NEXT DAY
At 4 A.M. Miss Claire cum into me room. She’s all dressed and she shuk
me a bit and brung me me clothes. “Dress quickly Delia” ses she, “I’m
going to meet him.”
“Mr. Harry?” ses I. She nods, her eyes shining both wid teers and
smiles.
“Hurry!” ses she, “Its still dark and I’m afrade to go doon stares
alone.”
I was into me clothes in a minit and thegither we wint down the back
stares. We cum to the bastemint and Miss Claire opened the back dure,
and stud there waiting. There was not a bit of sun at the our, and it
getting tord the fall the air do be chilly. Ivery whare we looked there
seemed to be oogly gray clouds in the sky and the grass do be thick wid
hevvy jew. But Miss Claire waited on at the dure, and wotched the sky,
“For” ses she, “he sed at sunrise.”
After a bit I seen a speck of gold cum crapping into the gray of the sky
and it grew a wee bit liter. Then I seen Mr. Harry cum acrost the lon.
Miss Claire seen him too and she wint out a step or two to meet him.
Then he seen her and he cum running tord her, wid his arms hild wide
out, and she started running tord him likewise, till they cum to aich
other, and then wid never a word they were in aich other’s arms, he
toorning oop her face and looking at it. Thin soodently she put it doon
aginst his coat (jest as I had dun wid that bold Larry) and she begun to
cry saftly joost as if her hart was broken.
“Lissen Claire, me darlint” ses he, “I love you! We love aich other. The
warld itself cannot divide us.”
“But your going away! Your going away!” ses she, “Your going away!” and
thin she looked up at him, and hild his arms tite as tho she wud not let
him go.
“Only for a little wile” ses he “joost to consillerate dad. He thinks”
ses he smilling scornfully, “that I’m not in airnest darlint. He offers
to put me to the test. He’s guv me his ward that he’ll put no obsticle
in me parth if I’ll be gone for 6 months. Darlint” ses he “you kin wate
that long for me. Otherwise I don’t see what we can do. I haven’t a red
cent and we cuddent live on nothing.”
But she still sobbed a bit aginst his coat, and she ses:
“And Una Robbins is going too. Is she—are you ingaged to her?” ses she.
“I’m ingaged to _you_” ses he so vylently that she larfed a bit, and
then he tuk her hand and slipped a ring on wan of her fingies:
“Its a cheep little thing” ses he “It was me mothers. When father gave
it to her they was puir—puir as—er—Delia there—he a plane worker in a
masheen shop and she a cuntry teecher.”
Then he kissed the finger wid the ring on, and they put there arms aboot
aich other and clung a bit thegither.
“Goodbye my love!” ses he.
“Goodbye Harry!” ses she.
They seppyrated for a sicond and wint away aich from the uther. Thin
they flew back to aich other and clung a bit again. And agin they
seppyrated and she run tord the bastemint dure wid her hand to her
throte like she was choking. She roon down the stares and I tuk her into
me arms. She was shaking and trimbling like a child. Then we herd Mr.
Harry’s voyse;
“Claire!” he called and he cum down the stares.
“Oh God!” ses he “I cant do it” ses he. And again they clung. They broke
away agin, she pushing him along.
“Goodbye” ses she. “Now go—before they cum” ses she. Then when he was
gone she run up the stares and bolted the dure. I herd him at the other
side, pooshing at it.
“Claire! Claire! Claire!” he called, and she inside: “Harry! Harry! Oh
my love!” ses she. “Goodbye, goodbye!”
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