Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-10

she went out Of Marietta's
house, around the old stone
i 1 gateposts and up through the
maze.
She hurried along in the delicious
Fall weather, looking to right and left
rough brown of her sweater, listening
for the clear shrill chant by which
Patricia sometimes revealed her pres
ence. She heard it presently.
81 had a little nut tree-nothing would
1t bear
But a golden apple and silver
near ."
And, coming out on the lawn, she
found Patricia, the hole-a terrible one
and heavy and towering, the tree
itself Of which Mrs. Kingsway had been
broad and heavy leafed over the small
elf-slim figure of the child. In its
shade Patricia labored valiantly, singing
as she worked.
Helen caught the child in her arms.
And as they chung together in the
sunset, Helen, looking over Patricia's
little fair head, saw Ethan coming
down the maze toward them. As he
paused at its opening for a moment
it might have been the ghost of his
cavalier ancestor. The steady gray
eyes, the slight smile on the finely cut
lips under the small mustache, the
whole poise Of his body suggesting so
much leashed bone under its easy
grace, were those Of the picture IN the
grandmother room.
He smiled at Helen over the child.
They stood, their eyes caught together,
for long moment. Then Patricia,
over her shoulder, caught sight OF the
hole she had dug, and-evidently
v,navrrhoroA that Ethan WAS very prOt10
of the beautiful old turf. :.
II put the nut down In for my tree.
she said. Now all you have to 90 Is
get Marietta's husband to I'LL it in"
And she ran like the wind. j.
He came nearer her, and motioned
her to sit down on the old seat where
she had first seen him with Patricia.
Helen leaned back in her corner, feel
ing happy and relaxed.
at don't know whether showed 1t, !"
he said suddenly, echoing her thought.
81 am rather an impetuous person-but
thought you were one Of these :
"I know" said Helen lightly. you
needn't tell me. It was written all over
your dreadful mannersl"
But I know better now. How much
better I don't think you know. We
have beenSat rather bad croSS-purposes.
All this time have thought you saw
well, let that 60 for the present. And
what you have been seeing was q
bliohted young man out of o romance,
saying NinaP every night before he
went to bed and probably carrying
around q lock Of her hair"
"Oh, not as bad as that" Helen
couldn't help protesting. Things seemed
suddenly so friendly and gay. Nina
wears such q very short bob 1t would
have been impoSsiblel But I take 1t
back. After all, what did you Seel A
terrible fiapper, whose one idea in the
orange and drink gin out offs 1t Slip
pers? No-that was what our grand
fathers did-pocket TASKS, reckon.
And go to wild parties. ! do like
parties" she confessed. II like people
and laughing and being gay"
They laughed together, and she looked
at him, leaning back in the corner Of
the stone seat in his rough gray over
coat with the cap sticking out of q
pocket and a little wind stirring one
small lock Of fair hair that should have
been lying straight.
She rose from the bench, saying, TITS
getting cold, and promised your
mother to lock up something In the
library"
"Just as we were getting to be good
friends!" he said.
She smiled at him over her shoulder
and vanished into the maze. Helen was
little tired from all her running
with Patricia, and she always loved the
library. She had never seen anything
like It before, anywhere else. It was
raftered and paneled, and carved and
painted shields were set into the dark
old wood over the bookcases that nearly
covered the walls.
Only one portrait hung In it, black
browed Revolutionary Kingsway who by
his blue-and-buR had apparently for
once gone the country's way instead Of
the Kings. It was between the win
dowS, on the only wall unoccupied by
the tall, dark bookcases. A low window
seat was under each window, and there
Helen curled herself, as she had learned
to do often of late.
Presently she was staring out into the
garden, still brave with late-growing
chrySanthemums and tall bronze bushes,
contemplating the curious fact that she
really did not want Tommy back at
allAznd all this time she had thought
she did,
at must have been just charm after
aL-glamourl Perhaps 1t would
come back If I saw him again. I GER
tainly do hope not"
She heard light step and q closing
door. Ethan bent over the book on her
lap.
"Sir Thomas Brownel So you think
I belong in the seventeenth century,"
II know you do-and this wonderful
house. and the maze. had the key
to everything about you that day when
I eaveSdropped on you and Patricia.
BY the way, did you want to see me
about anything?"
Nothing especial, only we weren't
through talking" he said boyishIy.
Ethan" she said, beginning some
thing she had wanted to say to him
for long time, ST think I ought to
tell you how much you've helped me.
Oh, not just having me here and pay
ing me an absurd price for tanning
Patricia, but long before that. When
when things were hardest for me.
Seeing the wonderful way you carried
on through your trouble-knoWing that
everybody admired you, and thought
you were wonderful-even If Nina had
been unkind to you. And I thought,
II he can be brave, and even gay, with
that hurting him. and look after civic
things, and help everybody that needs
1t, why, can"
Helen, do you mean to say that you
have thought was such a warped and
DEcnnrC