Listening Valley Read Online Free PDF

until she was ready. The half hour seemed very long, and not very much work was done, for teacher and class alike were upset and restless. Everybody was relieved when the time came to go home; hats and coats were put on with unusual quietness and rapidity.
    Tonia was the last to leave (she always was, for it took her such a long time to button her coat and tie her shoelaces), and as she was hurrying after Lou she passed Bay in the passage. He was waiting for Miss Mann, standing there with his legs apart and his hands in his pockets and a scowl of bravado on his small brown face.
    Tonia looked at him and hesitated. “Did you do it, Bay?” she whispered.
    He made no reply, but his scowl became fiercer and he gave Tonia a little push that sent her stumbling against the wall… Tonia recovered her balance and ran on down the stairs after Lou.
    â€œIt was awful, Nannie,” Lou was saying. “Miss Mann was terribly angry. Wasn’t it a wicked thing to do? Miss Mann said, ‘You’re a wicked boy. I can’t deal with you.’ D’you think he’ll be sent to prison?”
    â€œI shouldn’t wonder,” said Nannie, hurrying them along.
    â€œTo prison!” exclaimed Tonia in dismay.
    â€œWell, why not?” said Nannie. “Prison is the best place for wicked people, isn’t it?” She smiled as she spoke, but Tonia did not see the smile and, as Bay disappeared from school and nobody knew what had happened to him, it was only reasonable to suppose that he was languishing in prison.
    â€œWith bread and water to eat,” said Tonia to Lou in horrified accents.
    â€œWell, he deserves it,” replied Lou.
    Tonia did not agree. The very idea of Bay in prison appalled her. She visualized him sitting upon a bench in a dank cell with bars across the window, and for several nights she dreamed of Bay and awoke in a cold sweat of terror. Fortunately this period of anxiety and misery came to a sudden and entirely satisfactory conclusion. Tonia had been to the mailbox at the corner to post a letter for Nannie. She was walking back to the house when she saw Bay coming toward her. Yes, it was Bay, and he looked exactly the same as usual. He was brown and fit, and his kilt swung from his hips with a jaunty air. The two children passed each other without stopping…and then Tonia paused and looked back. Bay was looking back, too, and when he saw that she had stopped, he began to walk toward her.
    â€œHallo, Butterfingers!” said Bay with a defiant air.
    Tonia had one foot on her own doorstep, and this gave her confidence. “You didn’t do it,” she said.
    â€œHow d’you know,” he demanded.
    â€œBecause,” said Tonia, searching for words. “Because it wasn’t funny.”
    Bay’s toe was drawing circles on the pavement, and he was watching it intently. “I never said I didn’t,” he mumbled.
    Tonia was silent, but her eyes had begun to smile.
    â€œWell, is that all?” inquired Bay.
    â€œYes,” retorted Tonia with unaccustomed spirit. “Yes, that’s all—except that you’re a very silly little boy.”
    She ran up the steps without a backward glance and slammed the door. She had gotten even with Bay.

Chapter Four
Growing Up
    The years passed quickly. Lou and Tonia left Miss Mann’s and were taught at home by a governess. Miss Fraser was conscientious and kind and saw to it that the children were well grounded. She taught them French and music as well as ordinary subjects. Tonia loved music and had a small sweet voice, tuneful as a bird’s, but piano lessons were mixed pleasure. She was very anxious to learn to play the piano, for it seemed to her that to play the piano really well would be to attain the height of bliss, but, although she could learn the theory of music and could pick out any tune by ear, her hands were too small and feeble to compass the notes. Lou had practically no