 1t was
full of purity and charm. The girls,
like all their nelghbors, were hardy,
bred TO cold baths, long walks, simple
hours, and simple food. In the soft
western climate they left their bed
room windows open the year round; I;