The Ocala evening star., 1922-05-10
CHAPTER vi.
When I Am Both Together.
BOSTON AGAIN.

BOSTON AGAIN.
Well, 1 came last night. Mother and
! Grandfather and Aunt Hattie and
! Baby Lester all met me at the station.
! And, my! wasn't l glad to see them?
Well, just guess I was!
was specially glad on account of
having such a dreadful time with Fa-
ther that morning. l mean l was
! feeling specially lonesome and home
sick, and not-belonging- anywhere like.
You see, 1t was this way: I'd been
sort of hoping know, that at the last,
| when | came to really go, Father
would get back the understanding
smile and the twinkle, and show that
! he really did care for me, and was
sorry to have me go. But, dear me!
Why, he never was so stern and SOL
emn, and you're-1ny y-daughter-only-by
the-order- Of the-c0urt sort of way as
he was that morning.
| He never even spoke at the break
fast-table. (He wasn't there hardly
long enough to speak, anyway, and he
never ate a thing, only his coffee-I
mean he drank it, Then he pushed
his chair back from the table and
stalked out of the room.
He went to the station with me;
! but he didn't talk there much, only to
ask IL 1 was sure l hadn't forgotten
anything, and was l Warmly clad.
Warmly sclad, indeed! And there 1t
! was still August, and hot as it could
bel But that only goes to show how
absent-minded he was, and how little
he was really thinking Of me!
Well, Of course, he got my ticket and
checked my trunk, and did all those
proper, necessary things; then we sat
down to wait for the train. But did
he stay with me and talk to me and
tell me how glad he had been to have
me with him, and how sorry he was
to have me 60. and all the other nice,
polite things 'mose everybody thinks
they've got to say when a visitor goes
away2 He did not. He asked me
again II 1 was sure had not left any
thing, and was l warmly clad; then he
took out his newspaper and began to
read. That is, he pretended to read;
but / don't believe he read much, for
he never turned the sheet once; and
twice, when I looked at him, he was
looking hxedly at me, al II he was
thinking of something. So guess he
was just pretending to read, SO he
wouldn't have to talk to me.
But he didn't even do that long, for
he got up and went over and looked at
q map hanging on the wall opposite,
and at a big timetable near the other
corner. Then he looked at his watch
again with won't-that-train-ever-
come? air. and walked back to me and
sat down.
And how do you suppose I felt, to
have him act like that before all those
people-to show so plainly that he was
just longing to have me go? guess he
wasn't any more anxious for that train
to- come than I was And 1t did seem
as II 1t never would come, too. And
1t didn't come for ages. 1t was ten
minutes late.
Oh, I did so hope he wouldn't 60
down to the junction. It's so hard to
be taken care Of because it's my duty,
you know!'' But he went. told him
he needn't, when he was getting on
the train with me. I told him / just
knew I could do it beautifully all by
myself, almost-a-young lady like me.
But he only put his lips together hard,
and said. cold, like ice: Are you then
so eager to be rid Of mer' Just as II
was the one that was eager to get
rid of somebody
Well, as / said, he went. But he
wasn't much better on the train than
he had been In the station. He was an
nervous and fidgety as a witch, and he
acted as If he did so wish 1t would be
over, and over quick. But at the
functional the junction funny thing
happened. He put me on the train,
just as Mother had done, and spoke to
the conductor. (How I hated to have
him do that! Why, I'm six whole
months older. most, than l was when
/ went up thereD And then, when
he'd put me in my seat (Father, l
mean not the conductor), all Of a sud
den he leaned over and kissed me !;
kissed me-Father! Then, before /
could speak, or even look at him, he
was gone; and | didn't see him again,
though it must have been five whole
minutes before that train went
l had a nice trip down TO Boston,
though nothing much happened This
conductor was not near so nice and
polite as the one | had coming up ';
and there wasn't any lady with a
baby to play with, nor any nice young
gentleman to loan me magazines OF
buy candy for me. But it wasn't very
long ride from the junction to Boston,
anyway. So l didn't mind. Besides
knew I had Mother waiting for me