The midland journal., 1946-04-26
CHAPTER III

think Pleasant Grove is such hick
place, come to think of it. Some
folks seem to like it. If they didn't
reckin they could 60 somewhere's
else"
Alicia colored darkly and
shrugged. "I'm sorry even men
toned the fact that saw you" she
said ungraciously. "But after all,
the Ridge is public property. It's not
posted or anything. had as much
right to be there as you and Mr..
Fallon! I was merely gathering
few Autumn leaves and some Bit
tersweet berries to put in the blue
pottery bowl in my front window"
Megan was trembling little,
though she knew she was being silly.
The little scene with Tom Fallon
had been so absurdly innocent; yet
there was something in the sly, fur
tive manner of Alicia's mentioning
it that had made it seem evil and
scheming.
Megan, still furious with Alicia
and her nasty tongue, got away
from the quilting party as early as
she decently could. At least Mrs.
Stuart understood, when, at the door
she drew Megan aside and said
forthrightly, "Now look here, Me-
gan, don't pay no attention to that
woman. Someone ought to take a
gun to her and blow her to Kingdom
Come, and that's fact!"
Halfway down the road, she
heard a cheerful voice and turned
as pretty girl of seventeen, her
arms laden with schoolbooks, came
running towards her.
eli, Meggie," said the girl,
flushed and smiling, and very pref
ty in childish, round-faced,
bright-eyed way.
Hello, Susie-you're late getting
home from school" said Megan
lightly.
Had to stay after school and
write composition. Like a fool,
thought could get away with not
doing one-according to the law of
averages, shouldn't have been
called on today, but the darned law
let me down. Miss Pounds a holy
terror-seems to look at you and
know without asking a question
whether you've done your home
work." answered Susie bitterly.
They walked together in compan-
ionable silence down the wide, un-
paved road, until suddenly Susie
said bitterly, II hear the Alicia
dame dug her little stiletto into you
and Professor Fallon todayl That
makes you member, in good
standing, of my own club"
Megan caught her breath and
stopped still.
''How on earth did you hear"
she began in amazement.
Susie's little chuckle was dry and
quite without mirth.
"Oh, it's all over the place." she
said. '''By supper time, there won't
be man, woman or child within
a mile of the place that won't know
you've been meeting the professor
secretly in the woods"
"Susie!" Megan walled. "That's
not true"
'Of course not-but d'you think
for minute that's going to stop
the story? Don't be a twerp, Meg
gie-you know it won'tl" said Susie.
''It wasn't true that I was sneaking
off to meet Bill Esmond either
but you'd have a hard time con-
vincing anybody in this town that it
isn'tl Just because one afternoon
I happened to run into him at the
county seat and had a soda with
him. My mother hit the roof, on
account of because Bills folks are
not-well, not quite as high hat as
mother thinks we ought to be-"
Her young voice trembled a little
and she blinked heard to clear her
eyes of threatened tears.
Megan asked curiously, "Is that
all there is to that story, Susie?"
Susie flushed and her eyes were
stormy.
Absolutely Up to then," she
added. "Oh, sure, I liked Bill-we
all didi He was an honor student,
and the kids were crazy about him
and he played football like nobody's
business-but I'd never had date
with him in my life. How could
/, when dad and mother practically
lock me up nights? But that after
noon, mother was sick with head
ache, and she wanted some stuff
from the county seat that Burns
didn't have, and ! took the car and
drove over. And I ran into Bill.
He'd just had his physical and was
all but ready to be taken into the
Cadet Air Corps, and we celebrat-.
ed by having a soda"
Susie drew a deep breath and
said quietly, "Bil's-quite a fell
lowl" She laughed and said, "May-