The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-02-04
The Rains
Came


the end. somehow. NC never nd
/ and 50 now We really don know
any one.
nile she va speaking he
thought Of MS grandmother ami
men Aunt Phoebe. and from Aunt
Phoebe 70 the Smileys. and then he
saw exactly the course 70 take.
The Smileys we're precisely the
ones 10 care for Miss Hodge If
anything happened 10 Miss Dirks.
one more burden he knew would
scarcely be noticed BY them. And
they would do il simply and kindly.
as Il Miss Hodge were a neighbor
Just across the street who rad
iailen III He found himself saw
ing Maybe il would De good
idea II / gave tea party. Would
YOU come and bring Miss Hodge
! might ask the Smileys and
Mrs. Smiley's aunt and Miss Mac.
Daid and Major Safti and msvbe
Raschid Ali Khan and his wife
Rasehid might be very useful 10
Miss Hodge
She SAID, Yes. that would b.
very nice. And then perhaps we
could give party. too. at home.
| think that would make Elizabeth
quite happy For years she's
wanted people to see the house
and how very attractive she's
made it
Very well, then. III do it. III
let you know what day I can get
them all together
She rose now and took up the
macintosh. and when he helped
her with 1t he saw that she was
trembling from the effort the visit
had cost her;
And I'll speak to my friend. the
Major. about an examination. |
know he'll see you whenever YOU
like. You needn't be afraid of him.
Hes A kind man and very under.
standing"
That would be very good Of
you. You've helped me so much
today"
1t wasn't much I've done. We
must have another talk soon about
Nolham. It's made me homesick
And he knew at once that he had
said the wrong thing. because he
had raised up for her a picture of
the little town which her spirit had
never left and her body would
never see again.
She would not let him drive her
home but went alone down the
drive into the rain. leaving him
with his brandy and soda: and
when she had gone out Of sight he
himself returned to Nolham. which
had come back TO him with ex-
traordinary viyid ness. Talking
about old "Dscy' Dirks and Nor
gan Bates and Tom Atwood. the
chemist. had suddenly peopled the
common. the square. the pub
with figures, alive and moving
about within that frame which
none of them had ever left.
Out of all the figures from his
boyhood old "Dacy" Dirks. the
draper, emerged the clearest of
all, perhaps because there had
always been about him a sinister
quality, almost Of menace. stand
ing in the doorway of his shop.
clad in the unchanging long
skirted coat and white tie. looking
angrily across the little square
toward the Hare and the jug"
where so many fine young men
were being ruined.
His daughters never saw any
boys their own age. and they were
taught that all men save "Dacvp
were predatory creatures and that
love was an unfortunate neces-
sity. Out of that Miss Dirks had
stumbled only a little way, Grip
pied and hampered. 20 die at last
IN India, on the other side Of the
world from green. quiet Nolham,
having never known any pleasure
save the grim. tyrannical salts
faction of having done her duty.
For she was going to di. He
knew while she sat there talking
TO him that he had entertained a
woman Al tea who was already
dead. He was wrong only in the
supposition that she herself did
not know il
As Miss Hodge hurried through
the rain across the square by the
cinema il struck her as extraordi-
nary that Sarah had made no COM
ment on the fact that she had
worn her new foulard to teach IN
all the afternoon Il was quite
possible that she had not noticed.
for there were so many things
that escaped her lately: still. the
new foulsrd which she had bought
two years ago al the Army and
Navy store IN Bomb bay and worn
only three times. once 10 the Ma
haranee's Dursar and twice on
school prize days No. 1t was
extraordinary and very lucky.
tn Re Contipucdl