Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-10-17
or 4. CONAN DoYLA

that she was upstairs in her boudoir.
Clara sat opposite to him with her ex-
asperatlng charts and blue book. The
Doctor glanced at her and his eyes re-
manned fixed in establishment upon the
front Of her skirt.
my dear Clara" he cried, Pyou have
torn your sklrt!'
His daughter laughed and smoothed
out her frock. To his horror he saw
the red plush of the chair where the
dress ought to have been. ut Is all
torn" he cried. what have you
done?"
MY dear papa" said she, what do
you know about the mysteries Of ladies'
dress? This is divided skirt"
Then he saw that 1t was indeed so
arranged, and that his daughter was
clad In a sort Of loose, extremely long
knickerbockers.
1T will be SO convenient for my sea-
boots" she explained.
Her father shook his head sadly.
Your dear mother would not have
liked 1t, Clara" said he.
For a moment the conspiracy was on
the point Of collapsing. There was
something in the gentleness Of his re-
buke, and in his appeal to her mother,
which brought the tears. to her eyes.
and In another instant she would have
been kneeling beside him with every
thing confessed, when the door flew
open and her sister Ida came bounding
into the room. She wore a short, grey
skirt, like that Of Mrs. Westmacott and
she held 1t up In each hand and danced
about among the furniture.
! II feel quite the Gaiety girl" she
cried. How delicious 1t must be to be
! upon the stage! You can't think how
nice this dress is, papa. One feels so
free In 1t. And isn't Clara charming?"
100 to your room this instant and
take 1t Off" Numbered the doctor. 1T
call 1t highly improper, and no daugh-
ter Of mine shall wear It,"
Papa! Improper! Why It Is the
exact model Of Mrs. Westmacott's."
II say 1t is improper. And yours also,
Clara! Your conduct is really outra-
geous. You drive me out of the house.
am going to, my club In town. i have
no comfort or peace OF mind in my own
house. will stand It no longer. I may
be late Tonight shall go to the Brit
ish Medical meeting. But when re-
turn 1 shall hope to find that you have
shaken yourself clear Of the
pernlclous influences which have re-
Gently made such an alteration In your
conduct" He seized his hat, slammed
the dlnlng-room door, and few min
utes later they heard the crash Of the
big front gate.
Victory, Clara, victoryl' cried Ida,
stlll pirouetting around the furniture.
did you hear what he said? PernicIous
influences! Don't you understand,
Clara? Why do you sit there so pale
and glum? Why don't you get up and
dancer" %
ooh, shall be so glad when 1t Is
over, Ida. do hate to give him pain.
Surely he has learned now that 1t Is very
unpleasant to spends ones life with re-
formers"
He has almost learned it, Clara
Just one more little lesson. We must
not risk all at this last moment"
What would you do, Ida? Oh, don't
do anything too dreadful. 1 feel that
we have gone too far already"
ooh, we can do 1t very nicely. You
see we are both engaged and that makes
1t very easy. Harold will do what you
ask him, especially as you have told
him the reason why, and my Charles
will do 1t without even wanting to know
the reason. Now you know what Mrs.
Westmacott thinks about the reserve Of
! young ladies, Mere prudery, affecta-
ton, and a relic Of the dark ages Of the
Zenana. Those were her words, were
they not?"
what them"
''Well, now we must put 1t in prac-
tlce. We are reducing all her other
views to practice, and we must not
shlrk this one"
But what would you do? Oh don't
| look so wicked, Ida! You look like some
evil little fairy, with your golden hair
and dancing, mischevous eyes. know
that you are going to propose some
thing dreadful"
I'VE must give a little supper to-
night"
I'VE? A support
why not? Young gentlemen give
suppers. Why not young ladies?" 81.
why, Harold and Charles, Of course"
And the Admiral and Mrs. Hay Dem
Fer?"
"oh, no. That would be very old
fashioned. We must keep up with the
times, Clara" i'.l.
but what can we give them for sup
PERI"
"Oh, something with nice, fast, roll
licking, late-at-night flavor to 1t. Let
me see! Champagne, of course-and
oysters. oysters will do. In the novels
all the naughty people take champagne.
any oysters. Besides, they won't need
any cooking. How is your pocket-mon-
ey, Clara?"
II have three pounds"
"And have one. Four pounds. have
no idea how much champagne costs.
Have your
mot the slightest"
How many oysters does a man eat?'
II can't imagine"
I'm write and ask Charles. No,
won't I'll ask Jane. Ring for her,
Clara. She has been cook, and is
sure to know"
Jane, on being cross-questloned, re-
fused to commit herself beyond the
statement that 1t depended upon the
gentleman. and also upon the oysters.
The united experience Of the kitchen,
however, testified that three dozen was
a fair provision.
Then we shall have eight dozen al