| Show A copyright BOO and 1891 7 robert bonner a sons A u j asaf aa s as CHAPTER VI the weeks flew by the season sub sided into lent and after it there was another gay spell tien came the spring and people began to make fieira summer plans the were to go to their house at beverly as usual and I 1 leaner openly expressed her pleasure at the prospect 0 return ing to the seaside there bad been a further developments in the court ship or more properly no culmona alon of it for mr page s devotion was not a whit less marked indeed its persistency as a constant source of encouragement to mrs stagg whose vigilant scrutiny had failed to detect any signs of flirtation on his part he continued to send to eleanor time to time beautiful flowers he rode with her in the park he balked with her on sunday after and what was even more sig ant he had ceased to pay simi lar attention to other girls still he had not proposed but as emma sagely reflected it ever an impatient thought seized her presumably he was of the deliberate kind and in so serious a matter as matrimony pre berred to move circumspectly Is or reed their departure from town prove interruption inasmuch as he had declared hia intention of frequenting the beverly shore with his yacht ostensibly for racing purposes but there could be little doubt as to what really attracted him thither A more haunting uncertainty in emmas mind at this time was as to lier niece s feelings regarding which strangely enough in her own eselma alon she was considerably in the bark so much so that she was begin ning to deem it her duty to have a definite talk with eleanor on the sub eject and yet she realized the danger ol 01 an ill considered interference it might well be that the child was shyly in love in which case an anop fortune or meddlesome word might freeze her into secretive coldness toward her lover and induce deflor able consequences she bad believed it wiser thus tar to invite confidence by indirect allusions rather than to demand it but her forbearance had borne no fruit in the way of discovery could it possibly be that eleanor was unaware that owen page was seri bously devoted to hera that was the deduction emma sometimes drew from her placid unconcerned way of accepting his attentions eleanor seemed to enjoy being with bin and always admired his roses and was ready to accept his courtesies but her enjoyment and readiness were of such a rational unembarrassed kind that emma could not help feeling uneasy could any one in love appear so un conscious so free from coyness and coquetry not unless she were ex deep surely which seem ed very unlikely in this instance moreover emma could not help e fleeting that the innuendoes she had made use ot from time to time with delicacy and yet suggestively as it appeared to her ought to have set the child thinking to say the least noth leg had been left unsaid which could present mr page in a favorable light or accentuate the good fortune of any sirl to whose society he was partial ought she to go further than this and point out the fact that he was evi bently fascinated by her and that if she were not suitably encouraging she might lose the best opportunity of making a brilliant match that she would ever have in all probability 7 the necessary words had several times trembled on her lips and yet the had refrained from uttering them one day some weeks after they had moved to beverin while emma was still in the throes of this dilemma harold stagg telegraphed that be was bringing professor phyneas baldwin home to pass sunday this was an elder and only brother of eleanors father a geologist who had just been called to an important educational rosl tion connected with his specialty in new york he was a bachelor and biad lived a nomadic kind of life in the interest of science residing in vari ous portions of the west and though he was intimate with his brother with whom he corresponded vigorous ly eleanor who was very fond of urn had seen him but little at the time of silas baldwin s death he was abroad with an exploring expedition under the auspices of the govern ment but on receipt of the news he bad promptly offered to give the child ren a home before being apprised that they had been adopted by the emma as it happened had invited a select party of fashionable people to dinner that evening and it did not altogether please her to have to make room at her table for a professor who might be very learned but was almost certain to be queer accordingly her frame of mind was by no mean am proved when eleanor in response to a casual question as to what sort of person her uncle was said ob hes the funniest looking little man you ever saw very short and round with a face that reminds one of an owl he blinks at you out of hie great eyes like one but nee kind as can be and if you get him on a subject in which be is interested he can be immensely agree able really saad emma faintly with something like a little sigh in edite of her habitual aplomb and as she gazed out over the sea she saw accurately in her mind s eye a blink ing little personality sitting silent from course to course unless the devonian period or some other equally august subject were introduced aa though divining her aunt s quan eleanor suddenly exclaimed with genuine fervor why uncle phin and I 1 by ourselves oura elves in the nursery it would be such tun we have lots to talk about no one would miss me and he would enjoy it ever so much better I 1 know it wouldn t cause any extra trouble for I 1 will carry the up and down myself and then your dinner wouldn t be disarranged boat be absurd dear replied emma though she could not help wishing that such a program were consistent with due hospitality your uncle will dine with us of course if I 1 had only known in time however I 1 would have ed one or two people likely to be more congenial to him eleanor s description of the bache lor professors appearance was not exaggerated in the early stages of acquaintance he evidently sought refuge in an imperturbable taciturnity relieved if he were brought to bay by a free use of the word maam in addressing ladies of every age which prompted emma to keep him as quiet as possible after making him known to fie company he was a man of fifty with a thick brown beard and a bald head his large eyes took in the surroundings in contemplative fashion and he seemed in no wise disturbed that he had not brought evening clothes with him an omission which weighed con sider ably on emma s mind not for the reason that it made any real differ ence but because she was sure that he poor man must feel so embarrass ed when he re entered the room just before dinner in his gray home spun suit with a red bandana protrude ing from the breast pocket she really pitied him but she could not help congratulating herself that she had p aced his seat at table between her self and fleanor after they sat down to dinner uncle phineas continued for some time very silent beaming so effusive 1 however on his niece that emma began to fear lest he should hold her hand or indicate in other equally unconventional way the satis faction he felt in being with her again he was an excellent trencher man and did full justice to the good tl ings passed to him without seeing to heed the small talk that repressed at first by his presence soon bubbled forth regardless of it there was gay chatter some of a personal character and by and by several humorous abec dotes one of which amused professor baldwin so much as to draw from him a guffaw of such intensity that there nas a pause after it and a cosite him surveyed him through her lorgnette interrogatively while the young men winked at each other as much as to say who is the humor ous old that reminds me of an incident that happened when I 1 was in california some years age said uncle phineas slowly in a quaint dry way that made everybody stop eating and lister bamma felt on tenterhooks and she glanced anxiously toward eleanor but she had turned toward her uncle with an air of delighted interest there was nothing to do but let him go on and go on he did in so graphic and absorbing a manner that several of the company were chuckling with satisfaction before the end and when that came there was a roar of delight a capital story exclaimed some one and harold stagg who was laughing heartily checked himself to cry A glass of wine alth you probes sor the old boy Is waking up he whispered after putting down bis glass to the lady next him there was now a disposition to in elude the professor in the general con and he rewarded expects alon by contributing two or three more pertinent stories one of which led to his beginning to talk about bis travels from one matter he branch el off to another and soon the entire company was hanging on his words his observations as well as his ex per lences were out of the ordinary run and in two or three instances be had had narrow escapes that elicited ejaculations of horror from the ladles and envious by joves from abe sporting gentlemen present when at last emma gave the signal to leave the table everybody felt the dinner had been too short she was all smiles and in passing aiom tha seized the opportune opp ity to squeeze eleanor s hand and whisper he s delightful my dear his very want of toilet seemed to her now to add to his effectiveness and she almost hoped that when he re turned to the parlor he would talk about the stone age or deliver an informal address on shells so ex was her sense of relief when he did return however he relapsed into oracular silence which he was the needs of bare civility before beyond the company separated on the con arary he himself presently slipped away with eleanor across the lawn for a saunter along the shore As tl ey did not return in time emma explained his absence on the ground that he bad probably found some boulder bowlder or crustacean specimen which had lured him into oblivion of everything else a sally which evoked a general laugh as they said good night there was much to be par boned to a man of his evident who bad seen so little of so clety and really he had made him self remarkably agreeable and quite borne off the honors of the occasion this was doubtless the general ver diet but underneath it in the minds of nearly every one was a sentiment of pity for mrs stagg that she should have on her hands such a white ele and in truth while her fears were emma felt far from easy in the company of uncle phyneas after the of his din ner table successes had been partially dispelled by a nights sleep in map ping out the arrangements tor the next two days at the end of which he was to take his leave she was not averse to allowing eleanor to ampro him to her hearts content though she insisted on accompanying him on a preliminary drive nd pointing out to him precisely to whom ever house of importance along the shore belonged elon ged then she became willing ta let eleanor sit be side him in the bach seat of the wag onnette while she got la front with harold with a glowing con of duty performed from the ceaseless flow of words it was A aa A a t evident to her that they were enjoy ing ves kiive now and t en s e caus t ci J t t made he prick up her ears and perhaps give harold a nudge if the subject were serious or obtrusive did they seem ever to get to the end of what they had to say when they were not driving they were strolling through the woods or climbing avei the rocks as much absorbed in each others society as two young lovers emma reflected that if she would only appear more like that aher she was with owen page there would be no cause for anxiety professor baldwin on the morning of his departure took leave of his hostess with a show of deep respect that was pleasing to emma to his thanks for her hospitality he added some enthusiastic words out of his niece s hearing as to eleanor s charms if my brother were alive he would say that he could have done no more himself and I 1 thank you and your hushai d ma am tor your goodness and your care mr stagg had no intention of depre eating her right to the praise bestowed especially as the thought was in her mind that if her niece by mar nage had not been deprived of her father she would have been a very different appearing person but she was much gratified and she said with a modest smile eleanor is a nice good girl yes ma am and more she Is an intelligent noble woman emma was slightly appalled by the enthusiasm of the professor s tone which was heightened by the further expansion of the owl like eyes we have done our best she mur aured and you have your reward ma am she Is an unusually fine young wo man I 1 am an old bachelor ma am but I 1 envy the man who wins her as his wife for an instant the thought crossed her mind that eleanor might have confided in him but she dismissed it as improbable still she felt that she looked a little conscious as she re plied with slightly mysterious unc tion we have that in mind professor baldwin we will take care that she does not throw herself away to be continued |
