VALLEY

UNA VISITS THE HILL 331shabbiness. She only wanted to be very neat. Shewashed her face carefully.She brushed her black hairuntil it was as smooth as satin. She tied her shoelacescarefully, having first sewed uptwo runs in her onepair of good stockings. She would have liked toblack her shoes, but she could not find any blacking.Finally, she slipped away from the manse, downthrough Rainbow Valley, up through the whisperingwoods, and out to the road that ran past the houseon the hill. It was quite a long walk and Una wastired and warm when she got there.She saw Rosemary West sitting under a tree in thegarden and stole past the dahlia beds to her. Rosemaryhad a book in her lap, but she was gazing afaracross the harbour and her thoughts were sorrowfulenough. Life had not been pleasant lately in thehouse on the hill. Ellen had not sulked Ellen hadbeen a brick.But things can be felt that are never saidand at times the silence between the two women wasintolerably eloquent. All the many familiar thingsthat had once made life sweet had a flavour of bitternessnow. Norman Douglas made periodical irruptionsalso, bullying and coaxing Ellen by turns. Itwould end, Rosemary believed, by his dragging Ellenoff with him some day, and Rosemary felt that shewould be almost glad when ithappened. Existencewould be horribly lonely then, but it would be nolonger charged with dynamite.