Show AMEN m anim SHUTTERED by BEN AMES WILLIAMS copyright SERVICE SYNOPSIS riving driving home me through a torrential lorrent lil il rain young 1 g well to odo o do clint jervice picks pick up a or L scan scantily clad running in terror stricken flight down the road she rides a short ways leaves the car and runs into the woods he decides to talk to his dear friends inspector tope and miss moss about his adventure clint still thinks of 0 her as miss moss his former ormer guardian though she and the inspector are married cahnt hing having settled down now manares the J avles estate himself CHAPTER 11 II 9 on the flat crest of kenesaw hill backed against the woods and looking down an open slope toward the marshes and the river there were three houses dissimilar and yet alike dissimilar in their outward aspect yet alike in that to the most casual passerby passer by it must have seemed that fear dwelt in them all and secrecy and other things besides heavy shutters were at every window even though those shutters were not always closed heavy hangings hannings hang ings behind the lace curtains next the glass closed doors chimneys that seldom wore a friendly plume of smoke a lawn never sufficiently clipped and tended and lacking ameliorating shrubs or flowers one of these houses was a square box almost exactly as high as it was wide of dull brown brick with a dull slate roof that was so flat it threatened to crack under the winters weight of snow a square box of a brick house with a wing like the tail of a dog that is sitting down extending for a short distance behind grass grew tall in the fishbone pattern of the brick walk that led from the road to the front door and one of these houses was a sprawling thing of wood painted that frugal brown which thrifty new england folk so often and so unfortunately prefer yet whoever first designed this wooden house must have groped toward beauty even toward the pleasant ways of living because there were broad verandas there were peaks and valleys in the roof there were even a few remaining traces of an ornamental na border still discernible under the overhang at the gable ends the third house was of stone this was the smallest of the three and its height was greater than either its front or breadth it had almost the appearance of a tower of stone and the stonework stone work extended upward to the window sills of the second floor above that there was stucco and above the stucco and the low attic windows there was a steep pitched roof from which the snow would slide of itself but this house even though it was the smallest of the three was distinguished by one circumstance there was behind the house a portable garage of sheet metal and from this garage a drive led around one side of the house making a sharp angle at the rear corner to pass between the house and a tall pine tree there making another angle so as to pass the front steps and thus to the road and the garage gave evidence of being used the drive was free of grass and there were some oil spots by the kitchen door as though a car often stopped there you might have thought these houses from their aspect empty abandoned yet people lived in them and by an unchanging routine each saturday night as a part of this routine they all for gathered in the sitting room of the big frame house between the other two where old denman hurder lived with his wife who had been ella kenesaw and with his daughter kitty leaford and her daughter june june leaford sometimes wondered whether other people existed as monotonously as these folk she knew best her mother and grandpa and grandma hurder old matthew bowdon and his wife next door in one direction aunt evie taine and uncle justus and rab and asa in the other this was the only world she knew a world a mile square with the three houses as the focus and these were the only folk she knew knevi these kinfolk kinsfolk and one other the man who lived in the cabin by the pond which was hidden in the sunlit woods behind the house and who liked to have her call him uncle jim she had first met this man one day a good many years ago As she grew from babyhood to child hood grandpa hurder used to take her for long walks about this mile square tract of land that was the kenesaw domain and later when she was old enough to adventure abroad alone she explored in all al directions she liked to slip down toward the river moving secretly secre tl among the young growth which was recapturing the old pasture there and she discovered a screened knoll knol above the stream where she could sit unseen and watch the bright hued canoes slip softly by at other times she went to roam fearlessly in the woods behind the house half a mile below the crest of kenesaw hill the woods ended at a broad highway along which cars passed all day long in a weaving pattern to and fro she knew the spring fed pond deep in the woods and sometimes she took off her shoes and stockings to wade in the clear water there or she would sit very still on the rocky summit of the knoll above the pond to watch through the intervening branches of the trees the cars go by uncle jim found her there one day she was at the time about ten years old he spoke to her smilingly and asked her name and she told him what it was and watched with interest how the blood drained out of his lips later she saw him more than once again and one day she told her mother of these encounters kitty leaford was a soft querulous woman who lived resentfully but not rebelliously complaining without struggle she heard junes report in an unaccustomed silence and without comment but she must have reported the matter to aunt evie because later aunt evie told june in her soft implacable tones not to walk in the woods again for a while and she bade the girl forget this man she had seen kitty leaford herself would have submitted though rebelliously to this prohibition but june was of a 1 I A 4 bir and mrs airs bowdon were playing anagrams at another table stronger fiber than her mother she disobeyed aunt evie once and met uncle jim and told him what had happened ile he came to the house that afternoon june saw him meet aunt evie she did not hear what passed between them but after that uncle jim built a cabin on the rocky knoll above the pond and dwelt there sometimes for weeks on end and june often went that way these hours when after her lessons under aunt evies tutelage were done june could slip away to the river or to see uncle jim made life endurable for the child As she grew into a young woman they were a part of the routine of her days her days all were routine just as it was a part of the routine routine which held them all that every saturday night after supper they came together in the big sitting room in the hurder house they did not meet for supper because that meant extra work and even a certain additional dit ional expense but after supper they all met and were determinedly festive it is a duty we owe the children aunt evie used to say to make home pleasant and attractive for them in whatever ways we can june and rab and asa were the children when june was eighteen rab was twenty six and asa seven years older children no longer but the routine bound them still NV when nen this particular evening began though june would remember its every detail all her life there was nothing to make it seem any dif different lerent from others that had gone before the day had been warm and sullen and there was promise of a thundershower thunder shower to relieve the heat beat but kitty leaford hated thun thu n der showers so that june did not welcome the prospect of this relief she was always apt to suffer when her mother did the girl did the supper dishes tonight as her regular duty was and while she was thus engaged uncle justus and aunt evie came in through the kitchen from their house next door there was a halt half bottle of milk on the table and uncle justus as he passed where it stood knocked it off with his elbow so that it spilled across the floor june had to mop it up while aunt evie thrust uncle justus on toward the sitting room she did not scold him because she always spoke in low gentle tones and uncle justus was stone deaf and never heard anything she said june sometimes thought his deafness was an armor that served him well after she had finished tier her tasks she went upstairs to her bare high ceilea room to wash her hands and smooth her hair and when she reluctantly luct antly came down again the others were already gathered in the sitting room uncle justus sat in the shabby old chair by the piano reading his paper ile he would go presently to sleep his chin on his chest his glasses on his nose his paper on his knees junes mother and young rab taine and asa were playing three handed contract bridge at a card table at one side rab had a friendly eye a light and amiable tongue when june now came to the door and hesitated for a moment here he called to her come along and play with us tonight june you belong with us young fry not with the patriarchs 10 mr and mrs bowdon grandma and grandpa hurder and aunt evie were playing anagrams at another table and a chair waited there for june june hesitated but mrs bowdon interfered mrs bowdon she insisted that june call her grandma although she was in fact junes great aunt was a ponderous white lump of a woman white hair white cheeks small tight lips june thought of her as a crushing weight grandma bowdon said now to rab in her slow heavy fashion rab junes place is here with us june here is your chair june had no thought of exercising any choice in the matter she might have a choice but if she had she kept her wishes to herself she had found by experience that nothing but bruised knuckles could result from battering a stone wall she sat down where she was bidden and she began to play with them the game called anagrams uncle justus went to sleep in his chair and began to snore and aunt evie made him move into the hall into the straight heavily carved chair by the table there the sound of his snores still reached them but no longer so disturbingly that lie he should thus move into the hall was a usual occurrence and june scarce noticed it at the time later she would be puzzled by the fact that inspector tope attached to it so much importance as he did to every movement of the others here this evening shortly after ten a mild argument developed the discussion sion went on and on till kitty leaford rose with a sudden angry movement and said fretfully 1 I must go to bed ive a headache this heat torments me beyond enduring grandma bowdon protested why you cant go yet kitty its not half past ten we never stop till eleven 1 I must said kitty leaford 1 I must get to sleep before the storm aunt evie taine remarked in her calm gentle tones of course kitty you ought to go to bed if you feel tired ill bring some milk up to you I 1 always say when im tired a glass of warm m milk ilk makes me feel better than anything else where is it in the ice chest june confessed im afraid there any uncle justus had spilled the last of the days supply but aunt evie ignored her weve none over at our house she reflected nothing but the top milk that I 1 saved for the coffee mother have you any grandma bowdon nodded and aunt evie said ill run across and get some it matter really kitty leaford repeated good night she went out into the hall and they heard her speak loudly to uncle justus he answered her his voice sounding from halfway upstairs aunt evie followed her justus where are you going she d demanded come h here e r cl 1 11 he e must have obeyed her tor for when june reached the door he was just sitting doar in the hall chair again aunt evie told her ill bring the milk highl away june from grandma bow dons she hurried away and june started to go upstairs to be with her mother sometimes kitty leaford wanted her help in preparing tor for the night for there was a considerable ritual involved in this procedure but rab taine called her june he urged cheerfully come back here its not bedtime bed time yet stay awhile she stood uncertainly in the doorway a tall dark haired girl slender and strong but clad in a shapeless and unbecoming gown you know rab told her smilingly crossing to speak to her in a lower tone you need to learn to play june this tomb is no place for you its time you were meeting some young fellows june nodded im not going to stay here always she told him im going away some day mother has promised me any time you want to step out rab invited chuckling ill gibe give you a hand I 1 like you june and I 1 can show you around asa passed them on his way to the kitchen glass of water he said by way of explanation june heard aunt evie come in to the kitchen from out of doors heard them talking together there the girl went along the hall to join them to see if she could be ol of help aunt evie had poured a little milk out of a bottle into a stew pan and set it on the gas stove the bottle was empty asa was standing by the stove a glass of water in his hand while aunt evie looked for matches but she did not readily find any and june confessed 1 I think all gone we meant to order some ill get some from justus aunt evie decided she went into the hall to rouse uncle justus and june picked up the pan of milk mother has a gas plate in in her bathroom she told asa 1 I can warm it there he nodded without speaking asa was always a dour silent man he went ahead of her through the hall and back to the sitting room and june followed him as far as the hall uncle justus was awake fumbling in his pockets for the matches aunt evie demanded and june set the milk down on the table beside him ill warm it upstairs she told aunt evie and went into the sitting room to say good night to grandpa and grandma hurder rab came out with her when this duty was done and picked up the milk ill carry this upstairs rab told june smiling 1 I want to say good night to aunt kitty besides its too much of a load f for or youl you his eyes were twinkling june was not particularly attentive yet later under inspector topes gentle inquiries she would remember and relate every detail of this evening that stew pan with a little milk in the bottom was to assume a dark and dreadful significance in her eyes but just now she followed rab upstairs he knocked on her mothers door and june was at his elbow its rab he called june and I 1 have come to tuck you in kitty bade them enter she was in her dressing gown brushing her hair her hair was a flaxen yellow june thought it looked younger than her mothers face looked but she knew why this was so these two mother and daughter were vere close in many ways TO BE CONTINUED |