| Show GIVEN GWEN IN TIN N MARRIAGE I By ADELE AllELE GARRISON Madge Unable to Shake Off a Fear That Baby Faith Is Th Ill III Dicky's question to his brother in law apparently so casually innocuous sent my hand to my throat in that that curious age old instinctive gesture I which women use in times of stress For I knew that the question was not casual and that in common with everyone else in the room he feared that some real injury to Baby Faith had resulted from the prank of the boys But I had no leisure to indulge my myown myown myown I own fear Such stark terror was mirrored mire mir in the eyes of Junior and Roderick Rode Roderick rick as they stood facing me and I waiting for Dr Braithwaite's verdict that I moved quickly across to them and put an arm around each trembling trem trem- bling little figure Hush I whispered quickly as they clung to me convulsively And then Dr Braithwaite was speaking again and bringing ecstatic relief to all our hearts Theres no no reason why we cant can't all see her he said But I must ask you all not to speak Katherine is hushing her to sleep He turned and led the way back into the nursery and we followed him first the two little boys with me me for Dicky had waved us on then Harriet with my father and last Dicky and arid his mother T THE E BOYS ARE REASSURED The nursery looked like the abode of ot peace with the last rays of the late autumn sun wn coming through the windows win windows dows and lighting up Katherine's silhouetted sil silhouetted figure as she sat in a l low chair with Faith in her arms She looked up with bright reassurance as we filed in but put her finger to her lips The caution was not needed how ever Not one of us spoke nor did we linger Faith was awake and I gue guessed sed that Katherine's deft tender hands lands had sponged all traces of her fright ht from her tiny face Junior and Roderick their hands convulsively clutching mine looked at her with eyes as keen and searching search ing jag as my own and then we wc gave place to the others We were the first to go back into the other room and andas as if by common consent we went out into the hall before beCore a word was spoken Gee Mums Juniors Junior's voice was wasa a paean of thanksgiving Did you see her She was smiling and her eyes were kind of dancing up and down the way they always do She's all right isn't she Mums Yes darling I answered She Isn't hurt at all aU And then without warning the two small boys burst into tears tear they had been too frightened frighten cd to ched hed and with their hard young oung arms wound tightly about me rue they wept in what I knew was reaction reaction re reo action from the terror which had been gripping them Boys I admonished sharply You mustn't let Aunt Harriet see you cry liI like e this And as their sobs subsided subsided subsided sub sub- sided into convulsive I turned them about and made my way as ilS well as as I could hampered by their clinging arms to the door of Dicky's room NO MORE TEARS You must go o in now now Junior I Isaid Isaid Isaid said steadily and wait walt until one of ofus ofus us comes carries to you With a little thrill I heard my small Ison's sons son's voice steady now in reply You dont don't need to worry any more about us Mums Were We're not going to cry any more It was only because we were so glad about Ruby Pearl Pearl- that she wasn't hurt hurt Ohl Oh There I go again calling her that thaU But you said we could call her that when were we're just alone with you didn't I you Auntie Madge Roderick struck in In He had been bobbing his bis head absurdly and saying Me too in reiterated re reiterated re-I re iterated punctuation of Juniors Junior's little speech to me Even in ordinary circumstances however I should have chuckled at atthe atthe atthe the confusion of f the boys for tor it brought irr irresistibly to my mind the memory of their insistence that the new baby be called Ruby Pearl or Pearl Rub Ruby names which had been born in the mind of Jerry th the gangling gangling gan gan- gling son of the our neighbors and occasional helpers It had been with difficulty that I had won von them over to the cognomen of ot Faith and at their entreaty I had made a pact with them guaranteeing their right to call the baby b by their absurd names when they were alone with her or when I was present but up upon no other occasion A LINGERING FEAR Yes I told you ou that I said and andI I know it was only a slip of the tongue when Junior spoke that name before belore the rest just now But I must go back to the others now and you must sta stay quietly here I bent and kissed their upturned faces and returned their fervent em cm- brace Then Juniors Junior's words followed me down the hall We dont don't care what happens to us now as us long as Faiths Faith's all right he said I echoed that sturdy avowal But Butas ButtS as t I neared the others olbers standing inthe in inthe inthe the hall hail outside the door of oC Katlic- Katlic inc's sitting room I scored myself for not being beina able to shake oC off a lingering linger ing tag unreasonable fear for my baby daughter S Continued Monday Monda Copyright 1933 3 K F F. F S. S Inc |
