The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-04-17

dispensable requisite on board yacht;
and six or eight tenders, if l recollect right
Good gracious ~ blurted Miss M sdlar, shis
impudence is actually beyond every
thing!n
'Thimbles form part of our sail gear"
he answered. smiling; land the tenders are
not the hardware that you think them, but
things to hang over the ships side to pre-
vent chatting"
Miss Medlar looked as if it would take a
considerable number of these articles to
have any effect on her at that moment. and
then another item cropped up in her mind.
Stays" she shrieked. "Steel stays no
doubt they also were for the use Of the
yachtw
Your intelligence does you great credit"
said he; such matters are indispensable
for the support of the masts. The mistake
is really most amusing. l am glad it is
nothing more serious
For a moment Miss Medlar was staggered
Her attack had been made and had been
foiled by the crafty and fraudful foe, but
she gathered herself together for one more
rush ere she left the field forever, and some
of her original confidence and courage came
back to her as she did so.
And we are to understand from Captain
Brnbazon,' she said, with a slow and pre-
else intonation dropping her words as one
drops sulphnric acid on doubtful sover
eign, and evidently expecting a similar re-
sult-''we are to understand Captain Brab
AEON to deliberately assert that what he al
leges of this miserable girl was equally true
of his precious yacht-that both were laid
up all the winter with. broken leg, and
that in consequence he was obliged to sup
ply the yacht-the yacht, mind you-with
pair OF crutches!' and, as she delivered
her speech, she looked for him to shrivel up
and turn green beneath It, But she was
disappointed. He was regarding her with
a quiet smile of amused confidence.
t. lnv, ,s~ka In Af
whole lot" said he; "but it is fact that,
as the bill says, the yacht was laid up, as
we call it, on the mud all winter; and,
oddly enough, one of the items in the bill
is pair of crutches which was obliged to
buy for my dingy-we row with them, you
know he added feeling it kind to explain.
Miss Msdlar's last bolt was shot; her la st
charge was made; there WINS nothing for it
but an ignominious retreat. With her
papers under her arm and her pince nez at
the extreme end of her sharp nose, she
stalked across the room with an intensely
tragic gait, which had two long steps and
one short one in it, glaring all the while
with intense hostility at Brabazon. When
she reached the door she halted, and, turn
ing to her sister-in-law, she pronounced her
ultimatum.
''Mary Bracebridge," she said, in voics
which alternated between a rasping bass
and an indignant shrek, never! never
will l enter this house again while an
Ananias in human form is permitted to
tarnish the air with his presence !''-this
was no time to pick her words nor did she
care to do so. Il have attempted-nay, 1
have succeeded, in unmasking a serpent;
but l forsee that you will take him to your
bosom, and trust" she added with ven
emous charity, " trust that his fangs may
not prove FATAL and she banged the door
behind her.
Captain Brabazon," said Mrs. Brace
bridge, after silence had reigned i'll the
room for some minutes, looking fearfully
toward the door as though dreading the re-
appearance of her sister-in-law, Il can not
tell you how relieved l am that all has been
so satisfactorily explained. / am sure you
are quite right in fitting up your vessel
with all these things, and no doubt they
will be very useful when you and dear
Gwendolen are married; i'll fact, l think it
most thoughtful of you. | can assure you
that never really believed you guilty of
such conduct as Miss Medlar asserted,
though you must admit that appearances
were against you, and as for dear Gwen
dolen-"
"Gwendolen will answer for herself"
said a sweet voice at the door, as it quietly
opened, and that young lady appeared with
most becoming blush.
"Oh, Gwennie, dear! eavesdropping.
how shockingn' said her mother
"Never mind, mother dear, heard Aunt
Keziah bang the door and tell Simmons
she wanted u cab in an hours time, so
knew that she was defeated, and | thought
/ might come down and join in the tri-
| umph - and she looked slyly at her lover
His answer was delivered in cipher, but
one which was ridicuously obvious even to
the rankest outsider, yet he repeated it
three or four times, to prevent any posi-
0ility of its being Observation-Disclosures
indeed. he would have continued to do so
had not the young lady assured him that it
was quite unnecessary. Truth.