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Show , I " ' \ The TheSILVEI SILV SILVrujT SILVEIfLUTE SILVER SILVEI SILVERFLUTE rujTBy rujT FLUTE fLUTEy By $ y Lida Larrimore eo , , Utcrac Ma.cro.C Macro.C MacroC ISiacIae . . Smith Oompn.ny Oompnny Company Oompn.nyWNU CompanyWNU CompanyWNU . WNU servicoCHAPTER Scrrico Servlco servico ScrricoCHAPTER - CHAPTER XV-Contmued XV Contmued XV-Continued Continued XVContmued25 XVContinued25 XV - Continued -25- 25 - 25'That's 25That's 25 - - 'That's Thats That's ' ' ' nil nn rill rightTery right " \ Very \Tery Tery gently gentlv , he helUted helifted helifted lUted lifted her from the floor , settled into intocb'tlr Intod intoa a cinir cb'tlr cbtlr cboir ' and held her bel ' close In his aims ums aimst aims'It : ? " he nsl asked askedYes askedYes ed 'It It < ' It ; t was always al\\fiYS al fiYS aiwnys \ Bruce . res Yes . . , Always , " she said . , . ' Wh Wh3 Vhi ) didn dldn dicta t you tell me , dcar dear dear's dears ? ' ' 1-1 1 'q-I 'q q I ' ' I - I couldn t , t . Uncle StephenUy Stephen " " \Uy Uy 'Why Why ' \ ' by not ? ' ' 'necnuse- 'necnuse necnuse 'Because- 'Because Because 'necnuseshe 'Becauseshe ' Because - - " slis she paused , , suddenlyshy suddenly Shy Shy'ple'lse " " her chIn chInto chinto chinto ' Pleisc 'ple'lse plelse Please ' , , he urged , tilting to look 1001 . Into hci hel het eyes'Well eyes 'Well Well ' . Well WeU , , ' ' , she said , "at at uat " first I 1 couldn't couldnt couldn'tbec'luse couldn'tbecause couldn'tIxciuse couldntIxciuse ' bec'luse becluse because ' we d made so much trouble I IJIIean Imean Imean JIIean mean your Aunt : Edith IdIth went a away way and andHIss andMiss andMiss HIss Miss Ernllv EmUv Emily and that was all our fault faultYou faultYou faultyon You didnt dldl1 didn t hnow know about children Ithought I j Ithought jthought thought I ought to stay And then- then then'Im thengain then - " gain ; " ' yun 'Im Im ' she paused Her In ladies inches ) es , misted misted1'lth mistedwith mistedyith 1\'lth 1 'lth lth with \ ' tears tears , , curved curvrd do dovin down " n against her hercheehs hercheeks hercbeAs hercbeAs"Then cheehs cheeks cheehs"Then cheeks"Then "Then Then " what ? ' ' Stephen asked gently"You gently gently"Ton "You You "Ton Ton " " you must tell ten me , dear " "Then Then " the night of my party-beside party beside partybesidethe party - besidethe the lily Illy pond . . . I cin't cint c'ln't clnt can't cant ' ' ' , , Uncle UncleStl'phen UncleStephen UncleStephen Stl'phen Stlphen Stephen ' " The lishes hshes Fishes swept up from fromher frombey fromher her bey cliceks cheeks Her eyes were troubled troubledsnd troubledind d dand snd and shy ' It-It It It - It seems so dreadfully dreadfullyhard dreadfullybard dreadfullybard hard bard " 'I I ' I khsed kIcsed kissed : you , " he said , , under understanding understanding underttinding underttindingShe standing standingShe She nodded'In nodded'in nodded nodded'In 'In In ' a different wa\ wa was wa wahe \ , " he continued continuedbruchlng continuedhru continuedbroiling bruchlng hru : hing the soft hair hall ' back bach from her herbrow herbrow herIrow herIrowShe brow browShe She nodded again agatn again"You again"You ' "You You 'You " ' thought-you thought you thought - you knew that 1 1tored 1loved Iloved tored loved iou Sou au " Again Agam the brown head nodded'And nodded 'And And ' And you didn't didnt didn'tant ' " \\ant ant want \ \ 1nt ' to hurt me . . " 'I I , ' I couldnt couldn t , , " she Slid s'lld slld said ' earne earnestly earnestly"You earnestly"You earnestlyYou 3tly 3tly"You < "You You " had been so kind to us all And AndI I do love lore you Uncle Stephen " Herarms Herarms Her arms rms - rcre r-ere r ere rere ' iiound around 11 olmd his bls neck necl " , her cheek cheekdamp cheekdamp cheekfiamp damp with tears te'1rs te1rs ' , , pressed presced ; closeb closely closel closelyagainst ) galust against his hIe htc : ; 'I I ' I lo's los 100.e 100e lo\e lo e \ ' a , . you better thanam"one thananyone than thantnvone tnvone am"one amone anyone " , , except , , " she added , , Bruce 'Bruce ' Bruce'I BruceI " . 'I I ' I . know J.now Jnow , , " Stephen sold s'1ld s1ld said ' "there there "lhere lhere " arealllln areall arc are arctil alllln til all kinds s of 10\ 10 los lo\e lo e 10e \ e I 111 11 try to be satisfled S'1tlsfled sitis S'1tls S1tls satis sitisfltd ' fltd fled mth wIth the kind hInd that you can give giveme gIveme giveme me ' "You You " won t be hurt hurt , Uncle Stephen ? ' 'No No ' No I want you to be happi hapm happy Yonsee Yousee You Yon Youtie tie see ' ' he said thoughtfullyuI thoughtfully "I I uI " wasn wasp tsure tEUre t tlure EUre- EUre sure- sure lure - - " EUre.About sure'About About .About 'About " ' . what whllt7 " ? " "About About " sou you ou I s \ \ ' isn't isnt 'Isn't ' sure that you youored youloved youloved loved ] ored me-In me In mein me - In a marryIngmy marrying \ way \my my tvay , I mean meanA.nd meanAnd meanAnd A.nd And . , " he continueduI continued "I I uI " wisn't wisnt w'l'm't wlmt wasn't wasnt ' ' ' sureabout sureabout sure about bout myself I 1 thought tliat that I might mighthue mighthave mighthive hue have been kissing klcslng : your mother that thatDIgbt thatnight thateight DIgbt night bv by the hIpond lilv hI\ hI lily \ ' pondU pond U " 'Mother Mother ' , Iother ? ' Barlnra Barb'1ra Barb1ra Barbara ' asl askedHe asked askedHe ed edHe He told her the story , then He toldher told toldher toldber her ber about the Birhira B'1rh'1ra B1rh1ra Barbara ' ' he had 10\ 10 lo\ed lo ed 10ed lo'sed losed \ ' ed a aTery avery avery Tery very long long-time long time - . time ago She listened listenedqUIetly listenedquietly listenedquietly qUIetly , her cheek against his the fin fingers fingers finerg gers ( of one small hand folded around aroundhis aroundhis aroundhis his thumb thumb"That's thumb"That's thumb"That's "That's Thats " ' why "hy hy shy " you have I"ather Iather Father's Fathers Father'spainting " Fathcr'hpilnting Fathcrhpilnting ' painting of her , " she slid s'1ld s1ld said ' when "hen hen Shen " he hehad hehad hehid had finished'Yes finished'Yes finished 'Yes Yes ' Yes , , that's thats ' why You are very like likeher likeher likeher her I didn't didnt ' Isnow Imow know which of y ) ou on 1 I 1lJssed Ihosed Ilutsed lJssed hosed pondYou that night mght by the lily 11Iy pond pondy y You Fou see , " he added , "I I " 10\ 10 loied 10ed lo'sed losed \ ' ed her verJ very verJI11uch verymuch vcr vcrffluch ffluch I11uch much " ' * "Then Then " you don't dont ' mind about Bruce ? ' 'J J ' I 1 mind " he said , , holding her very veryclose veryclose dose close verydose 'But But ' not too much I " want ant you to youto be happy You are very dear to me meBarbara , Barbara , dearer than anything else In Inthe inthe Inthe the world " throughthe t1roughthe "loure loure "Uu Uu "lou lou " re lovely ' " ' She smiled smlled t1rough through ] the tears on her lashes And then there thenthere was a ch'1nbe ch1nbe chin clan ' , e a in her face ITer Her ITereyes Hereyes Hereyes ofhcr ofher eyes widened , the flush paled out of hcr her cheeks He IIe lie felt her tremble , felt feltthe felt"the " "the the LIsten the swift beating of ot her heart ' Lis ten " she 3a < sayL sari , sayL"What " "What What Is It , , dear ? ' I ! But Bat he heard It tlien then And he hnew knew the knewtoe hnewthe knewthe song He had heard It very veryI I ) often veryoften . , , . . ' ) 'i i 'iWe t + blueI We lye bluew sail call all the ocean blue I 1 We catch cl.tch cltch : . a . da . plenty plen t , . a . fish fish"That's . , . "That's Thats " ' Bruce I 1 " Barbara Bdrbara slipped sUpped slippeday sUppeda"ay slippedarray a"ay aay array " ay from ' " Stephen's Stephens armsulie arms "He He ulie "I3e I3e s 5 corn com lng lag comlng comlag " , Uncle Stephen I ! ' Barbara met Bruce at the door . door.Stephen doorStephen Stephen saw sa\v sa v \ her hes'tate hestate hesitate ' saw her ex pression exPression resslOn changehen change \ - when \\-hen hen Shen she lool looked ed at a at"r atr t truce atruce " He"Mrd HeMrd Hee'lrc1 Hhear ruce " " , saw her run Into his nrms arms He H e hear " e'lrc1 elrc1 ' ( ] their Incoherent words- words - ' words-Babble words Babble words'Babble words'Babbie ' 'Babble Babble 'Babbie Babbie . . , . Babble , , darling"hire darlinghire darlln darlin b bI ; ' " : ' Bruce1 1lhcre \ " hue were you , Buce Bruce ; ? ? ' ' 'I I I went away " 'But But ' But you came back here " "I I : " " 1 ' liad bad had to find something of you . . " 'YOU'Ve YOUVe "pouve pouve " ' oQve ' found fuund all aU of me . . , " t "For For , For always nlways ? ? ' ' Itcruce Itbrace , . . for always al\\-ays al ays \ - . . , , . Do you hear It , brace c.ruce cruce ? ' , 'What What ' " What hat , darling darllng7 ? ' ; "The The ihe lher ail'ser ailser 81h ' er flute fiute " dear d ' nY1 7 ' ' . ' . , . Do y iou ou hear henr It i It ItTIA t , ! "res res " res cs T I haven't havent ' for so long Don D D"res TIA loneuon ever t l lt lpt ? t It Rtop stop op playin playln , , again ngnm . " n0 . , " 'Do Do ' 't t ' "Don't Dont Don't Dont : ever v r let It be 1081 lost lost"much lostmuch . , . " tnu much ' ; ' , . ' . . , . ' ' . Darllng Darling " "S1 S1 " 1 ! I 10\ 10 lo's los 10e 1 ( " \ ' e a you ) ou so sTrey s o < HRent . ; Tlley Trey I ey ba had d ; ' ) forgotten Stephen . , H Be Ht e Rent Rentout c t , out and closed the door . , . . . . . . Stepben $ tellhen ephen S sit 1t In a deck chair nnde under uncle underbae r th thtellhen the ; V bae baebWl11ows harbor bWl11ows willows or ws ' , 1001.ln 1001ln looktn look1 . " . ; , . ; down acrosa across the th tb e ' ( ? shadows Thshadows tiiai Ih d dor ' , calrn calm ln In the twilight twlllght Thk The Theor Th e of or soupof thOWS th werc were Opening deepenIng , . The sound soundthat soun soup d soundi soupi the e i wind : thit that thate songWna ln In the wlllo\\ wlllo willows wlllos \ \ s was a n song son son1 g Wna was " "apyy apyy happy haplY " and , g } sid s'ld sld sad ' sidPhcn's sadStephen's Stephe Stephen's Stephens " ' ' the then -Phcn's Phcn's Phcns - n s mood harmonhed hnrmonl1ed harmonised with withtall wit witd h tall . , Song " "S S " tie l1e lie , , too , , was happy anh anhrm and andha an anEDDY d ha bapIY Dpy ) because "ccaiise ccaiise " Barbara was a s EDDY wawy wasf rm f . , lad sad ad because oinethlne something In him Ui hl m had bad died , Bomithlne something flomt.thl flomtthl . g ga7hlch which he be thought thoughtne thouchtould thoughtwould "ould ould would ; 3dne.er 3dneer " ne\ ne ne neer ne'ser neser \ ' er Ihe 11c lire 11\ 11 \ c again g a7hlch n . . There would wouldromance neer never wouldnever ne\ ne . \ er be for hi hig him a real and nd tenderof tender tendero romance TS tenderTS CllmpSof He V h had h had l only c > nIy gIlmpses glimpses gIlmpseslong o of { It , the . Barlnra Barb'1ra Barb1ra Barbara ' h hh he e had ad loved a verybad very long time a ae ago go , the Barhara Barbara whom he hehC'1rt bad had held , for f , or a moment , agaInst hIs hC'1rtor heirt hC'1rt hC1rt heart ' heirtIhc heartZiie Butunder 1 ' Ihc Ziie he ' thought h hurt ur t h him 1m deeply deeply . But under the s'ldn sldn s'ldnur s.dness sdness sadness . ' ss it brought therethings there thereas therevas vas \ as a feeling o oss of contentment tentment Such Suchin Sucntilings Suchthings forc in beenin things v w \ ere not for him m He IIe had been beenat the ciadle cindIe a n nm sedate l e bachelor at graynt grayat the e\See e See , gray grayRomance AdventureRomance temples e'sen esen e \ ' en then en Adventure ? Romance ? Th Then They hid had ' no In thepat thepattern eftf'ld eftfld : part the thedestined pattern ern uf of hiseftf'ld his life Some ome men were wereborn weredestined destined for nd'enturome adventure nd\'entur nd 'entur entur \ ' beenborn He had been beenlIe born undei unclel under a quiet starHe starHe star starHe beentroubled He lIe knew hnew , , ' notroubled now no\\ no \ , , W why } 1Y he had been beenat troubled b by doubts ts and uDcertalnties uncertainties uDcertalntiesanted uncertaintiesat dri : at times hadn'twanted hadntwanted during durlug b the e summer He hadn't hadnt hadn't"anted ' ' \\anted anted wanted \ tob to marry Barbara ' He hadn't hadnt hadn'twanted hadntwanted mmarrv "anted anted wanted " to nnrri marry 1rr ' , } Imllv : Emily H Hmall He "e e " \ v\nsnt v nsnt wasnt \ asn t a aalone . amain amaiming mall maiming \ In ing ma ma"e man It was vas the tuture future tuturefear futurealone ; ndre ; alone h he hadndre had dreaded e He need not nota notfear fear th that a t te now There were Kit and Gay andGay and Jamie to gl\ gl gR ghe gle \ e a his lus lI life l e ' a mean meanalne InO lag aInO meanIng meanlag ' H Hl Ho He would ne\ ne ne's nes never neer \ ' er feel entirely entirelybl entirelyalone ; WOUJd alne alone A re'1 re1 reidy ready ' y made family faml1y was a aes blessing marryingman bl ablesbing ablessing es I Ire'1 ng He wasn'tman wasn't wasnt ' ' a n marryIng man mann . . Th The nte notes ; of a guitar drifted through t1 t1Th the throughthe through1e 1e 1eh1ado's shadows \ ' Barbara B'1rbara B1rbara ' and : h1ado\\'s h1ado 's s Bruce sat saton saton saton on the e studio steps Stephen could couldnot couldnot couldnot not see them but he knew the thethere they y were werethere there . . . Ono One denrAnd amall sman small table ta.ble . dear denr , , chairA chalsA chairsA And two t\VO t VO \ smill sm'1.U sm1.U sm1U sm'tll smtll ' ' . chals chairs ; * A lazy parrot tor for ( or a . pet The petThe kind that DC\ DC neti ne\er ne er DCer \ er swear swears swearsTn . . , , adventure Two TV Tn , o 0 small chairs ' ' That was adven d e ture wouldbe , , Stephen thought They would youngand be hippy h'lPPY hlPPY happy ' together . . They \ were sere ere young youngand youngand and deeply deeplv In love He could bear itto It Itto itto to lose her to Bruce Lose her ? Her Hel He r l ts4 y , , t tV ty V rrf 1 IfG IfGI . I i i 7 ' , , . - N , # ' N"BabbleBabble , f . / _ " . / - / / ttfrr r r"Babble "Babble-Babble "Babble Babble "Babble Babble " Babble " - - , Darling need never lose her entirely . He had hada hada a place In her life . . He knew that thatshe thatshe thatshe she would love him and remember rememberhim rememberhim rememberhim him That , he thought , , was enoughThere enoughThere enough enoughThere There would be cares , of ot course course.But courseBut . . . But what did they matter ? He couldhelp could couldhelp couldhelp help them , perhaps ; give them the thegra thegra3 thegra gra gra3 ; shingled shmgled house Better not . . Par Par- Parcntc Parents . - cntc ent ents : ; ' , be he thought , amused at himself In Inthe Inthe Inthe the role of ot a father , meddled entirely entirelytoo entirelytoo entirelytoo too much Better to let them make maketheir maketheir maketheir their own way But he would buy thehouse the thehouse thehouse house . . . Sometime she might haveIt haveit have haveIt It . . , . . "Uncle Uncle " Stephen , . . . " ' * She wasstanding was wasstandIng wasstanding standIng beside him , , her arm Hnked linked Hnkedthrough linkedthrough linkedthrough through Bruce's Bruces ' ' arm , her eyes shin shIn- shInIng shining . - ing like stars'There's stars'There's stars There's Theres 'There's ' ' ' so much I'd Id ' ' ' like to say"She sayShe say " She hesitated He knew she was wassearching wassearching wassearching searching for griteful gr'lteful grlteful grateful ' wordsuNe words"Nei words words"Ne "Ne Ne uNe\ uNe "Nei Nei uNeer " \ er mind ; , " he saIdShe saidShe said saidShe She gave up the attempt . . She left leftBruce leftBruce leftBruce Bruce and crossed to Stephen's Stephens ' chair . , . "I I " love you . , Uncle Stephen , , " shesaid she shesaid shesaid said , her arms around his neck , ' I know ' " . . " ' He smoothed the soft softlJ'llr softhair softhilr lJ'llr lJllr hair ' back bach from her brow . , "I-Ill "I I Ill "I-III III "I I " - 111 always be grateful " "I I UI |