BLINDFOLD
BLINDFOLD
By
ORRICK JOHNS
NEW YORK
LIEBER & LEWIS
1923
Copyright, 1923
By Lieber & Lewis
Printed in the U.S.A.
TO MY
FATHER
George S. Johns,
IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT
OF UNFAILING SYMPATHY
BLINDFOLD
BLINDFOLD
I
Ellen Sydney’s first garden in the Meadowburn’snew American home had made a fair beginning.She was at work one afternoon bendingover the bed of sweet peas, hooking the babytendrils to the wire mesh of the frame, with anoccasional pat of the soft dark earth beneath—theearth which Bennet, the youngest of the family,had brought by the basketful from a distance, toenrich the yellow clay that filled in the property.
School was just out and as she worked Bennetbanged into the hall, threw down his booksand rushed forth again with a shout to join hiscomrades up the street. They were building a“switch-back railway” from the second story rearwindow of a neighbour’s house. She could justglimpse the murderous rickety scaffolding of itthrough the small leaves of the alley poplars.
Fastening up the last of the tendrils to the wire,Ellen heard Mrs. Osprey’s shrill voice calling fromquite half a block away to one of the Osprey boys.She could not restrain a smile at the familiarsummons.
[2]“Poor woman,” thought she, “they do worryher.” But she would no more have thought ofpitying Mrs. Osprey actually, than of feeling sorryfor Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, whom manyyears in Canada had taught her to believe nextto the angels themselves.
As she turned from the garden she heard astill more familiar voice and Potter Osprey camethrough the gate.
“Hello, Ellen, mind my coming over?”
“Oh, no! I’ve got to go in, though. Come inthe kitchen, I’m not very busy.” She had in factthree easy hours before her, with dinner practicallyprepared and a little ironing to do before sheput the dishes in the stove. Ironing was quitepleasant if you had some one to talk to while youdid it.
“Vacation’s only six weeks off now,” Pottersaid as they walked up to the house. “Ain’t thatgreat! I hate school anyway.”
“Ah, Potter, when you are doing so well at it!Milly told me about the debates. She said youwere fine in them.”
The monthly school debates were a point ofpride with him, and he betrayed a momentary embarrassment.He had quite lost himself in thevainglory of winning two of them in succession, orof bei