114 THE GARDEN OF A 



reposed the sundial. Evan had not only unpacked 

 and sorted the modest supply of things I had 

 ordered, but supplemented them by those which he 

 knew we should need, and being slow of growth 

 ought to be planted without delay. 



Father and Evan are never so handsome or happy 

 as when they have planned a surprise for me, and as 

 they are doing this almost every day, you can easily 

 judge of the personal appearance and temper of my 

 two lovers without further description. 



In order to give each his due I pushed over three 

 chairs close together on one side of the table, and 

 sat in the middle one myself. 



When the second part of the breakfast should have 

 appeared, a lull occurred, unnoticed at first, there was 

 so much to talk about. However, as we all wished 

 to go out, after a reasonable time I rang for Delia, 

 who had disappeared, and told her to serve the 

 steak. 



She opened her mouth to speak, changed her 

 mind, and went into the pantry, where I heard 

 whispering. In a moment Martha Corkle appeared 

 in the doorway, her hands clasped over a faultless 

 white apron, her bosom heaving. 



A shocked expression jarred her countenance as 

 she saw us all in a bunch on one side of the table 



