Show s torm country PO polly I 1 I 1 ar Y 7 by grace miller white copyright by little brown co LOV t ovet E I 1 H ll 11 SYNOPSIS occupying ft a dilapidated a ted shack in the silent city a Z auter QU ter er settlement near itha ith ithica A ca N neu eal yo york it 1 polly oily hopkins lies flies her father fath er small jerry and an old woman granny hope on an adjacent farm ocar bennatt prosperous farmer it IB a net gabor 1 ho to 13 1 secretly married to evelyn robertson su supposedly wealthy girl of vie U neigh I 1 roily polly alone knows their secret marcus mav kenzie who owns the ground the squatters equal occupy Is their determined enemy polly overhears a conversation between macl mackenzie zenzie assi a stranger in which the former avows his intention inte nulon of driving the squatters from ills land the stranger with the and cams cains pollys hollys agrati tlde tide evelyn robertson no bertson discovers from her ino mother ier filar they are not ach as she supposed but pra c t ca U i living on the bounty of robert e rt P evelyns cousin CHAPTER ill III 3 As she rna rai polly hopkins ll cogitated on oa BlacKen fords evelyni had bad said that she mas is as odd ouia as she was nas filthy mrs robertson bertson Ko the arrogant wont an ubo ibeal on the lie hill in a house almost ba big enough to hold every person ti in the silent city ought not to spy SEY ji ii the squatters if the gand g and anil lady only knew it tier her on had sto olied to a trick such ma would put to thaine any hut wom woin stu nn A squatter wife mould not leata her tinaa maa to do for himself or deny him before li ire the horld added to pollys hollys personal humiliation was mackenziee MacKen against paddy daddy Il tile hope robert Perel vals words bad in instilled in ID her seemed to die us fig slie she traveled travel cd and tier her heart beart beat with fair vair lor for should old more hare get his fin g aers L rs on daddy hopkins Il polly hat had no doubt there would be nothing but im ica for hint him and the graveyard for her and jerry she could not think of life without her father not a single night hall had she ever been away from VIS liis kindly love and attention aud arid wee ve jerry A lold picture rose afore ix fore lier her of the babas grief if tie lie could not straddle daddys daddes neck and play ilay liis his father was a horse wien she readied reached the top of tile the rocks she pulled up and cost cast a blany out over mer tile lake the calling f her name made tier lier turn swiftly tilting ebelyn voice ole baited white while the other girl came down the path froni from mackenziee MacKen woods she was quite unlike the little squatter A fashionable raincoat protected tier erom the wet and she carried a light umbrella in tier her gloved liand lit tind ilie greeting between them was pue one of embarrassment 1 I viere nere coln to fiod find my daddy roily polly explained lies iles long along the lake I 1 know id come bit BI you yon this mornin tile the memory of sirs mrs words brought a rush of color to her face and slie she looked loo ed down at her feet there surged up in her a feeling that slie blie did not want anything to do with any ny of these people why should she atie iv ere rich and she was only a squatter bail brat she started to walk way away I 1 1 I sald mid she flung over her T were lookin for my daddy owl by 1 robertson bertson no was ilas not interested in jeremiah hopkins As far as she was concerned the whole silent city right might be washed off into tile the waves end od carried away her own troubles filled her mind the shock of her cn others disclosure stunned tier her for without the help she had expected site could see no way out of oscar De deletts metts clutches in the meantime tile squatter girl was her only means ot of communication walt wait Poll yop wait a minute 1 I 1 tame doan do an just to speak to you wheeling slowly around aru unil polly colly faced her ber what do you want she asked in ID turly surly tones tolles iolli op ejaculated coelyn rv clyn coming coining swiftly to tier lier side ini im almost feared to death my cousin alb oil youve got to help me again boat then the soldier in tile uniform was evelyns cousin hub 1161 that was the nicest name nam in all tie the world a name fitted for the lie man mail lw ho hail had dropped into the silent city to lo help at clone the squatters suddenly tier her mood M changed she forgot oscar benett benm nett and his odious words forgot the girl crying for foe her aid had albov allowed d tier her mother to say dreadful things bilings tier her arid and D liddy daddy hopkins if Evely fo were related to the hie soldier then polly hopkins would do anything lill robertson Il asked of her WI what bat do you want site she repeated blushing its this answered evelyn mr blacKen biome and my cousin dekime with litra my cousin robert percival I 1 Ts 1 your cousin a handsome teller feller willi watt long legs lin ari a face stopped fot foi lack of 0 words worda how flow could she describe the fine sym theair countenance she lit hid d seen f in the out roof ye tea evelyn interjected bobs awfully good looking and hes tall too dov listen P klyop you must ga to t 0 cis osair eair aadi apa in nr me this very day oh dear mr lies lids ft mean to we me 11 polly considered the pretty face n moment she could not understand why fly the lie homecoming home coming of tile the cousin mid and old marc should make evelyn so flustered with tier her steady eyes 1 u upon nn tier her she was studying over this question when nhen evelyn burst forth tell oscar I 1 any moneal money I 1 just cant get it now I 1 and Poll yop tell him too that lie he write me any moi more e letters my mother well if she found one of them shed turn tile me out of the house pollys hollys mouth ini ulli fleit fiet open slie she could not conceive of a girl doing anything lit in tilt the world orld bad enough to make her mother turn lurn her out of her home lordy 1 would she now T 1 I she gasped 1 I 1 my I y mothers proud said evelyn in ill excuse you know that polly oily certainly polly knew iti 10 she ducked d butof sight bight of tile the unsympathetic lady many a time when illicit lurking near the home bilth a ines melange sage from oscar to kaehn 1 I dont know what I 1 N will nill ill do 10 roily polly tile the other girl went on if you dont help me rind and some time ill really do something for you A temptation to blurt out the word mitt marcus cus mackenzie had spoken fis is milled alleo the squatter girl but evelyn looked worried I 1 pollys hollys heart wa was as soft ns Is the velvet in her e nes ees when she came caine upon trouble of any kind youve been good to wee jerry slie site interposed gently awful good ue he most giggles his little life away when illien I 1 bring liliu him the goodies you send him im going to do a lot tor for both bogli of you returned evelyn impulsively an and today I 1 brought this bag of candy for the baby cierel take iti and go to oscar for me as soon as you can wont you Sn smiling illing polly slipped the package of into lier her pocket she rould roud forche anything against herself for the sake of seeing wee jerry smile and hearing him crow over the contents of the small bag yep she agreed an so say 1 all you tell me to cut but what if he kicks up a row lies iles gettin awful pernickety kity oscar 1st A sharp cry from evelyn was followed by tell him he make him promise lie wont and and Polly Poll yop cip ill tell you something else if bouli promise never to tell 1 I never told anything yet h have anve I 1 protested in low In indignant digna t tones no one must ever know about oscar and me evelyn began still harping r I 1 full 1 X tell oscar I 1 any moneal ii I 1 just cant get it now and pol flop tell him too that he write me any more letters the great afar that obsessed her been use Ille vause ot of your raa ma interrupted polly sure I 1 know A i liand hand was raised in partial protest mothers an aeiful worry to roe inc sometimes but its tibt she filing altogether gether but but then then its your alne lookin couin canie brokenly from polly during tile lie pause in miss lit of course I 1 have him know for anit liln noilden noli led as sent oh go goodness adnes odnes od nes I 1 might ns as well tell it and ret get it over I 1 love some one else and lie he loies ies me polly Poll rop 0 P want to be his alfe ife more than ive ever wanted anything before lies iles wealthy dear and ive got to matry mairy him pollys face gathered eath ored a shocked d expression pres slon how could she marry any oue one when she was nas already wedded to oscar rennett bennett by tiny law polly knew of a girl could not have two husbands at the some same time lime riven even tile the quat in their ca careless reles way of living did nothing like ille that 1 vm tou cur t tie up to no other r nian man while biffle you belong to oscar miss eve she he ventured gravely well I 1 know it of course I 1 know it retorted uvelyn evelyn resenting the censure 1 in the others tones tone but bill ive sot got to ile be free tm im so frantic I 1 dont much care how the way oscars got to help me anyway make him understand hes got to wait lie must lie quiet and not bottler bolher me thou then come coina tonight and let me know what mint lie says will you roily polly the squatter girl nodded she would fail cr hae been switched than see Os icer car bennett again yep slie she assented ashen ted ill hunt tilt him up tip late this and lien tell hustle hustie right over to iou ou I 1 got to go now I 1 por lor some moments after uvelyn evelyn left her polly watched wat clied the slim ff figure on the lie path to the vi woods then she suddenly remembered marcus mackenzie and without it a backward glance hurried flurried swiftly toward the sout south b meantime three squatters from the silent city were in the bad mans ravine dressing tile fish sh they had netted the night flight before one enormous man was vins seated on a flat rock ills his bare re feet almost touching the water as it hurried by to the tle lake on his shoulders with ills his legs wound tightly around the mans neck sat a small boy little more than a bally baby ile he was shivering with fth cold and av ai the spring rain shot its drops upon his face lie he lifted a small hand find and brushed them away seemingly oblivious of the weight against ills his swarthy head bead the man picked up a fish and contempt it with a scowl then he proceeded to clean it deftly the silence was unbroken for a ton long time except by tile rii rushing hIng of the water the gruesome running of the knives over the he fish scales and a little whimper now flow find and then from tile the child astride the mans neck 1 I hea lioard rd in town broke foi forth th lye craeger braeger that old marc comin coidin home heres where us squatters get b h 1 flung at us good and plenty jeremiah lah hopkins stopped ills work and fro frowned ined at the speaker hed best be a lookin out for ills self he muttered Il lebbe liell hell get a taste of the liot hot place if lie he does any str ln around the silent city Meb bebber ber repeated larry bishop and no more marcus mackenzue Mac Kenzle haud handsome some smug and rich had been the instrument that had moved the hands bands of the law to swing open the prison doors and shove larry bishop inside just when his young wife needed him most once in bight of the roaring water rushing in torrents from the bad mans ravine polly sent out a peculiar little trill and the baarse answer of a mans mana voice mingled with its echo as it struck the enormous en up rock slabs slab pollye pollys heart bounded and lost its heavy weight of fear daddy llop kins had responded ponderously first call in another moment evas mas crawling crawl lne up tile the jagged sides of the deep gulf As aa A a she came up to them companions witted her a greeting but stopped their mork ork at the sight of 0 her sober face ace up lassie lasse deman dedi king you aint seen a ghost have you Wor sern serm that daddy she replied much wor aern sern that ott old mares marcs home an r heard him bill say hes coln to root u us squatters out of the silent elm city A brutt glare gare flashed luto into larry 11 rl shops eyes did lie now brat lie muttered takings taking up ills his knife and looking at it polly squatted down beade her fifth ier i er slipping ona hand band under ills bis arm tile othur slie she gave to the child ho it eagerly did he now came in repetition front throat yepi asserted Poll yop witt nn all emp emphatic hatle bob of her hend at an I 1 come to tell you all best be a lookin out for im daddy dadila he youre the worst man in tile the settlement but eNe rhody knows hes a liar hed field best be lookin out for ills own mile hide Fl hopkins shot hack back like a flash of ile steel el 1 I 1 aint in any mind to stand much of his g guff the dirty ing tier hep arm from her fath ws ir I 1 she leaned her chin on oil her ber hand she vi anted allied it to urge them not to t it orry too flinch brinit lt to tell them of the th other man rich like old mare who ati hail had expressed in tender tonea kindly ln ill terest tt rest in their cifare PI fare somehow tho though ugh the wortis words would not come tile figart ail flo not nt fit tn in with the lie secret understanding that expressed itself f VI f I 1 in n the frowning furtive glances clances that passed from oni one to tile other of her men folks hes awful powerful strong strone slip she ventured in answer to the look she had intercepted an powerful rich 1 at an moneys what makes the marl mare go struck in lye braeger sure so ills ans ails nelce reil oily put but aint eer berthing thing in tile world 1 got granny hopes word for that an ali slie rile knows a lot about loe 0 grantly granny does larry 1 Kl hops sudden laugh cracked in tile middle and lie he swallowed loed alerce ly i love 11 II 11 lie buret on olit husk amsk lly fly Grann grannell know soon what harln money mans some seine mornin the silent ciryll enke up tip an find the avil shark shack burned to the rocks klebbe not rel replied filed polly simply Any anyway wilY granny dont need her hut but now ashes I 1 ivin mill us A sudden thought of robert hobert per rival shot a queer little thrill through tier her find she he gut got confusedly to her feet ionly but the winds cold this mornin she exclaimed Th ills so answered her father its too benned cold for the baby to stay here G get let own my neck hoy boy an go along home etith ith pull poll an get het up tip a hit bit the child set up 0 howl that lint flun flung itself back and forth in squeal squealing ln echoes from side to side of I 1 the he raine but tile the gle of f unloosening wei we jerrys lingers fingers from his fathers hair was short and sh sharp a rp take him home bome brnt brat said jere manh to poll pollyne yop lies iles like a frog 41 sure so answered polly but taint everything in the world poor imp we got a full hours work i et with the childs hand band in hrs bers polly looked at tier her father come when you can daddy addy I 1 got a for you yon good little kid your girl cir Is jeremiah droned dronek braeker braeger an and I 1 lie he grunted as lie straightened out ills his I 1 legs k 9 S Il bent oer er to catch another glimpse of ills his eb children ildren yep he agreed a wavering smile touching liia ills lips god gild love er shea like her ran nia was at her age as near like as two peas liens in a pod CHAPTER IV on entering the shack round found granny hope still mill asleep then site replenished the ire fire and sat down with jerry on inn her lap she disrobed dis robed him dried the mall body and placed alra on them ent cot under tile the blankets another piece of cagily was popped into tilt the ever ready little mouth andt andi h hi cuddled doan contentedly ills hl slaughters cheerful he erful f face atten n jeremiah came home for III ins dinner drove droop away for the time beans |