Darrel caught her hand, drawing her near him.
"Give me thy hand, boy," said he to Trove, now on his way to the
door.
He stood with his arms around the two.
"Every shadow hath the wings o' light," he whispered. "Listen."
The house rang with laughter and the music of Money Musk.
"'Tis the golden bell of happiness," said he, presently. "Go an'
ring it. Nay--first a kiss."
He drew them close together, and they kissed each other's lips, and
with smiling faces went in to join the dance.
XXIX
Again the Uphill Road
Again the middle of September and the beginning of the fall term.
Trove had gone to his old lodgings at Hillsborough, and Polly was
boarding in the village, for she, too, was now in the uphill road
to higher learning. None, save Darrel, knew the secret of the
young man,--that he was paying her board and tuition. The thought
of it made him most happy; but now, seeing her every day had given
him a keener sense of that which had come between them. He sat
much in his room and had little heart for study. It was a cosey
room now. His landlady had hung rude pictures on the wall and
given him a rag carpet. On the table were pieces of clear quartz
and tourmaline and, about each window-frame, odd nests of bird or
insect--souvenirs of wood-life and his travel with the drove.
Pages:
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243