Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-03-21
tent. Now I'll drive you two

moment. Now I'll drive you TWO
home"
He then called back over his
shoulder. Il am afraid YOU VIII not
be able to turn the car there, my
boy. Better back her, hadn't you?
There was no reply from Arche
LaVcrock.
Miss Rice Mathews was grateful
to him for pretending to be still
busy with the car at the gate. She
knew what kept the young man;
he was hcaping black ohjurgations
upon her grandfathers innocent
and lint white head, and he was
having the consideration to keep
cut Of the way until he (young
Lavcrock) had let off steam and
felt little better. When, after II
couple of minutes, he fooled slowly
up to them he had evidently got 1t
over.
Mr.. Rice Mathews turned to him
exultantly, Aren't you-er-rather
bucked with your pupil, young
man."
quite pretty turn of speed you
got up. sir" Archie said grimly.
But if you don't mind, it's just n
little ahead of the program. Stupid
OF me. My fault. | ought to have
given YOU this downhill lesson "A bit
sooner. Please don't try to drive
again before l have
He bent. piling the stones into the
front of the car. Miss Rice Math-
ews came to help. Perfectly COM
posed now, she said to him. THANK
YOU. Archie, She added with the
same composure. 1t is pronounced
'Mauve'? Like the color"
The Rover knew no more about
fhn S1innpn nf yurlnrintr AnnC
the Grant bee; he just liked flowers
TO be there" He knew nothing
about rockgardens either: except
that he just liked to be there him
self, at least as long as the job last
ed of one boulder TO he shifted from
this border TO that. and of "A load
of soil to be tipped into certain
creviccs in the way that Mauve
Rice Mathews pointed out to him.
lie now wanted to be with her; at
her beck and call. But was that
all? a couple of days back. what
he had wanted was to call her by
her Christian name. Now he had
that privilege he found he didn I
caro- about it. Meaningless enough
it was. Even that Blue Rock man
Of the other day called her Mauvc.
As Tor her calling him Archie--welI,
nobody seemed to be Mister any
more nowadays except the plumber.
or the man from the blacksmith's
forge who had knocked up her
pigeon cote for her. Young Lave
rock began to feel that being
"ArChic' to her was not Cnough-all
this as he moved at her direction
among the debris of the bank that
she was moving. He was in shirt
sleeves, with arms all earthly to the
a. q, ,,t,
that suited her so well, with one
riding breeched knee upon the path
as she dug up an obstinate root
here. or pattcd the soil down about
4 plant there. With every move
mont that she made there grew upon
EIm the curious still attraction of
tn girl; her charms of changful
color, of 1.-THE height. of breeding
Depth, too, she had: she Thought"
about things. so different from (for
instance) a chattering, glitterins
creature like the Beauty Girl. poor
little Lucy. just n pretty little face
= That was it, thought the
Rover, again Obvious that this was
not the first time that he had thus
summed up a young woman. Mauve
was different.
lie didn't know how else to ex-
press it. He could not have said,
exactly of what ii was that her
"difiercnce' chiefly consisted. lie
was eager to know.
What did she think about? not
only about him, but everything?
What had her life bccn-not only
before lie. Archie, came to Rios. but
before she had made herself into
the admirable young chatelaine and
SICK nurse that she was? Before
mat? Before she had first donned
thoSc toil-worn breeches and that
smock she now wore and had 1oilcd
as u genuine land girl? And before
the war? Had there been no other
than country and domestic interests
IN nor life? The Rover thought
thcre was something very wonderful
If there hadn't been. -