gasped Bruce , before Eben , who had first looked at Mrs. Theodora and the squirming Potter , had located the girl . `` Yes , '' said Judith . She burst into hysterical tears as she said it and sat limply down in a chair . Mrs. Theodora loosed her grip on Potter . `` You can go back to your work , '' she said dully . She followed him out and Eben King followed her . On the step she reached behind him and closed the door . `` Trust a King for being too late ! '' she said bitterly and unjustly . Eben went home with Bay Billy . Potter gazed after him until Mrs. Theodora ordered him to put Marshall 's mare in the stable and rub her down . `` Anyway , Judith wo n't be an old maid , '' she comforted herself . The Promise of Lucy Ellen Cecily Foster came down the sloping , fir-fringed road from the village at a leisurely pace . Usually she walked with a long , determined stride , but to-day the drowsy , mellowing influence of the Autumn afternoon was strong upon her and filled her with placid content . Without being actively conscious of it , she was satisfied with the existing circumstances of her life . It was half over now . The half of it yet to be lived stretched before her , tranquil , pleasant and uneventful , like the afternoon , filled with unhurried duties and calmly interesting days , Cecily liked the prospect . When she came to her own lane she paused , folding her hands on the top of the whitewashed gate , while she basked for a moment in the warmth that seemed cupped in the little grassy hollow hedged about with young fir-trees . Before her lay sere , brooding fields sloping down to a sandy shore , where long foamy ripples were lapping with a murmur that threaded the hushed air like a faint minor melody . On the crest of the little hill to her right was her home -- hers and Lucy Ellen 's .
The house was an old-fashioned , weather-gray one , low XXXXX the eaves , with gables and porches overgrown with vines that had turned to wine-reds and rich bronzes in the October frosts .
Before On in into of over to until while with