Show fig ethel hueston huesten m fe actions by it win myel flyers s J P T t y lil ili co UNU S service F MV I 1 C F leo two evildoers above abote rapt rap speechless ss and spellbound had bad forgotten theli their mischief as aa they crept to the th noiseless without breathing hearing bearing every word sharing ever every heartbeat softly softly down the top to astep inep the next and the next nearer she ah proceeded edd calmly down th i stairs stair even strutting a little and nearer nearest irresistibly drawn by the currents of joy that surged through the shabby parsonage helen kissed her sister bister rapturously and horace langley flinging pedagogical dignity to vie lie winds clasped herin a boisterous embrace this la Is my sister helen and professor langley helen this 14 I 1 everybody marjory introduced almost incoherently aie are the girls father annis angels cried eddy jackson goz ing suddenly up to the curve of the circular staircase or are the goddesses coming down from olympus to adze upon and envy beauty he pointed dramatically to the stairs where ginger eua ella with miriam fast ast on her heels crouched in quivering excitement cit ement the wedding gown forgotten forgotten otten too the veiling telling curtain the tha canvas gloves the floppy mules ginger run I 1 cried miriam in sickening realization but ginger trapped was not one on to fly before confusion she pro proceeded deeded camly calmly down the stairs even strutting ting a little 1 I hurt it a bit helen she reassured her sister its oh ob just a a rehearsal why its little Cinde cinderella reIla just got a fall from her pumpkin chortled eddy jackson and a ukulele caught its cue and whined into the wedding march but ginger turned away from them scornfully a bit too scornfully for one of the flapping mules too large tor for her slid from her slender toot fool ginger as she felt it slipping in sudden consternation hesitated tor for the barest traction fraction of a second it was too long eddy jackson a saw w and seized it and zan ran to kneel mockingly at her toot fool i cinderella the prince returns your glass slipper in the midst of their merry laughter the ukuleles uku leles sudden hush hish silenced them 4 see bee here somebody ought to introduce duce me protested the tha player lively tl vely you forget im astringer a stranger 4 I even In invited vitel his eyes wan to the bottom elep of the circular lar staircase where miriam sat just as she had dropped in that first shock ang moment still rapt and breathless ooh aoh oh I 1 forgot apologized eddy jackson supposed to know everybody in red eed thrush thin la Is our old friend tub andrews he went to school with us when be was a kid but they moved to detroit and now hes hen come back baa to help run the arst national bank janitor arent you tub tab I 1 assistant janitor said bald tub an drews pleasantly but next neit week they oey are going to promote me t to 0 tamp stamp hilcker pleased to meet you yon 1 r jho ile dropped down on the step beside miriam why you go into itha beauty pageant and give iva your at slater ito r pt a run ran lor for her complexion IN I 1 li at miriam was wag shocked with amazement shell 1 sure ure I 1 was one ot of judges your tour sister had it easy the way it was but it if you yon had been against ther me rm rin one gentleman who dont dont what miriam owed the jovial young banker w alta itil odine ioma dim I 1 j culty but with interest prefer dm cm he Indic indicated atea ane m golden marjory with a light wave ot of his uku ukulele lelo they freckle on the tha nose and peel on the neck and go dark in streaks their hair dois doe s im a blonde myself I 1 know all about em cm im going to turn you all out now DOW called marjory with a smile that took the sting from her light dismissal 1 I 1 want to go upstairs and see my father and all my sisters have to come along youve been perfectly marvelous to me eddy youre an angel 1 I know it he agreed bri briskly with much laughter many light sallies a hundred gay words the happy group dispersed slowly ill come and take you for a ride tomorrow said tub andrews to miriam if you have not objection to flivvers 1 I I 1 like them 1 I dont I 1 only drive them about eight then I 1 and then breathlessly with ginger still in the forbidden gown and the ridiculous curtain the four girls ran upstairs opstal rs into their fathers room and hung flung themselves upon his bed where ho he sat erect waiting knowing they would come to him marjory dropped on her knees beside the bed and buried her bright face in his shoulders shoulder laughing with tears in the laughter father I 1 got it it was unanimous 11 1 I had a sort of a vague tague idea maybe mayba you got it he said teasingly but with tender warmth transferring her bel from his shoulder to the curve of his bla arm where he ha held her closely it just seemed to me there pos poa aebly be such a racket without some soma arle to show for W it father give me your hand into the outstretched palm she sha pressed five small round pieces gold fifty dollars in all and curled him big finders subtly upon udon the treasure oh tny ray dear he began r father ather dont say a word why b y ProvId providence ened put on that thai beauty pageant n t us the money for you to go ga to chicago again oh father we knew you yon were just putting patting it off bo be cause you afford and now you yon can for your eyes darling the silence that followed was ab ei slight as aa to be barely noticeable and 1 Ms me voice was only slightly husky an a bo said youre toure a nice girl marjory and you yon are quite right the eyes need care and I 1 the money it Is t a joy to take it from you yon one of my girls youre more than good looking marjory youre just plain nice youre toure all nice I 1 wish offer tour four prizes the next time the proceeds would run the parsonage tor for a year beart CHAPTER III ginger Gl nger do run up and change your dress mr andrews Is id coming to take me tor for a ride and tao he very tery eight of you would disgrace the parsonage he Is la in tho the bank you known know 11 mister who demanded ginger mr andrews you know the th young man who camo came with the crowd last night to take who out driving me at least he ha mention anybody else ginger squared about in her chi chair drew the rumpled smock carefully about her crossed one knee over the other planting a deliberate elbow on the topmost one and dropped an amazed face in her palm staring at her sister bister you dont mean miriam you certainly do not mean I 1 must absolutely have misunderstood you you YOM could not possibly intend to intimate that that andrews creature called tub as I 1 remember who twanged that godless ukulele for three hours without stopping Is coming to take you out alone in a car for for sentimental purposes tub andrews Andrew sl 1 father you will enjoy him he converses to the squeal of a ukulele disgusting father simply disgusting they used to live here father and then moved to detroit ile he went through college and now he has hag a position in the first national bank the president mr mills Is his bis uncle simply disgusting reiterated gin 1 ger in his heart mr tolliver Toll lver was inclined to agree with her he hail had found life very pleasant pleasa fit in the old days with the interest of every daughter centered exclusively in the parsonage confines the five alve of them as one mind and spirit but now what with heien frelen and horace florace marjory and e toworu 0 of 61 ert efin ana d now 1101 ill miriam and this new young man willa the ukulele his hl sigh rivaled gingers dingers Gin gers own there was still salu tho the strained I 1 high tension in his hl bandaged eyes at still III the sena sensation aaion of a firm band clr cir was his brow it seemed a sha shameful mehul thing to him in his gentle antle orthodoxy that be should chafe rt at the temporary restriction upon him lie he had 10 lo much wag denied led so BO little even paul had suf buffered suffered ferid MB his thorn in the seh deab his HI great yearning tor for restoration was waa almost unchristian certainly unscriptural ho he had bad said bald that to ginger a few weeks week before beg tha she had agreed pleasantly but awfully human particularly he desired recovery i lefore before the formal dedication of the levi ew church rt it was wa ft a great accomplishment ment tor for red bed thrush ile he wanted ranted to look into the glad faces of I 1 his tl ro embers on that day he wanted them hem to see the grateful joy la in his it t la Is hard for a blinded alln ded face to mirror ahe hearts emotions emotion he sometimes felt elt that he would be willing to ac dept blindness for months for a year iven ivenar at another time if only on that day he be could meet his blo people face to face ace his hi eyes reading their eyes and ill reflecting their gratitude tor for the realization of their hopes in many ways his misfortune had come coma at a critical time for the minster ster the tha building of a new church designing of a new parsonage disposal of the old property all entailed a i great deal of careful figuring it was hard to figure finances through the he eyes of committees and boards ind and daughters approximately two thousand dollars was wag still on the church debt it had been his dreata that on the sabbath of the dedication edl catlon his people of their own free ree will should make up that amount calling the church a tree free church con lec cc rated to the service of red thrush without encumbrance he sighed a att ittle I 1 e the day of rest in a parsonage words scant leisure for sisterly recriminations crimi nations and ginger was forced to forego her plan to subject miriam to a bitter grilling on the subject of sentiment in general by nine thirty the girls were on hand for sunday school leaving their father the entire house for a half hour of silent meditation and prayer in the interval while the classes were reassembling for or dismissal miriam ran across to walk with him the short distance to the church where he usually conducted a brief review of the lesson sunday school was followed follow eo py by the ormal formal morning worship Kors bip where as there was no pew system in red thrush the girls bat sat where they liked with their r especial frie friends friebis hIs IC craig croig ron a j corner oan ef ra tar r ea back cy on tye the right ald side ginger heart went out tenderly as it did every sunday morning to her father she used to say the pulpit p 1 t was OB becoming to him against pu the dark wood he be seemed very tall very e r y pale almost radiant his voice seemed gentler yet somehow more incisively penetrating since his blindness poor dear she thought compas ilona elona tely for she followed the ser mon but intermittently and usually consecrated the hour bour to her own thoughts 1 I dare say if U the heathen are right and we really do oate ate la in this world I 1 was fathers mother the last time I 1 feel like a mother to him now hes heb uch such a lamb sunday afternoon in the parsonage was wag given up to quiet recreation helen went out with horace marjory I ory too went out with anyone who asked her strolling driving or calling sometimes with miriam IR in the party sometimes not nol ginger usually retired to her attic studio this one small section of 0 the house bouse from the very be beginning inning of 0 their residence was wa gingers dingers Gin gers own it was cult of 0 approach for there were no stairs leading to it and sole admission was by means of a old ladder of six rounds which carefully balanced against the wall at the end of the upper hall led to the te trapdoor which opened upward into the attic ginger loved the attic most of all tor for its inaccessibility the trapdoor which swung on a hinged lock and had to be pushed upward with one hand was no obstacle but an added charm in her eyes on the attic side of the door she had with her own hands driven a big staple added another hook and when she went thither on matters of any special moment she locked it furtively behind her the studio was her sacred retreat and on this particular sunday afternoon she find a definite motive in retirement ti for she sought the gul guidance dance of the muses ginger had made a find eddy jackson had brought to the parsonage as a saturday gift from his mother a jar of preserved peaches wrapped in an old page of the new york world helen had crum churn pled it lightly into the waste basket where the sharp eye of gln ginger ger ella had espied it whence her greedy fingers had rescued it and from it she learned to her delight that the new york world would pay five dollars each for the bright sayings of children one of gingers dingers Gin gers great grievances in life was the tendency of her sisters to recall and repeat crepea smart sayings dofher of her own none too remote childhood such repetition reduced her to abject and helpless fury but she noted that the auditors always laughed am p apte te proof of the je presence j r bomor she cast about in be her memory for the most amusa tg 0 ot f these pseudo p producers r 0 d uc e r b and 1 nd u unable this n a b id 1 e to dl discover scover laugh laudi n merit i e r 1 t b by y h her 0 own i judgment ament she he hil u upon p 0 n t the b e nies on one e tha that t 1 had 1 a d produced the tie g greatest r e a t es t g gales of merriment changing names and relationships from her own and helens to that of 0 a mother and daughter she wrote mrs ingraham spent nn an entire afternoon assisting a neighbor to cut out and fit and when the garment was entirely finished slie she wished to make payment for or the time con coil burned binned oli no said mrs ingraham pleasantly 1 I shall not take a cent for or it I 1 did it entirely out of friend ship the neighbor was insistent insl but bin mrs ingraham ns raham remained irm firm and would not take the money mone at last she turned to alice mrs Ing rahama small da daughter standing near and said alice tell me tow how can I 1 mala maka your our mother take this five dollars which she ling has fully earned alice i considered a moment and then an bounced ced gravely ay you ou might give it to mg me and nd she will borrow it 11 to be continued |