Bella heard them and came to the tent door, gave a great cry, and ran
to them. There were tears on her cheeks as she clasped Susan, held her
oft and clutched her again, with panted ejaculations of "Deary me!" and
"Oh, Lord, Missy, is it you?"
It was like a meeting on the other side of the grave. They babbled
their news, both talking at once, not stopping to finish sentences, or
wait for the answer to questions of the marches they had not shared.
Over the clamor they looked at each other with faces that smiled and
quivered, the tie between them strengthened by the separation when each
had longed for the other, closer in understanding by the younger's
added experience, both now women.
Glen was at the Fort and Daddy John rolled off to meet him there. The
novelty of the moment over, the children returned sedately to their
play, and the women sat together under the canopy of the tree. Bella's
adventures had been few and tame, Susan's was the great story. She was
not discursive about her marriage. She was still shy on the subject
and sensitively aware of the disappointment that Bella was too
artlessly amazed to conceal.
Pages:
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527