Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1907-02-01


! few years, nsd forgotten how patter-
| of-surface her affectation and snepbSrH
were, and how little they intc-fered
with her being a good mother and a
| good wife, up TO the limits OF her brain
capacity.
I'm sure, Mr.. Blackjack" she said
plaintiVely, II only wish I'd to say what
was pleasant and nice Ebout your fan
| Gee. / know she's a lovely girl. I've
often admired her at the opera. She
goes a great deal in Mrs. Ilangdon's
box, and Mrs. Langdon and | are to-
gether on the board Of managers or the
Magdalene home, and also on the board
OF the Hospital for Unfortunate Cen
tlefoIk." And so on. and IN.
/ walked up and down among those
wrappcd-up, ghpstly chairs n tables
and cabinets. and statues many times
before Joe arrived with the minister
and he Was q Methodist. McCabe by
name. You should have seen Mrs.
Balls look as he advanced his portly
form and round face with It's shaven
upper lip into the drawing room. She
| tried 10 be cordial, but She couldn't
| her mind was on Anita, and the horror
that would fiji her when she
that she was 70 be married by a
preacher OF a sect unknown TO FASH
ionable circles.
'A4i j ask Oh you, Sblh 4 " hilit -
that you cut 1t as short as possible.
Miss Fllersly is tired and nervous.
This while we were shaking hands at
ter Joe's introduction.
you can count on me, sir" said Nc
Gable, giving my hand an extra shake
before dropping it. I've no doubt,
from what my young neighbor here
tells me, hat your marriage is already
made in your hearts and with all SOL
1-A.g4,. TIl cnrtNN ia on inHtHnnt-im-
portant, only an Incident"
liked that. and l liked his unaffected
way of saying il. His voice had more
of the homely. homelike, rural twang
in IL than | had heard in New york
in many a day. l mentally dou-
bled the fee I had intended to
give him. And now Alva and she
were coming down the stairway.
I was amazed at sight OF her. Her even
ing dress had given place TO a pretty blue
street suit with a short s~kirt-white show
Ing at her wrists, at her neck and through
slashings In the coat over her bosom; and
on her head was a hat to match. j looked
at her feet-the slippers had been replaced
by boots. And they're just right for
her." said Alva, who was following my
glance, though I'm not so tall as She"
But what amazed mo most, and de-
lighted me, was that she seemed to be al
most in good spirits. It was evident she
had formed with Joe's daughter one of
those sudden friendships so great and so
vivid that they rarely lived long after the
passing Of the heat Of the emergency that
bred them. Mrs. Bah saw it, also, and
was ~straightway giddied into a sort of
ecstasy. You can imagine the visions it
coatured. I've no doubt she talked house
Oh the east side OF the park 10 Joe that
very night, before she let him sleep. How
ever. Anita's face was serious cnough
when we took our places before the min
!ster, with his little, BACKGROUND book
open. And as he read in a voice that was
genuinely impressive those words that no
voice could make unimpressive, / saw her
paIeness blanch into pallor, saw the dusk
creep round her eyes until they were like
stars waning somberly before the gray
face Of dawn. When they closed and her
head began TO sway. ] steadiel her with
my arm. And 80 We stood, / with my arm
round her, she leaning lightly against my
shoulder. Her answers were mere move
ments Of the lips.
At the end, wnen I kissed her cheek, she
said: rs 1t oYer?'
Yes" McCabe answered-she was look
ing at him. And I wish you all happi-
ness, Mrs. Blackjack"
At that name, her new name. she stared
at him with great wondering eyes; then
her form relaxed. I carried her TO a chair.
Joe came with a glass of champagne; she
drank some OF it, and 1t brought life back
to her face, and some color. With a nat
uralness tina deceived even me for the
moment, she smiled up at Joe as she
handed him the glass. "Is 1t bad luck"
she asked. for me TO be the first to drink
my own health?" And she stood, looking
TRANQUILITY at everyone-except me.
| took McCab into the hail and paid him
off.
When we came back, 1 said: Now we
must be goiag."
"Oh, but surely you'll stay for support"
cried Joe's wife.
NO" replied /, in a tone that made 1t
impossible to insist. appreciate your
kindness, but we've imposed on Ii
enough" And / shook hands with her and
with Allie and the minister, and, linking
Joe's arm IN mine, made for the door. |
gave the necessary directions to my
chauffeur while we were waiting for An
ita TO come down the steps. Joe's daugh-
ter was close beside her, and they kissed
each other goodby, Aiya on the verge of
tears, Anita not suggesting any emotion
OF any sort. 'Tomorrow-sure," Anita
said to her. And she answered.: Yes,
lndeed-as son as you telephone me" And
so we were off, a shower of rice rafting
on the roof Of the brougham-the slat-
ternly man-servant had thrown it from
the midst of the group Of servants.
Neither of us spoke. | watched her
face without seeming to do so, ana by
the light OF occasional street lamps saw
her studying me furtively. At last She
said: II wish 20 go to my uncle's now"
"Wc are going home" said /.
'But the house win be shut up said
she. and every one win he IN bed. It's
nearly midnight. Besides, they might
not She came rs q full stop.
eve are going home" l repeated. 'Te
the Wil%!ocghby,"
Concluded Next Week. =
Why He Cion't Drink.
From the Kansas City Journal.
Hrha NopIit Star TOLL. rnaf n man frnrr