Show e LE VALLE 1 C hi by D Den Ames Am mL Ben Amoo i tarns ie SYNOPSIS I At the tho gathering of or cronies In tho the vII vil- village I lase lage of or Liberty Maine Jim Saladino listens s ens to tho the history of or tho rho neighbor neighbor- neighboring ing log Hostile Valley Its Valley Its past tragedies its It ti superb fishing streams and o abo all 11 11 tho mysterious enticing Huld wife ifO of ot Will Ferrin Interested ho he drives to tho Valley for a n days day's fishing though admitting to himself his chief desire is to see tho glamorous Huldy Ferrin Old Marm Pierce and her old year Year old granddaughter Jenny lire life In tho the Volley alloy Since Sinco childhood Jenny has deeply loved young oung Will older than she and who r re- re girds ards her as still a child Will leaves len to take employment in nearby Augusta Ills His fathers father's f death brings Will VIII back to tho the Valley but ho returns to Au Au- Augusta Augusta gusta still unconscious of or Jenny Jennya womanhood and love Neighbors of ot the Pierces are aro Dart and Amy Carey brother and anc sister Dart unmarried and something of oC a 1 well do Is la at- at att attracted att t t traded by Jenny The girl repulses him definitely Learning that Will WillIs Is coming home Jenny Jenn exulting sets his bis long-empty long house to to rights right and has dinner ready for Cor him He comes bringing his wife wire uld Tho The girls girl's world collapses Huldy becomes the tho subject of oC unfavorable gossip in tho the Valley Entering his home homo unlooked unlocked for Will finds seemingly damning evidence of or his wife's wire unfaithfulness as a a. man he knows Is Seth Humph Humph- Humphreys reys Toys breaks from the house Will over over- overtakes overtakes overtakes takes him and chokes him to death although Humphreys shatters his hla leg with Kith a bullet At Marm alarm Pierces Pierce's house the leg Is amputated Jenny goes to break the th news to Huldy and finds her with Dart Cart Carey Huldy makes a amock amock mock nock of oC Jennys Jenny's sympathy declaring she Iho has no use uso for half halt a man and andis is leaving leading Will is s legally exonerated and with a n made home-made artificial leg carries on hiring a helper Zeke Dace Months later Huldy comes back Will wm accepts her presence as aa her right Two years rears go by Z Zeke ke Bart Dart Carey engage in tn a fist fight the trouble aris aris- arising arisInG arising ing as all know over o Huldy Amy Carey commits suicide Zeke Daco had been showing her attention but has completely succumbed to Huldy's wiles CHAPTER VI Continued VI-Continued Continued I 11 11 Barr Bart stopped at the house one morn- morn tog lag the Ule wheels of ot his buggy mud-clotted mud to the hubs h bs to take commissions lons for tor shopping at the village and after he was gone It rained again so that they were kept all day Indoors Du Dusk DUlk k came early euly till the lamps In the kitchen and dining room made all snug snub and warm farm Marm Pierce and Jenny began to prepare supper and the old woman went out to survey sun the weather signs It might lift tomorrow she said The winds wind's this way war that way now but If It shifts well we'll get a change Jenny made no comment and the old woman fo n added With so much ruin rain things s aint started to grow yet It'll be a late spring and sudden First touch of ot sun and everything will grow growa a week feek In a day A spring like this I cant can't get my m i simples when they're right rI ht Ill go tomorrow and see what I Ican Ican Ican can find Jenny offered You Tou can get me a water lily root anyway Marm Pierce reflected If lt the water aint too deep The girl said Theres a n pool down toward the bog with an old log In It and lilies grow In back of ot the log lob Its It's not riot deep there I can reach down Marm Pierce opened the oven to see seef If 1 f the biscuits were done and a blast blase of ot hot air struck her In the face Whew I she exclaimed and closed the oven Im bound to air out or she said and opened the kitchen door Then she ejaculated Bart I J I never heard you ou come up on the porch Wheres Where's your our team Jenny turned and saw Bart there on the tie porch just outside the door Iuds Iud's too deep to git In here bere and not founder he explained I Oil walked over from my house Heres Here's yore ore things I 1 farm Marm M rm Pierce spoke sharply sharply Well dont don't come tracking Into my kitchen she the said Eald and took his burdens from m him Much obliged Good night to t o you yon And she pushed the door shut door shut wit with h her knee Jenny relieving her of ot some of ot W thi th Parcels said l You cut him off ofT pretty short Might hav have asked him In Id a notion hed he'd ben standing there then e listening the old woman declared Be Be Just like him to lot I If It Id I'd lt 1 he heas h e was fas as there Id I'd have said something he h e Couldn't wouldn't like to hearl hear I Jenny smiled at the old womans woman's aa- aa a You dont don't like Bart do you And farm Marm Pierce said flatly N No I hate n u man that's always doing m me e favors She smiled grimly at her ow own n Foolish of me like as not but that's the way I be Later the rain began again bu but t they were here secure Rain was dan c toe lag on the roof root and again st the weatherboards when Jenny went to t o bed ted but she slept quickly deeply till til II the belated gray of a moist and sod sod- sodden so c d den oen dawn wn And woke and rose without v tog lag In vl There were In her no premon l Yet this was the day when n death and came to Host II os tile le Valley alley and the face of ot Jennys Jenny's world worl won ld forever changed at nt the entrance of ot this hid hi d den oen en Valley about which so many dark der rk tales eg clustered checked his car on the ti me ledge above Will FerrIns FerrIn's farm for long lot g enough to survey the scene shrouded shroud ed In a like mist rain but at last be he loosed his brakes and begun began tho lira steep descent The Thc road plunged downward then relaxed re- re r axed to n more gradual pitch and ande he e saw presently n a meadow on one rand and and a rocky pasture where were cows cow and the well kept buildings s of n a farm The house was white not fresh painted yet not dingy either cither the barn barnas was as stanch and the root roof was yellow wIth new shingles The buildings were I set et back n little from the tiro road upon n a knoll that was like Ille a n buttress of the rIdge dge and thought ht there thero must most be e from this farm a n wide vide outlook across cross the rho Valley If It the day were lear dear There was nothing noticing extraordinary In Uw th 10 e outward aspect of ot the place It t tas w as like countless others hereabouts except that perhaps the buildings s were n a little larger There was rather something s reassuring In n the very fact th at It was as an nn ordinary thrifty farm yet et et knew It H must be Will FerrIns FerrIn's and he remembered dark repute and wished curl curl- curiously that he might encounter her Yet Ye Yete he e had no excuse for stopping The brook rook was In n the Valley Palley below so he passed assed by b and crossed another ledge e ennd and nd the time road dipped downward more steeply still But nut a hundred yards below belo the farmhouse he Ie Jammed on brakes and skidded to a stop Here the road was precipitous and the rain tho the night before had done damaging things to It Water ater racing down the ditches had gnawed Into the margins to such effect that hat there hero was not room for n a car to pass palS On one side or the other the wheels heels must drop off Into tile the ditch and nd the ditch Itself wa woo so ro deep that It if Ita ita a car did suffer suITer this mischance Its wheels heels would be left spinning with no footing under them checked his car with notten not noten notten ten en feet feer to spare and ond then began to back ack up this steep road and ond be lie was W S faintly pleased plea cd FerrIns FerrIn's farm would serve e as fie a place to leave lease the cur car He Ill might ml ht sere see Huldy there He lie backed past tho the drive that led Into nto the tiro farmyard and swung In and anel ande anelhe he h c e passed pa the front of ot tho rho house blank lank with shades drawn down and the he door uncompromisingly closed closed and and came ame Into the barnyard And then he be saw sate through the open door of the shed a n man This man had bad been fitting stove wood he came to the shed bed door with his ax still In his head hand to o look at nt SaladIne A tall tan lank man a 11 young man an II man These were weN we Jims Jim's first Impressions In la their or or- der d cr en But nut also this man men wore absurd absurd- absurdly ly y one of ot those high crowned broad broad- rimmed brimmed b felt hats which are repute to o be large enough to hold ten gallons or of f any liquid quid you chose to pour Into fate them This was an old hat the crown was vas dented and battered and there were holes In It n It the We brim curled In eccentric fashions and there was a 8 horsehaIr band of ot many colors around the he crown Such a hat designed to shed weather designed to ro protect the head and face of f a man on horseback from the stroke and nd slash of ot scrub brush through which he must ride has no proper function unction on a n farm In Maine Milne and Jim witched switched off orr his engine and slid to the ground and approached this man of ot halt half a mind to ask him the questions which his hat provoked But nut Instead he be only said Morn Morning orn Ing l I And he only asked You ou Will I Ferrin 7 Wills in n the house the man answered an an- answered answered grudgingly in n a n voice curl curi curiously shaken and hollow hoJlo had hadn again n aln that strong Impression that the theother theother th e other was that he ho was n a husk drained and emptied of ot all strength th r and vehemence He added now no un unnecessarily un- un unnecessarily necessarily Im Zeke Dace Ills IIIi III tone one was somber and there was rea ren reasonless sonless suspicion In his eyes I come to fish the brook down be below low ow explained as ns though h some explanation were by the other a glance required of him bum The Tire roads road s washed out tween here and Careys Carey's so I thought to leave my car here bere and and walk wait down Zeke did not speak but his eye when Jim spoke the name of Carey heM held gel gels d J s to strange lt to sec see Then his ht s glance turned turned to fo one side at something beyond line of ot vision ther thero within the shed was n ns a bold boldman boldman bol bolman d man but he felt a prickling at the th e back of ot his neck and Instinctively re recoiled coiled called a n little from the door wary wory watchful for tor whatever should appear appen- But nut It was only a n woman who ap appeared peered pen red In the doorway and at nt first firs t was relieved nt at sight sl ht of ot her Then he was astonished nt at her beauty and remembering this womans woman's repute he ho stood on guard From the tales he had heard of Hul nul Huldy 1 dy dp Ferrin ho he had bad thought to see in her hera he hea r a vicious slattern the Ule marls marks of ot her he r depravity plain to any eye ce but this hl s woman did not fit the We picture he had ha d formed She came slowly Into late sight sigh t and leaned caned her shoulder against the tic C side sille of the door and looked at nt Sala Sale Saler dine she looked at him In a calm cal m r complete appraisal from head to toe too with smoldering faintly sparkling eyes eye In la which even cven while watched d her ber a warm light began besan distantly t to o gleam for a n moment felt his bis own ow n eyes fall yet he ho was an ao observant observe nt man and he remarked her habit now no w She wore something shapeless and yet et shapely s too since It t fitted Itself to her The color of ot the lire heavy stuff was dull red and there was knotted about her waist n length of ot light lI ht rope like clothes cloU 8 line with the ends hanging banging down This rope at her waist girdling her tier body had an nn effect not to bo be put In simple words Her Iler dress became with this addition not n dress but a n robe it t acquired an nn exotic and dis dis- disturbing tu grace The Tho cord at nt her waist seemed to mold the loose folds grace grace- gracefully gracefully fully around her ber saw l Inattentively InattentIvely st- st that the knot In the cord was W 8 awkwardly tied fled It was not n ft square knot but a n granny such as ns women tie And then he looked at nt her counte counte- countenance nance ance n again his pulse suddenly pound pound- Ing lab She seemed large yet et he reap real realized zed that she was In fact small and smoothly formed It was tens only that her head bend was perhaps somewhat larger than han t due proportion would have re re- required required with Ith that resulting emphasis upon apes the conformation of ot her lips ups and eyes which Is so often orten an nn attribute of ot the great women of the time stage And her hair heir was black as ns Ink and her eyes egos too and ond they shone and in them a n adeep adeep deep flame fiame burned Her Iler cheek was warm with a sun and her arms bare bareto to the time elbow elbo below sleeves rolled high were re likewise sunned to the very f c y i 4 1 i i 1 C I You Can Rest Your Car In My Yard sleeve with no thin white circle above the he t elbow to suggest that where her dress covered catered her her body all was white had disturbingly an nn instant picture of ot this woman oman all In Inthe Inthe the suns sun's embrace no garment to bin hin- binder hinder biner der d er the gilding glidIng brush stroke with which Its rays ras laid their deep color colo r on She was one of ot those women omen who no matter what they wear seem to a n aman's amans mans man's eye ee unclothed She looked at nt him and with quick quick- quickening ening ning e eyes that suddenly were veiled as IIa though she had drawn a curtain earful n down and then she looked at nt the ma mafa man manIn manIn In fa the rigs shed As though at command Zeke began to split another billet bUlet of ot o wood Then the woman addressed Saladin Yes she said You can cnn rest your you car In n my m yard I 1 1 Her Iler tones were light almost Jesting half halt flattery half hail challenge Much I uch obliged said Its It a only while I try the tho brook a spell Its like to rain she told him gen gen- The fish wont won't take toke hold You could find better ways to use your time J 1 There was in her a physical ph passivity astonishingly disturbing she was like an on animal crouched ready to spring He Ho began be nn to set Bet up his rod Maybe I can get at them before the rain he be evaded The ax clopped and clopped behind her and a chip flew spinning over her shoulder toward him Shedid She Shedid Shedid did not turn her head hend I expect yore Mis' Mis Ferrin be he haz hnz- hazarded hazarded In the silence Im Huldy Ferrin Huldy-Ferrin she assented and smiled and he could lad find no gen rea reason renson son for this smile She continued to watch him calmly and he dropped his reel and picked It up In haste It seemed to him that he was a long time at this business of ot preparing to fish and he be was Incredibly clumsy thumb- thumb fingered usable unable to tie the simplest knot Then the kitchen door opened and anda andt a man roan came out of ot the house upon the side porch yonder He lie was a n blond giant with steady eyes of ot a n adeep adeep deep blue like tho the sky at nt dusk dash his hair was straw yellow above his wide brow One leg was gone below the knee he wore a peg And seeing this remembered the tale talc of ot othow how Seth Humphreys died This then was Will FerrIn those calm blue eyes could upon occasion blaze and burn turn IThe I IThe I IThe The man came toward and his glance was friendly He Ue looked at the woman |