Show Tr-he Tr ITh foe SILVER FLUTE I By Lida Larrimore e. e Mcrae Service Serle CHAPTER XI Continued XI-Continued Continued 20 20 discovery lIe He smiled A A mutual Lad nd pressed her hand ha nd They The had no opportunity for furer fur Cur talk The front door dour opened here er were sounds of footsteps In the theall theall all ere I and shouts for Cor Uncle Stephen d Barbara hurst burst Into Intoe the he room laughing eyes ees bright their I e the told cold The by heeks nipped 11 pink ulet was broken by gay excited The elephant had bad a baby bahl Uncle I Its name Is Annabelle i Arent rent the monkeys lovely ely They old men Book ook IOk Ilk like T TWill Will a snakes snake's back break Uncle It if you make It walk In a Straight line Kit Days oaIS What makes bears smell sIDell so dread dread- take baths ully rally Dont Don't they ever Arent zebras silly looking Like ules all alt painted with stripes I I l Stephen was lovely with the chil children dren ren Natalie thought watching them Surround him like a swarm of chirp chirp- locusts Old Did she Imagine that his og nl turned most frequently to Barbara Bar Ual 15 yes bara aril ara sitting demurely amused In the big II g chair Stephen was right She as a child A lovely child Stephen as as more than twice her age She Kelt elt all nt ut once close to Stephen or him There was something En a his bis eyes She Shu didn't want him to be beurt urt Aunt Edith started something she aid Id to 10 Bob lIob as they drove home after alter Inner dinner She told Stephen that he Isn Is Isi Isa with Barbara n a i love lo Is he Im not quite quile sure Her ner voice was us troubled Yes Yell she slie added I think Ink he Is Dont Doat blame him So am I. I She Is Isi i sweet kid Nat at But Stephen Is twice her ber age Worried about It IU IUA A little worried Bob Dob Aunt Edith 1 says ass ays Stephen failed Called to do his obvious W uty uty Swell I Too much obvious duty has wrecked reeked man many a good mans man's life They're heyre nice kids Nat at Yes Yea she he he agreed I hope Steph Stephen n Isn't sut In lo e with Barbara though a e eThe e The postman one morning brought note to Stephen from Emily Emily- Dear Stephen I pare have ha Ie decided to take loke your our atI advice Ilce We Ve are packing up lip and antI will lea leave VI for J o b br M r 1 y r rh r h i e The Elephant Had a Baby Uncle Stephen I Its Name Is II A Annabelle Virginia very soon elon Will you OU come to see ee us before beCore we go Pother Father will be Inconsolable It If he does not have hove an opportunity to hid bid you good good good-by by Ilow How are the children I have haveard heard ard that you OU are to keep them They ar are re lucky kiddies Always your friend I EMILY Stephen meant to call at the apartment apart apart- ment ent on the outer fringe of Bitten nitten- house onse square But nut there were vere many things to claim his attention besides the work at the office He lie Interviewed decorators lie He carried In his pockets samples Maples of chintz and wall paper Which fell fIll out at unexpected moments He lie shopped with Gay antI and Barbara It sat Ia amusing It consumed a great deal leal eul of time An Am l j then there were the relatives Be diet to Miss lIss Finch soothing letTS let let- tars TS to I Herbert antI and Aunt Lola Iola Old and Cou Cousin ln Julia dulls JullIn In Maine He Ill felt Celt feltt that t on the whole they were relieved Aunt Lola wrote plaintive letters to Gay put nut Oay lly ay liked being at Uncle Stephens Stephen's Aunt kolas Lola's letters made madeno DO no Impression Then too too there was Aunt Edith She let him feel dolly dally the weight of her disapproval If It It hadn't been blen for Cor Barbara arbara Stephen thought she would have accepted the situation She was Fag f fond nd of the children especially toad fOUd of oC Hay Gay But she resented Bar Bar- bars bara She he told him that she planned to visit her ber er friend nJ Fanny r Poole le In D Call Ca fn fomia as soon as arrangements could be made Stephen felt guilty about Aunt Edith He lie brought her gifts girls He lie tried to to interest est her In ln hIs hla plans plans' for Cor the l Aunt Edith did not relent M So the busy days P passed Med and Stephen did not Ot visit the apartment men on the e om Outer fringe CrInge ee of RI Rittenhouse nh Th Then use square one day a n branch Dranch of oC white lilacs Lacs In a florists florist's window reminded him of P tato ally lie Ill wat watched ed th j clerk cIrk pack It a box layers of PaPer lie Ile e A ed out Ut of f the and tailed a aBut ft a But lj tile the apartment was vac vacant nt A beat To TO Let card was tucked In the frame of one of-one one of the dusty windows That evening when Miss Finch reached her sisters sister's home she carried under her ber arm a slim white florists florist's box I CHAPTER XII February 1 tb Darling Bruce Its so odd to think we are going to stay sta I 1 cant can't make It seem Ilem real at nt all aiL But Iut we are Isn't Uncle Stephen lovely Gay Oay antI and Jamie are going to school Gay Oay goes gOE'S to Miss Mss Careys Carey's and Jamie to a boys hoys' school sort of In the country not far from Crom here Thomas takes tokEs them every morning and antI goes for them In the afternoon Kit Is going to art school In the city and ond hes he's so happy that It makes me want to cry I hope Mother knows about us And AntI Father too We cant can't be grateful enough to Uncle Stephen If we all live for Cor a hundred years and antI try as hard as we canI can caD I 1 loved ld your our Valentine Where did you ever find such lIuch a quaint one with lace paper and rosebuds and that cunning silver arrow But nut I must make a a confession I slept with It under my pillow lost last night and now Its It's all crumpled Will you forgive me It was because I w wanted so Sl much to see Ble yo you II Your Babble who loves you very much February Bruce darling No o. o 1 I haven't told Uncle Stephen about us yet It wouldn't be considerate consid erate lIes lIe's had had so many things to bother him Ills His Aunt I Edith has gone to California with three trunks and Bessie Bessle her maid maJd and Im I'm sure It was because of us us though Uncle Stephen pretends It I must say Its It's a relief to have her gone She didn't like me very welLOr well wellOr Or any of us us except Gay But Its It's hard for Uncle Stephen because she Is his aunt and she has lived here ever since his father Cather and ond mother died Now I sit at the head of the table and pour Uncle Stephens Stephen's coffee and remind the children of oC their manners and ring the bell for Cor Henry I do my hair up now I simply couldn't sit at the head of I Uncle Stephens Stephen's table with It all tumbling tum tum- bung bling around my shoulders And something el else e has happened to bother Uncle Stephen Miss bliss Trent and antI her father have gone to Virginia to live Uncle Stephen Isn't going to marry her after nil all I guess and that's because of us us too If It you dont don't care for children and Im I'm sure Miss Trent doesn't and they come anyway you fold your tents like the Arabs and silently steal away That's what Miss Emily and her father did I think It bothered Uncle Stephen He lIe never acted very lo to Miss Emily but butI I guess older people dont don't and hes he's probably grieving In silence so that we wont won't feel bad botI So you see darling I cant can't tell him about us Just yet He depends on me for everything about the children It wouldn't be fair to run away and antI leave him especially since Its It's my fault that were we're here and his Aunt Edith has gone g gone ne to California Call Cornia and antI he has hos lost his hia love When having haling a family Isn't so new and strange and ond his Aunt Edith comes home or he be finds somebody else to marry v who vho ho likes children Ill I'll tell him You do understand dont don't you ou darling You do know that I love you BABBLE BABBIE nAnn IE March 1st Dear Bruce Brace lease dont don't consider writing to mea me mea a duty I l know that you are busy and antI cant can't be expected to answer three letters letters let let- letters In a row Gay Oay Is to be Cella Celia own cousin to Rosalind In As You Lute Like It which the girls at Miss Careys Carey's are going to present in May She's so excited about It that she cant can't sleep at at night Uncle Stephen took Gay Goy and me to the theater last night to see Hamlet lie He was a very gloomy person wasn't he No wonder Ophelia Ophella went crazy Hes He's going to take us to see As You Like It Saturday afternoon so Gay can get some pointers I hope you are well Dont Don't work too hard Your friend BARBARA T THORNE OnNE Atlantic City Un fth u. u w Darling Bruce I Can you ever forgive me for writing writ ing lag such a 0 snippy letter But I hadn't I heard from Crom you for Cor more than a week and I was worried and hurt and dreadfully dreadfully dread dread- fully unhappy You Imagine all sorts of things when you wait walt for tor letters which never come and ond besides 1 I haven't a nice disposition You should have hare had measles long ago ogo They arent aren't one of oC the pleas ure to be reserved for Cor old oltI age And to think of them putting you In the childrens children's chil drens dren's ward at the hospital I II II I felt Celt so se mean when your letter came I wanted to fly to New York and sit by your our bed and feed teed you yon things with a spoon But we were just leaving for Cor Atlantic City and so i I couldn't very well Uncle Stephen hatto had hat to come on busl business ess and he brought Gay and me because Gay was so ills ills- appointed about missing As You Like It and rind Uncle Stephen thought I looked sort of pale That was was because cause Id I'd been worrying about you But I didn't tell him that I said ald It was growing pains' pains because bt you know Bruce I am growing up I ran can feel CItI It ITO tTO DE BE CONTINUED |