G-160 The Tormented-The Outer Ring
The Tormented-The Outer Ring
Popular Library
G-160
Audrey Erskine Lindop
$0.35
The Tormented-The Outer Ring
Popular Library
G-160
Audrey Erskine Lindop
$0.35
Excerpt
“I am a girl,” he announced to the Reverend Jordon as he was on his way to church across the cabbage patch.
“Are you?” said the Reverend Jordon mildly. “You don’t look like one to me.”
It was a disappointing start. Jimmy sat back on his heels beside the aging fox terrier Jack. The dog was his confidant and friend, but when the Reverend Jordon bent down to pat him on the head Jimmy felt a sense of resentment.
The thin sunshine made a fuss of the Reverend Jordon’s black hair, as if it were tweaking at the lights in it, and as if it were patting the straight back, proud, of the shoulders being so flat. To the small boy peeping behind the ragged Michaelmas daisies God Himself might have walked through the lych gate. He could have been no more magnificent figure. It never occurred to Jimmy that God would not have the same dark head of hair, the same dark and thinking eyes, the same slow smile that filled the eyes, that he would not smell of tobacco, fresh soap and a promise of security, if only one were good.
Sometimes a hand might be held out to him and the Reverend Jordon might say, “I’m going down to see poor old Mrs. Hobb. Coming?”
Then Jimmy would get up without a word, slide his own hand into the big, warm outstretched one and cling to it, his day an unbelievably bright and shining thing that was reflected in his eyes. The Reverend Jordon matched his steps to his son’s, and looking down at him could not escape a twinge of pride. There was no use denying, even to himself, that Jimmy was the best-looking child in the village. He might give the child’s hand a squeeze of approval so that old Mrs. Hobb would say from the bed, which made a grey hump across her tiny cottage room:
“My word, Vicar, what’s happened to your little man this morning? He looks a regular little king-of-the-castle.”
But he was never safe. The next night he might do the terrible thing again and spoil it all. He had only two playmates. Little Mary Macey, a fairly frequent visitor, was easy to manage. He simply told her that she was a queen and that he was her knight in armor who would go off and fight for her. Then he shut her in the chicken run to protect her from robbers and had the whole afternoon to himself.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.