VALLEY

MRS. DAVIS MAKES A CA^L 153supper plate. Their voices were pleasant, their mannersdid not seem bad, they were considerate of andgentle to one another.Yet Mrs. Davis had said theirbehaviour was the talk of the congregation.As Mr. Meredith went through his gate Dr. Blytheand Mrs. Blythe drove past on the road that led toLowbridge. The minister's face fell. Mrs. Blythewas going away there was no use in going to Ingleside.And he craved a littlecompanionship morethan ever. As he gazed rather hopelessly over thelandscape the sunset lightstruck on a window ofthe old West homestead on the hill. It flared outrosily like a beacon of good hope. He suddenly rememberedRosemary and Ellen West. He thoughtthat he would relishsome of Ellen's pungent conversation.He thoughtit would be pleasant to see Rosemary'sslow, sweet smile and calm, heavenly blue eyesagain.What did that old poem of Sir Philip Sidney'ssay? "continual comfort in a face" that just suitedher. And he needed comfort. Why not go and call ?He remembered that Ellen had asked him to drop insometimes and there was Rosemary's book to takeback he ought to take it back before he forgot. Hehad an uneasy suspicion that there were a great manybooks in his library which he had borrowed at sundrytimes and in divers places and had forgotten totakeback. It was surely his duty to guard against that inthis case. He went back into his study, got the book,and plunged downward into Rainbow Valley.