Show f ilaa 11 CLARK wac TE PV I 1 cc THE STORY THUS FAIL FAH while voyaging from eng england 11 and to Ani corica lark shan 1 ons ship goes down she li is cast upon an island and gait G alt withe a bound ervant rescues her at the itin inn where eh he Is taken sh she I 1 Is made prisoner but escape escapes and Is found by her sweetheart david dald north who Is disguised as a to get a line ine an one dr matson and his shady balines aa llinge lines lark and ana galt gait tall fall into the hands ands 1 I 0 of D r Blat sori and at a gipsy camp cam p lie e requires each male tipsy gipsy to pass b lievore him slid and her in review la lark rk Is re far aul reato say IT that III at Is I 1 IS not david north As AIS t the he last man passes in front of her lark taints fain is lark and galt gait escape fro from dr matson 51 at on on swift horses hones and make their way to norfolk CHAPTER XV mara said dont be ridiculous Asir ir where would you go lark said ohl oh galt gait I 1 dont know what wha t to do im so tired I 1 could die come child maras tone softened c n ed a little now ill send cupsie up with the kettles feel eel better after youve had a bath and a nap dinner is tit at three meet my sisters then and well discuss sensible plans for or your future dinner was something ot of an ordeal the food was sparse and not very well flavored lark thought but in spite of that fact she ate it with keen relish the eyes of the misses hastings seemed to say my what greedy young peo peopled as they watched matched lark and galt gait accept cup ties urgings of second and third helpings hellings hel pings lark herself felt extremely young untutored and hoydenish as she accurately folded her fringed napkin in emulation of the misses hastings ila stings they were she supposed forever conscious of having to be an example to the young how trying that must be she thought on the impulse she said id thought maybe I 1 could help out with the teaching miss hastings david suggested eug that but now I 1 wonder wo ader 1 I dont think captain north quite realized re a buzed the situation mara began choosing her words carefully norfolk Is an extremely conservative town my sisters and I 1 cater to its roost most select clientele the the two older misses hastings inclined their the r heads condescendingly lark knows a lot galt gait said truculently ashes a parsons daughter and can read whatever ashes a mind to lark smiled at him gratefully as mara said well give her a trial vr withe my sisters and I 1 wish to accede to captain norths requests in every way indeed we do miss sara broke in enthusiastically astl c ally hes such a lovey lovely lovely gentle gentlemanly mant mara rose with a frown and motioned mooned ill lark to follow her into the adjoining room where the hum of young voices could be heard galt gait excused himself to see to the horses the children shuffled to their feet as their entered and stood at attention like little puppets clothes were exact duplicates of ct their mothers and fathers and they were prim faced and solemn A pale shadow of a teacher rose quickly from behind her high desk and bowed nervously miss mimms mara said this Is your new assistant you may put her in charge charee of your classes while I 1 observe her capabilities she seated herself at the desk while the startled miss mimms whispered instructions to a bewildered lark and handed banded her a rhetoric book at the end of an hour lark larh was quite ready to acknowledge tier her inadequacy as a teacher the children had tripped her on many points find and feeling her lack of poise and assurance had behaved like thoroughly undisciplined young cubs 1 I tailed failed I 1 17 lark lifted discouraged eyes to maras unemotional face 1 I know what it was going to be like any of this I 1 thought david would be here that he would be so glad to see me I 1 dont know why I 1 thought welcome me that there wol would ad be ek a place for roe me I 1 guess I 1 was stupid to think that mara stood looking down at the younger girl 1 I do welcome you she said still with V K er air of complete detachment any friend of my rance dance captain borth orth Is naturally welcome under this roof lark said ohl in a flat small voice and sat down quickly on a nearby near by bench 1 I know I 1 thought tit it was then that cupsie who had been eavesdropping came forward end and with a black look at mara put a kindly arm about larks waist and helped her to her feet you come down to my cabin chile the she said bald tenderly youse kin see it wint aint much but such as it is its open to you an young master id be proud to home you mara said sharply Cups cupsie le you forget yourself miss shannon is our guest take her to bed at once ike taye her a glass of wine we will yf dr selden to see to her lark I 1 said aid miss hastings nothing I 1 do seems to please you Is it because you think david loves me 1 I know now that he its taken me a long lone time to realize that lie he very frank with me or perhaps I 1 lust just believed what I 1 wanted to believe lindbe ind because couse I 1 loved turn him tincel was a little girl imag toed ined was a different kind of 0 man from the one he Is I 1 thought that things would be right and happy between us J 1 understood that you were just a kind friend to him an older woman who was lond fond of 0 him and whom he admired hau half an hour later the adieux were made in the square parlor galt gait offered one of his remaining gold pieces as payment tor for their entertainment the misses hastings declined it haughtily and lark took it and gave it to cupole whose bawd bless you honey lent the one pleasant and warmhearted warm hearted note to a painfully strained leave taking for some time after they left mara hastings gloomy square house lark and galt gait rode along quietly the hoofs of the mare dosta and red baskall echoed softly on the street the rusty magnolias drooped stiffly over them lark could sense gaits sympathy with her his embarrassment tor for her turned out by mara unwanted by david once he said lark I 1 take what mara hastings had to say too much to heart maybe if wed waited till north came back from baltimore 21 lark said oh loidl do we have to talk about it galt gait im sorry they pulled their aur horses up to walk the curving adeep steep hill ahead theres no call to tie be sorry I 1 think mara hastings was lying about being engaged to north no lark said she david was funny fanny about her in eng 0 A 15 ab 4 it is ril F I 1 4 71 4 r e X I 1 01 it was four when they is stopped t ap pp d to rest land if id used any sense at all I 1 would have known theres a point I 1 want to settle with you lark when it if we get the horse he laid his hand on the ras has kalls halls neck its yours you caught him and the way its going to be Y you ou really think id take it dont you why lark honey why lark send forty pounds to matson lark said shortly youre certainly not going to run any risk of him or the vurness making a claim on your service again I 1 won wont t let you wont you amusement was in his voice there was surely nothing of the bound boy in galt gait how now the change subtle at first was plain in his look his talk his manner he said ill get work and send matson malson his h Is money dont you fear the thing im afraid of Is that you dont realize what youve done for or me lark for heavens sake dont thin kyou have to try to make me feel better I 1 do anything tor for you and please dont tell me I 1 did been trying to get away from that place for or years one day have made it I 1 help you I 1 slowed you down have caught the horse alone you did help me get away galt gait said quietly and you caught the horse but I 1 mean that lark maybe I 1 quite tell you what I 1 do mean you mean you feel sorry for me it do any good for me to ask you not to yet the last thing anybody wants galt gait said 1 I do feel sorry for you lark but not that way not the way you mean I 1 feel sorry that the things you want arent put into your hands im sick and sorry I 1 cant put them there I 1 want to so very badly why I 1 hope be slow to believe mara hastings when north comes 1 1 I dont want to see him lark said ohl oh galt gait I 1 want to find some place to go some work to do because david will come and hell feel bad about my leaving maras maraland Mar asand and the way I 1 acted that showed how I 1 felt jealous and hurt and you acted all tight right toward mara hastings galt gait snapped balts galts easy silence made talk easier for lark gave her the release of words plain words sometimes I 1 think david does care about me sometimes I 1 know he yet I 1 came to this new land without any plan of my own beyond david I 1 picture it see it I 1 mean the way we see that valley down there or saw the town of norfolk or the oyster coast it was just big and fresh and wonderful with no form or detail I 1 could vision galt gait said lark you for a minute think about letting me take care of you I 1 mean all the time lark I 1 know ive got nothing compared to north but when I 1 try to think of a better thing than working to care for you he hushed watching her face lark said gently ill never forget the way you have cared for me already galt gait he pulled up red laskau from munching weeds headed down hill weve got twenty five miles to go he said that doctor fellow said we miss Great ways and you said squire terraine was friendly to you on the boat he might know the very thing for you to do here lark and have a little money and costas yours youre not to fret you know that it was about four when they stopped to rest a while in a shady grove below a mill they unbridled the horses slipping on their soft ropo rope halters tethering them to a young tree taking of off the saddies and laying them in the deep shade to cool near a rocky stream the girt girl and boy walked to the stream and cupped up the cool water drank and drank again lay down in the deep fragrant grass in the shade of a huge gold sycamore that was losing its bright leaves the old tree warm sleepy contented stood with its feet in the water its big bald body bleached by the october sun behind it the water rus rushed hed over the dam losing itself in the deep pool reuniting here with the sullen leaf flecked brown water of the mill race lark said 1 I wish we have to go on I 1 wish we could just stay here forever the horses were tethered on long ropes red baskall went qui quite tefar far into the water quite deep into it until only his head was above it his breath ruffled the water galt gait pushed up watching him ill hate to give him up wont you galt gait lark galt gait said listen lark it red bed laskau really belonged to us the way you said it just now we could race him and breed him he shows his blood lines li if he belonged to us while youre about it lark said why not pretend that big farm we just passed belonged to you you said belonged to us a minute ago all right suppose we owned the whole valley and all the horgest hors hor sest esl he sighed 1 I remember when I 1 was little my father got me a chin co teague pony I 1 thought id burst with pride I 1 used to love to keep win him nice he was a right pretty little pony at that A man wearing a big dusty smock came out of the mill door and stool stood on the tiny bridge over the race looking down at the two by the creek creek baric bank when lark smiled he waved and cupped his hands and called strangers here galt gait nodded he got to his feet and shouted how far is it to great ways plantation twelve mile cant miss it two hills and then dawes ferry place couple mile from minnie Bux trees tollgate toll gate and then youre headin for Great ways you goin to the weddin ln big weddin up to Great ways I 1 hear tell miss dana an his voice was lost in a breeze that rustled the sycamore leaves and stirred the water he called something else unintelligible and waved again disappearing into his mill she end galt gait rode at a good clip until they saw the black shadow of 0 the tollgate toll gate bar far ahead there was a foot path that dipped into a ravine nearby near by and seemed see med to skirt the gate they turned their horses there a quarter mile fro from in the tollgate and the low rambling whitewashed house on the very lap ot of the pike lark could see a man in a straw jimmy and overalls guarding the gate could see a white chicken strolling leisurely across the narrow porch of the house then the ravine dipped below the level of the road the path cutting away among blackberry bushes bushea and undergrowth der growth they followed it tor for some time and then lark riding ahead reined dosta in sharply something was blocking the path just ahead just beyond a big russet apple tree it was something enormous and dressed in violent pink a figure shapeless and relaxed in a big split bottom chair set directly across the little path tho the woman in the pink dress was minnie she was sleeping comfortably in her chair head back mouth open snoring deeply lark tried to turn dosta back quietly tried to motion galt gait back but it was too late of course minnie stirred leaped from her chair toward them shouting TO BE CONTINUED |