The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-10-01
CHAPTER xI1I-Continued

''How is that little scamp" john
ny Keats asked, rightly interpret
ing the sudden softening of her
voice, the sudden shadow in her
eyes to the thought that was never
far from Martins mother.
Hes adorable. Quent's put
nurse in for a few weeks" Vicky
said CALAMITY. "We have our be-
loved Brownie back-Miss Brown
ing you know, who's taken care of
me with all the children. She's
keeping an eye on Mart, just tenn
porarily."
"Good ideal" Johnny said, as
Quentin came up to claim his wife.
He beamed approval on them both.
"I've been telling Vic she's getting
awfully pretty" he said.
"Vic," Quentin said, looking at
her unsmilingly. He put his hand
under her arm-''how about beat
ing it? l think we've done our du-
ty!"
''She's got him back and pretty
smart work, too" Johnny Keats
said to his wife. II wonder what
ever got into the poor old IDIOT"
"Got him back?" echoed Violets
incisive British accents. "She new
er lost him. He just had one of
those fatuous brainstorms that big
men get. They concentrate and
work and worry and run themselves
down, and some flowery by-path
tempts them, and they stroll into
it! But personally 1 shall never
forgive Quentin Hardisty, never
really like him again"
"Come now, vi, you know you
love him for what he did for Kate!"
"Ah, well, loving him, Johnny,
feeling grateful to him, that's quite
different storyl But I'll never adj
mire him again"
Vicky and Quentin in the late
afternoon drove the 20 miles to-
ward home. There was a sweet
spring quality in the air of the
April afternoon; a fragrance, soft
ness, a color; husband and wife
moved through it as through a
dream. The day had almost dis
appeared behind the western hills;
long lances of mellow sunshine
streamed across the new grass and
occasionally caught poisoning
plum tree, a pink or white haw-
thorn in globe of light. A thou
sand little homes, behind their
hedges, set in their flower-packed
gardens, looked inviting, looked
happy; late children dawdled in the
shade of oaks, deceived by the lin
gering daylight into forgetfulness of
time. The violets on Vicky's Shout
der were wilted; every now and
then she caught their exquisite dy-
Ing breath, mingled with all the
other sweet and significant odors:
grass and turned earth, lilac and
new leaves, the pungent spiciness
Of the pepper trees, the piny scent
of the blades of the tasseled euca-
Vptus.
"Tired, Vicky?" Quentin said, as
they turned up their own lane.
''Only comfortably tired. It was
worth while, think. Only, when
get this near home," Vicky said,
II always begin to want to see
the children; it's the only time 1
worry! Just before we see them
ah, God bless them, there they
are!"
There they were, at the gate,
ready to leap upon the car and be
carried the hundred yards up to the
porch.
"Oh, it's so good to get home; it's
50 wonderful to shut it all away"
Victoria was murmuring to herself
as, somewhat hampered by the
scrambling children, she descended
and smiled at the nurse who came
down to meet them. marty all
right?" she asked. Miss Browning
nodded reassuringly.
Sound asleep" But when Vic,
trailing sons and daughters like
clouds of glory, had fought her pain
ful way upstairs, Harriet Browning
turned her good, middle-aged face
~ SNSAAtAA' WISH yOu VI IldNC q
look at Marty, Doctor. I rather
think-anyway, wish you'd just
lake look. He's sleeping beauti-
fully, he may sleep like that all
through the night. But he had a
sort of restless time, about three,
and he coughed quite hard"
Victoria saw the shadow on Quen-
tins face when he came to dress a
Few minutes later. He was tired,
poor old fellow; he had been serious
and quiet ever since his return, any,
way. All very well to say that a
man could escape from his sins
scot-free; nobody ever escaped scot
free from anything in this world,
and especially a man as fine as
Quentin couldn't escape! Whenever
his eyes fell on the Morrison house
he'd remember and be sorry. Even
when Serena had lingeringly, eloy-
ingly gone away, as of course she
would some day, he wouldn't be
proud to remember that sickening
little interval of kisses and whisper
inpS and pracantS and Stnlen hours