But your sharp eyes'll be a sight o' use wi' creepin'
things. 'Tis a reg'lar Noah's Ark o' a wall, to be sure; not but what I lay
theer's five pound worth o' stone fruit 'pon it most years if 'twas let
bide."
Joan enjoyed watching the peaches grow. First they peeped like pearls from
the dried frills of their blossoms; then they expanded and cast off the
encumbrance of dead petals and nestled against the red bricks that sucked
up sunshine and held it for them when the sun had gone. She found the
garden wall was a whole busy world, and, taught by her vanished master, she
took interest in all that dwelt thereon. But the snails and woodlice she
slew ruthlessly that her uncle might presently come by his five pounds'
value of fruit.
Mary Chirgwin speedily discovered the task of reforming her cousin was like
to be lengthy and arduous. There appeared no foundations upon which to
work, and while the certainty of Barron's return still remained with Joan
as a vital guide to conduct, no other gospel than that which he had taught
found her a listener. She refused to go to church, to Mary's chagrin and
Uncle Chirgwin's sorrow; but he explained the matter correctly and indeed
found a clew to most of Joan's actions at this season. Mary saw the old
man's growing love for the new arrival, and a smaller mind might have sunk
to jealousy quickly enough under such circumstances, but she, deeply
concerned with Joan's eternal welfare, rose above temporary details, At the
same time her uncle's mild and tolerant attitude caused her pain.
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