The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-03-04

Across the drive from the
Smileys', on the tennis court where
The Boys had once come to play
tennis. Mr. Smiley and the I'M
touehable boys had built great
pyre of beams and shattered fur
niture salvaged from the ruins of
the Simons' home. They found
the bodies of Hazel and Mr.. Simon
In what had been the dining room,
for they had been having supper
while Mrs. Simon was with Mrs.
Hoggett-Egburry and Fern was
pushing her bicycle through the
rain from Ransome's house.
When they brought the news to
Mrs. Simon she became hysterieal,
and only the firmest persuasion
on the part of Mrs. Smiley and
harsh words from Aunt Phoebe
prevented her from rushing across
the drive TO throw herself upon
the bodies of her husband and
daughter. When she was little
more calm Mr.. Smiley said that
they meant to burn the bodies and
that he would read the service.
So at last, wrapped in sheets,
all that remained OF Mr.. Simon
and poor Hazel was placed on top
of the pyre; and Mr.. Smiley, eX-
hausted and troubled. read the
service. and when he had finished
set fire to the oil-soaked mass of
wood
The rain came and went away,
in gusts and showers and torrents,
but the wood was old and dry and
oil kept 1t burning fiercely, and
at last there remained only heap
of rain-soaked ashes. These with
second short service, were buried
in the Smiley's garden beneath the
trees hung with orchids and pc
tunias and ivy geraniums.
Mrs. Simon, moaning on her cot
in the storeroom, took part in none
of the service. but Fern was pres
ent to the very end, even raising
shally voice to join in Now the
day is over
Mr.. Smiley had not allowed her
to witness the burning Of the
bodies and she was thankful to
him for that She had meant TO
be present, why she did not clearly
know save that she had a con-
fused feeling that poor Hazel and
her father would be less lonely If
she were there. Mr.. Smiley in his
kind way must have OWNED her
thoughts, for he had said to her,
There is no reason for you to be
present. Fern. There is nothing
left that was Hazel or your father.
What is left is only clay. The
| Hindus know that, too, even better
than ourselves"
And so. with handful of I'm
/ touchahle boys TO help him. he had
gone about the task. leaving her
alone to comfort her mother. She
had no great desire to be with
Mrs. Simon and she could not
think what to say TO her. II was
odd. she thought, that Mrs. Hog
| gett- Eg bury, her mothers bosom
friend and companion, had not re-
manned to comfort her. She had
always been the only person Mrs.
Simon would see on the occasion
of her misraines, and now Mrs.
Hoggett-Egburry had gone off in
the dirty pegnoir, waddling little
in her high-heeled shoes and ao-
companied by two of Mrs. Smiley's
pupils, to revisit her house and
discover what happened to it,
So there was nothing for it but
to go into the big storeroom where
her mother lay on a cot, moaning,
with a damp cloth on her head.
She opened the door quietly.
still thinking that she might by
some lucky chance find her mother
asleep and so escape, but the door
creaked and Mrs. Simon, removing
the cloth, stopped moaning for a
moment and looked up TO see who
was entering the room. When she
saw IL was Fern she said. Come
here, my child. and sit by me.
and swkwardly. reluctantly, Fern
obeyed her.
She sat on the very edge Of the
bed, as far away as possible from
her mother. In q way she sud-
denly felt sorry for her. because
| in the last two days she had aged