The midland journal., 1946-04-26

green; there were green window
boxes at the windows, and the place
had taken on a rather surprised
perkiness.
"Oh, we'll" said Susie at last,
and heaving sigh. "If don't get
on home, mother will have connip-
ton fits and upset dad so that his
dyspepsia will be worse than ever
-and I would like to 60 to the
school dance the Saturday after
Thanksgiving"
She said good night and went on
along the road. A quarter of mile
farther on, she would come to the
substantial, old-fashioned red brick
house that was Pleasant Groves
finest home. Susie was the only
child of Lawyer Bartlett and his
wife, Maysie. The Bartletts were,
next to the Burns, Pleasant Groves
most substantial citizens, and Mrs.
Bartlett was not one to let the
town forget that for moment.
There were times when Megan felt
extremely sorry for Susie-and to-
night was one of those times. She
sighed little and went into the
house, where Annie had supper al
most ready to serve.
Her father was waiting for her,
very comfortable in his smoking
jacket and slippers, provided with
new book (Which had cost three
dollars and a half, and which Me-
gan could have borrowed for him
from the small, but good local Ii
brary) so he was inclined to be
genial. For which small favor,
Megan told herself YEARLY, she was
glad!
For the next two or three days,
although she told herself she was
being a fool, Megan deliberately
avoided seeing Tom Fallon at all.
He had been in the habit of stopping
on his way home from school late
in the afternoon to get milk, butter,
and eggs which he bought from her.
She had always been the one to give
them to him, but for the next two
or three days, she saw to it that
she was somewhere else when he
stopped by, and Annie, puzzled and
watchful, waited on him.
But on Saturday, she was in the
chicken yard checking up on a set
ting hen who was due to hatch her
brood in a few days, when Tom
came to the back fence and spoke to
her.
"Good morning." he said, almost
warily.
Megan turned, startled, and felt
her face grow hot, even as she
| greeted him casually and matter
of-factly.
He waited for her to come to the
fence before he said anxiously,
1--we been a little worried-and
deeply puzzled. "I've tried my
darnedest to think what I could
have done to upset you"
Megan laughed and hated herself
because the laugh sounded artificial.
"What nonsense, Professor!"
"But you have avoided me, and
I thought possibly something said
or did" he began anxiously.
Megan looked up at him and said
quietly and frankly, 81 see you
haven't heard the news, Mr.. Fal-
lon!"
Puzzled, noting her use of the for
NAL prefix rather than the careless
friendly Professor" that was al
most a nickname, he said quickly,
"News? No, am afraid I
haven't"
II feel very silly to be relaying it
to you-but 1 know Pleasant Grove
so well - the attitude towards
teachers - especially towards the
principal of the school" She floun-
dered miserably and was silent.
Tom said quietly, 81 think you
had better tell me straight, Miss
MacTavish-"
"There seems to be a rumor
about that you and I have been
meeting secretly on the Ridge"
She let him have it almost in
single breath.
Tom stared at her as though he
thought she had lost her mind. And
then his face hardened and his eyes
blazed and he said through his
teeth, "Where in blazes-who' try
to start lie like that?"
Megan made weary little ges-
ture.
"It's too silly-and too-cheap to
notice." she pointed out to him.
Except that since you are new
here and this is your first year-oh,
I feel an utter fool about the whole
thing. But / thought it would be
better if we-well, we've done moth
ing to start gossip, so it seems a
little difficult to know how to stop
it"
Tom said sternly, "Who started
this talk?"
"Mrs. Stevenson" answered Me-
gan frankly. 'She happened to be
on the Ridge the afternoon we met
by accident, and chose to believe
that we were meeting there regu-
arly-and as secretly as possible"