The suburban citizen., 1901-06-01

perhaps because she was expecting
Jean Fairfax, and had awakened with
a more lively interest in her everyday
life. Her hair was a trifle reckless,
and she wore the short pink dressing
sack as she came into the dining-room.
At the door she started guiltily, and n
wave of warmer pink swept over her
face and neck and tingled in the very
edges Of her hair.
Two strange young men sat at the
table, laughing and chatting with her
father and mother and Tom. They
were tall,-Nellie particularly admired
tall men-one of them slim, with
glasses and shrewd, twinkling eyes
behind them, and the other broad and
heavy, with a head Of hair which pro
claimed him to be none other than
Billy" Ellis, Toms football hero.
Tom looked up innOcently as Nell,
of cruel necessity, came forward and
took her place, giving an apprehenslve
twitch to 1rer spreading draperies and
wishing feryendy that She were at
the north pole, with that wretched Tom
and his friends at the south pole.
Tom apparently was utterly oblivous
that anything was wrong, and cheer
fully introduced his friends with an
explanatory, "They came last night,
you know"
Nellie sat through her breakfast in
a far from happy frame of mind. Tom
was horrd not to tell her. and she
hated that dressing-sack! The Ellis
boys were nice, though, and she
frightened and tried to talk, but in
some way Tom kept the conversation
going so rapidly, only including his
parents, that she found It difficult to
say anything. Billy Ellis thought
Toms sister was 'jolly pretty" only
he didn't care for that loose thing sho
wore, and he wondered why she was
so quiet. His brother Preston watched
her refectively from behind his glasses
and concluded that there was some
electricity in the domestic atmosphere,
and that Tom was probably the cause
of it,
Breakfast had never seemed so long
to Nell, and as soon afterward as she
could find her brother alone, she cor
nered him Indignantly
Tom Howard, l think it was per-
fectly horrid of you! Why didn't you
tell me, instead Of letting me come
down to breakfast looking like this?'
There were volumes of scorn in the
tone in which she designated her gen
eral appearance. Tom looked at her
in injured surprise.
That? Why, thought you liked it,
although l must say 1 don't think
much Of it myself OF course, could
have let you known, if I'd known you
felt that way. They just came late
last night, Beside, if that rig is good
enough for us, guess it's good enough
for other people"
Brothers can sometimes be brutally
frank. Nell colored, feeling that the
conversation was taking an unfortun-
ate turn, but she had another, and to
her n very real, grievance.
And you were actually rude, too!
You never gave me a chance to say a
word, and I had to sit there like a
wooden doll. 1 know they thought
me queer and stupid. You never used
to act that way"
"Well, l can't seem to suit you"
said Tom, resgnedly, and his sigh was
eloquent Of injured virtue Il thought
you were so worn out and everything
from school, and you've been so mopy
all along, that just exerted myself to
take your share OF the conversation off
your shoulders. You haven't talked
much to Us during breakfasts, you
know"
"Oh, you needn't bother eSplaining.
Nell intelposed, and marched away
with all the dignity she could COM
mand under such trying circumstances.
But there was choking feeling in her
throat, and once out of her brothers.
sight she fed swiftly to her room and
wept.
"0h, OH" she walled in the depths
Of pillow. wasn't it just too horrid
of him? And saw the f-football one
looking at this d-dreadful thing,
know he thought 1t wasn't nice, and l
looked just like q balloon"
A flushed and tear-stained face rose
suddenly from the pillow, the objec-
tionable garment was whisked off,
rolled into an ignominous ball, and
vlciously stuffed behind the bureau.
"Oh, l just hate you, and I'll never
wear you again outside this room,
never, never, neyerp'
The recollection that Jean Fairfax
would be with her that noon was
faint comfort. Nell bathed her face
and began TO prepare Tor her fr.ends
| coming.
At lunch Tom obllgingly let the con-
yersation so where it would, and
Nelps spirits rose until Billy Ellis con
cluded that Toms sister was a "jolly
little thing" and turned his head in
he: direction so frequently that her
brothers eyes cleaned with delight
But the wound still ranked and Mel
lie could hardly wait TO get Jean Fair
fax home from the station before she
poured her mornings woe into that
! sympathetic ear. Jean looked 4 little