| Show 1 11 fill it the readi reading ng of the riddle K E by B sa t WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE I 1 copyright by th ajl n C co dear vias it really you or I 1 IT in truth the rt ri udlea idles ill to read go bo many are the deaths we die ill before we can be dead indeed NV E fieney II eney HE town of willow creek ties lies T THE ni at the junction of a rivulet of that name naine with the big muddy hut but the people of that community being born bom scoffers se sc iners offers have cha changed ned the name of the big muddy in corn com biou parlance to crick and by the alchemy eniy of popular depreciation the vanie name of the town itself tills has shriveled into willer wilier creek it might have been some soine liing ot of a ton ns as towns go in the lie nasr est but instead of pulling with ills his neighbors tor for the success of the town each cadi of its founders spent his time thue making fun of the pretensions of others when there was talk on the part of old man iman mead the prime tal postmaster of securing the government land office tor for willow creek the indan trader and the saloonkeeper and the blacksmith made great sport of the old mans ambition A few years later hen civilization had crowded in with a hotel a lumber yard a new saloon and a barber shop someone apol spoke e of starting a newspaper but tho the laugh that went vent up from willow creek was the only unanimity that greeted editor mccray when ills his back was nas turned but the newspaper came caine and so no did the people and they kept coming until wl en the boom of the inter eighties struck kansas it found willow creek with about two thousand scoffing inhabitants but in one way or another the boom to bring wealth to willow cicek and with wealth menith come cattle some attempts at the alie organization of polite society there were innumerable young youn real estate agents young doctors young lawyers and scle clerks nil all from the east in the village age and these with inith the daughters of the early settlers and such friends its as they chanced to make in tile the high school constituted the aristocracy of the town it was ins a vulnerable aristocracy to cracy and the sc offers made sad havoc with it it aas as said of flora BI mccray cCray who went to boarding school and came lack back timid ret retiring tring and distinctly unsocial that she hold herself so high it 11 her ber fatlich amla only ti pay bade the itte ut he it sesle ore in a school land fraud fralia she would he be as common as anybody dult but the girl paid no laced to these rumors if site she heard them she quietly filled her ber bivall sphere bounded on oil one side by her meek voiced mother and her busy anther on mother another s side ide by her church and lice church social on a third side by a very brief glimpse of a very bl big world and her memory of it and on the fourth side by occasional day dreams and night thoughts pretty much the same sam as those which come to any young g gr I 1 of good health good spirits and aventi one years who alio lias has never had a sa s1 rl wart caused As the caused by the he de en cadei deice ice of real estate prices set lu in willow creek became poorer As the young men who no are the orchestras and halls ona gradually left eft tohei the file young W S 1 who iio formerly frequented 1 1 part es ild and balls were ere seen mot more ld more often at the church socials socia ls after a two years ineffectual struggle willow creak gave it up the town ton could no longer two branches of society and the church arod slid and the dance aroid merged into one when it was announced that the entire social body of willow creek wits going out oat to for a ancy y pull one saturday night the rest of willow creek laughed the to it people sneered at the young women who bo had planned tile the puny party and intimated that tile the night ride out to rob hob and buck back was a heroic measure abid they laughed at old man robinson Il and ills his fai fantilly tilly for tole tolerating toleration ratin people who would mould snub them it if they came caine to ton and lastly they laughed at the young nien men ho bo would have to pay the livery bills saturday morn morning hig john howard mr BIL Clayd partner in the stock bu business biness cagne up frow from ali farm tin on dry creek and after go going ii over some delillis delit del alia lis of business mccray asked ills his partner pirt ner to sunday dinner as was his ClI cus bLOU loui tile young man ilian was as lu in tonii and tile invitation was as accepted during the boom howard had bad wade made money lie he had ining mingled led with A ith whit what Is 19 I cnown as the swell set of willow creek and though not a favorite at the hie lood flood of tile the boom the very fact that lie he had bad the social instinct made ailin a necessity in society at its ebb sunn soon after leaving his partners office lie he had learned earned of the plans for the taffy pull that evening lie he wits urged to go and that all the alie riga were full and that all the girls of his set were provided with escorts in a moment of de pairing pal ring in tion tile young man sent it a note to lis pait partners ners daughter asel asking tig tor for tile pleasure of her company ills imitation was ins accepted and late that afternoon an moon flora bicheray stepped step peI into a buggy with the first beau she hild had ever eter had and headed a long groces mon tor for ns 0 0 0 0 SlI menne had bad stopped the clock hut abat night and the young women putting on 04 their guessed that it was nearly bearly midnight ahta the fairy pull at robinsons broke up As flora sic cray sai bill alone in the robinson parlor waiting to hear the grinding of 0 wheels across the alie graveled path that would herald her escorts buggy she went over the eveh evenings ings impressions in her mind she decided that it had bad been she had never a very pleasant evening before found herself surrounded by the masterful attentions of a 8 young man she was pleased with ills his busl busi de ss alue devotion to her coffee cup cp and was amused yet a little startled athen ben lie he piled a monument of cake upon her plate and called on everyone to pats paris I 1 things hing down dowd his bis way as miss bliss mccray was very hungry it was a new sensation to find her herself acif a part of the merr merriment ament heretofore site she had been only a spectator at such scenes and thus with a mind isolated from tile lie vain world hy by such reflections she started with howard on their homeward ride it was a blustering cloudy night at first they aasted on about the commonplaces of vellow creek flora mccany tried again and again to associate lier her recollection of the fu millar face of her fat fathers tiers partner with aith the smooth shaven face so BO near her in the night her repeated efforts nere ft ere tantalizing little by letl did aid the wizard of the night weave her fancies and then herself into the woof of his uncanny spell not only was she with a stranger stra ager but she was herself a stranger to herself it may have been the utter lonesomeness of the night that drew her close to him but she came and was not afraid again he reached over her and again tucked the wraps closer than ever about her and the fumbling touches of his bands awakened the girls new self to a delightful realization of the fact that a new being had come to her out of of the darkness slie she came ev even closer to this newfound new found presence and almost cuddled against chernan the roans s great coat and snuggled under his arm that rested loosely upon the cushions behind her their talk which had been growing more and more serious gradually shopped stopped ped are you cold dear tile the young man asked when he felt her come coine close to him his words and ills his tone startled the girl and almost broke the spell flora mccray struggled a moment with the girl in the dark and shuddered in despair as a voice from the girl who felt a strong stron arm quiet her answered A little 0 41 0 0 0 As the lights of 0 the town came in sight the young couple grew silent A turn in the road brought brou glit the bugy bu y under the white glare of an electric light flora mccray was nias sitting silting upright with her hands folded under the lie rolie robe and bloard with the whip and the lines in ills hands was consciously clucking at the horses each saw the others face clearly and as they crossed the circle of light the war mac spoke it must ie be two the girl did not reply and the lie young man leaned over to look out of the buggy as if to scan the clouds I 1 tile the prospect did not altogether satisfy him and lie he said givs its going to be a pretty gloomy sunday I 1 guess As bloard put out ills his arms to help her from froin the buggy slie site barely touched tou clied his outstretched hand and her decided shyness surprised him in a bewilderment of confusion lie he said you have made me ine very duppy huppy tonight hiss bliss macray shall I 1 speak to your rather fattier when ahen I 1 colne out to dinner alaner funi tomorrow orrow 5 the girl did not reply but went up the steps and into the hie house while tile the young nian man climbed into the buggy neld beat URIC time with tile hie whip to tile the turie tune he was whistling as as he gave the haiges the rein tor for the stable flora mcray locked the door and slipped the bolt as quietly ns as she could slie site blew out the light in the parlor and stole upstairs lust before going to bed bd the site started to put away her hat site she picked it up the velvet and the ribbon seemed crushed site she put out her ennd to amoo smooth th them hem A hot flush of recollection swept over her and she ahe put the hat down she did not loot look at it agnit but blew out the light and went to bed with her face turned from I 1 the guilty reminder and all night I 1 long flora mccray lashed herself for the folly of the girl in the dark As aa site she remembered it she had made all the advances he had only been k kind ind and good bood to her the next morning all of 0 willow creek knew that john howard had taken flora mccray to the night before and that ll 11 he was going to eat cat sunday dinner with the ilc bic crays that afternoon but the town as usual was uns divided one half claimed that the had to it have ave all of howards money or they would fall and the other half that jolin john howard was going to marry flora lie BIC cray to keep the old man from prosecuting him bila for running off mortgaged cattle and reporting them as dead and in the whole town no one could have been so thoroughly surprised its as sir mr DR mccray Cray when his daughter said to him father it if mr bir howard says anything to you about me ru mill hlll til bl him that I 1 cannot marry him mccray and hla his daughter were walking along tile the narrow rough sidewalk toward the church when these theae words were spoken the mother had dropped bad bach and was not in hearing distance mccray could not ind find voice for or a tew few exclamatory ghys whys and before his daughter had bad said firmly boj will be sure wont you father and was waiting for her mother to catch jp ap with them after the service the women flora and her mother among them hurried home to attend to the feast of the day at the dinner table the young people ale met for the first time that day flora flara mccray felt keenly and with a twinge of anguish that the young mans cordial suavity in greeting her was only inspired by gratitude for h tier er generosity in releasing him from any an obligation she root met his eye and thought she read there a recollection of everything that had bad been then a as s sho she looked down and away all the sweetness and unreality of the nights ride was i as made real to her after dinner the men went into tho the parlor where they smoked and talked alone while tile the women put away the best china afraid to trust it to tho the hired girl finally young howard A air z i ak r todd she came evea closer to this thi new F und presence and almost cuddled against the mans great coat and mr mccray thought that the eve mug mall bould be in and distributed they put on their overcoats and were in the hall when the elder inan I 1 I 1 opened the dining room door and sald said 31 mother other john thinks its time to go and I 1 am going to walk wait down to tile post office with him when tile the front door closed mrs mccray arny said what a nice youn man john how ard Is he be oil oh yes lie Is nice enough I 1 guess answered the daughter rising to go a to her room As site she neared tile top of the stairs floia mccray quickened her pace ran through the upper hall once in her room she vent ment straight to the dresser where the rumpled bat was still lying the loney lonely girl stood before I 1 it a moment and then stooping awkwardly touched the crumpled vel ct with pursed uncertain lips as ono one ashamed it inny have been the dusk in the room or it may have been the ghost 0 of an odor from a cigar klinl transported tills unschooled clarl back to the darkness and the joy of nt a first caress but dusk or glio or something came thethis to this ethis shy girl there and nerved her ber whole being so en that she was no longer awkward n longer uncertain nor lu in any ale ashamed the pretty velvet toy alif made her ber shrine and in lier her worship P she kissed it rubbed it with her burning heek and burled buried her face ace in fit its ita sacred ancl cl folds in willow creek where they and lil gle over sordid things lings ti in wll wit low creek the hard the arid the bar ren they say no matter what but in and out of the narrow mays It lining the sharp corners wilh the rese with tired feet and timid linare unsure hinds there goes a woman whose wom inhoof camo came to her as a dream in n the fie alah light |
