Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead Read Online Free PDF Page A

hefty Irish Chippendale chair with arms was now reserved for him. The old maids from Roary Court thought he needed mothering and quarrelled over him quite a lot. Lame Lawyer Williams would drive over with his wife and anaemic daughter. He looked after the Willoweed money and, whenever he came to the house, Ebin Willoweed would buttonhole him in a corner and try to discover how much money his mother actually had and how she had disposed of it in her will. No doubt he would do so today with his usual lack of success. Ebin had inherited one hundred a year from his wife after her death. It wasn’t very much; but it meant he was not entirely dependent on his mother. It was years since he had earned anything from writing. When Emma came of age the hundred a year passed to her. This worried Ebin considerably. Unless his mother died before then, he would be completely penniless. Sometimes in the night he thought about the future quite a lot.
    When it became afternoon and the guests began to arrive, Emma stood beside her grandmother to receive them. Grandmother Willoweed wore a magenta gown trimmed with black lace, and on her head three purple plumes attached to a piece of dusty velvet. The magenta gown was split in several places; but she considered it was the general effect that mattered. Emma wore a green tussore dress she had made herself. It had a tightly fitting bodice and a long gathered skirt. It was the first time she had worn it and she thought it a great success. Perhaps it wasn’t quite the success she thought; but the green suited her vivid colouring—although, when she and her grandmother stood side by side receiving their guests, the magenta and green did look rather strident against the browns and blacks of the visitors. Lumber Splinterbones was quite overcome by Emma’s appearance, and made several clumsy grabs at her before he could be persuaded to sit at a card table.
    When all the guests were seated and had begun playing, Emma slipped away. She remembered whist drives, when her grandmother had failed to win the first prize and there had been piercing screams and roars of anger. This time the first prize consisted of several pots of pâte-de-foie-gras , and she knew her grandmother was looking forward to eating them at night in bed. The tenant farmers’ wives were well trained; but some of the guests were not to be depended on. The second prize was quite harmless—just a silver toast-rack.
    Emma went down the long stone passage to the kitchen, and collected a picnic-basket Norah had prepared for her. There was a great tumult in the kitchen. Eunice was giving a final polish to the silver tea-service, and all around there were cakes and sandwiches. Old Ives was looking very self-conscious dressed up as a waiter, and Norah was almost in tears because the range had gone out and there was no hot water. Emma took the basket unobserved and hurried down to the river, where Hattie and Dennis were waiting in the rowing boat. She felt guilty she had not offered to help in the kitchen; but she was glad to have escaped. She and Hattie each took an oar. Dennis had a whole fleet of boats tied to various pieces of string. Sometimes one or the other of them would capsize and the small boy dashed from one side of the boat to the other putting them to rights.
    When the girls tired of rowing they tied the boat up under a willow tree. It seemed as if they were in a green tent. They sat there for a little time; but the bottom of the boat smelt of fish, so they climbed out and lay on the river bank in the sun. The river breeze rustled the rushes and made a whispering sound. After a time Emma opened the picnic basket and they ate honey sandwiches with ants on them and drank the queer tea that always comes from a thermos. When there was no more picnic fare left they lay in the sun again in a straight line, and became very warm and watched dragon-flies. Some were light blue, small and elegant; others were a shining green; and there were