The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-01-22

monkey, swung herseu up on the
bridge.
Can your" she asked. "Do you
suppose you can fix it?"
Easily" Jim smiled down into
the small anxious face. "a little
Irvine and varnish will do the trick.
See, the break is here at the end"
The puzzled expression returned
to her eyes. II should think you'd
know Cecily," she said. II mean
you look" Again she abandoned
the difficult task of making her
meaning clear. /
"But l DON'T" Jim assured herr
"You see" he smiled. care you a
Vaughn"
She nodded.
(Which one?"
"I'm-Susan." Her manner be-
came defensive. go on and laugh,
I know it's an awful name"
Jim, with some difficulty, main
tanned a grave expression. =,
"But it isn't" he said. "It's a
great advantage to be named
Susan"
"Why?"
Because people call you Sue
and that's very nice"
"They don't. They call you
SUSIE"
"Ill call you Sue Well, Sue
Like it?" Jim asked.
Better than SUSIE" Her voice
was non-committal. She did not
mean to lower her defenses all at
once.
"Well, Sue," Jim continued, 81
came to visit the MacPhersons.
They're here, aren't they?"
"Sure," she replied. "That's our
gardener and his wife"
They're friends of mine," Jim
continued, 81 used to know them
once. A long time ago."
did you? He's nice. She's
bossy."
Jim laughed. The child, obvious
ly, had no consciousness of class
distinctions.
49," he went on, "if you'll tell
me where I can find them"
"Pll show you," she offered. Her
attention turned to the fishing equip
ment. "I've got to do something
with this" she said obviously per-
picked.
"Can I help your" Jim asked.
She paused to consider, frowning.
81 guess we hadn't better take
them up to the house," she said at
length. "Somebody'd give me the
devil" Her eyes frightened with in
spiration. II know! We can put it
in the spring-house until tonight"
The spring-house was in the
meadow, short distance from the
drive. Jim walked through mead
ow grass with Susan. 1t was pleas
ant under the light rain of the will
lows.
| i"You won't forget that the rods
broken, will your" Susan asked.
"You could get some things from
Macpherson and come here and fix
it."
That would require some diplo-
macy, Jim reflected. But he was,
in a measure, responsible for the
accident. He looked down at her.
She was looking at him, her plain
little face anxious and solemn. She
was not pretty child. She had a
tilted nose splashed with freckles.
Her eyes were too large for her
face. Nice eyes, though, widely
spaced, fringed with curling lashes.
II won't forget" he promised.
This seemed to be his day for
making promises to ladies.
They returned to the drive.
Sues spirits lifted. She moved
along beside Jim in series of skip
ping steps. They fell into a COM
panionable silence which was pres
emily disturbed by dismal
whistling.
Music" Jim observed, his at
tention engaged in closer survey
of the house at the end of the drive.
''That's Tommy" she said.
Tommy" Jim glanced inquir-
ingly at his companion.
"My brother" Susan explained,
and then added serenely, "Tommy's
in love-"
"That's interesting" Jim re-
marked.
"You can always tell" the child
continued. Tommy whistles like
that all day long when he's in love-"
Jim smiled. He was conscious
of a lively interest in Tommy. Or
curiosity, perhaps. Was the girl
in the drugstore the temporary OBJ
ject of Tommy's affections?
He was spared prolonged period
of speculation.
"That's him." Susan said when
they had turned the last bend in
the drive.
Jim's eyes followed the direction
of her pointing finger. He saw, re-
Ginning against the trunk of a cop
per-beach, not the dashing Don Juan
of his imagination, but a lanky
boy, eighteen, perhaps, with an en-
viable complexion. His costume adj
vertised the fact that he suffered
f NJ - 1.