She gave him when he went away
the little Testament she had gotten as a prize, and which was one of her
most cherished possessions. Other boys found the first honor as climber,
runner, rock-flinger, wrestler, swimmer, and fighter open once more to them,
and were free from the silent and somewhat contemptuous gaze of him who,
however they looked down on him, was a sort of silent power among them.
Vashti alone felt a void and found by its sudden absence how great a force
was the steady backing of one who could always be counted on
to take one's side without question. She had to bear the gibes of the school
as "Miss Darby", and though her two brothers were ready enough
to fight for her if boys pushed her too hardly, they could do nothing
against girls, and the girls were her worst tormentors.
The name was fastened on her, and it clung to her until, as time went on,
she came to almost hate the poor innocent cause of it.
Meantime Darby, beginning to fill out and take on the shoulders and form
of a man, began to fill also the place of the man in his little home.
This among other things meant opposition, if not hostility, to everything on
Cove Mills's side. When old Darby died the Millses all went to the funeral,
of course; but that did not prevent their having the same feeling
toward Little Darby afterward, and the breach continued.
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