Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1933-06-30
Sixteenth Installment

and go with you. Take me on, will
you?" Neil spoke with smiling
carelessness but the look in his
eyes gave him away.
"Of course, what time will you
get here?" She spoke casually. Neil
would never guess the turmoil of
unhappiness under that calm. Did
men ever divine things the way
women did? One man perhaps e.
Robert? as the name stabbed her
she turned away quickly, scarcely
hearing Neil's answer, "I'll come
home to lunch, l think. Then we'll
have the whole afternoon togeth-
er."
Even in her pain Joyce heard the
change in Neil's voice. That last
word was spoken with 50 touch
ingly confident and happy a note.
"All right, I'll be ready. Good
bye and she ran upstairs and shut
herself in her room. There she sat
on the edge of the couch-bed and
clenched her hands, staring dry
eyed out of the big window to the
distant mountains.
Joyce was wrapped in a mood of
warm compassion for Neil. She felt
she could not add another unkind-
ness to the many that Frills had
inflicted upon him. His eyes haunt
ed her, and she felt more utterly
miserable than she had at any time
since she had awakened to find Ter
self occupying another woman's
shoes. She could not contemplate
failing Neil and his mother that
way.
Riding off with Joyce that after
noon, Neil was in high spirits, with
an elation in his name that filled
Joyce with shame. She rode in sill
ence, hardly answering his ques-
tons, and rot looking at him.
Neil soon fell in with her mood
as they rode along and no longer
bothered her with conversation.
Gradually hen she began to feel
remorse, and wished she could be
less surly with Neil. He tried SO
hard to please her in everything, to
adapt himself to her moods. 1t
struck Joyce suddenly how much
! of hal sort of thing he must have
been doing in his married life.
Sam says McBready has a new
lot of horses in," remarked Joyce,
did he tell you there's a man from
Salinas who would like to buy Fire
Queen?"
YEAH" replied Neil. eye.ng her
sidewise, perhaps TO see # her gen.
eral expression matched the friend
" causalness of her voice. II said
I'd like to get rid of hr myslf
but I'd have to consult you about
the m1tter. I hate the sigh of the
damn brute after what she nearly
did to you, dear"
A flash of amusement curlcd the
corners of Joyce's mouth for a
moment as she remarked, 1ou
needn't consult me. Pm quite salts
fed with Rosita, thank you"
Really? Gosh that's great. Sure
relieves my mind.'
A little later they dismounted
and sat down on a slope overlook
ing the valley o eat the package OF
sandwiches and fruit Joyce had
brought. To her relief Neil talked
about Manzanita topics: his moth
er's condition, Paul's departure,
Sans progress in the correspondent
ce course, plans for the new sub
division north of Manzanita, and
so on.
He finally stretched out on the
ground and put his head in her lap.
Joyce had just stroked back a lock
of hair from his forehead, thinking
absently that Neil ought to be do
ing something about the increasing
thinness of his hair, when the thud
of a horses hoofs in the distance
caught her ear. She stifened and
glanced up with an apprehenslve
fear clutching at her heart and
stopping its beat for a moment.
There, in an opening between
clumps of oak trees about sixty
yards away, on the trail they had
just left, rode Robert Ainsworth!
He did not see her at first. Then
his idly rowing glance turned to
the couple on the ground. His eyes
met Joyce's, and a quick smile of
recognition spread over his face.
Then his look dropped to the figure
of Neil lying with his head in her
lap. A quizzical shade passed over
his face.
Hello, Joyce" he shouted. His
horse leaped forward under the
SOUR of his heel and thew qalloped