Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-01-16
Cecilia, the young lady in the spare
room is not my sister," s>..- ~. ...=

Cecilia, the young lady in the spare
room is not my sister," >r.y w. ~.
! ''Not your sister, STRIP the brazen--''
| "on''--" chorused all three men.
@Ru' she came in as bold as posi-
bic, sir. and said she was Miss Brown"
persisted the unappeased Celia.
Eyes, yes. Celia" said Mr.. Brown,
sadly, ''but there's some mistake, and
the poor young lady's scared out OF
her wits. You'll have to go in and
tell her very gently that If she wishes
to go we'll call q cab and send her."
''Go whereof" asked Mr.. Benton.
Yes; send her whither?" echoed
Mr.. Redmond, in moro elegant English
and with deeper tragedy in his voice.
Mr.. Brown, who was five years older
than his companions, and had do
nestle mans scandalized feeling at
the idea OF harboring strange
woman. however young and charming,
only frowned in answer and watched
the departing Celia.
The Modified maid knocked gently
at the door of the guest, and having
said, ''!t's me, Miss" was admitted.
The parley among tho men had occu-
pied only a few minutes, but this was
long enough tor Miss Brown to resume
her hat and jacket preparatory to de-
parture.
Laws, Miss, you can't go out in
this storm; it's fairly raining cats and
dogs" said the now sympathetic
! Celia.
II can not stay here" said Miss
Brown. bravely, but with culver OF
the lips that betokened not not very
remote Mysteries.
''But do sit down here, Miss, while
the gentlemen look for your friends
Ill stay with you. and no harm shan t
como to you. They're all very re-
spectacle gents, miss. Mr. Brown,
him that amt your brother, is law
yer; and Mr.. Redmond, the tall one
with the brown mustache and blue
eyes. he's something in steamship
office down town, and Mr.. Benton's-''
| "Oh, are there three of them?"
moaned Miss Brown. What shall !
do!''
Eyes, miss, there's three" said
Celia, with conscientious. though pitt
less accuracy, resuming her interrupt
ed narrative. ''And Mr.. Benton's an
officer at League Island. They're very
respectable gents, as 1 said, and they
don't never carry on"
| After Celia had travelled back and
forth several times between Miss Brown
and the library, the three men were
permitted to SOC the false memorandum
to which they were indebted for the
young woman's company, and their
guest received an invitation to
dinner. She was told that
the meal would be served to her
alone in the spare room if she SO pre-
ferred, but after a struggle between
embarrassment at meeting the three
strangers face to face and an hysteric-
al horror of giving them more trouble
than was actually necessary, she de-
clded to dine at the table with her
hosts. The young men debated whether
Redmond, as special cause of embar-
rassment. should be banished during
the meal, but his eloquent and plausi-
bic plea that his absence would only
accentuate Mis- Browns blunder with
regard to herself and impress her with
the sense of having unnecessarily in
convenienced one of the party, decided
the question in his favor. BY the time
negotiations were ended tho dinner
hour had arrived. Mr.. Brown there.
upon escorted the trembling girl to the
dining-room where Mr.. Redmond and
MI. Benton stood behind their chairs
in ceremonious expectation. Miss
Brown said the escort, gravely, "per-
nit me to present my friends, Mr..
Redmond and Mr.. Benton"
Miss Brown received the formal bows
and murmured salutation with what
she intended should be q self-possessed
smile, but what was really a half-hys-
terical, vain attempt: Once seated and
fortified with a cup of tea, she was
more at ease, and the dimples that had
SO pleased Mr.. Redmond or the way
down from Pittsburgh showed q dispo.
sition to recover from their fright and
take their accustomed places in cheek
and chin. Of course, the mistake was
discussed.
'You would probably have suspected
something wrong" said Mr.. Brown,
"but for the fact that my friends, who
have just joined me here, have neg
lected to place their names on tho
card in the vestibule.'
Miss Brown devoutly wished that
they had not been so negligent, but she
realized the awkwardness of express
ing the wish that she might have been
spared the hospitality which she was
at that moment accepting, if not on
joying. so she answered with a non
committal smile. Then followed
the explanation from the guest
that her brother and his wife had
just removed to new quarters that
week. Her letter accepting an invita-
ton to visit them had been sent to her
brothers place of business, but dis
patton notifying him that she would