The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-01-21
eyes" I answered.

| yes, i answered.
"She wasn't intending to co."
Hopestill explained. eve were
planning to go places ard do things
together this afternoon, to get this
horror out of our minds. But
after luncheon, she telephoned me
that her grandfather insisted on her
attending the funeral"
"They sat together" said.
Doctor Marden looked frightful-
| ly exhausted. This terrible thing
has worn on him as much as any
body"
II don't see why he made Caro-
CO." Hopestill grumbled. "She says
she hates funerals. She knew Ace,
of course, but not awfully well"
"Well, l suppose he has the
French point of view," I explained.
Hes lived many years in France.
There they make so much of death.
Funerals and burials are extreme
| ly important events"
81 don't think Caro- liked Ace
particularly" Hopestill declared.
Although l don't know why I bring
that up when he's dead-poor old
Ace!"
The telephone rang and Hopestill
answered it. eyes, she's here.
Yes. Yes. Come right DOWN." Still
holding the transmitter, he looked
over at me: "Caro Prentiss is
coming here"
''That's nice. She'll be just in
| time for tea
1t seemed to me that there was
an air Of suppressed excitement
about her; for as we drank our
tea, her foot tapped the floor. Once
I intercepted an interrogative look
in Hopestills direction.
The instant I put my cup down,
Caro- and Hopestill put their cups
down. Hopestill arose and came
toward me. AS though unconscious
| ly drawn, Caro- arose too, walked
to Hopestill's side, stood with him
looking down at me.
aunt Mary" Hopestill said,
| "Caro and I want to take you
Now don't get weepy and don't
say move want to take you down
into the Spinney. We want to show
you something. think I can give
you my word, Aunt Mary, that
when you see what we have to show
you, you'll be glad you did what
we asked"
Caro's lovely voice reinforced
him. please, Mrs. Avery, please,
please come! It's something lovely"
"Pn go, children" 1 agreed.
And then, MAY Sylvia come too?"
eyes," they chorused, ''we want
Sylvia to come"
"Caro and I will go first" Hope
still declared. "And you and Syl-
via walk behind u.s."
I followed those two about the
piazza, down the steps at the side,
over the path into the shade of the
Spinney.
Uncontrollably I began to trem-
| BILE.
I fixed my eyes on the two beau
tiful young creatures ahead. Light
and shade poured a checkered
stream upon them. That stream
flowed over their figures and
poured into the earth. My trem-
bling grew. Suddenly they stood
aside from each other, stationed
themselves one on either side of
the path. Between their sentinel
figures, I glimpsed-
What transformation!
My path had ceased to take its
regular turning; it curved into a
great loop to the left. And on the
spot where Aces body had lain
was
"Did you two children do this?"
I asked.
They nodded. I think I shall
never forget the look on Hopestill's
face; its anxious usefulness. But
Caro-, more confident, smiled in
happy pride.
81 picked up two bravas to help
with the rocks" Hopestill added.
"And Caro- went around to all your
friends and begged flowers from
their gardens. She did all the
planting"
To the right of the new path and
opening directly on it was a rock
garden. Field stones-the round,
| lichen-covered stones of New Eng
handmade the four walls, made
at the back triangular rock gar
den whose top surface slanted to-
wards the entrance. Tiny grassy
paths of new-laid sod divided the
rest of the walled space into tiny
flower plots. And those plots were
filed, crowded with petunias, deep
purple, pale rose and white; snap
dragons, wine colored, pink and
tawny; phlox, fame-colored, pink
and white; zinnias of every zin-
MIA color; the star-like Pride of
Oxford; borders everywhere of
ageratum.
cts beautiful" I gasped. cts
exquisite. How on earth did you
do it?" took swift mental foray
backwards. ''Why that's what
you've been up. to these two days!"
I added: Children, you have
done a wonderful thing. It wipes
oft the terrible rnapoorv Of,