Beware Walden. — Give me the boy that whistles, That lifts his face to the sky; That lets all the cares and the troubles, And fears of a world pass by! Hands—not too clean—in his pockets, Cap on the back of his head; i Eyes that are bright as a Springtime sky, And cheeks that are apple red! Give me the boy that whistles; What if he runs away From school for a bit of fishing, When it is a joyous day? What if he sometimes quarrels? He's not the kind who shirks; When I have a task, just give me the boy Who whistles the while he works! —Author unknown ————————————————— EYES TO SEE In Leicester, in February, the leafless trees begin to take on softer outlines and the hills that surround the peaceful little town seem, at sunset, to swim in a pastel haze, It is not spring, but it is spring's ad- vance advertising. And in the spring 2 young man’s fancy— This afternoon a roadster, return- ing to Leicester, skidded around a snow-banked turn. The driver straightened it and, “Well?” he asked abruptly, his eyes mee those of the girl beside him. ting No more than that. No more was needed. He had said it all twenty times before. He had not intended to say it again today, but the afternoon had betrayed him. A hint of spring—and the girl be- side him. The tilt of her nose; the twist of her lips; the—oh, e about her! He had been that way about her since she was ten and he fourteen, turning elaborate cart wheels to express his emotions. She had suspected what he felt then. Now, in the one word flashed at her, she read his meaning. Brief- ly she wished she had not come back to Leicester just now, It would have been so much easier to write him that—But his eyes held hers. And so: “No,” said Faith, for the twentieth time. “I should have told you be- fore, Bob, that I—" There she paused. The moon, to- night, would be full and golden. At the moment it was a catch in the throat as it rode, pale and luminous, through the mists that hung over the Elderboro hills. All nature seemed to be weaving an insidious net to seine the senses. Even Faith, whose creed was candor at any cost, whose slogan was that sentiment is always sloppy, had to nerve herself to the thrust. “—that I'm to be married the first of June,” she went on. “It isn't announced yet. But I wanted—" “Me to be the first to know?” suggested Bob. He smiled; almost as if he meant it. “And so,” he added, “it is my privilege to be the first to wish you happiness and”— steadily—*"T do.” “Happiness?” echoed Faith, al- most rebelliously. The distant hills were opalescent now; they were like frozen music. Gypsy music, with all its urge and its hint of frustration. “Does anybody ever really find hap- piness?” she went on. “Does any- body but an idiot expect to find it?” His eyes met hers. They were blue, deep-set, far-looking, heri- tage of a race of pioneers. But he did not look far, Faith reminded herself. He was content to live in Leicester, practice law desultorily, rusticate and vegetate. “Perhaps no one ever really does find happiness,” he commented. “But it seems to me you should at least have the illusion of having it in your just now.” “Well, I haven't,” she retorted. But added, swiftly, “Oh, don’t mis- understand me, I only mean I'm not madly—or foolishly—in love with Chan. I'd be afraid to him if I were. It doesn't last; you know that as well as I do. Love is what you called happiness—the il- lusion of having something in your She paused, her eyes challenging. But all he said en “I am not going to debate it with you. It's not what I think, any- way, but what you think that counts.” “I admire Chan and I respect him,” “And I like him enormously. If you say all that is a poor substitute for love—well, I'll despair of your men- Bl aa : i t you did, anyway,” was all he said. way The road was swinging down into Leicester. The lights of the town were below them, The sunset had | paled, save for a strip of rose-flush- ed amber in the west. The moon was serene and confident now; the air chill crystal. “Are you going to let me take you to dinner before you leave?” he asked, as the car into Main street. She hesitated, and he add- ed, “Or would Chan object?” “Of course not!” she said. I was not thinking of Chan. I was think- ing about you. I think" “Let's save that for table conver- sation,” he s “I'll take you to the hotel-—for dinner, that is. I suppose you want to go to the house first.” “Just long enough to get my bag and lock up.” They ran on through the town, familiar to both since childhood. tent. ‘keys to the house, ‘as he did himself with a reer was assured, ‘held to his credit. Here the surrounding countryside brought its litigation; here farmers and summer colonists did their mar- keting. And here, with his rods, his guns and some law, Bob was con- “The trouble with you is that you are perfectly Satisfied to be a Bot so-very-big frog a very : puddle,” Faith had once told him, with the frankness that was her fet- ish. He had not denied it—or changed his ways. °* are compensa- But Faith scorned that. Her owe direct ancestry had been more ' venturous, Her ther had been born in Leicester, too, in the brick house that now belonged to’ ' tions,” he had ‘her great-uncle Amos. But her grandfather had left Leicester. He had had ambition, vision. He had ‘not made millions, or even a million, but he had got out. The house to which Bob was driv- ing her was outside the town. An old farmhouse bought and remodeled P by her father as a summer home, when Faith was but a baby. In summer Leicester is ever so charming. Even _his February night as the roadster swung out into the white-blanketed countryside, gleam- ing under the moon, it abiding peace. “Always,” mused Faith. She was glad, now, that she had come. On her arrival, two days before, she had gone to Bob for the He, character- istically, had gone out with her and started the fires, seen that the house was provisioned and arranged with a neighboring housewife to do the work. He was the sort of country lawyer who could stop to do such things for her, or for any friend. Faith had not told him then sbout Chan. Nor had she told him the whole truth today. She had come to Leicester not because she was a bit tired of New York but to make up her mind about Chan. She had no intention of marrying Bob, ever. Yet he had figured in some nebulous way in what had been in her mind. Nov’, as she nestled her pretty chin in her furs, was as crystal clear as the air she breathed. ‘All at once the contrast between the two men who wanted to marry her seemed sharply etched. “Two men couldn't differ much more,” ran her thoughts. Take Bob. He probably had three or four thousand a year outside the little—she feit sure it was very lit- tle—he made at law. He was the sort of lawyer who, driving out to see some rural client, would linger to help repair a pump, discuss pol- itics or anything else. “Why not?” he had retorted, when she had so accused. The essential fault with him, she felt, was that he honestly could not see why not. His whole life moved leisurely grace. Nor was it because he had no greater capacity. It wasn't even fact that Bob had only three or four thousand 2 year while Chan must make at least twenty that mattered. In Leicester one could live very comfortably ona few thousand a year, she knew—too comfortably, she might have added. It was just that Leicester set def- inite horizons, and that Bob was so darned content to have his horizons set. Well, she was not. She was twenty-six, restless and reaching. She had a flair for line; had dabbled in design. But she was candid with . herself. “I might be able to decorate lamp shades, but what I want to do is paint murals,” she had told Bob, the previous summer, “The urge is there but not the talent. It's taken me four years to discover that, and now I'm wondering about architec- ture. I suppose in four years I'll discover I want to design Ta) Mahals and have the equipment y to— oh, draw specfications for hen- houses.” Bob's comment had been charac- teristic, “Anybody who can design a better henhouse will do this com- munity a real service.” She thought of that now. She saw Taj Mahals, and he saw hen- ‘houses. As an afterthought she ad- mitted that wasn't quite fair. t The thought broke off asthe road- ster “Stay where you are,” said Bob, as she started to out. “I can get your and up.” He slip out from behind the wheel, went up the path he had himself shoveled the snow. She was grateful for that, yet i e doing such a thing! Not that he wouldn't if he had the time. But he just wouldn't have the time. “I'm only a young lawyer,” Chan had informed her, at their very first meeting. But he had added, with something in his voice that took the blatancy They had met just before Christ- mas. It had no excess of feminine intuition for Faith to real- ize he was interested. Well, so was he. He certainly no Borizons. oe had the feel- ing he would go far. Ere than a year or two older than Bob, but the very fact that he al-| lowed himself to be interested in her ‘showed how sure of his future he ‘must be. No amount of emotional pressure, she sensed, would force Chan to take a wife before his ca- Apd that she The more so in| He did know heaps of he ‘charged she felt—about him and | marriage. “And I think it's sure, don't | to She—But Bob was back with her suitcase. “I'll come out tomorrow and be sure everything is all right" he romised “Oh, that would be an imposi- tion—"" “I have the interests of the fire- insurance companies at heart,” he cut in as he backed the car. “I insured the house for your father, you know.” Bob sold insurance, as did so many small-town lawyers. Imagine Chan selling insurance as a side line! “And besides, my child,’ Bob add- 5. 1 row of no reason why the t you are going to marry a better man should make me stop do- ing what I can for you. That—well, that wouldn't seem logical.’ And realist though she was, Faith was touched. He was a dear. ““You really ought to stop for your own sake, Bob,” she said. “You ought to find some nice girl and marry her. I don't want to feel I've spoiled your life. And if you never marry I—" “Many men never A “But you were made fo woman!" “Let's say one woman—and drop the subject. It's a beautiful night, don't you think?” She refused to be diverted. “I don't see why you think I'm the one woman. I wonder if you really know me,” “I've had plenty of opportunity to study you.” “ ps; but there's always been what you call the illusion—" “Always,” he admitted. “And al- ways, too, a wonder if you really know yourself.” He paused. Then: “You really came to Leicester to discover something about yourself— and Chan, of course. You haven't given him a definite answer yet.” “How Gid you know that?” she try lawyer uses “Oh, even a coun his wits occasionally,” he retorted. They were already back in Lei- cester; he was drawing up to the curb outside the old Leicester House. | This was just a small-town hotel; yet, like Leicester, it had been fa- mous in its day. ‘ancient colored majordomo hoveréd over them. Bob glanced at Faith. “Oh, order anything, so long as it's quick,” she said. ! Her train left at seven-ten. She would arrive in New York after mid- aight; tomorrow Chan would have! his meantime, | here she was with Bob. She had yes met. She had always liked his eyes. They had a certain distinction that blended well with his lazy charm. He had good blood | in him; he was the sort 2 But Bob | oa made I} Iriticksing him the law buisness?” she asked. rushed.” | “I went over to EI-| to draw up a “Did he pay you?” Bob shook his head. “I'll him a bill, later” “He never will pay you.” “I supose not. That's 1 a moment. : Ww buisness | me for Bunting | and fishing, anyway,’ she remarked. | “Exactly,” he “I never could fathom you.” “I did not know you ever made any effort to,” he retorted, and add- ed, You saw your uncle Amos, I suppose.” Faith nodded, oil} fronting gq lef. local hardware store. He had a dollar and fifty cents a week. had been there ever since—fifty- years, now—and probably me E88 bought a summer father, with great feeling. known about your uncle in Leicester, perhaps. But who come to visit us cer- “I never saw a frightened rabbit in shirt sleeves,” her father had of- fered. Faith's mother had refused to be side-tracked. “I'm not a sncb, good- ness knows. But I wish we could go somewhere else. I'm so sick of ex- plaining that he's just eccentric. And the way he lives! Just that one room on the top floor. Even Leicester talks about that, I know—renting the rest of the house. I try to dodge him, but Leicester is so small. And then I have to explain.” - Later, Faith had got her mother's vi int. It was awkward, when you girl friends from New York visiting you, to have to explain about Uncle Amos, She herself had wishad sometimes that they might leave Leicester. But she had known by that time why it wasn't so easy. It costs alot to live in New York; they were always a bit hard up. “Perhaps next year—if business is better,” had been her father's annual promise for years. But there was always some- thing te prevent. Thro two winters, in fact, Faith and her mother had stayed on in Leicester. “We think it best for Faith—much better than city life for a growing girl,” her mother had explained. _ t Faith had known better. “We're retrenching,” she had in- formed Bob. She hadn't minded, then. The win- ters in Leicester had angels of ap . One of them was Bob. He could do anything, He had taught her how to skate and taken her to ride on his double-runner. In fact, when Faith was thirteen and he seventeen, he was a king in Babylon and she his Christian slave—though never cloth- ed in obvious humility. Then Bob had gone to Dartmouth and after that to Harvard Law school. ' While still in law school he had come into his heritage; the old house the common; the law prac- tice that had been his father’s; the | three or four thousand a that made it possible for him to surrender charm. to Leicester's So now he was just @ small town lawyer, with a negligible practice. In spite of herself, she surrender- ed to a sudden childish desire shake the equanimity with which Bob faced her, across the table. ‘You haven't asked a single question about Chan,” she said. “Why should I? I've heard you outline the only sort of man you never cared enough even She had not meant to but it struck her that it . She had never been able to change Bob. “Let's say, rather, that I've never been able to get your viewpoint,” he substituted. “It would not be fair, surely, to pretend to be other than “And what are she de- manded, Bad news to anybody who prefers to think well of the human race, I suppose. But is this the moment to rub that in?” to.” you?” Faith realized that it wasn't. “It's an acknowledgment at Chan, turned 2d: just because I-—well, I do hate to Silk of Jour wasting Jourseif. I shan't see you again soon; not for a long time—" She broke Bg, She yas, an idiot! i t got in her Sony. ed Chan—and Faith wished he hadn't. mand on occasion. “You're soaking she apologized, and glanci A a Dogiz noted the time with re- “It's almost seven.’ They had a few moments at the ‘station. Then the train rolled in. echoed incredulously. “Why, She offered him her hand; looked up her, she would have let him; but he merely took her hand. “I shan't ever forget,” she “You were always a dear—I know you were rid.” She felt her eyes smart. But all he said was: “All good Alwa, And Se rain wok Ber santhward, | thors Or boys have surprised the er’'s room. begun twenty-five or thirty at the you. “I was only sure that I was not Bob glanced at her, but going to give you up. I always get nothing. She was still what I want—and I have never Uncle Amos living in an attic wanted anything more than I want and leaving money for shrubs » i flowers to beau Bsitunten: = And so they were aged. ey pitals and playgrounds; for ‘were to be married Pgh She had men injured at fires. not expected to see Leicester again It did not link up, for months. Why was the telegram in his shirt sleevs in addressed to her, instead of to her store. father? She showed it to her moth- “But I still can't see—" she began er. Chan cut in on her quickly. “How “I don't see any necessity of any about the residue?” he asked. “There of us going to his funeral,” the lat- must be thirty or forty thousand ter said. more than you've accounted for.” Her father, however, took a dif- “Forty-three thousand,” replied ferent view. “Somebody must go,” Bob. “It's to establish a civic fund he said decisively. “I can't—and if to be expended for the betterment you knew Leicester as well as I do and beautifying of Leicester. That you'd know it would amount to a was his vision,” he went on. “He had public scandal if one of us wasn't real love for Leicester. What I have : | tonight. And I was hor- there.” It was Chan who surprised Faith most, however. He asked for the wire, read it with characteristic concentration. Then: “I'll drive you up,” he announced. “We can go and come in a day. I have a feeling there is more to this than you have guessed. You say Bob was your uncle's lawyer?” “Gracious! You don't mean to suggest I'm an heiress. Oh, Chan, that's too funny! If you had ever seen Uncle Amos; knew the way he lived—"' “I've got a hunch. Wait and see.” They started early Friday. It was raining, but Chan's car made good time. It was almost three when they reached Leicester. Faith had wired Bob not only overstopped Chan phys- saw him just before the service; in- troduced Chan to him. And noted, as the two men shook that Bob not only overtopped Chan phys- ically but, surprisingly, made him look a shade heavy. But, she re- minded herself, Chan o Bob in eve that really counted. The funeral services seemed in- terminable. Although the rain pour- ed outside, the church was crowded. At the cemetery the minister stooa bareheaded by the open ve, The coffin was lowered into it's confines, the final compass of a narrow life, while the minister's voice ran on: “Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken—" Beautiful but incongruous, Faith thought. Where was the silver cord to be loosed in Uncle Amos’ life. Or any semblance of a golden bowl to be broken? Had Uncle Amos, in all his day, known one really golden mo- ‘ment? “Vanities of vanities, saith the preacher,” the voice concluded; “all is vanity.” Even Faith, the realist, felt a sense of solemnity. Then Bob join- ed them. “I know you are in a hurry,’ he said, ‘but could you wait long enough for me to read your uncle's will?” Chan answered for her. “I think we can. Shall we go to your of- fice?” “The day being what it is, I thought my house might be better,” said Bob. “Very thoughtful,” acknowledged . “Can we go at once?” j could, and did, The snow ‘that lain over Leicester when to Faith had been there last was now me one. a dirty . But inside Bob's house were gnity and warmth, grace and peace. | Even as a small girl Faith had loved the house; the beautifully paneled doors, the wainscoting that was white, not new and , but white like the hair of an old gentie- woman. Now she knew the full worth of the ancient mahogany; the tapestry paper, still clear and fresh. “I think there is tea in the li- brary,” announced Bob. It was there, on a little table set before the log fire. The room was old to Faith; she and Bob had often ra its bookshelves. She was familiar with its etchings, even with Bob's rods and guns. Chan took it all in at a glance. “You do yourself well,” he com- mented. Faith sensed , but if Bob did he did not Terma) He smiled to Fu i surprise h “It may you,” he began, “to know that your uncle left a sizable estate. I doubt if many i people in Leicester had “Just how much is it?" t- “Roughly, some over a quar- ter of a million,” rep Bob. “A quarter of a million?” Faith where could he—" “He lived simply; invested i y over a long term of years,” - ed Bob. "Some of his ar (ly. Y Faith could not comprehend it. She ‘glanced at Chan, He “What did I tell you?” he asked. “I've known some other cases where read to you is the expression of cer- tain dreams which run back to his boyhood, and which developed through the . They became literally his life, I don’t know that I can make that understandable to you—" Chan gave him no chance to. “Will you have a copy of the will made and sent to me?” he asked “Of course,” Bob replied, Chan turned to Faith. “It's late. We'll have to hurry,” he said. Faith felt a suppressed eagerness under the words. She glanced at Bob. He smiled, but his eyes were odd—as if he were waiting for some- “I'm afraid none of us really ap- preciated Uncle Amos,” she said. “I teel sorry and ashamed, somehow. I wish—well, you must know what I mean.” Bob's eyes warmed. “I don't think I'd worry if I were you. I can as- ure you that he lived a very full e.” | Chan was already in ho.ding hers. She felt as if he were | thrusting her out. Bob accompanied them to the door. he stood silhouetted, broad of shoui- |der, trim of waist, t the light from behind. Then the car started. | Bob waved—and the door was shut. “And to think," “he left me ten thousand after—" his coat, was ! “Ten thousand!” oded Chan, “I was afraid you'd say some like that if I didn't get you out. Can't you realize that can be broken wide open?” “Broken wide o ?" echoed Fai “What do you bi id “Just what I say—and hereafter ‘you'll trust my hunches,” he retorted | exultantly, “Heaven knows I never had any idea of you for | your money, Faith, but your share of that quarter of a million will help a “My share of the quarter million? ‘But it's only ten thousand!” “Listen, my child, you're a lawyer, and a good one,” minded her. “And if I can't prove that your ad uncle Amos was non compos men resign from the Bar Association.” Faith gave him a swift look. “Per- haps it was silly of me not to realize that the will might be broken. I was surprised that he had he re- ‘to leave, you see. Tell me just what you'd do.” “Wait until I a copy of the will," he said. “He promised to send I don't suppose he caught | the significance of that but—' But back in Leicester, Bob puffed ‘at his pipe thoughtfully. “And so be wants a copy of the n | soliloquized. “Well, he would!” | Nor did he miss the significance. | Briefly he considered the possibili- ties and his jaw set a little. Then he went up stairs to change for din- ner, which he usually had at the Leicester House. Just as he finished he heard the front door open. It was seldom locked. Many of his clients—and ‘their number would have surprised Eo a he mea i : more ‘business in his library than at his Now, moving to the stairs, he look- ed down to see who his visitor might be. | And Faith, lifting her eyes, saw him there. “I—I came back,” she The hall light beat on her upturn- ‘ed face. He saw that it was rain- drenched; that the hat she wore was | He came down the stairs with the swiftness of movement he could com- wet.” he said, almost fiercely. “You march u irs this instant, take a hot bath and change your clothes.” ! “But I haven't a thing to change ‘to “rn dig up something. I'll leave it for you in Mother's room,” he said. Faith made no further protest. said, vestments have increased enormous- For a moment Bob was the Bob of other days, ordering her around. The hot tub seemed a bit of hea- ven. She did not hurry. She was catching her breath, Presently she ‘went into what had been his moth- On the bed was spread She still felt almost tearful. Well neighbors. They live like misers, all that she might need. that was inevitable, she supposed. Bob had moved in and out of her life for years. They had never ” | pinching every penny— 2 Bob Iteration him courteously but firmly. “As your time is short, | “He got it out of the attic,” she | realized instantly. | The dress, redolent, of lavender, “I'm a bit worried about him,” Bop Written regularly but she had heard and Faith is named in the will, per- was the one Bob's great-grandmoth- went on. “He doesn't seem well. | I handle all his legal affairs” | “And how busy they must As always, he r. should he tell her about aking a | ‘will for fifty cents? Or drag uncle Amos into the conversation. “Of course Bob in Sh he has some money, everything that counts he's your uncle Amos! over ,” Faith's mother had thought it wise to remind Faith some Their ancestry could be traced that when he did fall he fell hard. | years before. through the old town records, Bob | had been born and bred there. He lived in a Bouse that bad belos | to his great-grand-father, i the tri Common with its in- | evitable Soldiers’ Monument weather-beaten old cannon. Cater Baa wis, the old ch , containing law office. On OE of the third angle stood the white-pillared court a Sb and she “1 | exactly “I'll make you love me,” he had promised her, as many another man | has before. | Faith had been frank with him. | ‘Tm going to say it's so sudden,” told him. | ve a suspicion you aren't surprised,” he had inserted, his dark eyes amused. "And T don't want you to think Shatulies wan of those wabbly ladies thatrcan’ their own x She had felt it her duty to him brother, Bolsa und yuows what shelimesut a Rpt : had | moved on toward New York his great-uncle : stayed om'in the old brick house in ch they had both been born. He Faith's | had grad- Amos in the from him now and then. Of course haps I'd better read it to you,” | she wouldn't hear from him that said. way gaain. This was final. But nothing in life ever is. was only a week later when his He was no you!” remarked Faith satirically. Wire came. YOUR UNCLE AMOS DIED THIS MORNING STOP FUNERAL SERV. ICES AT THREE P M FRIDAY STOP I FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD BE PRESENT IF POSSIBLE She read it a second time. She could not quite understand it. Why should she be present? If the wire had been from Chan she might have , suspected he was simply contriving | one more Chan would! “You don't seem to see her. she surprised, had had remarked, when she had told! Cahn, the week before, that she would marry him. “I'm not,” he had retorted, as he produced the solitaire that now gleamed on the third finger of her left hand. . you as sure of me as all that? he ‘Lay on, Macduff,” Chan agreed I know them all. Let's have the | bequests.” There were many, Faith sat, still incredulous, simply astounded. To the town of Leicester, $20,- 000, to be used for planting shrubs and flowers ong the | roadsides—To the Leiceser Home | for Elderly People, $20,000—To the Community Hospital, $20,- | 000—For a new playground, $15,- 000—To the Unitarian Church, $10,000; Invalids’ Home, $15,000; Y. M. C. A., $20,000. | ‘Then less formal bequests: | To Leicester, $20,000, the income | to be distributed each year to | old ladies at Christmas—To the | Firemen's Relief Association, $10,000, for firemen injured in the performance of duty—To my | assoctates—To so and so, 80 | ‘much. Then: | To my grandniece, Faith Adams, £10,000. (er Chichester had worn when she sat for the portarit in oils which ‘hung in the hall below. On it was t jovially. “And skip the preliminaries, a note from Bob: i Won't you please be the portrait of a Lady of 1830 until things are dry? I'll be waiting downstairs. Eevrything was there. More pet- ticoats than she had ever seen; stockings that had once graced legs ‘as slim as hers; slippers that looked just a bit too tight. She picked up the dress. It was of dove-colored silk with sprigs of blue flowers on it, fashioned with the quaint round | low neck, the narrow waist and the long full skirts of the period. | “Great-grand mother Chichester | may have been modest about her | limbs,” decided Faith, “but she cer- | tainly let the world know she had a | neck and shoulders.” She slipped the | dress on, glanced at herself in the | mirror, “Quaint—but rather cute,” | she assured her reflection. | Decorously she descended to the (Continued from page 7, Col. 2.)