Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 139 June to November 1919 . s to laugh the next morn-ing! How merry they allmade with a merriment de-liberate, conscious, that sa-vored to the full its own quali-ty. If Linda had never beforeseen the ardent Bryce of theprevious evening, neither hadshe met the Bryce of thismorning. She had not knownhe could let himself go withsuch abandon, such charm ofutter boyishness, as here inthe safe circle of his own. Theengaging lad of the picturesUncle Peter had shown herseemed to have returned foran interval to take up hisabode in the khaki of thesoldier. Which was
Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 139 June to November 1919 . s to laugh the next morn-ing! How merry they allmade with a merriment de-liberate, conscious, that sa-vored to the full its own quali-ty. If Linda had never beforeseen the ardent Bryce of theprevious evening, neither hadshe met the Bryce of thismorning. She had not knownhe could let himself go withsuch abandon, such charm ofutter boyishness, as here inthe safe circle of his own. Theengaging lad of the picturesUncle Peter had shown herseemed to have returned foran interval to take up hisabode in the khaki of thesoldier. Which was the realBryce? Linda did not know,felt that she had no businesseven to speculate. Her posi-tion was that of a trespasserhumiliated to be forced to seethat which only the possession of a su-preme emotion would have given herlicense to see. But how ready Brycespeople were to concede her right to be,of all the household, the most interested! The most glaring of her failures to pre-figure life at The Crossways during thisvisit was its beautiful tenderness, its en-. dont wish that, bryce! she whispered humbled Linda to the dust. She wantedto cry out against it, to bid them taketheir own; never for her sake to robthemselves of precious moments. Herrights were worthless compared withtheirs. Conversely, she schemed to bringthem into it. She was aware how idyllicevery ones attitude must look to a spec- 126 HARPERS MONTHLY MAGAZINE tator, each side passionately abdicatingin favor of the other. The very perfec-tion of their attitudes only added to theirony. That treacherous ability to see withanothers eyes which had made her in-dispensable to Cousin Mary played herfalse now. If only she had not appre-ciated so acutely what the day meant toBryces people, its poignant grandeur,its possibilities of irrevocable pain! Ifonly her imagination had not pierced soclearly that gallant attempt to find inthe commonplace sanctuary from thepursuing fear. You must take Linda up on the hill,Bryce, his mot
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