Evening star., 1934-06-23
CHAPTER XVIII.


YEFFREY, in spite Of their fire.
uuent clashes, merited more OF
Miss Abby's reluctant respect
~ than did any other member of
the Therrold family. She alone,
of them all, fathomed his nature. Her
shrewd old eyes had long since de-
tected that the almost savage taci-
turnity he sometimes displayed was
in reality but a mask for simplicity
and idealism.
Jeffrey, she knew, was strong
where Harvey had been weak. Sane
and balanced-where Barbara was
prone to let her emotions engulf her
In strange waters. Generous-though
he strove furiously to conceal it
where Ursula was calculatingly selfish
to the core of her being.
These things Miss Abby knew, just
as she knew that his habitual scornful
manner hid q deep vein Of shyness
and that his coldly disapproving voice
could warm surprisingly into boyish
enthusiasm. 1t had been to Miss
Abby that Jeffrey had turned in those
first days after his fathers death.
She had never failed him since.
To the rest Of the family he was
merely the head of the household.
Ruling his mother by the deceptive
gentleneSs which coped 30 adequately
with her tinseled little pretenses.
Ruling Ursula with a high-handed
impatience which her shallow nature
merited. Ruling Barbara through his
love for her-Barbara, the littlest one,
with the proud-tilted head, indolent
grace and tempestuous, ardent nature
Barbara had been the baby when JEFF
had taken over the family manage
ment. She would always be a baby
to JEFF.
Her estrangement from him of late,
her strange, sullen silences, had hurt
| him more than he would admit; had,
| in truth, rather gotten on his nerves.
And because of what, he asked him.
self savagely? Because BabS had
some childish, idiotic notion that it
hurt her prestige to have Rose Their
rold in Catherwood. Because that
pack of silly parasites Babs played
with thought it a disgrace for Har-
| vey Therrold's wife to be working. 4.
Well, they had all had their chance,
the man reflected grimly. And he.
Jeffrey Therrold, had lost it. If things
had been different at the first; if they
had all been less hasty, less bitter
if only he had listened to none Of
them, reserving his judgment until he
had Seenl Reviewing that evening
when he had called at the little cot
tage with his arrogant, self-satisfied
proposal to take Kitten from her
mother. Shame burned duly
within him now at the thought.
Nothing. jeff decided, could ever win
this strange, determined girl away
from the memory of his attitude that
night. Friendly she might be-but it
was not in human nature to forget.
As for offering her money, help of
| any sort now about all he was
good for was to keep on insulting her,
| hurting her.
Savagely he bit through the end
of his cigarette. throwing it impa-
! tiently into the fireplace She hadn't
| meant to be interfering, only to be
kind, to help If Barbara were
making a fool of herself, it was time,
after all, that some one stepped in.
He walked restlessly to the window,
staring down into the damp garden
seeing only Roses wide, unhappy eyes,
hurt, appealing, pathetically rebuffed
| And realized, perhaps for the first
time, how much he had been think
ing of her lately. In the Office 81.
playing bridge on the links
Out of clear sky, fashioned
from some chance remark, from the
swing of plant shoulder in a crowd
would come this tantalizing memory
| of Rose Therrold fire and flame