The Coolidge examiner., 1937-10-21
a different story But I'll never ad
mire him again"

afternoon drove the ~ miles to-
ward home. There was sweet
spring quality in the air Of the
April afternoon; 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 a blossoming
plum tree, a pink or white haw-
thorn in a globe of light. A thou
sand little homes, behind their
hedges, set in their fiower-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 shoul-
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-
lyptus.
Tired, Vicky?" Quentin said, as
they turned up their own lane.
only comfortably tired. 1t was
worth while, l think Only. when l
get this near home" Vicky said,
Il 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
arel"
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
so 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
full way upstairs, Harriet Browning
turned her good, middle-aged face
to Quentin. Il wish you'd have a
look at Marty, Doctor. l rather
think-anyway, l wish you'd just
take a look. He's sleeping beauti-
fully, he may sleep like that all
through the night. But he had
sort of restless time, about three,
and he coughed quite hard"
Victoria saw the shadow on Quen-
tins face when he came to dress
/ 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
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, cloy-
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
ings and presents and stolen hours.
And some day, when Susan was
beautiful eighteen, fresh and sweet
and fine, some innocent question OF
hers about their old neighbors,
about Gita or Gita's father or
Gita's mother-"You remember the
Morrisons, Dad; wasn't she terri
bly, beautiful" ?"-would strike him
in his soul, and make him vince,
and then the whole thing would
seem to him like what Vicky had
called it: a fever that had caught
mind and soul instead of body.
So his silence at dinner did not
alarm her.
After dinner, when Gwen had car
ried her school books upstairs, and
Magda had gone off with old Judge
and Mrs. Trimmer to movie, there
was the usual interruption. The
clock had just struck ten; Vlcky
had been conscious of pleasant
conviction that they were not going
to be disturbed this evening, when
the telephone rang. From Quen-
tins manner as he answered 1t she
knew that the fireside hour was
doomed.
i've got the whole apparatus
here; you've got one? Good" Quen-
! tin said. "Tn be right over. You
might get him upstairs"
There was the usual little furry.
Brownie came down to say that
Marty was sleeping nicely and his
pulse was much better. Quentin
rushed into the night, leaving the
two women in consultation by the
fire.
The telephone rang sharply again.
For a moment, in the general con-
fusion of her thoughts, Vicky could
not seem to make out clearly just
who it was.
"Oh, yes, DR.. Cudworth," she
said, her face Frightening. "And
you're at the-at the-oh. yes. al