The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1907-11-01
CHAPTER vI,.-(continued).

tea party proceeded apace. The old
black cat, sitting in his accustomed
place at the kitchen fire, rather resent
ed them. There was too much hustle,
and Mrs. Cheney and 'Tunia kept fly
ing about the fender and compelling
hln to mind his toes.
There was a pile of beautifully
brown mullins, done to turn. stand.
ing on the fender rest. There were
some dripping cakes in the oven,
which had to be looked at from time to
time to see that they did not get over
baked. There were sally-luns, which
'Tunia toasted slice by slice. handing
them to Mrs. Cheney to butter, and
there was hot buttered toast. which
was being specially prepared for old
Mr.. TOssiter, of the combined room.
who didn't eat cakes
The tea table was laid in the cosy
was Mrs. Cheney's own apartment.
and the table had had to be made
lager for the occasion. The extension
had been accomplished without much
difficulty; the only drawback was
that the space between the chairs and
the table was extremely limited.
But TUNA was thin, and she as
sured Mrs. Cheney that she could
squeeze through when her services
we're needed if the guests would
Kindly tilt their chairs forward a lit
tie.
Mrs. Cheney glanced at the clock.
1t was twenty-five minutes past 5. In
another five minutes the company
would, by previous arrangement, come
down stairs.
There would be the drawing room
foor-Mr Frank Allister, young nov
elist who had written one or two
books which had been favorably criti-
cised. but had not, in spite of the crit
tcisms, quite caught the public fancy.
There was Miss Maggie Allister, the
young novelist's sister, who had come
to town to attend the Guild Hall
school of music, and played so beauti-
fully on the piano her brother had
provided for her that old Mr. Tossiter
was quite sure she was going TO be
second Arabella Goddard.
There was the combined room-old
Mr.. Tossiter himself, who had been
the property master in a famous West
end theater, and had, owing to defect
i've eyesight, retired on a small pen
sion generously given him by the man
agement.
There was young Mrs. Peyton Pelh,
ericli, who, when she was governess
had lodged with Mrs. Cheney, and had
only left to be married to Mr.. Peytor
Petherick, a well-preserved. middle
aged widower, whose acquaintance
she had made through riding to town
with him every morning in the same
bus.
= Mrs. Peyton Pethericll was quite
we'll of now, and lived in one Of the
charming old houses on Denmark
Hill, but she often paid her old land.
lady visit and was tactful enough to
put on all her jewelry for the occa-
sion.
And, last of all, there was May Will
son. May was eight-and-twenty, tall
and pretty, but with a pathos in her
prettiness that had greatly interested
her fello w-lodger, Frank Allister. The
young novelist had been struck with
her the first time he met her in Mrs
=Cheney's sitting room and had an op-
portunity of talking to her.
"That girl has a story" he said to
his sister; I'm sure of it,"
ooh, nonsense, Frank" replied his
sister; "you are always reading 70.
mances, and pasts, and stories into
the people you meet. It's your bust
ness, suppose"
But, so far as the inmates of The
Winery knew, there was no romance
about May Wilson. She had a posi-
ton in the show room of famous
Regent street firm of milliners. She
had gone there with a recommends
ton from customer in the country,
and had begun as an assistant in the
showroom with a small salary. But
she had found favor with the man.
ageress of the department and had
worked up until she had attained
salary of s3 los a week, and on this
she was able to dress we'll and to live
comfortably in the "parlors'' at The
Winery.
AS the little clock in Mrs. Cheney's
sitting room struck the half-hour Mr..
Tcssiter entered, and, having wished
Mrs. Cheney many happy returns of
the day several times since the morn
ing. wished her many more happy re-
turns. It was the most appropriate
cntrance-line he could think of.
Frank Allister and his sister came a
minute later, and Frank presented
Mrs. Cheney with bunch of flowers,
which Mrs. Cheney accepted with a
delightful "Oh. you shouldn't" and
'Tunia, taking them from her mistress
to arrange in jug for the center of
the table. named each different flower
for the benefit Of the company, and
added, as she always did on ouch oc-
casions. "Of course, know all about
such things through father
May Wilson came In a little hurried
". sOh, l hope I've not kept you