The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-06-13
she stirred her tea.

Did you have II good timep Did you
enjoy your visitt" asked Mrs. Bob, help
ing herself to mullins.
"Oh, yes. very well. Not so much as if
any OF my girls had been there
"No-of curse not. Was the house
full?"
"Oh, very full-over thirty to dinner
every night" Mrs. Trafford replied.
''Then it is a large housef"
"a lovely house." Mrs. Trafford replied
II never saw sucl, black oak anywhere.
The oak dining-room Is perfectly black
aud shines like polished ebony. They
have rather old-tashioned ways which
are very pretty-they dine on the table
with slip cloths and really never saw u
prettier sight han the long black table,
all set out with pure white flowers, and
the most wonderful collection Of old silver
you ever saw"
"Ah! Think the old ways charming"
Mrs. Bob exclaimed. "Of course we are
such new people. it would be absurd of lis
to attempt anything of that kind, but my
soul always goes to that kind of palatial
luxury-huge halls, long tables, vaulted
roofs and all the rest of it. Only, as Bob
says, l should be sure to spend al my
time in u boudoir you couldn't turn round
in. and when l was obliged to be in the
big rooms I should shiver till nobody
would come within a yard OF me; and l
dare say 1 should" she ended, laughing at
this woe-begone picture OF herself.
She went on talking about Little Street,
however, hearing all about the two old
ladies with much interest from Mrs. Traf-
ford-how Miss Theoaosla was ten years
oldsr than Miss Lavlnia, how Miss La-
vinia was sixty-two aud dressed herself
down to thir.y-lve, how they were An
thony Staunton's aunts and godmothers
ard had promised to make him their heir,
besides having made n handsome settle.
ment on him at the time of his marriage,
how their place was managed, what q Law
fish house they kept, how many servants,
how many horses, what lovely pictures
and china they possessed, what exquisite
oak aud Chippendale furniture, what sill.
yer and jewels-"Rubies, my DEAR" said
Mrs. Trafford-"rubies enough to make
any ordinary woman just green with envy
l always feel glad" she went on, that
though they are co-heiresses, the rubies
belong to Miss Theodosia, because she Is
such a dear sweet little fairy godmother
of a mn You know she has left them
all to Anthony in her will-so my Laura
will have the finest rubies and sapphires
in England"
Are they SO good az that' What a
lucky GIRL" Mrs. Bob cried-then gave a
little sigh. "Ah! well, l don't know that
there's much luck about jewels. 1 never
got mine back again, you know"
"No-and l am afraid"
"Thnt l never shall. That is Just what
l tell Bob," she ended. "Well, / shall
not buy any more, not unless the few l
have now are stolen. Bob bought me q
new ring In town the other day and l wash
my hands in it because I'm so afraid of
losing it,"
She held out her hand RS she spoke and
showed her guest a beautiful Marquise
ring, at which Mrs. Trafford uttered quite
a scream of delight. ooh! how lovely.
Well, l may be wrong and perhaps if 1
had ten thousand pounds given me to buy
diamonds with, ! should be in no hurry
to go aud spend it. But l think l should
go straight off and invest every farthing
OF it in jewelry at once"
Motif you had had your jewels all
stolen said Mrs. Bob. wisely, that is the
sort of experience which helps to develope
the bump of caution, my dear. At least,
I know it has one so in my case"
perhaps SO. You never heard anything
OF your jewels, I supposet"
Never the smallest trace, nor so far as
have heard have any Of the Others"
Mrs. Bob replied, land none of us ever
will. think the thieves were the clever
est experts In their line, and Pm sure that
the police are awful fools in this country,
Pm sure of it. And. of course, the one
accounts in a measure for the other. No.
l shall never see any of them again-I
quite gave up I'LL hope of that long ago."
well, rs l have said a good many
times" Mrs. Trafford laughed, poverty
has its advantages. When you have moth
ing to lose you can't easily lose it, and 1
go gaily and happily to bed every night
feeling perfectly sure that no thieves will
break in and steal, because there is moth
ing for them to get that is worth having.
l must say, though, that l was horribly
nervous all the time that Anthony and
Laura were with me Inst time, because
Laura had those exquisite sapphires of
hers aud persisted in being quite careless
about them. Really, once or twice l was
quite cross with her about them--indeed
went so far as to say more than once that
it would serve her right If they were cur
ricd off one fine day."
oh! my dear, don't say that even in
Joke" Mrs. Bob cried, earnestly. You
makem me SILVER when you suggest any
thing so dreadful. And, Mrs. Trafford, do
you see the time-twenty minutes to eight
and a man coming to dinner. l shall due
In a tca-gown."
And SO shall T." rejoined Mrs. Traf-
ford.
CHAPTER XIx.-A BUSINESS ECR
A year had gone by, the happiest year
of Julia Towards whole life. She aud
Stephen were still utterly aud entirely in
love with one another and We're, as many
of their friends said, quite n pattern to
young married people in general, and
those of their own acquaintance in par.
ticular.
It is true thnt her sister and cousin still
seemed equally happy, but changes had
come to them and they had neither of
them been able to set up in quite the
same style as Stephen Howard and his
wife lived in. Aud Nudge had got an.
otter baby, another beautiful person, a
little girl, with her mothers soft velvet
like eyes and something OF Lady Gee.
springs seraphic expression of face, a
satin-skinned person who seemed to enjoy
tucking her little pink and dimpled fist
into her mouth equally rs much as she
enjoyed long and strong draughts from a
bottle with an India-rubber arrangement
ut one end and q cork at the top.
And Laura had got a baby, too, also a
girl, little Thee. n reproduction Of her
handsome father Just softened by the DIFF.
ference of sex. That baby had made a
great difference to her father aud mother:
for the income of u man so very much de-
ponds upon the standpoint from which
you choose TO look at it-and n handsome
allowance, with a certain emphasis ON the
adjective, is one thing when you arrange to
settle it on some one else, presumably
your heir, and quite another to the heir
who looks forward to Que day enjoying
the reversion of your income aud estate to
the tune of just us many thousands MS
you have made your allowance hundreds.
Nevertheless, Sir Anthony mud his wife
were iuordinately proud Of the little Theo
nlS thought and said that such "a won.
derful child had never been born into the