, 1922-08-23

| dllu all tHt kCLllC llknlS Out Vi liz
eyes. 1t did, however, leave certain
lights, but they were such that their
remembrance brought no pleasure to
Bruce. They were just q wild glare,
a fixed, strange brightness as of great
| fear or insanity.
The Woman had kissed him and
gone quickly: and he had peer too
| young to remember II she had carried
| any sort of bundle close to her breast.
! Yet, the man considered, there must
have been such a bundle-otherwise
he couldn't possibly account for Linda.
And there were no doubts about her,
at all.
OF course he had no memories of
her that first day, nor for the first
years. But all later memories of the
| Square house always included her.
She must have been nearly four years
younger than himself; thus when he
was taken to the house she was only
an infant. But thereafter, the nurses
put them together often; and when
Linda was able to talk, she called him
something that sounded like Bwova-
boo. She called him that so often that
for a long time he couldn't be sure
that wasn't his real name. Now. In
manhood. he interpreted.
Brother Bruce, of course. Linda
was of course a sister"
Linda had been homely; even a
small boy could notice that. Besides.
Linda was nearly six when Bruce had
left for good; and he was then at an
age In which impressions begin to
be lasting. Her hair was quite blond
then, and her features rather Irregular.
But there had been a light in her eyesl
BY his word. there had beenl
She had been angry at him times in
plenty-over some childish game-and
he remembered how that light had
grown and frightened. She had flung
at him too. He laughed at the
memory of her sudden, explosive feroc-
ity-the way her hands had smacked
against his cheeks, and her sharp little
nails had scratched him Little Spit
fire." he sometimes called her; but
no one else could call her anything
but Linda. For Bruce had beenaan
able little fighter, even in those DAYS.
He was fond of drawing pictures.
Ills was nOllllE III llSell llHnV MI
tie boys are fond of drawing pictures.
Nor were his unusually good Their
| -strangeness lay in his subjects. He
liked to draw animals in particular
the animals he read about in school
and in such books as were brought
to him. And sometimes he drew In
dams and cowboys. And one day.
| when he wasn't half watching what
he was doing-he drew something
quite different.
Perhaps he wouldn't have looked at
1t twice, If the teacher hadn't stepped
up behind him and taken It out of his
hands. 1t was geography, then. not
Drawing and he should have been
paying attention" And he had every
reason to think that the teacher would
crumple up his picture and send him
to the cloak-room for punishment.
But she did no such thing. When
her eyes glanced down, her fingers
| slowly Strengthened. Then she looked
again-carefully.
"What is this, Bruce?" she asked.
"what have you beer drawing?'
IT don't know" tbe child an
swered. He looked and for an instant
let his hough go wandering here
and there "Those ore treesu he
said, A word caught at his throat and
he blurted IT ont. "Pinesl Pine trees.
growing on n mountain"
"Not had for n six-vear.old how"
the teacher commented. "But where.
Bruce. have Won ever seen or beord
| of such p.nes?" But Bruce did NOT