Show LYDIA LY DIA OF THE PINES CHARTER CHAPTER XII continued 12 oh Cliar charlie liel I 1 whispered jitta horror la in her blue bine eyes and her parted lips she looked booked at him in utter dismay R N looser lodger was waa he the debonair favorite favora d of te t ae high school in hit bb somber omber eyes hla thin cold lips hi ble tense shoulders the young girl raw aw the savage bavage but she knew the tale ws wag true she me moistened mols her dry lips but what can I 1 do charlie I 1 im only a irl ill tell you what chat you can do you yon can throw down your murderer friend and aide with me inc you can get everyone you know to side with me and lydia never tell levine or anyone else dise what you know about him film it be safe I 1 he leaned toward tier her as he spoke and lydia shivered 1 I wont she bile whispered then the she said aloud in sudden resentment but im not going to throw mr levine down without ills his having a chance to explain who are you to think youve got get a right to ask met me im just a girl I 1 want to be happy just a little while before I 1 grow op lip ive had too much unhappiness yes you have had agreed charlie charile grimly and why you will think about it in spite of yourself you understand tand how I 1 feet feel because youve suffered when are you going to throw levine down lydias face whitened never I 1 she bhe said bald when you know hes a murderer he never intended to kill your father anyhow I 1 cant help what hes done hes like my own father and brother and mother all in one to me the two young people rot looking into each others eyes suddenly charlie threw lydias hand from him and like billy norton he strode down the path and out of the gate without a word levine did not appear at the cot ot tage for several days during that time lydia tried to put charlies story out of her mind when john did come out she avoided talking to him and he caught her several times looking at him with a 11 sad and puzzled expression when they started on their usual sunday walk anios amos went hack back to the house for his cane and levine said abruptly out with it young lydia I 1 been hearing more stories about my wick edl edns jeS lydia lda nodded miserably ny ai deorr said quietly na 1114 Is a mans game im playing a rough and tumble caleb as catch can fight in it the weak must faill fail and ami MOP mayhe die rut but out of it great good will come com to this community om As its as the indian are here to exploit thi his community will be demoralized im using every means ml aris fair or foul to tn carry rny purpose cant you let it go itt at that lydia set tier her teeth yes I 1 can and I 1 will she said as her father came up with ills 1119 cane and though this was waa more easily said than done and the thought of murdered chiefs and starved babies troubled her occasionally she did not really worry over it all as much as AIR she might have were she not entering her senior year in the high school after the christmas holidays man afar gery departed for an eastern finishing school the night after her departure kent made ills his first arst call on lydia in many months the two withdrew to ta the kitchen to make candy and there lydias surprise and pleasure gave way to suspicion kent seemed to want to talk for the most part about margery Ilas nt she grown to ile be a beauty he be said beating the fudge briskly she always was beautiful replied lydia though ashes an awful silly she never reads anything and she flunked all her thanksgiving eiarl nation anybody am body as pretty its as margery need to be brilliant said rent kent and she spoon s and you dont think much of girls that spoon lyd las ins cheeks were fl A deeper pink than usual shucks dont he be catty lydia growled kent kent called several times during the winter but he never asked lydia to go to a par party nor did any of the other hoy boy fir rends she saw dally daily in school boys with whom she fille chummed over lessons lesson who told her hei their ac secrets crets who treated her as a mental equal yet never asked her to call or slipped boxes of candy into her desk or asked her into a drug drag store for a sundae or a hot chocolate nobody resented this state of affairs more than old lizzle lizzie after kents third or fourth call she said to lydia closing the door behind him film yes kenall Kerit 11 come out here and see you but I 1 I 1 notice he dont take you anywhere it if you had fine party clothes anil an lived on oil lake irke shore avenue hed be howing bowing and scraping fast fait enough lydia tossed tier her hend head 1 I dont care about going to parties yon xon do too insisted the old lady goare eating your ur lienert out I 1 know I 1 wits was young one A amos inos looked up front from his paper lydias Ly dla too young to go if they did ask her but why dont they ask aak its ilg because im too poor and I 1 live 0 to o far out and I 1 dont spoon answered lydia N 1 I dont care I 1 tell you and just to pr prove we that MAE she clant carp cam lydia ldla owed wed her face in her hands and began to cry A loot look of real palm pain crossed amot amol jaci face he n e got up hastily and went t to lydias lydiab F 1 11 by HONORE HONOR E WILLSIE 0 by A stokes tok co tarlo why my little girl irl I 1 thought you i were perfectly happy this year and your clothes look nice to me he H smoothed lydias bright hair with his hl work scarred hand 1 I tell you yon ill borrow some money my by heck beck and ret get you some clot clothes hesi I 1 lydia raised a startled face not no I 1 no I 1 I 1 id d rather go in rags raga than borrow money were almost out of debt now and well stry stay out dont borrow daddy her voice rising hy by terl cally dont bor borrow rowl 1 all ail right dearle dearie all right 1 said bald amos the matter was not mentioned again directly but the little scene acene rankled with amos A week or so BO later he said at supper lydia im thinking seriously of moving I 1 can borrow enough money I 1 find to add to the rent were paying to rent the old stone house next to miss townes Tow nea my idea la is to move there just till you finish college then well go out on a farm but give you your chance lydia lydia ldla hesitated to move into the house next the townes would be to arrive to enter the inner circle to cease to be a dowd but ahe abe looked about the familiar rooms daddy she said would you really want to leave this cottage id just as soon noon replied amos most places are alike to me since your mothers death I 1 could stand doing without the garden if I 1 had bad the farm to look forward to howd we pay the money back asked lydia after the levine bill posses passes said eald amos ill have a section of pines instantly lydias sleeping land and hunger woke and with it the memory of charlies tales she sat in deep thought daddy she said finally were not going to borrow and were not going to move more again the use if df trying to make a splurge with borrowed money all right sald said amos reluctantly but ie leme member rober youve had your chance and dont feel abused about our poverty 1 I wont replied lydia obediently arid and to tier her own surprise she did feel less bitter about her meager homemade clothing she had bad had a chabre to gnp bove ove it and had resisted the lie temptation late in march the valedictorian and salutatorian of tile the class were chosen the custom wits for the teachers to select reject the ten names that had stood highest for scholarship during the entire four years and to submit these to tile pupils of ahk class who by popular tte ote elected from froin these the valedictorian dictor dic torian inn and tile the salutatorian to tier her joy and surprise lydias wits was one of the ten names so were and kents the day on which the election took place was cold and rainy amos plodding home for supper was to see lydia flying toward him through the mud a full quarter of a mile from home daddy they elected rule me valedictorian they did I 1 they d did I 1 d 1 0 olga I 1 ga got four votes and mamie A aldrich irich ten and I 1 got sixty six daddy I 1 1 and mamie cross but olga was oh it wonder wonderful full valedictorian my little lydial 1 scholarship and popular vote 1 I 1 wish your our mother was here ill write to levine I tonight hell have to be here for the exercises and kent Is salutatorian ile he won by just two votes ive got to begin to plan altott mv dress dres i now im going to buy that dress lydia if I 1 have to borrow money you arent going to begin bigan any talk about earning it oil oh all right said lydia hastily hns you wont liae to borrow white goods gooda Is always and ill get it right away so I 1 can put lots of hard work on oil it your speech going to ile be about asked anios amos as they turned in the gate 1 I had bad time to think about that ill plan it nil all out while im sowing billy did not congratulate lydia ile he passed tier her just is as he had during nil all the months with a curt little ll hello ello to tell the truth lydia was heartily ashamed of herself for her shabby reception of billys plea she knew she had been unkind and she missed the desultory companionship she hod had had bad with billy the preparation of the dress went on amazingly well the speechmaking wits was less simple As AB was customary clydla chow chose the class motto bucit amor patriae for her subject and sweated inordinately to find something to say bay she complained bitterly because during the four years at high school nothing at all was taught about love of country or patriotism or anything that would make the motto suggestive amos answered her plaint indle bantly well for heavens ankel 1 nd you a descendant of the purl ati taha lord become of the 4 stock no na I 1 wont help you at all think it out tor for yourself anti and think it out lydia did aiding in 13 the front steps with her sewing and listening to the sighing of the pine by the ole gate there was but one flaw in lydias happiness happl nesa nobody asked her to attend tile senior ball that was wag to take place on graduation night to be care it wax was not an invitation affair the claw was supposed to attend in a body butchers but there was nevertheless the usual two ing and only a very few of the girls trig who had no invitation from boys boy would so go ledla herself would have hare cut cat off her hand band rather than appear at her own senior ealor ball without a young man mortified and unhappy she ehe avoided her mates during tile the lust last week of school fearing the inevitable question who to Is going to take you ladr the tenth dawned a lovely june day the exercises began at ten and by half past eight lydia was waa buttoned into her pretty little or gandie gandle lizzle lizzie was puffing in her black alpaca and amos was waa standing about in his black sunday suit butt which dated back to hla his early married days dayo by nine thirty they had bad reacted beai hed the methodist church and amos and uzzle lizzie were established in the middle of the front row of the balcony while lydia was shivering with fright in the choir room where the class was wa gathered somebody began to play the organ and somebody else who looked like miss towne shoved lydia toward the door and she lerf led the long line of her mates into the front pews A college professor spoke at length then kent appeared on the platform good old kent even eren if he be take lydia to part parties leal I 1 kent keat with his bis black eyes and hair his ruddy skin and broad shoulders was good to took look on oil and was giving his speech easily and well but lydia clydla was seeing him ft at she and adam spent the afternoon on the lake snore shore in n a red bathing suit as he hung flor ence dombey from a yard arm of tile the willow what a dear he be find been I 1 now it all was different they were grown up this day marked their growing up aud and kent want to taka her to parties kent bowed and took his seat beat tile the quartette bang rind and some somebody boIly prodded ledla smartly in the back she made tier her way up to the platform and be gan to speak automatically anios amos with tight clenched fists and lizzle lizzie with tier lips alpa a thin seam of nervous compression were swelled alt aka vanity and torn with tear fear lest ahe forget her lines but bat john levine who had dashed in ili late and stood unnoticed in the crowd under the gallery listened intently lillet lie he yearned over lydias lure beauty like a mother and so BO slie she ended when we sa lood boody by you all roust must remember that we ve go out into the world resolved to tn live up to our motto that we bel belief levi with our forefathers that government derle derive their heir just powers from the hie con sent of the governed that all mo m ma o are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among which are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that because the new neu ij people tn in the middle west are far from the cradle of lih lib erty where these ideas were born ily hi ing among foreigners it behooves tile members of our class to carry our motto into their dally daily life love of country leads us and so farewell it who was a foolish sentimental little speech with one or two real thoughts though tg tn in it and john levine levane silted even while the tears filled his eyes lie ile told himself that thai no one least of all probably bly lydia herself realized UP U t P cynical application of the class motto to lake city conditions the diplomas were distributed the great morning was over after dinner amos rustled rushed back t the factory lydia huni tile the fradua tion gown away awai in her clos clor t and elir bile and adam spent tie lie afternoon on ulf lake shore where ile be dalta delate 1 te balen dor oil and perfume of juno june endeavored endear orfil in vain to prove to lydia that flint tilt senior ball was of no consequence after the supper dishes were washed she sat on the steps in the dusk with adams head bead in tier her lap when a clar car arlage rolled up to the gate A man came swiftly up the path lydia with a gasp recognized billy norton billy wearing a dress butt and carrying a bouquet of flowers I 1 good evening lidia he be wd uld calmly will you go to the senior ball with mel me lydia too much overcome for i speech she never before had been a man la in a dress dresa suit I 1 it made of billy a man of the world where waa the bounri country boy she tied had snubbed here are some come flowers flowerie I 1 hope wear billy went on formally would you mind hurrying lea if pret ty late t oh billy V I 1 bren breo tied hed lydia at last arent you an jinga 11 1 1 in half an hour the two were seated in the carriage an actual patty party go ff lag ing city lack hack and gallyon gay lyon the way to the ball lydias first dancing party I 1 lydias first man escort and he wearing a dress dresa suit ault and there were only two others in the hall I 1 who would attempt to describe tile the joy of that eye eve dingi who would lime have recognized nilly the farmer in the cool blond verson person who calmly ly cord card taking half the dances for himself and paneling parc cling out the rest grudgingly and tingly for three hours LI lydia din spun through a golden haze of melody find and rhythm into three hours blie 0 crammed nil all the joy all the thrill that she bad dreamed of through tier her lonely girlhood at halt half after elev eleven e 0 she was war waltzing with ball billy we must leave now lydia he said 1 I promised your fattier father id have you home by midnight I 1 want to get a stand in with your our dad because I 1 want to take you to more parties oh I 1 do youl you I 1 breathed lydia well I 1 dont think theres any one in tile the world has ulcer nicer things happen to them than I 1 do I 1 oh billy just this waltza at the end lydia looked up with a wondering smile 1 I know any one could be io BO perfectly happy billy I 1 shall always remember that of you you gave me my |