| Show the TIM FLUTE by lida larrimore 0 maama macma CHAPTER XIII continued 22 babble he called very gently she lifted her face small and white in the moonlight framed in silky ten dails drils of soft brown hilr hair oh its you uncle stephen slie she said who did you think it might be that sailor the boy from annapolis annapole Is 1 I ran away from him why stephen asked seating himself himsel beside tier her on the grassy rim of the pond 1 J I dont like his hands she said they paw ill spank him stephen seethed with indignation ill spank him buttons and all oh no you wont uncle stephen her hand slipped into his 1 I was glad of an excuse I 1 wanted to run away dont you like your party its n R lovely party she said quickly afraid that ills his feelings fee lingi might be hurt cut but hoys boys arent amusing not very young boys like that do they seem very young to you young and silly she turned from him with a choked little sob babble babbie youre crying babble she did not try to deny it ne he drew her into his arms arins felt tier her turn felt her arms around his neck can you tell me dear he as asked ked it hurts me to see you unhappy cant you tell me dabble babble dear stephen felt her trembling in his arms ilo ile was trembling too had all of this unhappiness been about him lie ile believe it the thought turned the world upside down barbaral barbara il he said brokenly it was strange that lie should call h her er that she could tell him now about bruce nut but lie he must know that she was grateful 1 I do love you tou uncle stephen she said and then she knew that she tell him ue lie kissed her not as he had kissed hissed her many times but in a different wai way she knew what the kisses meant she knew about being in love CHAPTER XIV y barbara lay on the beach her arms folded under her head her eyes dreaming up into the cloudless blue of the sky kit sat beside her sketching at a little distance gay in a brief green b bathing suit was the center of a noisy chattering group jamie and the parrish twins freckled and brown as gypsies were building a miniature golf course chips and the parrish airedale were engaged in a friendly tussle their frisky feet flinging fling ing up showers of sand barbara had forgotten kit and the children she lay very still thinking of many things summer was over this was their last day at bay head tomorrow they would return to Thorn edge hedge what then when the summer la is over uncle stephen bad said she thought with a faint confused feeling of what that might mean when the summer Is over she knew now that she hall had tried to hold the days to keep thein them from passing too rapidly each of them was pre claus clo us sunny days gray days wrapped in blankets of fog stormy days when the wind blew front from the northeast and the breakers pounded against the shore another lay something might inight happen weeks ahead passing passing too rapidly sunny days cloudy lays days days when the storm wind blew slie she could not hold them they were gone when the summer Is over uncle stephen had bad said she remembered the day he had said it the day after tier her party when uncle stephen had kissed her beside the lily illy pond in that new and frightening enin way it was late in the afternoon cooil she had sat in the library alcove at hidden by the hangings hannings hang ings trying to write a letter to bruce a sad difficult letter a letter to tell him that she must stay with uncle stephen she was tired so BO dreadfully dread rully tired the rain against the lie window had been soothing she had gone to sleep tired so dreadfully tired voices had roused her uncle stephens voice the plushy rat fat sounding voice of aunt editha friend mrs beach she had meant to come from behind the curtains it polite to listen to a conversation when no one knew you were I 1 there here and then she had bad discovered that sirs mrs beach was wag talking about her she come out then she had baeff too shy and hurt burt and ashamed too sorry for uncle stephen susie monroe she h had ad heard had seen uncle stephen kiss tier her beside the lily illy pond susie had told tier her grand mother and tier grandmother a friend of aunt editha Edit hs had bad told mrs beach everybody was talking mrs airs bleach beach reported she felt it her duty to tell stephen uncle stephen had been very angry indeed angry but very polite ile he had said very little bittle barbara knew by the tone of ills voice that he was tan angry ry and hurt she had bad been so sorry for uncle stephen hearing mrs beach talk lie had been kind to her hei and the children so 0 o wonderfully gentle genile and kind she wanted t to 0 help win mm somehow there was waa nothing she could do uncle stephen nt at last had rung for henry sirs mrs beach had rustled out of the room barbara had not meant uncle stephen to know that she had overheard the conversation she waited until she thought he had left the room then sho she stepped out from behind the curtains ile he was wag there standing beside the hearth his brows drawn down over his angry eyes lie he had looked sorry when he saw her sorry and angry and hurt you heard he had asked im sorry uncle stephen D n them he had said meaning mrs beach and susie monroe and susies gossiping grandmother im m sp so terribly sorry lie he had looked so sorry and angry that she had wanted to help him people will talk uncle stephen theres nothing you can do theres one thing he had said she knew what lie he meant she could tell hy by the expression in his eyes A weight bad settled into her heart it if he kissed her the evening before in that frightening sort of way she would have thought that lie he meant only to protect her but he had kissed her she knew about being in love barbara y he had said she had wanted to stop him thinking of bruce she had wanted to run away ile he must have seen that she was confused ric ile had not touched her we wont talk about it now he had said when the summer Is over uncle stephen had taken them to pay bay noad head with sarah and a brown cook named eliza lie had come down only for weekends week ends barbara was 1 0 1 A I 1 I 1 will 4 she knew what the kisses meant she knew about being in love grateful tor for that since the evening beside the illy pond since mrs beach had swept out of 0 the library it had embarrassed her to be with uncle stephen it hurt her to feel that way but she help it no matter how hard bard slie she tried lie ile had been as kind as ever but ills his manner had changed lie ile treated tier her like a grownup grown up young lady ile he never kissed tier her as ile he lid did gay or tousled her hair or ducked her under the waves lie he never called her babble lie he called tier lier barbara now all the time she might have thought that she had imagined that evening beside the lily illy pond except that sometimes he looked at her in a wistful sort of way and now it was september when the summer Is over uncle stephen had said do you know where bruce Is babs kit lounging beside her asked no she said turning her head bead to avoid kits eyes she know lie he had not answered the difficult letter she wrote him the letter which told him that she must stay with uncle stephen her following letters had been returned unopened bruce had disappeared without telling tier her that he understood without a consoling word bruce who had loved her so much 1 I should think he be would write to us kit grumbled 1 I thought he liked us a lot remember how lie used to take us swimming barbara nodded unable to speak because of a lump la in her throat ile he was afraid to tell her how deeply lie he loved her because she was a little girl no higher than lils ills heart and lie he sure that she knew about being in love and how low nice he be was when father died kit asked aked remembering bruce again barbara nocI ded her lashes wet walh tears fears which mt kit could not see the flute knew only one song 11 1 I love you pretty gypsy girl with the roses in your hair babs kit said after an interval of silence yes this Is sort of a funny question im going to ask what Is it kit well I 1 was thinking kit flushed and looked embarrassed 1 I mean it be funny it if 5 you ou should marry uncle stephen what put that idea in your ben head d 7 sirah sarah told ellza eliza you tire are kits flush deepened of course I 1 dont listen to servants talk but G gay a y told sally parrish you know how gay is kit yes I 1 know kit hollod over on ills his side nut but I 1 was vas just th chinkin inkin it be sort of funny bahs would you like it 1 I think it would lie swell mt kit nn an promptly then we could a nl stay together you have to somebody I 1 suppose TO BE CONTINUED |
