The Aberdeen Democrat. (Aberdeen, South Dakota) 1???-1909, 1906-01-19
CHAPTER VII.

~ NE morning not long dlteI u1e
incidents just related Brew
ster lay in bed staring at the
~ ceiling, deep in thought.
There was q worried quicker on his
forehead, half hidden by the rumpled
hair, and his eyes were wide and sleep
less. He had dined at the Drews' the
evening before and had had an awak-
ening. AS he thought of the matter he
could recall no special occurrence that
he could really use as evidence. Colo
mel and Mrs. Drew had been as kind as
| ever, and Barbara could not have been
more charming. But something had
gone wrong, and he had endured a
wretched evening.
"That little English Johnnie was to
blame he argued. "Of course Barbara
had a right to put any one she liked
next to her. but why she should have
chosen that silly ass is more than
know. BY Jove! If l had been on the
other side Ill warrant his grace would
have been lost in the dust"
His brain was whirling. and for the
first time he was beginning to feel the
unpleasant pangs of jealousy. The
Duke of Beauchamp he especially dis
liked, although the poor man had hard
~ spoken during the dinner. But
Monty could not be r%econciled. He
knew, of course, that Barbara had suit
ors by the dozen, but it had never oc-
Cured to him that they were even Sc
= -. -,
riously considered. Notwithstanding
the fact that his with The
Censor had brought her into unde-
sirable notice. she forgave him every
thing after a moments consideration.
The first few wrenches Of resentment
were overbalanced by her American
appreciation Of chivalry, however in
spired. The Censor had gone for
years UNPUBLISHED, his coarse wit be-
ing aimed at every n who had come
into social prominence. So pungent
and vindictive was his pen that other
men feared him, and there We're many
who lived in glass houses in terror of
a fusillade. Brewster's prompt and
sufficient action had checked the per-
nicious attacks, and he became a hero
among men and women. After that
night there was no point to The Cen
sor's pen. Monty's first qualms of
apprehension were swept away when
Colonel Drew himself hailed him the
morning after the encounter and in
no unmeasured terms congratulated
him upon his achievement, assuring
him that Barbara and Mrs. Drew ap-
proved, although they might lecture
him as a matter Of form.
But on this morning as he lay in his
bed Monty was thinking deeply and
painfully. He was confronted by a
most embarrassing condition, and he
was discussing it soberly with him
self. "Ive never told her. he said to
himself, "but If she doesn't know my
feeling she is not as clever as I think.
Besides, l haven't time to make love to
her now. If it were any other girl I
suppose I'd have to, but Babs-why,
she must understand. And yet-hang
that duke!!"
In order to WOO her properly he
would be compelled to neglect inan.
cial duties that needed every particle
OF brain energy at his command. He
found himself opposed at the outset by
a startling embarrassment, made alb
solutely clear by the computations Of
the night before. The last four days
OF Indifference to finance on one side
and pampering the heart on the other
had proved very costly. To use his
own expression, he had been "set
back" almost $4,000. An average like
that. would be ruinous.