So there was nothing for Missy to do but go home. The sun shone just
as brightly as on her hither journey but now she had no impulse to
skip. She walked along sedately, in rhythm to inner, long-drawn
cadences. The cadences permeated her--were herself. She was sad, yet
pleasantly, thrillingly so. It was divine. When she reached home,
she went into the empty front-parlour and hunted out the big, cloth-
covered hymnal that was there. She found "Asleep in Jesus" and
played it over and over on the piano. The bass was a trifle
difficult, but that didn't matter. Then she found other hymns which
were in accord with her mood: "Abide with Me"; "Nearer My God to
Thee"; "One Sweetly Solemn Thought." The last was sublimely
beautiful; it almost stole her favour away from "Asleep in Jesus."
Not quite, though.
She was re-playing her first favourite when the folks all came in
from church. There were father and mother, grandpa and grandma
Merriam who lived in the south part of town, Aunt Nettie, and Cousin
Pete Merriam. Cousin Pete's mother was dead and his father out in
California on a long business trip, so he was spending that summer
in Cherryvale with his grandparents.
Pages:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28