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Show The TheSILVER TheSILVER SILVER SILVERFLU1"E SILVERFLUTE w nr TST ir " FLU1"E FLU1E FLUTE FLUTEBy a- a ira an - n B E u & & w & , By Lid Lida Larrilnorefa Larrimore Larrilnore 0 Q fa Moicrac 6toCrne { o.cr ocr . .e e . Smith 9mlth Company ComPafll CompanyW'lU ComPafllw CompanyWNU W'lU WlU w ' ni serviceCHAPTER Service CHAPTER X-Continued X Continued X - Continued XContinued17 -17- 17 - 17"And 17"And 17 - "And And " you like m.e me . him , , Bahhle Babble Babble'Sho BabbleSho ? ' Shc She looked do\\ do down don \ \ n n at t tlie the hand wluclt \ which\v which v wlucltw luch w \ \ ore Ills his ring Dirk D'lrb Dlrb ' . lislics 18hes fishes I 1 curtulnedher curtainedher curtained curtulned curtainedher her ( ' eves eses \ es ' * Oh ves vec \ " ( ' , Uncle Stephen , ; she che the eald saicl saiclthe ealdthe : ' 'aidthe aidthe ' the pink plnl , In her cheeks cheels , deepening to torose torose torose rose roseWhy roseWIn rose1n Why WIn \1n 1n \ ' couldn coullln t she tell him all nil about aboutBruce aboutBruce aboutBruce Bruce ? He lIe Ile underbtood under.too undertoo understood : . thingb thlngb things sonicelv so somcel sonicely mcel nicely Some time she would , when whenthe \ whenthe hen henthe the the1cit \ visit \1cit 1cit shclt ; , . wis wqs 'lS lS ' over OHr ? She couldn't couldnt ' ' no\\ no now noThele nowThere nowTheie \ Thele There would ' , ould hive h'l\e h'l hl e hire ' \ to bo be explamtlonsIt eplan'1UonsIt ecplanitionsIt e\plan'1Uons e plan'1Uons plan1Uons ecplanitions ' \ : ' It Its \ was \\s s . ! nicer to keep It- It 14 Ita It11 - - a 11 secretWh'lt secretWhit secret secretWhit Whit Wh'lt Whlt ' was she thinking thlnllng , ? ' ' ' St'I'hen StIhen Stephen St'I'henwondere Stephenwondered Stephenwondered ( ' ' wondere wondered , witching w'ltchmg wltchmg ' the curve CUre CUr\ CUr \ e of herlislios her herhshes herJishes hshes Jishes ' iffilnst 'lg'llnst lgllnst igilnst ' her checks cheeks cheel , Was she sheIn shein sheIn In love loye with this boy boy7 boy7"Invite ? ' "Invite Invite "incite incite " 1m Ite him hln1 hird for Christinas CJmstma Chntstmns If youlike you youlIke youlike lIke , , ' he ; said caId "TJtcr TJtcr "ThcrQS ThcrQS "Tlier4s Tlier4s " s ah\u ah u always \ s plenty plentyof plentyof plentyof of room " Ihe 'lhe lhe The ' dark darh lishcs I1Ches hikes ; lifted lifted"Touie lifted"You lifted"You "You You "Touie Touie " 1 to e nice nlee . , Uncle Stephen , " she shesal shesaid shesaid sal said . , gh giving Ing J1J his hic hind h.nd hnd ' ! . an arrectIomte affectionate affectionatesqueeze arrectIomteSIUeele nffcctlomtesqueeze SIUeele squeeze ] , ' So are y } ou " Stephen returned the thenffectlon'lte theaffectinnate theaffectlomte nffectlon'lte nffectlonlte affectinnate ' squeeze cqueeze ; Was ; she che the In 10\ 10 10e lose losewith lovewith \ e with \ Ith the bo\ bo boould boy7 boY boy7"Would \ ? ' "Would Would "w w " . " ould ' " vou "ou ou you like lilce something omethlng comething else elseMidame7 , l\l'ldame l l'ldame lldame Midnme \ ' ? ' ' the'lltress the wiltress \\'lltress 'lltress lltress waitress \ ' a asked < ; hed , , hover hoverIng hoverfag hoverIng Ing fag ncir ne'1r ne1r near ' the tableTIm tableBatbira table tableBaibira TIm Baibira Batbira b.r3 br3 ' ! . hesitated hecltated ; bet\\ bet between beteen \ een fudge fudgecahe fudgecake fudgecake cahe cake and coffee cdalrcs eclalres eclaires , When w \ hen the thewaitress thewaitress waitress \ altre < ; s hid h.d hd ' ! . gone , she smiled at him himacrocs himacross himacross acrocs across ; the t'lhle"Du1 table"Did tible t'lhle tlhle table tible"Did ' "Did Did "Du1 Du1 " 3ou you J OU hoir IH1T heir ' ' what she cilled c1JJed called me me7'she me7she ? ' ' ' she asked acked ; , amused nmuced : "Mnybe Mnybe "Mn Mn "Ma Ma " be she thlnls thinks thlnlsI'm thinksI'm thinksI'm thinksIm , I'm Im ' ' ' your wife wlfe " Stephen hid h'ld hld ' thought that , too It Itg1.Te Itgive Itgive g1.Te g1Te give . him hlm a n feeling of pride HeIt He Be A AI I f It Ito0 . o0 .1 1 .1J .1v .1f J ( v f P//p P / > r/ r ( / / / / / / ' ' / : ' / _ fT1(5 fT15 fT1(5f 99937 99937He ( f tr ; ! He Was Very Proud of His LlttloFllette LittleFillette Little Llttlo Fillettecouldn't Fillette F/llette F llette / couldn't couldnt ' look like 'a a ' a nice old man ' Ifthe ifthe If the thealtress waitress \\altress altress \ had fancied Canckd that Birbara B'lrbara Blrbara Barbara B'lrbaraas Barbarawas ' , was \as as ' \ hislie his \ wife \\lie lie ThereaB There \ was \\aB aB more thanpride than thanpride thanpride pride In the feeling ' There 'lhere lhere Zhere was ten tenderness tenderness derness , tco tc v , and a wistful sort of oflonging oflon.in oflonging lon.in lonin longing . " ' * lch'1pr lch1pr Pcrhips Perhaps ) : ' : ; , ; " ' he be said and bis his eyes , , under brows bros bro\\ bro \ s that frowned Crowned a little , were grave grace gra \ e and \ vaguely nguelJ caguely troubled 'Pcihips Pcihips Perhaps ' , PCl h'lps hlps ' that's thats tbat's tbats ' what wllat she thought . . " Barban's Barbans Barbara's Barbaras ' eves eyes cJ es danced with mls- mls mis- mis miscluef mlsclu - - - clu cluef e f f'Isn't ' 'Isn't Isnt ' Isn't Isnt ' tint th'1t th1t that ? ' ' ' ' ' ' funny1 funny she said witha with a gay little wounding laugh laughBruce . A . * . A . * . * . A . A ABruce Bruce cime C'lme Clme came ' on Cbnstnm Chrlstm\3 Chrlstm 3 Christmas ' \ ' e\ e eve ee \ e B'lrb'lra Barbara Bir B'lr Blr Bar ' bira b'lra blra bara ' went \ ent In town ton to\\ to \ n with Ihomis 'lhomis lhomis ' 1 hom'ls homls ' to tomeet tomeet meet him at the tIle station He lIe didn't didnt didn'tlooh didn'tlook ' look looh quite the same He lie liad had lostflome lostsome lost eome flome some of his tan tanIIls tanhis His IIls eves eyes e es brightened brlghtene \ when hen he Eawber sawher saw Eaw sawher her ber He lIe smiled and looked loohed a n littlemore littlemore little littlemore more like hle , Bruce'Did Bruce Bruce'Did ' 'Did Did ' Dul you ou h'1 h1 hive ' \ e a nice trIp trip7 trip ? ' ' Bar BarBata 'lr lr 'lrbala ' baia bala Bata isked 'lshed lshed asked ' ' is 'IS they walked waIled , through thest thesthtlon the st stitlon sthtlon It10n Thit Th'lt Thlt That ' wasn't wasnt wnsn't wnsnt ' what she wanted wantedto wantedto wantedto to sa say v She hid h'ld hld had ' a feeling of stnnge- stnnge str'lnge- str'lnge strlnge stringe- stringe str'lngenesc stringenesc stnngeness ' - - - ness nesc ; She didn dldn t quite know wl1utto whatto what wl1ut to doe do'The do . e ? . ' 'The The ' The train was cro\\ cro crowded croded \ \ ded " Bruce hadn Brucehadn hadnt t mcint me'lnt melnt meant ' to siy S'lY SlY say ' thatYhat that \ What \Yhat Yhat had hadthev hadthey thev they done to her her7 ? ' ' This 'ibis ibis bls pretty younl young ; ladso lad younglad ladv lad\ lad \ ' , so smirtb smartly sm'lrtl smlrtl ' dressed might have haye hayebeen havebeen been his Babble's Babbles ' elder eller ( sister 'The The ' The They ; are . , at Christmas I guecs guess guecsU guecsBnrb'lra ; U " Barbira Bnrb'lra Bnrblra Barbara ' felt a lump in her throit thro1t throat He Heacted Heacted acted so stiff and so co < ; 0 \ very ery polite"les polite "les les "les'Bruce lesBruce " 1 es ' Bruce ' , , agreed 'Holidays Holidays Rol1da 5 arebad arebad are bad times to tra travel tra"el \"el "el el \ " " " He re resented < ; ented thesoft thesoft the thesoft soft fur jaci jacl jail ct et she \ wore ore , the muff , thesmart thesmart the smart little ( frock rock of honey colored coloredwool \ wool 001 lie He resented Thomas Tllomac : , in uniform uniform unl uni form the big closed cloced ; car , , the air with withwhich \ Ith \ which hlch Birbin B'lrh'lr'1 Blrhlr1 Barbara ' ' ' entered it . , a as J < though , niroidy alre'1dy alre1dy alreicly ' she \ was as accustomed to lux luxury luxury Sheon She \\on on \ wont t t'lnt wint \\'lnt 'lnt lnt want \ to ury ' live Ihe liven 1l /n n ) / ; o mystudIo mystudio my studio after this he thought thoug'it thougit ' mIserably miserably nilscr- nilscr mIser- mIser nilscrably - ably , loving 10In6 10\ 10 \ In6 her , feeling that he had hadlost hadlost lost herIt herIt her _ _ It IF H whpnH \ was tsar . . as e'1sier e1sier easier eisicrin ' . . . In . in . tlie the .n n . , ' - car .u u < . < . TIiomis Thom'ls Thomls Thomas theydrove ' hid h'ld hld ' turnpd turntd his back and they tlie , drove out the P Pirkway Parkway ul , \ ay In the clear clearfrosty clearfrosty dea deafrosty frosty t\\ t twilight t11I6ht \ 11I6ht Bruce kissed hlseed ; her and andheld andheld hold held her in his 1rms firms 1rms"Are firms"Are ' " " "Are Are " iou you ou gild g1'ld g1ld glad ' to sec see me1 met me ? ' ' he t11tJ.ed t11tJed asked t11tJ.ed"Oh asked"Oh : . " " ' , " . "Oh Oh . , Briice Bruce He thought that she sheas was \\as as \ \ He felt felther felther 1 her smill sm'1l1 sm1l1 small ' left band hand no longer tucke tucked tuckedin in the muff"It's muff"It's muff " "It's Its " ' there , " , " she said knowing hnoIDg hno\\ hno know \ IDg ing the thethought thethought thought tliat that prompted the bcsture gesture bcstureS11C gestureSite ' Slie S11C Site pulled off oJ ! a soft sort suede glo\ glo glove gloe \ e anll and anll8ho andshowed showed 8hol 8ho\\ 8ho \ l him the ring ringth with \\th th \ ! the smil sunil swill smilgold sunilgoi swillgold goi gold he'll hell bent Beat ' t t'll1'lt ' 'Ihit Ihit 'll1'lt ll1lt ' Zhat ' mikes m'llcs mllcs makes ' , me fool fccl feel better , " he lie hesaid liesaid said . , rtii n nli\ing nli ing h\.lng h.lng h .lng lng \ ' . ing u a Binist ' " , , lIu host ! ! : > t the UIholctCl upholctei upholcteiI ) ; 'III III ' I 111 II l.J lJ h . hive n the e to get vou you ou another , ' ' headded he headded hi added after a n moment ' "Ihit Ihit " 1 h It Isn t tgorgeous tgorgeous gorgeous enough enougb for an tJeg elegint clegttit mt young vounj oung ? vounjladj ounglad younglady lad " , , ' . , ladj lady s ' > _ _ _ _ "Bmcel Bmcel "nn1ce nn1ce "Bruce Bruce " I 1 " " Tier I7er voice reproached reproachedhim him 'I I ' J 1 10\ 10 love 10e Iota \ e It it , , " " slit she ; said stull , n .sUlnj sUlnj ncstling ncstlingclose nestlingclose < . ; close agilnst ng'llnst ngllnst against ' him 'I I * ' I don't dont ' want anyother nny any nnyother anyother other . ' I'll Ill 1'11 111 ' ' v " year ear It as nq ns long as I 1 live I1ve " ' Darling ! ! ' ' he sold said sal , feeling as though thoughhe thoughhe thoughhe he had found her ng ag agiinAnd lin tin tinAnd linAnd And- And - * ' AndD'lrUng AndDining Dirling D'lrUng DlrUng Dining ' , " she answered , , feeling the thestra thestrangenecc thestrangeness stra strangenecc ngen'e ngene ( ' : vanlbh Banish vanlbhfche BanishShe \ anl h hbhe fche bhe She hadn hndn t ch inged iOg't.d iOgt.d iOgtd innid ' . , he thought thought.holding thoughtholding , . holding her very ver dose close He Be lie ga\ ga gave gae \ e her herthc herthe herthe thc the gift he hid h"ld hld hvl " brought , , n a hr bnccelet bncceletwith hncclctwith lcelet with \ \ I1h a n golden heart to match the birth birthd'1 birthdos birthdiv d'1 d1 dos ' ' ring'lhey ring ringUlicy Ulicy 'lhey lhey ' 1 hey heyele \ weie \\ele ele wehe \ hippy h'lppy hlppy ' together tohether durIng durIngthe duringthe duringthe the short sllOrt rI ride e out from to\\ to town ton \ n But hefdt he hefelt hefelt felt that he hid h'll1 hll1 ' lost her again when whenthe \ wlienthe lien lienthe the cir C'lr Clr car ' turned through throuh : ; the stone .ate- .ate gate ( . .ate1 ate-wnv ate wnv - . - was \ 1\\ 1 1nnd \ \ and nnd u'n(1 un1 ' ( follo followed " e the winding drive.I driveI drJve drive . . , 1 ' Ihe 'the the he house houce ; \ was al ) n a vast tnst \ ast dirk d'lrk dlrk ' chipengainst shipe h'lpe hlpe chipe shipeagiinst h'lpeag'llnst ' agiinst ag'llnst agllnst ngainst ' the deepening dClp'nlng dClpnlng ( ' t\\ t twilight tlight \ light ! lIe lIehad Hei had 1111(1 11111 ( not thought It \ would ould he so grand grand"Im grand"I grand"I "I I "Im Im " m friohlened , , " , " he said . , when the thear thecar thecar car ( ar stopped at the entnnce entr'tnce entrtnce entrance ' and and'lhoIn'ls andZhomas andIhoinis 'lhoIn'ls lhoInls Zhomas ' ' spring spr'lng sprlng ' down don do\\ do \ n to open thedonr thedonr'Sill the door door'Silly 'Silly Silly 'Sill Sill ' , 511JJ 511JJI I ' " ' she "hl'I hlI " whl&percd whlpercd whispered & : ' > ered holding hst fist hstto fistto fistto to his handThe hand hnnd handThe . The touch of her hand couldn't couldnt ' binIsh b'ln bln bin b'lnIech binIqh ' Iech Iqh the feeling thlt thit th'lt thlt ' he had lost her herng"lm herngiin heragiin ng"lm nglm ngiin " It persIsted persisted through the chll chit chlldren dilldron chitdren dren s nois nOls noisy welcome "eIcorne eIcorne " , , through thromh ; a dID din dinner dinner dIDner ner \ which hlch , seemed ccemed endless to Bruce In Inspite inspite Inspite spite of Stcplien's Stcpliens Stephen Stephen's Stephens ' " , efforts to make malc , hIm hImreel himfeel himfeel reel feel at home He resented Stephenwho Stephen Stephenho Stephenwho \\ho ho who \ looked lool.ed looled . ' younger J'oullger Joullger than he hid h'ld hld ' bopel hoped bopelamI hopedand hopedand ( amI and very sery \ ery much more < . attnctive .lttr'lctn .lttrlctn lttrlctn attricttte ' e ' ' Isn t he lovely7 10elv 10\ 10 lot \ elv ? ' ' Barban llarbar'l llarbarl Barbari ' asked ncled ached ; , asthev as asthe asthes the\ the thes theleft \ left tlie the dining room'w room room'Who7 ' ? ' ' ' isked .sled sled asked , he hehne heknew heknew 'w w 'Who7 Who7 " ho Brueo Brulc Bruee ' ! . , though hne\\ hne knew hnecry \ very \ cry well " ell whom she .ho ho : . meint me'lnt melnt meant ' ' Un Uncle le Steph Stephen .n n < . " Bruce was jellous je'llous jealous ' of the sliinc shine In Inher inher Inher her wide dirk hrlc dirlc ( eves ees evesIt e\ e evesIt \ es esIt It wis w.s ws ' ! . kind Imd , of him to let you ou Inylte invite Inylteme inviteme inviteme me ' he ; sild c'lld clld said ' stiffly stJmv , . hnomg knowing know hno\\ hno \ mg in ? that he heh.d helaid liehid h.d hd laid ' ! . hurt her hu , , wanting wnntln to hurt her be becnuce beentice because cnuce entice ; be he . , himself , \ wis 1 ' < ' ; hurt . lIeaB He lIe \ was \\aB aB sorry a moment later but butthen butthen butthen then It was too late . . . He could notfind not notfind notfind find lier her n again aln , though thou6h she was there therebeside therebeside therebeside beside him , small < ind tnd gnd \ very ery lovely 111 In 111a Ina Ina a frock frocI , of golden brown bron bro\\ bro \ n velvet \ eh e1 . . Bruceluted Bruce Bruceh'lted Brucekited h'lted hlted kited ' himself hlmself for his jealousy IIe He IIecould Hecould Hecould could do nothing nothlDg about itIt itIt It ItIt It wis W"lS WlS " an unhappy unbaPl\ unbaPl unhapps unbaPlevenIng ) \ evening for themboth them themboth themboth both They trimmed tnmmed a tree for the thechildren thechildren thechildren children In the schoolroom , , talhlng talking talhlnggn talkinggayly talkinggavly gn gayly : ly , avoiding avoldmg eich c'lch clch etch ' others other s eyes Ifthev If It Ifthe Itthey the\ the they themight \ might bo be alone , , Bruce thou thought thoughtwanting ht htnntln , , \\nntln nntln wanting \ to apologise apologl7e , winting w'lntlng wlntlng ' to find findher findher findher her again againStephen agaInStephen againStephen Stephen watched them and "on on won "ondered wondered " wondcred dered Bruce " was "as as a nice nlce looking loohmg boy boyhe , he thought thou ht , , and seemed secured se "D1ed D1ed < " to be on Inti Inti- Intimate Intimate lntl- lntl lntlmate - - mate terms \ with ith the Thornes But ButB'1rb'lrl1 ButBirbira ButBirbira B'1rb'lrl1 B1rblrl1 Birbira ' ' wasn't wasnt ' In loveHb love \ with \\Hb Hb him He Hefelt Hefelt Hefelt felt that he would know it If she lovedthis Oed losed losedthis ! 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