The Wingham Advance-Times, 1937-12-23, Page 12PAGE FOUR Wingham advanceYimes
chill had crept into the air. The corn
fields with tnem shocks of corn that
*were greying m the dying light, the
yellow pumpkins glowing -in the rows
like so many jack-o-ian terns, the
brilliant glory oi autumn woods be
yond, the slow yellow river that
wound about the place added a final
note to a picture that Chloe was nev
er to forget. For the first time she
anr her father seemed to have come
close together. They were no longer
shy of each other. The stood side by
side looking out over the far-flung
v acres, the statedly old red brick house
'with its white pillars, that peered
through the grove of chinaberry trees,
with a little *warm feeling of belong
ing to ezach other. Somehow Chloe
found her small gloved hand held in
her father’s strong grasp and she
looked up at him, smiling a litte as
he looked down at her, an Answering
smil^ in his own eyes.
A day or so after the return from
Chinaberry Grove and while the sup
erb Indian. Summer weather still
held, Chloe’came in late one after
noon in the chill dusk to finfd a tele
gram awaiting her,
She slid a thumb beneath the flap
of the flimsy envelope, opened 'it,and
unfolded the sheet it held.
MEET US IN JACKSONVILLE.
PLANS CHANGED A LITTLE
BUT STILL HOLDING FOR A
CHRISTMAS CRUISE ONLY A
LONGER ONE ALL THE WAY
TO RIO WIRE IF POSSIBLE TO
LEAVE IN TIME. BETTY.
She gave a little gasp of pure joy.
Aunt Jane, coming down the stairs,
seeing the yellow slip in her hand said
quickly, “Bad news, dear?”
“Oh, no! Grand News. My friends
want me to be in Jacksonville on the
6th, instead of the 15th — we’re go
ing all the way to Rio for Christmas.
Om, Aunt Jane, isn’t that glorious?”
she cried swiftly.
She turned towards the door with
out waiting for Aunt Jane’s little pro
testing, startled cry.
“Chloe! You,'re not^really going?
So soon?'” . . .
Chloe stared at her, caught by sur
prise.
“But of course I’m going, Aunt
Jane. Any sane girl would leap at a
chance like this! I’ll have the most
glorious time . . she pointed out.
“Your father will miss you; Chloe,"
said Aunt Jane gravely.
Chloe hesitated. Since the after
noon of that Thanksgiving Day when
they had come closer than ever be
fore in their lives, she wasn’t ^o sure
that her father wouldn’t miss her. But
after all, an invitation like this! Oh,
she couldn’t turn it down, she could
n’t!
There was the sound of a car in
the drive. Her father came up the
steps and into the house. He looked
swiftly from Jane to Chloe and said
quickly, “Why, what’s wrong?’’
“Nothing, Father, I’ve had a tele
gram from Betty,” explained Chloe
quietly, avoiding ajne’s eyes. “They
want me to meet them in Jacksonville
on the 6th. Their plans have changed
a little. They are going all the way
to Rio de Janeiro and they want me
to go with them. Aunt Jane thinks I
shouldn’t go.”
Aunt; Jane said, “It was only'that
I thought you, that is, we would miss
her.”
Howell said, “Of course we shall
miss- her, but That’s no reason why
we should be' selfish and hold her
here. Run along, child, and wire them
that you will be in Jacksonville in
your very best bib and tucker.”
Chloe said unsteadily, “Thanks,
Father," and fled. * '
Of course she could easily have
telephoned her message to the Tele
graph office, but somehow, she want
ed to get out of the house. There
was 'a look in Aunt Jane’s eyes that'
made her uncomfortable. .Perhaps,
she told herself as she sent her small
roadster hurtling recklessly down
Monte Sano Avenue, she was being
selfish in going away, but Betty’s in
vitation offered such a gorgeous time.
Andi Oakton was so dull! A Christ
mas that would be a repetition of
Thanksgiving — she shuddered a lit
tle and jammed her foot a little hard
er on the accelerator.
Ahead of her a warning bell jing
led and a traffic light turned to the
coutioning amber. Recklessly, in no
mood to be delayed, Chloe shot the
little roadster ahead and turned the
corner, on two wheels. Just as she
did so a man stepped from the curb
directly in her path, She was con
scious of a feeling of nausea that
struck her like a blow. Her foot jam
med hard on tlie brakes, but it was
all over before she even realized what
had happened.
There was an impact as she struck
the man that shook her hard. The
man went down. The car went for*
ward with a sickening jar — and the
jammed brakes did their work. She
fell forward over the wheel, sick and
horrified as a Crowd former aboue
the roadster. Eager, pitying hands
lifted the broken body from the
wheels. A policeman seemed to pop
up from nowhere. There was a daz
ed interval of questions, of excited
testimony. As from a vast distance
she her somebody saying angrily, “I
saw .the whole- thing.. The dizzy lit
tle dame was trying to beat the light
and she turned the corner doing six
ty."
“You’re Miss Sarget,- -aren’t you?"
the policeman recognized her. “This
man seems badly hurt—’’
There -was the sharp clang-clang of
an. ambulance and, as she saw the
Wto white-coated internes lift the
broken body and lay it on a stretch-
ew, she cought er, she caught for the
first titne a glimpse of the man’s face.
It was Scott, Kevlin.
Oh, oh, she’s fainted!” said some
one in the crowd, and the policeman
•dropped his book to catch the'girl
as she fell forward over the wheel. , .
CHAPTER. VII
Chloe came to herself in the recep
tion rom oF-the hospital. Aunt Jane, .
white and horntied, was on one siue
pt her chafing cold hands, and her
lather sat beside her, his arm about
her while a pleasant young nurse held
smelling sairs under her nose until
the sharp, pungent scent cleared her
brain a little.
She sat up, was deathly sick and
after a while she stammered faintly,
"Is he — I mean —■ " .
"He’s in the emergency room. We
don’t know yet how badly he is hurt,”
said the nurse promptly. , -
Her father asked, "Can you.tell us
how it happened, Chloe?”
“It was my fault/’ she whispered
desolately, and shivered again at the
memory of that impact., when the car
struck the man; that sickening jolt as
it passed over his body. "Oh, Dad, it
was awful — awful! 1'11 never forget
it — never!”
For the fir.st time since childhood
she had "called him “Dad", and to
Howell it seemed that-she had gone
back to baby days as she flung her
self upon-him weeping wildly, cling
ing to him with both frantic young
arms, her wet face burrowing into
his shoulder. .
The doctor came at’last. A-lifelong
friend -of Howell’s, who gripped his
hand and said swiftly, “Buck up, old
man, he has a good chance. He’ll
make it,' I feel sure."
Chloe gave a long, shuddering sigh
and slid forward unconscious.
It was late the following afternoon
before they let her see him. He lay
in his bed, his bandaged body held
stiff by the cast in which it had been
placed, his stormy eyes upon her as
she came hesitantly into the room.
His jaw was set and, hard, and. he
looked at her with cold, accusing, un- '
, friendly eyes as she crept towards the
bed. He said nothing and Chloe
struggled miserably for words.
“I — know it sounds — silly to say
— I’m sorry — but — oh, I am, I
am — and if only there was some
thing I could do—’’ she stammered
and set her teeth hard, unable to say
more lest she break down ignomious-
ly.
• “.There’s nothing any one can do
now,” he told her grimly. “I hope,
though, that you’ll let it be a lesson
to you and try to drive a bit more
reasonably in the future. Though I
suppose that’s too much to hope for.”
Chloe’s face worked convulsively
and she shuddered. “I’ll never drive
a car again as long as I live,” she
told him unsteadily.
“Nonsense,” said Scott roughly.
“You’ll be driving again before the\
end of file week. And that’s all right,
too. But just use a little common
sense next time, if you don’t mind.
After all, you know, there is a reason
for traffic signals, even for the little
Crown Princess herself!”
Chloe Said humbly! “I don’t blame
you for hating me. I hate myself.”
Scott frowned and said gruffly, “I
don’t hate you.\ That’s silly. Run
along now. I’ll be all right and don’t
take it so hard. Accidents happen —
in the best of families.”
She crept away and wept in the hall
as if her heart would break.
When she reached the hospital the
next morning, her arms weighted
with flowers the chauffeur following
her with a great basket of hothouse
fruit,-the nurse met her outside his
door and said worriedly:
“If only you could persuade him
hot to take it so hard. He’s going to
live but the doctor spys it will be two
months at least before he can leave
the hospital, and he’s in a frothing
rage about it and his temperature is
going up by leaps and bounds.”
Chloe's heart sank as she went In*
to the room and Scott turned his face
and wrathiul eyes upon her."Uh, it's you," lie said gruffly.
“Yes, lm sorry, Whom were you
expecting^4 asked Chloe as she mo
tioned to the chauffeur to put the bas
ket of fruit on the table.
“A chauffeur, eh?" commented
Scott dryly as the chauffeur t>went
away.“1 told you I’d never drive again—
and I meant it," she said as she hand- •
■ed the flowers over to a nurse.“Have 'em put in one of the wards,
nurse, and feed this fruit to the kids.
You don’t mind?” lie added in an
aside to Chloe.
“No, of course not. Whatever you
want done with them,” she answered
' politely.She looked down at his taut face,
his rebellious eyes, his thin mouth and
said unsteadily, “I'm terribly sorry
you are in such pain-----”
“But I’m not—physically, that is.
. It’s my mind that's all upset. Oh, I
suppose it will sound very childish
and very silly to you, but—well, I’m
disappointed, and they will be, too—’’
his voice dropped and he turned his
head away from her.
She sat down beside the bed’and
said quietly, “Won’t'you tell me about
it? Sometimes it helps, you know,
just to tell somebody—•”
“You wouldn’t understand,” said
Scott bleakly. “It will probably am
use, at that, to know that man could
get so wrought up -abou.t such a thing,
it’s only that—well, I’d planned a
'Christmas party for the people in the
village ,and the kids. And now I’m
going to be laid up here and the party
will go to smash.”
Chloe drew a long shaken breathy
and said swiftly, lightly, “Oh, is that
all? I’ll give a party for them at my
house — with candy and favors _—’’
“Oh, no'you won’t,” Scott cut in so
sharply that she stared at him, wide-
eyed. "You’re not going to drag tliem
up the hill to your beautiful home and
exploit them for your own glorifica
tion. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?
The Little Crown Princess dispens
ing largesse to the peasants? Kind
of like yourself in the role of Lady
Bountiful? Well — you can give up
’ the idea—”
“I don’t know what you mean, but
I do know that you are being very
rude!” blazed Chloe, for the moment
forgetful of her share in his present
plight.
“I mean that I had planned a
Christmas party to be held at the
Community House in the village,
where all the mill people will feel at
home and at ease and happy. Where
they would have a giant tree with
presents for all the children and fun
and a feast for the older people,” said
Scott grimly.
“I can’.t see why we couldn’t have
the* same party at my hime,” ’Chloe
said icily.
“I do, for there the mill people
■ would feel awkward, self-conscious,
out of place. And you’d pass about
among them like a great lady among
her loyal slaves—”
“Scotf Kelvin, I hate you!” she
blazed furiously.
“That’s O.K. by me — Princess 1”
snapped Scott flatly. “Your feelings
towards me are not of the slightest
interest to me, and the only bitter-
■’ ness I feel is at the* thought that some
of the mill kids had begun to get all
big-eyed and-wildly excited about the •
party—■” he made a little helpless ges
ture and his mouth grew even thinner
and more bitter.
Chloe sat still for a moment. She
had seen instantly that the party
could given at her home with Aunt
Jane and her fathet; standing by, while
she herself would be free to take the
long anticipated trip. But to carry
out the plans that Scott Kelvin had
already made meant she herself would '
have to stay here and look after them.
Give up the trip to Rio, all the fun
of this southern cruise, all the gay,
happy good time—moonlit nights ip
tropic waters with Jim Pearsall, dis
turbingly good looking and attract
ive, at her sid.e
Scott, misunderstanding her sil
ence, turned his head and said, “I’m
sorry, Moss Sargent, I shouldn’t have
said that. Your father has been very
kid, and I realize that what happened
was an accident. I hold no bitterness
of course. And, now.if you don’t
mind, I think I’d like to be alone.”
Chloe looked down at him her blue
eyes clouded but steady, her face a -------- ------- ----- --v —- ,—
little pale above the silver fox scarf * Rjrned as she entered, the little look
slung about her slender shoulders.
“I’ll carry out your plans for the
Christmas party, Scott Kelvin,” she
told hint gravely. “You tell me what
you want done — and I’ll do it.
CHAPTER VIII
Scott, startledr stared up at Chloe,
widened.
“You mean thaU You’ll go into
the village and get to know the peo
ple and make the party a success?
It’s a lot of hard work, you know,
and no reward,” he pointed out, afraid
to believe that she really meant it,
“I don’t mind,” she answered very
gravely. “1’11" bring a pad and pencil
when I come tomorrow afternoon
and you can give me your, instruc
tions.”
Scott said, as. she stood up to go,
“But wait a minte—what about; that
southern cruise you 'were going to
take? Yoiir private opinion about
Christmas," \
Chlo.e smiled faintly. “I’ve a right
to a private opinion, haven’t I, so
long as I -keep it private?” she said,
and turned and went qiuckly out of
the room.
Outside.she stood for a moment,
her shoulders drooping, a mist of
tears in her eyes as she said good-,
bye to the glamorous Christmas she
had planned. But her shoulders wertf4!®
straight, her chin up when she walk- ’ )
ed into' the telegraph office a little
later and sent a wire to’Betty, telling
her that it would be impossible for
her to accept the Christmas ■ invita
tion. She dashed a tear from her eyes
as she signed-it, but HQ one saw save
the telegraph office attendant.
By the time she reached the dinner
table that evening, facing Howell and
Jane, 'she had herself well in hand.
She looked cool and sweet in her sim
ple dinner frock, her hair brushed up
and back from her face, rolled in an
absurdly becoming curt slantvflfse ac
ross her pretty head.
“And how is Dr. Kelvin?” her fa
ther askejd. as he sampled the soup
and nodded his approval at the old
butler. . •
“Coming along nicely,” said Chloe.
“At least the nurse thinks so. Per
sonally, I can’t see anything very
nice about anything he does or says.
Oh, by the way, Dad, I’m taking ov
er that Christmas party he had plan
ned for the mill people.”
“You’re doing what?” asked her
father as if quite sure that he had
mistaken her meaning.
She lifted limpid eyes, a face ex
quisitely controlled and. said matter
of factly, “Oh, he was planning some
kind of Christmas doings for the mill
folks and lie’s been worrying because
the party couldn’t go through with
out him and the nurse thought he
might have an easier time of it if he
knew that some one else was going
to attend to his precious celebration.
And since I’m the one who made it
impossible for him to do it himself
—well, there wasn’t anything to do
except .tell him I’d take it Over, was
there?”
HoWell said swiftly, “You’ll do no
thing of the sort. You’ll go on with
your Christmas plans. Jane and I will
look after the party.”
. Chloe shook her bright head.
“Nope. Thanks a heap. Dad, but it’s
my own little responsibility,” she an
swered promptly. “And I’ll see it
through—if it kills me.”
Jane l.ooked gravely at Howell who
said' gravely: “See here, youngster, qB
there’s no use, your going off the deep
end about all this. You had an acci
dent. As a matter of fact, I’m assur
ed by witnesses that Kelvin was at
fault in stepping off the curb-stone
when he did, The light was amber,
and both of you were in a hurry. It’s
rotten luck and hard lines and -all
that, but I can’t see why you should
sacrifice your whole Christmas mere
ly from a sense of duty. I’ll give the
recreation director a cheek and he
can look after the party, and Jane and
I will give it our very best number-
one brand of personal attention. And
you go right ahead—•”
Chloe shook her head, but her blue
eyes were warm and sweet and her
mouth was touched with a little smile.
“You’re the tops, Dad, but this is
my party. Oh, I’ll call on you for
the check, of course, but I’ll stay and
see it through. I’ve already wired
Betty that I can’t come^ And then
as her voice thickened a ‘ little and
grew not quite Steady, she added has
tily, “And now for cat’s sake, let’s
change the Subject. This is very good
soup, Aunt Jane.”
♦ ♦ ♦ *
The following afternoon, armed
with a freshly sharpened pencil and
a notebook, Chloe presented herself
to the hospital, arid was shown into
Scott’s room. The way bia ted head
iuiiieu ns she emered, riic liiiiv iwX
of relief that touched his eyes, told
her that he had been afrajd site vyould
not keep her promise.
“Oh, then you didn’t go away after
all?” he blurted Out eagerly.
Chloe sniffed.
“I may be a mental lightweight and
a useless cumberer of the earth,” she
assuer him frostily. “But whatever
else I nifty be, I Rih not a liar! *
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