The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1943-07-01

teacher, Susan Barney, and her
younger sister, Della, and Aunt
Lavinia invites the girls to tea.
Finally the two girls said good
by, they'd had a wonderful time,
thank you so much-they were
gone. Remembering that he had
not yet so much as opened the
days mail piled on his desk, Mr..
Hume stepped out and walked
briskly along the gravel driveway
toward his office in the Academy
building.
Some one was coming towards
him. He looked around to see
Susan Barney. She had taken off
her hat, and as she walked was
swinging it in one ungloved hand.
Her forward motion set her hair
stirring and lifting around her
face like a cloud. Mr.. Hume
thought cody of something he
must be sure to say to her before
he forgot it, and called, "Oh, Su-
san, wait a minute" He took off
his hat, looked down at her, and
said with kindness, you know I
told you yesterday that I seldom
could make any kind of guess
about what young people are like?
Well as far as your sister, Della
goes, l was mistaken. had a
little talk with her this afternoon
while you and my aunt were in
the kitchen, and l was struck with
her brains. She's an unusually
bright girl"
Susan cried out his name turn
ing it into an exclamation of de-
light "Oh, Mr.. Hulme!" she said
fervently.
She gave him out of her beau
tiful gray eyes, the long, melting
intimate look which once before
had so deeply moved him; but
now it was cut short by a rush of
happy tears.
It was we'll towards the middle
of November when Timothy
Hulme sat down next to the old
man one evening, instead of by
Mrs. WaShburn to whom as a
penance he had been pointedly
kind for four or five weeks. "Is it
really true" he cast out his line
towards Mr.. Dewey with a care
fully baited hook, that as many
as fiji teen or twenty families used
to live up on the Crandall Pitch?
Curious, isn't it, a whole COM
munity avaporating that way?
How'd they ever happen to settle
so far aWay?"
Far away from What?" Mr..
Dewey flung himself unsuspect-
ingly upon the bait. They settled
there because they had sense en-
ough to know it was a good place
to live. Why, let me tell you, T.
c., that's one of the best pieces of
land in this town. Not a sour
square inch in it. And up high
that way, between two mountains
they'd get full hour more sun
shine both ends of the day than
anywhere else in Clifford. Far
away nothing!'
Miss Lane asked, Give always
wondered, Mr.. Dewey, why they
did leave the Pitch?"
Mr.. Dewey looked unsmilingly
back into the past. "All kinds of
reasons. Women-folks mostly, I
guess. They wanted to be where
they could do their trading any
time they took a notion to-"
''I've heard my grandmother
say" Miss Lane added reasonab-
ly, that when the Academy was
started down here :"
"We-e-n, yes, that was another
thing" MIR. Dewey admitted.
AS Susan Barney stood up and
began to gather the dishes to-
SSIAASA " $dAA DUI ID Tie k1LCHO11,
Mr.. Hume said to Mr.. Dewey,
loudly enough to be heard by
everyone, well, I now have a
personal interest in the Crandal11
Pitch. I've just bought house up
on the road that used to 60 to
it. Thought it was time I had
place of my own like the rest of
you. The last house on the road.
Right-hand side as you 60 up.
He turned his head from one to
another as he spoke, looking
steadily at them although he was
intensely conscious of Susan be-
hind them standing silent at the
door of the kitchen, pile of
plates in her hand. But now he
could control his eyes no longer,
looked past his questioners at her
and could not look away.
She was smiling at him, smil-
ing as if they were alone in the
room.