The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-07

phone TO a man and was going to run around
10 the hotel and phone, but l knew what
no va up 70, and I put my foot down hard
n Jamea came back to bed.
in the morning at breakfast when l
was complaining to James about b horrid
racket that had been going on upstairs
most Of the night he had the assurances to
tell me that Keenclip was so desperately
lonesome for his absent wife that he re-
CURED music to soothe his depressed spirits
and to keep him from committing suicide,
and he said IL with the s~traightest face
you ever saw, although I noticed that be
did duck his head behind his newspaper
when he saw me looking at him hard.
Another day, down at the beach, James
and l were taking dinner when who should
a K a table near III but that horrid Keen
clip person. and with him was a girl that
l do declare was q stark, staring, raving
beauty, absolutely the lovelest human
creature I've seen for years. and with the
INCEST manners; too-not common at all
and then I knew that l had Mr.. Keenclip
for fair and that James would simply be
obliged to acknowledge that Keenclip was
a leper. l turned 10 James to challenge
him to say anything IL defence Of KeencGp,
but he was already looking at me sadly
and signing heavily.
Sad case that James said to me;
nodding in the direction Of Keenclp and
the girl. That's Keenclip's stepsister
with him. Keenclip's wife quarrelled with
all of his people and bears a most hmeuta-
BILE hatred toward them all, and she won't
hear Of poor Keenclip seeing any Of 'em.
and he has to meet them furtively once In
while, without her knowing anything about
il. Keenclip's father married again, you
know, and that's his little sister by his
fathers second marriage. Never met her,
but Keenclip's often told me what a fine,
religious girl she is-sings in a choir. goes
in for settlement work, and all that sort
Of thing
-Now, did you ever hear Of such per-
fectly brazen lying on the part OF one man
for another in all your lifep Twas so speech
less, though, when James finished telling
me that whopper that l couldn't say a word,
especially as the girl was fishing in the
bottom Of her Martini glass for the cherry
&C the very minute James was telling me
how religious she was and how she sang
in a choir and all hat nonsense.
Then, that Skateswift man in the nat
across the halll He's one Of that caressing
kind Of man that's always calling his wife
pet names and making over he and doing
the gallant with her, and the way he did
behave while she was awayl Sometimes
he prowIed around the fat for nearly the
whole day, drinking Scotch-the~ janitor's
wife told me it was S~cotch-and when any
bodv'd meet him in the hall and pass the
time Of day with him he'd sort o I gasp and
aay how he longed to have his little one
return from the country, and how horribly
he missed her, and all that, and the wretch
spent all of his evenings trotting around
roof gardens and restaurants, and yet he'd
telegraph to her every day, besides sending
her a special delivery letter every day-the
tanitor's wife told me that-of all the fright
full receptions in the world
Zone evening, around dinner time; he
came from downtown az Lit up as James
says, and there was an organ grinder witt
a monkey playing in front Of the fat, and
what does that crazy Skateswtft do but
fetch the monkey upstairs to his fat on
~pretence that he wanted to feed II. de dld
feed It, Of course, but his real purpose was
to see what the monkey would do to his
wife's parrot-he always did bate his
wife's parrot, and she left it behind for him
to take care Of. l didn't see him opel the
parrots cage, of course; but the monkey
and the parrot had a battle royal, and the
parrot won-to Skateswift's disgustI l
dare sa~y-although h parrot lost a lot OF
feathers. The janitor's wife was an hour
sweeping them up and picking them of
the portieres the next day. The crazy things
that men do when they haven't their wives
about to guide theml James tried to snub
mo when / told him that Skateswift hadn't
brought the monkey up to feed 1t at all, but
lust to get il to poster the parrot; and he
said hat it was a mean supposition and un-
worthy and all that highfalutin' nonsense,
but I guess 1 know irresponsible men whose
wives are away better thai he does, and I
wouldn't stand for the snubl
Deed and any time James prevails
upon me to go away for the summer and
leave him behind alone TO do al he pleases
I'll have to be chloroformed before I do it;
and how you can trust your Edward-nowi
nv dear, you know that / have no insinua-
tons to make against Edward, and Of course
I know you trust him perfectly, but listen;
NV dear: Has that niece Of your husbands
rot a very straight Grecian nose and ex-
tremely black hair and high colorH Be-
cause James said the young lady We saw
Edward with at the roof garden one night
was Edwards niece, and Of curse James
knows, but 1 always supposed that Edwards
niece was a girl with chestnut hair and a
pale skim She has, you sayP Now, mercy
on usl 1 am so sorry that I said a word,
and / want you TO promise me to forget 1t,
my dear, for there must be some mistake,
and. Must you go2 Now, remember,
my dear, l want you to forget that little
slip OF the tongue, for it really may have
h sen some other niece Of Edwards; you
know, and. Well, goodbye. Come
again Just as soon as ever you can and
spend the day. Goodbye!
Cat! l guess that will square things up
for the way she used to try to make eyes at
James when she lived in the. fiat belowp"
nrr1K DnnDErM cnTUEn