Didactic fiction; Political fiction; Social problems -- Fiction
A week later he brought up the subject again. They had climbed a
mountain in the morning. To be sure, it was a small one, but still a
mountain. He had slept most of the afternoon. When supper was over, she
read to him a while, and then sent him to bed. When she came to his room
to kiss him "good night," he put his arms about her and--as though to
show that he was really strong again--he crushed her tightly in his
embrace.
"Dearie," he said. "Is your name Yetta or _Not_-yetta?"
"Not-quite-yet-ta," she panted.
* * * * *
The black fly season had passed, the leaves had begun to turn, before
they packed up their meagre belongings to go back to the city and work.
It had commenced to get cold, but on their last day the sun came out as
if it were July.
They rowed across the lake to bid farewell to a great pine tree they had
come to love. It stood alone on a little promontory, a hundred feet
above the water. Its mates had fallen before the storms. Its loneliness
emphasized its magnificent grandeur. There was a rich cushion of needles
at its foot, and the view across the lake was exquisite.
The last month of their stay in the woods had been a veritable
honeymoon. There was no spot on the lake so closely associated with
their ardent emotions as this giant pine tree. Many times during the hot
spell of August they had brought rugs and pillows and spent the night at
its foot--bathing in the water below at sunrise.
When they had moored their boat and clambered up the steep bank, Isadore
sat down, leaning against the trunk of their tree. Yetta stretched out
on the carpet of pine needles and rested her head on his knee. Isadore
ran his hand through her hair and now and again caressed her cheek. For
some time they were silent--both rather oppressed by the idea that on
the morrow they must go back to the city. They would no longer be alone
together; much of this dear intimacy would have to be sacrificed to
work.
Yetta suddenly turned and looked up into his face.
"Ib," she began. This name which she had concocted out of his
initials--in spite of its absurdity--had the most tender connotation of
any word in their vocabulary _à deux_--"Ib, there is something I want to
tell you."
And then she stopped. Isadore, impressed her by seriousness, waited
patiently for her to speak.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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