Page:Caroline Lockhart--The Fighting Shepherdess.djvu/360



It had not been possible for Prentiss to go with Kate to Prouty but he had promised to come as soon as he could arrange his affairs. This had required something like two weeks, and in the interim the excitement attendant upon Kate's return had simmered down. She had not been in Prouty since, but Prentiss, having notified her of the day of his arrival, was now awaiting her appearance with an impatience that evidenced itself in the frequency with which he looked at his watch.

As Prentiss stood at the window of the Prouty House looking down Main Street, his face wore a smile that was at once amused and kindly.

So this was Kate's environment, or a part of it — where she had grown to womanhood. The very pavements seemed invested with a kind of sacredness because they had known the imprint of her feet.

It was little short of idolatry — this man's love for his daughter — representing as it did all the pent-up affection of his life, and as he had poured that out prodigally so he had lavished his wealth upon her, laughing in keen enjoyment at her dismayed protests.

" Why, girl, you don't understand at all! What is money for, if not to spend on some one you love? "

The weeks they had spent together had been a wonderful experience for himself as well as for Kate. There were times when he still could not quite realize that this astonishing young woman was his own flesh and blood.