Evening star., 1922-04-30

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n until she had fnished the
dinner dishes. hung the cot
tage cheese to Adrain. . pasty
white gourd In = sugar sack, and
CLEANED the ashes ont OF tho kitchen
range before she allowed herself to
20 up to Stephens room. Stephen was
out In the fields, already at work.
Yesterday afternoon she had mot him
at the station In Green mountain. The
train from Des Moines was late, and
together they had driven home
against the sunset. They were silent
at first and oppressed by that curious
embarrassment all shy people feel
who care much for each other.
You still wrigg1e your nose like
when you was little" said Hephzibah
finally.
Stephen twisted around toward her
and laughed. mot much gets by
you, Aunt Hephzibah." With an i'm
petuous, boyish movement he slipped
his arm through hers and pressed 1t
an instant against his side. 'Gosh.
I'll bet this nag could drive US homo
blIndfolded"
Hephzibah Preston nodded: II low
so.''
up at him, shyly. He was twen-
ty-one-but his hair still curled In
the nape of his neck and his lips
twisted into the same smile as when,
ten years ago, she had taken him out
of the Home for Orphans rin Des
Moines Ten years, He was q man
now, she supposed. He had been to
the university and he must know a
great deal. Even Judge Souires had
conceded Stephens marks satisfied.
except in Latin.
"Eheu, fugaces. but the lads q con-
tradiction," the old Judge had grum-
bled. Hell be a great manor a
great failure. It's nip Of the die
which"
Hephzibah Preston had not the gift
of speech, but she was as wise as
Farewell Squires. The blood in the
boys veins was not Preston blood,
sIow-pulsed and phlegmatic. Some
where, in that past. Of which none Of
them were sure, beat perhaps the
tempests OF Gaelic passion. Of Latin
bravado. He had q thousand poten-
tialities-for achievement. for Joy.
for despair. Perhaps for the very
flaws in his character she loved him.
All the way home from the station
she wanted to tell him she was happy
and proud. Proud he had passed his
examinations, that he had secured
the position in Judge Truman's office.
Happy because he was young and
handsome and close to her, his arm
touching hers, his breath on her cheek
when he spoke.
On the edge of the village by the
Lutheran Church they had met, q
woman driving team Of farm horses.
She sat high on the drivers bench.
and her body yielded to the rough
jolting of the wagon with something
that was almost grace. Under too
pink hat, massed with cheap cotton
roses, stared a pair OF brown eyes,
deep-set and challenging. Her cheeks
glowed warm under a soft bronzed
skin and her teeth were very white.
y
AS the two wagons passed, Step
hons eyes held the woman's for
IN instant. Then she was gone. the
pink roses Hopping and nodding.
"who's sheT' he demanded.
Hephsibah Preston looked up at
him sharply. why. don't you re-
Eiember? She's Herter's Anna"
"Oh-" He did not remember dis
tinctly. He had been just a boy
when it happened and he some way
did not want to ask now. WELL" he
said finally, shes a locker"
Yes, she's pretty"
They had crossed the bridge above
the mill pond now. In the west hung
nocks of white clouds against sun
set of orange. and the shadows of the
willow hedge stretched black across
the fields. The next turn would
bring them in sight of the farm
house, and Zeke would be watching.
She must talk to him now. She must
tell him about Zeke and how irri-
table the slowly knitting arm had
made him, about the money for her
trip back to Vermont, her first visit
since she had left for the west, young
and gray-eyed and valiant.
There's the pigpen we hid old
Stranger in. Remember" He point
ed and his eyes grew tender.
She smiled up at him and nodded.
"You was leven then. and I was-''
She hesitated. well. I was some
younger He's dead now. Zeke ffxed
lot. Funny, Zeke kept calm him
cur. even to the last. and doin' for
him all the time
The boy smiled. and the look of
gentleness did not leave his face.
Technically Zeke's right. But 1t
takes moro than one kind OF thor
oughbred to mako q dog like
Stranger"
With a quick, half-timid gesture
she leaned over and touched his hand.
1T was good of you. Steve. to come
back-postponin' your new job and
ALL" She hesitated, for this had not
been easy to say. "Zeke-he can't
seem to keep hired man. You know
he amt simple to work for. When
he broke his arm I wrote you. 1
knew I was askin' q lot for you to
give up the city and all the interestin'
things you've got there. But it
seemed some way as though 1 owed
1t to Zeke-and you did" She was
xy Z fnhinv his faca with uitffl,l infant.