Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1935-02-21
CHAPTER v-continued
lie

She turned, holding out the card
"See what Mr.. Payne found."-and
she told them the story, her eyes brill
liant, her cheeks flushed as If the in
cident had excited her. mot every
thing Is lost In Lostland."
"And some things beyond price are
FOUND" Wilton reflected.
Here we rest" he called at length
from an eminence where he and Ber-
enice stood tall and straight against
the honey-colored sky.
The elevation commanded all the
rugged country about them. They
could not see the academy, and Will
ton was glad of this. Berenice seemed
more than content, seated on a fallen
tree trunk. her hands clasped about
her knees. They were rather old fash
toned, the four Of them-Berenice be-
cause of her seclusion-the other
three for the reason that life had pre-
scented serious problems to them
problems Of livelihood and education.
1t was natural they should think it
quite wonderful to have such a view
spread at their feet while Payne from
an anthology he had brought read
aloud "The Eve Of st. Agnes" "These
lovers fed away into the storm"
seemed thrilling climax while clouds
raced across the intensely blue sky,
and the silence Of the lonely world
about them was broken only by distant
gunshots-the farmer boys after par
tridges.
1T would be rare privilege to have
an eve of st. Agnes these days"
Janet remarked, "and flee away-only
there's nothing as a rule to fee from r.
Arthur was rejecting that one could
not be too sure this was true; and
Payne, too, wondered II the old acad-
envy would not prove some day a good
place to fee from. Would that he
might take Berenice not into storm
but out Of It. Seated on the tree trunk,
her nobly modelled head and her bright
sweater shone out as clearly against
the indigo folds Of the hills as If she
were In a painting by a modern Span
ish master. Arthur was looking In
tently at Janet, and wondering how
long he could 60 on without telling
ner he loved her. Now II seemed by
those strange anachronisms of love
that he had known her long before he
ever met her. How automatically Has
kell was left out Of all their plans
and pleasures He wondered IL the
man had ever been In love. Their
way home took them past the deserted
village. At that hour the long, stray
Cling row Of crumbling houses, sunk in
their ancient orchards, presented
ghostly. unearthly air. The empty
windows seemed watching the road for
inhabitants who were never to return.
A rudy glow not of the sunset was
traced to a burning pile of rubbish at
the back OF the church. Looming
above 1t was Balder like basalt
Image. for his face and clothes were
dark with SCOT; he saluted them with
more courtesy than was his wont.
Don't you want to warm your"
Bladder" Berenice said as they gath
cred around the fire. do you remem-
Der the last Christmas tree we had In
the academy"
Balder rolled his black eyes. do
I-sure dol and know where It is,
too. I saw it-only yesterday-the
remains OF 1t. It's up In the belfry of
the church there"
"How on earth did it get there?"
He had pitchfork in his left hand
and on this he rested, meditatively
watching the fire which lit I'D all
their faces, and made Janets sweater
glow like coat OF gold. 'Tl tell you
what ! know Of its history after that
Christmas. It was thrown out on one
Of the sheds, base and all, and la '
there for months with some bits Of
tinsel sticking to IL; then Norman. he
found II, and he and Jethro took II up
the ravine to be a fiagpole in front
Of their tent near the whirl-they had
a tiny tent there that summer
'twasn't safe-shale crumbly under
their very beds; but theirs the pole
was on Its stand; 1t got washed down
In the sring freshets and bobbed up
in the q again. l. dshed II out and
brOugn down here to burn With
some 2 rubbish; some children