White County record., 1922-10-05
CHAPTER v-continued.

.o him to read; but as he put out
 hand to take 1t I guess he saw
 sondwriting, for he drew back ,slv. looking red and queer.
 'r,om Mrs. Anderson to you?" he .d And when Aunt Jane nodded
 hood he sat still farther back in
 .haIr and said, with little wave Mic hand, q never care to read er peoples letters.'
 ,uut Jane said, Stuff and nonsense, ,,les don't be sllly!" But she sd hack the letter and read It. ,r giving kind of an uneasy nee In my direction.
 rben Aunt Jane cleared her throat
 spoke.
 you will not let her go, of course, sres. but naturally l had to read
 stter to you. I will write to Mrs. derson tonight"
 gather looked up then.
 Yes" he said quietly; "and you " tell her, please, that Mary will Tharles'
 Amt Jane said that. But I-I al- s ran around the table and hugged n (0h, how wish he was the kind father you could do that toD
 Charles" said Aunt Jane again. urely you aren't going to give in so mely as this to that child and her pher"
 Tm not giving in at all, Jane," said ther, very quietly again. T am con Dag my own wishes in the matter. prefer to have her go."
 most cried out then. Some way, hurt to have him say 1t like that, ght Out-that he wanted me to go. m see, I'd begun to think he was tng 80 he didn't mind so very much Ivhg me here. All the last two sks he'd been different, really diff rent But more of that anon. I'll on with what happened at the table. nd as I said, I did feel bad to have speak like that. And I can re- ember now just how the lump came ght up in my throat.
 Then Aunt Jane spoke; stiff and dig fed.
 'Oh, very well, of course, if you put
 that way. l can quite we'll under and that you would want her to go r your sake. But I thought that, der !he circumstances, you would inage somehow to put up with the kke and"
 'lane" Just like that he interrupt
 and he thundered, too, so that lnt Jane actually jumped. And l es l did, too. He had sprung to eet Jane, let us close this mat once for all. I am not letting the Plo go for my sake. I am letting go for her own. So far as I am pacefned, if l consulted no ones Snes but my own, I should-keep here always"
 With that he turned and strode from room, leaving Aunt Jane and me N staring after him.
 Oa( only for a minute did I stare. ame to me then what he had said 'ua' ne would like to keep me here sass' For l had heard it, even if he said the last word very low, and queer' indistinct voice. was us had heard it, and I suddenly au'ed what it meant. So I ran after
 anu that time, If l had found
 .hlnk would have hugged him. ddn't find him. He must have qulte away from the house. He .' even out to the observatory. l @l out to see.
 The next day he was more as be has shee We had that talk in the n.s m And he has been different ."eli, you know. He really has. Aas talked quite lot with me. as ,s sald' and l think he's been try hs sa,' ol the time, to find something \, s interested in. Honestly, think |,,Se Deel, trying to make up for Carrie S,,,. sv0a and Stella Mayhew and |hnh :, eillith and Mir. Livingstone. I bs, ' 'nats why he took me to walk |pos , sas Tn the woods, and why he Ihe s,a u out to the observatory to see ~,. S'ars quite number of times |nd e o. nes asked me to play to him. |bmt se s le asked me If Mary wasn't koh. ready to dress up in Mar,e's Iben again. But he was joking Dhera h Anew, Tor Aunt Jane was right IxlDs,"a uie house. Besides. I saw the |uce os m . his eyes that I've seen there |Nntlo l., ,"'ce before. I just love that Rn. s'e In Fathers eyesl )oths,,ssi si'at hasn't come any since |Iss |.r 1T letter to Aunt Jane arrived bhforase,e een the same in one wav vet fdnt ssoa. .a another. Honestly, if 1t |hpy seem too wildly absurd for any |Orrv ta should say he was actually |hat h,,, nave me go. But, of course. hd tha, , possible. pc Oh, yes, I know he shoula ."s ,, at the dinner table that dont a ,a, ilhe to keep me always. But