Show SUN 1 fa i ar 0 SYNOPSIS jim fielding one ot of the lost generation tion who had left college to in the depression and Is unable to find a job arrives at glendale glenda 1 P to visit v sit his bis friends the mae mac Pher sons mao mae had formerly been gardener at his late uncles estate and now works tor for T 11 vaughn ot of mead howbrook ow brook 11 jim Is tired ot of being supported up by his married sister kay while he still can marry lenore an attractive divorcee who is s in love with him and have an easy lile life because ot of her wealth his mind rebels stopping at the village drug store for or a sandwich he meets dolly a pretty soda fountain girl when aln n he inquires about the vaughns she asks it if he is a friend 0 of cecilya Cec ilys she also entrusts a message to tommy young son of the family and tells him how to reach the vaughns estate approaching the th ehouse house jim encounters a tomboyish little girl fishing she is startled and falls in the brook incensed at first she discovers she likes rim jim and he learns learn that she la is susan vaughn lie he discovers cecily Is her older sister he sees tommy a youth of eighteen who imagines he Is in love with dolly jim explains his impecunious position to the ons they tell him that mr vaughn Is recovering from a nervous breakdown mrs macpherson suggests that mae mac give jim a job as handyman jim goes for a walk to think it over ove and picks upa up a horse shoe cecily a lovely young girl appears riding a limping horse hor s e jim scolds her when he sees the animal has thrown a shoe there Is an angry scene jims ire cools and he be la is intrigued as ai he thinks arouther about her he tells the ons he wants to sta yand assumes his duties as handyman he sees dolly again she explains that she has been seeing tommy but regards him with amusement ile he writes a letter to lenore explaining pla ining about his new job when cecily returns from a house party she asks him airily 1 61 I wonder how long stay soon jim gets betsa a promotion and Is acting as mr vaughns vaughni part time secretary CHAPTER IV continued 6 there was a knack jim thought in getting along with children the ons had it mr vaughn obviously did not the result was aserlee ot of conflicts which played havoc with the household jordan tells me tommy studying mr vaughn said one morning Laz cuba it if he work off those conditions hell be a year behind his class why dois does he be suppose I 1 pay a tutor jim made no reply he hd knew that none was expected the attitude of an in employer toward a familiar dependent was cu curious ilous he thought you a reasoning human being you were an excuse ex i cusi lor for letting off steam M tommy was trying mr mi jordan the rector re in 16 the village was probably justified in making complaints but blustering and threatening the way to manage the boy ob well it was none ot of his business tranquillity was presently restored mr vaughn returned to the correspondence the tranquillity however was not of long duration it was shattered by tommys tommas unexpected appearance mr vaughn looked up from a blueprint showing the proposed addition to the stable jim applied himself to the typewriter keys mr vaughn frowned at his son and heir why W h y arent you at mr jordans jorda da n s 7 he asked sternly tommy sank lower into the chair 1 I overslept over slept he be replied resting upon his mr vaughn rejected the bait mr jordan tells me youre shirking he continued aw gee dad tommy protested nobody could learn enough to suit him I 1 dont think dates are important do you id d advise you to learn some of theli them mr vaughn said crisply to assist you ill provide an alarm clock thanks tommy said amiably 1 I certainly need one dad nobody ever bothers to call me and his father interrupted you can bring your books down here and study until luncheon luncheon jim will keep an arf eye on hotl you until luncheon jim yes sir air jim replied not mot very well pleased with the prospect of policing tommy now go get your books young man ali AH right he retired with an air of offended dignity a little marred by stubbing his bis toe in a crack between betwee ii the bricks mr i vaughn glanced at t jim anetter the matter with the voy boy he said wearily growing pains jim smiled they arent serious hell get over them after a while 1 I hope so mr vaughn looked harassed gotten out of hand all of them he continued irritably cecily tommy susan the thought of his combined re seemed t to overwhelm him helas he was silent for or an an interval jim too was silent suddenly mr vaughn thumped the table they need he bo said grimly its time I 1 took them in hand jim found himself sympathizing with the children he was too closely involved with the affairs of the vaughns to maintain a detached attitude toward the household detachment in any situation was impossible for jim his warm a sympathies his interest in people his tendency to toiler the impulse of the moment forced him involuntarily unta rily to take sides it was difficult to convey a surface impression of disinterested neutrality in the daily clashes between mr vaughn and his family especially difficult to in the matter of a letter which jim opened tor for his employer entirely by mistake the scene once again was the side veranda under the roof of vines the time was the morning fa following 11 OW in 9 the int interview erv lew with tommy jim sit sat before a typewriter waiting for mr vaughn to conclude his leisurely perusal of the mail A startled exclamation caught his attention ion the exclamation was followed by a question directed presumably su at jim what in thunder Is this mr vaughn asked testily jim glanced up attentively but made no reply mr vaughn read from the sheet of stationery in his hand darling when I 1 think of last night the m music of all the ages sings in my heart hearl I 1 have not slept AU all night I 1 walked in the moonlight treasuring my jeweled thoughts of you mr vaughn broke broka off with an ejaculation of disgust jim suppressed a smile lyrical he said dushl mr vaughn looked with dista di stasie at the sheet of stationery closely covered with fine fani writing send me a thing like thi she asked testily i it was piol probably ably intended for someone else jim replied miss 0 1 I overslept Over slept he replied resting upon his spine parker was expecting a letter she sorted the mail before I 1 brought it to you mr vaughn consulted the envelope its for cicily cecily he said from jeremy clyde of course the angry red flushing mr vaughns hns face deepened perceptibly ashes been writing to him I 1 suppose seeing him taking advantage ol of my illness he Hi turned to jim peremptorily where is she he asked if gaidon my suggesting it jim said creaso reasonably bably ashe she could hardly pre prevent vent his writing she want to prevent ashes in love with the jac kassl he cant even write waitea a sensible letter mr vaughn fu fumed music of the ageal ages jeweled thoughts anger and indecision mingled in mr vaughns ns expression and tempering both a sort of furtive relief he subsided into his chair continuing however to express his opinion of jeremy clyde 1 I forbade her to have anything to do with him he fumed apparently patently ly unconscious of jim he thinks ill support him of course the bit business siness of the morning progressed mr vaughn however did not devote his entire attention to the correspondence jeremy clydes tribute to cecily had obviously spoiled his bis day or perhaps jim suspected the necessity for an interview with his daug daughter Lter he seemed edgy and absentminded absent minded presently appeared good morning mr vaughn lie he said would you care to walk about la a bit batt the new call calf arrived last night I 1 thought you might like to see her mr vaughn appeared to be grateful for the interruption he rose at once from 1 bis chair all he said to jim and went off with macpherson in the dl di of the barn jim rolled the typewriter stand into a closet in the hall when he be r returned ato to the v veranda randa e 1 hi he looked for and found the poetic tribute to cecily lying upon the table no use leaving it there if mr vaughn came upon it he be would run a temperature pera ture aga again in if he reminded he might prefer to forget jim slipped the sheet of paper into his bis pocket As jim walked past jhc thc wire enclosure CIO sure of the tennis court on his way to the vegetable garden a ball fell at his feet cecy cecily came running to retrieve it flushed and bright eyed her hair curling about her temples from under a band of yellow ribbon heres the ball jim said briefly thank you she lingered tor for a moment breathing rapidly smoothing the damp curls back from her forehead with the palm of her hand you are useful she added mockingly as well as om ornamental I 1 think you can stay jim intended to give her the letter hed had no such idea in his mind when he ha had slipped it into his pocket the idea presented itself as a mild retaliation lie he could make no verbal response to her mocking words he shake her the tribute from jeremy clyde might give her an unpleasant moment it should jim reflected it was certainly a mushy letter he drew the sheet of paper from his pocket 1 I think this was intended for you he said and without waiting for any reply from cecily went on to the vegetable garden A storm the preceding day had beaten down the bean vines J jim im set about the task of repairing the wire screening on which they grew As he measured and hammered as he be fastened the vines against the screening he considered the possible results of his latest impulse cecily might think that he had meant dowarn to warn her he conjectured he certainly not well possibly not that he cared whether or not she got into hot water hed been thinking of his employer mr vau vaughn I 1 ahn was in no condition for an interview with his daughter held hed wanted to give cecily an opportunity to avoid the interview it possible or at any rate to arrange mitigating alibis and excuses she had moreover arrived at a definite conclusion jim was made aware of cecilya Cec ilys mental activities concerning him when she came into the garden some time later he saw her making her way toward him between neat rows of cabbages and tomatoes looking scarcely older than susan in her short sleeveless tennis frock and the ribbon around her hair he devoted himself to the bean vines whistling in an attempt at nonchalance cecily halted baited her progress a toot foot or two from jim hello she said amiably the whistling ceased jim glanced away from the bean vines assuming what he devoutly hoped was a respectful expression yes miss cecily he said in the manner of an extra man who knew his bis place cecily smiled but her eyes were mocking 1 I just wanted to tell you she said coolly that I 1 know all about you jim remained silent 1 I knew you a chauffeur or a gardener or whatever youre supposed to be the first tune time I 1 saw you the evening in the drive when you ou were so concerned tor for lady still jim made no reply he stood beside her among the bean vines deferentially attentive she was lovely looking truth compelled that admission although he did not me like her she used an ingratiating perfume ile he was reminded of the woo woods ds in spring arbutus trillus tr ilium illum ferns you and father must have thought me singularly unobserving she continued in a low silken voice my only quarrel I 1 with either of you I 1 resent having my intelligence questioned this time jim was too astonished to reply ordinary odd job men she went on stressing the adjective mockingly dont wear en english glish shoes and tailored riding breeches weve never before had an extra man who read conrad and received telegrams from ladies and whistled college songs while he tied up the bean vines jim suppressed a smile weve never had a chauffeur she continued who was devoted to the new yorker and lynn fontanne or a c connoisseur of benedictine what I 1 resent her voice lost its silken tone became slightly edged with malice how could you and father not have anticipated that id have known you were here to spy on me to break up my friendship with jeremy clyde how could you have thought me so childishly stupid comprehension dawned through the bewilderment of ideas which fogged jims understanding so that was she thought he be was some sort of a private detective it would never have occurred red to him not laage in a mill million years it if I 1 should ask yau you why you returned thi the letter which you intercepted tor for father you would ably make pretty speeches cecily went on after perceptible pause 1 I hear a great many pretty speeches so you tax your invention I 1 prefer to consider ita challenge A chal challenge lengel jim repeated wanting to laugh not at all concerned berned about explanations im giving you a break the sherry colored eyes bright with scornful amusement flickered over jim 1 I assume that youre too good a sport to take advantage of a victim youve sent rrie me your card her ha hand nd touched her breast producing an unmistakable rustling of paper 1 I accept the challenge its your wits against mine and a fight to the finish she moved away from him almost running between the rows of vegetables lightly gracefully her chin tauntingly tilted Benedic tinel lynn Fon tannel cecily obviously was not unobserving but how bad she made such re revealing ealing discoveries the riding breeches the telegrams the songs he whistled no black magic in her possession of those facts benedictine lynn fontanne jim puzzled over the possible source of cecilya Cec ilys information the intriguing question was never far from his thoughts how could she have known that hp he was addicted to the new yorker that conrad was his favorite author shed been questioning someone he concluded was it possible that somewhere at some time she had known vie vic or kay or lenore he had nothing to hide Ce clellys Cec ilys ellys revelations amused and intrigued him how had she found out so much about him he mulled over the question accepting rejecting entirely at sea and then late that afternoon as he was driving mr vaughn home from a neighboring estate a possible explanation occurred to him cecily had talked to mrs macpherson perhaps s bessle bessie was loyal bless herl but bessie was loquacious he proceeded to test the truth of the conjecture that evening he questioned mrs macpherson by devious means he led her to speak of the vaughns and when he was s ure sure that all suspicion had been forestalled st he remarked casually you seem fairly well acquainted with tommy and susan does cecily ever come here mrs macpherson drew her attention with obvious reluctance from the partially completed panorama of the battle of bunker hill only once she replied she wanted to look at my homespun counterpanes counter panes miss parker had told her about them Counterpane Counter panes sl I 1 jim explained 1 I have supposed that she would be interested in anything so domestic it was for a shower gift she explained one of the patton girls is getting married this fall miss cecily is to bo a bridesmaid shed bought a counterpane and wanted to be sure it was genuine homespun was it jim asked hoping for further details ol of cecilya Cec ilys visit to the cottage yes mrs macpherson replied it must have cost her a pretty penny she told me about the wedding and was as pleasant as you could ask 1 I hope he said that you gave miss cecily a glass ot of your ginger beer 1 I Ill mrs macpherson replied 1 I was so mortified at the condition condition the place was in that I 1 think of my manners it was the day your trunk came and I 1 was unpacking it down here because you and andy get it up past the turn in the stairs the trunk jim began to understand A smile touched his lips it beat everything she went on alter after a moment how somebody always comes in fai when the place is topsy your things were all over everywhere shoes and |