Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-01-01
q Uoman' S F F ace
FLORENCE WARDEN


ton of compassionate admiration in
several rustic gallants. These gentle |
men having been choked off by what
they called her Internal GOODNESS, had
conceived an absolute fear OF her
which, while perfectly comprehensive
to AImathwaite, seemed to the unmag-
netic ladies of Branksome the result
of yeritable sorcery. To the autocrat-
ic and deep-voiced Mrs. Peele, Alma's
peculiar gentleness of speech and
manner was especially distasteful, and
it was to the influence of this Lon
don-bred madam with her fnicking
ways" that she attributed Ned Cros-
mont's undeniable deterioration. When
therefore ArmathWaite, recognizing
the impcssibility Of his visiting Alma
himself, and yet deeply anxious to
know how things went with her, sug
gested to the doctors wife that she
should take Mile, who was too shy
to go herself, to see the lonely lady,
Mrs. Peele, drawing her voice up as it
were from her boots, according to an
appalling custom Of hers when she
was offended, Informed him in cutting
tones that ''she never obtruded her
self where she was not wanted, and if
DR.. Armathwaite was so very much
concerned about Mrs. Crosmont's
solitude, he had better call upon her
himself, as she would probably not
drive othe" men out of the house so
vigorously as she did her own hus-
band
| Armathwaite bore this onslaught
with prudent meel<ness, refraining, in
the interests Of the unlucky woman
attacked, from the mild but finn ex-
preston Of his own opinion with which
! he usually followed Mrs. Peele's tyran-
nous sallies. The next person he tried
was the old doctor, whose unfulfilled
promise to show him into the local
skeletOn-cupboards was never absent
/ from his mind. But he-e he also failed.
! Whether DR.. Peele regretted his con-
fidences, or thought that the time for
+ completing them was not yet come, he
evaded any reference to the promised
secrets and glanced aside from any
allusiOn to Alma with such unmistak-
able pcrsistency that the younger
man, afraid of seeming anxious to
force his confidence, had to let those
! subjects rest, even while he feared.
as he watched the gradual change in
the elder man, that death would soon
put it's black barrier between himself
and the knowledge he desired so eager
ly. On every other subject DR.. Peele
was kind, open and communicative.
interested in every detail of his young
colleagues progress in the esteem
Of the neighbolhood, pleased with his
success, sage and generous in his
counsel.
! AS the incidents of his arrival, with
out fading from his memory, got
pushed into the background of his
mind by the rush of petty necessary
duties which now filled his everyday
| life, ATmathwaite had begun to feel
all sorts of doubts as to the sacred
championship Of an ill-used wife which
at first he had believed himself called
upon to take up. Cold common sense
began to tell him that his coming was
not the result Of a mysterious attrac-
ton Of an unknown woman who
proved on acquaintance to be inter
esting enough to encourage such a
belief, but Well-timed remembrance
of DR.. Peele's vicinity, and of the
fact that he was growing old, and
might possibly have an opening for a
young practitioner of whose talent he
had always held high opinion. He
had already begun to take himself to
task for daring to conceive the pos
sibllity of interfering between a young
husband and wife, when on the after
noon of the day on which he had re-
ceived Lady Kildonan's invitation, he
was seized, while sitting quietly by
the fire as Mile made the tea unde.-
her mothers directions, with an I'M
comfortable restlessness which seemed
to make every limb culver with the
effort TO keep still After about ten
minutes of this, during which he
looked at the clock twenty O. thirty
times, Mrs. Peele fixed upon him
CLASSY eyes of displeasure, ana wanted
to know what he was fidgeting for.
He jumped up, put down the cup of
tea he had just received but scarcely
tasted, and inventing a beautiful
fiction on the spur of the moment.
said he had just remembered that he
had been particularly asked to call
upon patient whom he had quite for
gotten until few minutes ago.
We'll" said Ms. Peele, lowering
her head as she did when she felt sus-
picious, in the knowledge that the up
ward look of her black eyes made them
particularly keen and penetrating.
You're a pretty doctor to forget an
appointment so important that the
thought of it makes you tremble and
turn quite white like a girl."
Quite true" said he very quietly.
However, you will excuse me now
| have remembered.
Without another word to her, but
with Plothe-ly and significant glance
at Millie, whose quick intelligence
understood by it that there were no
desperate issues at stake, he left the
ROOM and putting on his hat. snatched ,
up his OyercOat and ran out of the !
house without waiting to draw it on. |
He felt all right again as soon as he |
got into the open air: nothing more !
terrible than an eager desire to get to /
Mereside troubled him, and obeying |
this impulse without question. he got /!
over the ground at a great rate fhiT, L, {