The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1896-06-20
mo, l am sure she does not"
"And Mamie is very fond Of Bob"
Julia said in a musing tone.
"Maimie is awfully fond Of old Bob
alMaYs WASP Stephen nusMe red nrnmnt-

"And Mamie is very fond of Bob"
Julia said in q musing tone.
"Maimie is awfully fond of old Bob
always was," Stephen answered., prompt
ly.
But If Bob had any other kind Of n
secret-not a business secret" Julia be-
gan. and then Stephen caught her mean
ing and finished the sentence for her.
why, Mamie would let him hear of it
uncommonly SOON" he said, with n laugh
land she would be quite right, too.
And ! hope, my daring, if ever you think
that nm keeping n real secret from you
not a business secret, | mean-that you
Will let me hear about it, too"
Yes" said Julia, and rested her l.cad
against him with a contented little sigh,
"fes, will let you know.
CHAPTER WA BUNDLE OF r v
just about this time another great rob-
berry took place, and a really awful affair
1t was. For Little Street Hall, the abode
of the two Misses Stnunton was broken
into and rified of almost every movable
valuable that it contained.
The facts were these! Afterthe brilliant
house-party of which Mrs. Trafford had
formed one, n year previous to the time of
which am speaking, the old ladies had
not been ut Little Street Hall for any
length of time. For Miss Laviniu, feeling
herself to be n very personnble middle.
aged Indy still, took it into her head that
she must have u season in town.
In vain did Miss Theodosin try to get
out of it. Miss Lavinia had made up her
mind to go, and when Miss Lavinia was
pleased to make up her mind to wander
thlther did Miss T%heodosin, moved by the
habit of sixty yenrs of giving in to her
beauty-sister, invariably follow. AS 1 said
the older lady tried her best to get out of
II, urging that at seventy and odd wears
1t is desirable to lead Il quiet life and that
the rackettings and jankettings of n Lon
don season were about calculated to make
her Shuttle off this mortal coil altogether,
But it was all in vain: Miss Lavinia had
made up her mind, therefore Miss Theo.
dosia had little or no choice other than to
gracefully resign herself to tho inevitable,
only bargaining for u house in Queens
Gate or failing that in the Exhibition Road
or Immediately out of it.
"My dear Lavinia, l would rather be
there than anywhere-I can breathe there
Il cannot breathe in Mayfair, so l must
beg that you will be kind enough to do rs
wish. prefer Queens Gate or some.
where very near to it where 1 can have a
decent sized bedroom and Il fairly good
staircase. And l wish the horses to have
good new well-ventilated stables so TINT
they will not feel much difference from
their own"
Therefore, the beginning OF April saw
the two old ladies safely settledi in IL hand.
somely furnished house in Queens Gate,
ut the end nearest the park: and from that
time until the middle of July they went
In for a life of dissipation such as was
really dreadful to think of. They were
rich and well-born and always beautifully
dressed, and Miss Thcodosia displayed
the finest rnbies in Europe at SO many
dinner-parties that herdicestion was quite
ruined. Ohi pardon me-, gentle reader,
what do you please to say? That Il little
while back described Miss Theodosia's
rubies as the finest In England. Scarcely,
but Mrs. Trafford did so-and that was in
Blankhampton. AT all times we must
make allowances for Metropolitan hyper
Dole. 1t Is always SO! In London II n
woman is fat, she rs u matter of course
Is always called Handsomely she is tall
and slender, she is called pretty-if she
Is tall and finely made they say she looks
beautiful. II she is a somebody, and is
lCuLS lou ulueOuS u WOlNlS, Tx ptiNS-
raphists mako II point either of saying
that she is very chic or else that her fine
face was we'll set off by such and such II
bonnet.
AS an instance, there is a lady in Lon
don now who burst upon the world in the
character of very rich woman and two
seasons ago she was called MADAME
Crusus'' by half the society papers in
| tnWp Last Snncpp- cha rncSiyaI hrayat
rank and was promoted to "Princess
Croesus." But If you will believe me be-
fore those few months were over she was
blazoned forth rs Queen CrGsus"-atter
which, as 1t seems in my poor judgment,
there remains nothing for these dear peo-
ple to do now but to call the lady the
Golden Calf" outright. Yes. it will be
carrying personal journalism a little far
however, as an imaginative writer. l Of
fer them the poor suggestion for what it is
worth.
Well, 1t was much the same with Miss
Theodosia's beautiful rubics. Sure, they
were gems of great value, pearls of great
price. Miss Theodosia was inclined to
stoutness, was very fair still, dressed well,
and did not hide her neck, and the great
wells of blood-red light became the object
of much comment. And as they became
known they also advanced in value, md
passed from the perhaps somewhat cx-
%travagant description of the finest rubies
in England to the most valuable rubies in
Europe. And why not? When you so in
for display, why not as we'll be hanged
for a sheep as n lambs Doubtless had
Miss Theodosia gone to London the fol-
lowing season her rubies would have been
reckohed still higher and all the world
would have been challenged to outshine
them. AS 1t was, however, circumstances
interviewed. And In this way. To be
quite frank, the celebrated rubies received
so many invitations to dinner, that by the
middle of July their owners digestion
had gone to pieces and the two old ladies'
were ~peremptorily packed off to a German
Bad, to be followed by six weeks in the
Engadine, n ~sojourn by the ITALIAN lakes
and a winter ut Monte Carlo and the nd.
jacent towns.
Meanwhile, the rubies were locked up
FOR the benefit Of their health in the
strong room Of the BAN where the sisters
kept their %valuables, Il did not see tho
light again until they were sent to be
cleaned in February, when the sisters re.
turned to Little Street to entertain the
usual party Of that month. And the day
i aAtSk ShSy u oShV uOVbs Nlc luUICS
went, aye and practically everything else
of value in the house went also.
And then what a weeping and a waii.
ing there was! How Miss Lnvinia shiver.
ed and %shuddered as she went up the wide
old ghostly stairs aud insisted upon two
Of the men servants sleeping IN n room on
the other side of the corridor, and that her
maid should sleep in her dressing-room:
how she upbraided Miss Theodosia fo1
her cruel heartlessness in giving all her
thoughts to the jewels. when she was
frightened nearly out OF her seven senses
at which Miss Theodosia retorted sharp.
ly TINT she could not possibly be brighten.
ed out OF what she hadn't got, IL remark
which Miss Lavinin took as personal aud
resented accordingly, going indeed so far
us to suggest In tentionnl insult on her SIS
ter's part.
Nor would Miss Layinia listen to reason
on her purt-in vain did Miss Theodosia
explain that rs Miss Lavinia was not NIB.
normally constituted in her body, she
could only have the five senses with which
weak humanity is ordinarily endowed, In
~