Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1926-02-10
Everything Must
Be Silent
BY JANE OSBORN
(Copyrig ht.)

|
ring. The door opened shortly and
white-capped, ack-frocked maid APP
peared, treading silently on thick vel
vet carpet
81 want to see Mrs. Norton" said
Peggy and the maid silently took the
small pig-skin travelling bag that Peg
gy was carrying.
Eyes, miss" said the maid in a low,
soft voice. please sit down in the
drawing room. Mrs. Morton will be
home directly. If you wish, miss, I'll
show you to your room or you may
wait here as Mrs. Morton won't be
| gone more than fifteen minutes more"
so Peggy sat there in the drawing
room and made mental notes on what
! she saw, but what she saw was not
entirely To her liking. For one thing
| She did not like the heavy old fash
| toned carpets fastened to the edges
of the rooms.
1t happened that Peggy Fletcher
knew none of the inmates Of this
house. She had just completed her
freshman year at an eastern college.
In three weeks her family We're COM
ing from the West, where she would
join them for trip to Europe. 1t
had seemed a useless expense of time
and money for Peggy to go all the
way across the continent to her home
just for the few days that would
elapse before she would have to start
East again. It was then that Peggy's
mother bethought herself of her old
friend, Mrs Morton. who was living
East now. She had written and as
result Peggy was to be Mrs. Morton's
guest for the three weeks that lay
between college closing and the trip
to Europe.
Incidentally Mrs. Morton mentioned
the fact that since her husbands death
and her daughters marriage she had
harbored her nephew. her sisters
child-Robert Willard. Il am sure you
have heard af him and have read some
of his work." said Mrs. Morton. "He
comes here for several months every
year, and his visits give me great
pleasure"
SO PEGGY waited in the drawing
room until Mrs. Morton returned, and
then ringing for the maid Mrs. Nor
ton led the way to Peggy's room on
the third floor. She spoke almost in
a whisper in the hall, and Peggy no
ticed to her distaste that the soft-pad-
ded carpets extended up the stairs and
all over the second floor as far as she
could see-also on up to the third
floor.
1--WE have everything silent for
Robert" Mrs. Morton explained in
half whisper "HiS study is on the
second floor back Your room is over
his, but am sure you don't drop your
shoes at night He writes in that
room and of course l want everything
to be perfectly quiet"
Later Peggy discovered that none
of the clocks in the house struck, that
the piano was locked, and that even
the telephones were muffied.
Peggy felt a contempt for Robert
Willard from the start But when she
met him at dinner that evening she
had to admit to herself that he was
most attractive and at least seemed
very "human." Meeting at meal times
three times a day before long led to
rather close acquaintance, ii not to
real friendship.
Then one day Mrs. Morton was
called away on unexpected business
She would have to be gone two days
and a night, but Molly. the maid and
ha
chaperons, she was sure, and OF
course, she treasured herself, it wasn't
as if Robert could have the slightest
sentimental interest in girl like
Peggy.
The first morning of Mrs. Morton's
absence Peggy went to piano shop
and came home With an assortment of
piano keys. one of these fitted the
locked piano and Peggy sat there play
ing Jazz for half hour or so. Then
she sang and she wound one of the
old clocks "to see what sort of bell
it had" she explained to Robert later.
Before breakfast the next morning
| Peggy was playing the piano and she
| slammed doors and sang and tried in
vain to make her heels sound against
| the floor as she walked.
They drank afternoon tea together
| in the drawing room that afternoon.
'Do you know" said Robert Willard
coming over to the low lounge where
Peggy sat, 1--WE been tremendously
interested in you. You rather baffled
me. l felt myself beginning to love
you-yes, Peggy, my dear, loving you
as a man never loves but once In his
life-but / hesitated. l felt that the
woman who would make me happy
and whom l could make happy would
have to be a creature Of spirit-ani-
mated. impulsive, vivacious, noisy
even. And you were 80 still, walking
along the hall like little mouse and
talking soft and low. But yesterday
and today-why, Peggy, adore you.
"Well," sighed Peggy naively. I'm