Manchurian Books

For that which she now was
to do, Missy would have preferred the more beautiful summerhouse at
home; but grandma had no summerhouse, and this offered the only sure
seclusion.
She stayed out there a long time, seated on an upturned washtub;
read the Holy Bible for awhile; then became absorbed in the
ecstasies of composition. So engrossed was she that she didn't at
first hear grandma calling her.
Grandma was impatiently waiting on the back porch.
"What in the world are you doing out there?" she demanded.
Loath to lie, now, Missy made a compromise with her conscience.
"I was reading the Holy Bible, grandma."
Grandma's expression softened; and all she said was:
"Well, dinner's waiting, now."
Grandpa was staying down town and Pete was over at the Curriers', so
there were only grandma and Missy at the table. Missy tried to
attend to grandma's chatter and make the right answers in the right
places. But her mind kept wandering; and once grandma caught her
whispering.
"What is the matter with you, Missy? What are you whispering about?"
Guiltily Missy clapped her hand to her mouth.


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