Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-06-12
ICHAPTERL,6T
| FIFTEENNf

rigid self chastiSement All that had
been so materially desirable Ia her In
life. all that she had heretofore wor
SHIPPED in aud belonging TO her own
world, she now denied. Down went
the miniature golden calf from the al
tar in her private shrine. its tiny
crashing fall making considerable
racket throughout her world and the
planets and satellites adjacent To that
section of the social system which she
had long been expected TO dominate.
The spectacle of their youthful ruler
elect In sackcloth as the future bride
of business man had more than dis
concerted them. The amazing an
nouncement OF Quarters engagement
10 Agatha Caithness stupefied the
elect, rendering in one narrowing in
slant null and void the thousand petty
plans and plots. intrigues and schemes
upon which future social constructions
on the social structure had been based
The grief and amazement of Major
Belwether, already distracted by his
nonparticipation through his own
fault in Plank's consolidation of Anal
gamated with lntercounty, was pitia-
BILE to the verge of the unpleasant
Like panic stricken rabbits, his
thoughts ran in circles, and he skipped
in their wake. scurrying from Quarter
TO Harrington, from Harrington to
Plank, from Plank to Siward. in dis
tracted hope of recovering his equilib-
rum and squatting safely somewhere
in somebody's luXurianty perpetual
cabbage patch. He even squeezed I'M
der the fence and hoped humbly
about old Peter Caithness, who sud
denly assumed monumental proportions
among those who had so long tolerat-
ed him.
But Quarter coldly drove him away,
and the increasing crowds, besieging
poor bewidered old Peter Caithness.
trod upon the major, and there was
nothing for him to do but to scuttle
back to his own brush heap and hud-
die there, squeaking pitifully.
AS for Grace Ferrall she lost no
time in tears, but took Agatha publicly
to her bosom, turned furiously on Quar-
rier in private and for the first time
in her life permitted herself the lux
ury Of telling him exactly what she
thought of him.
you had your chance" she said
"But you are all surface! There's moth
ing to you but soft beard and manicur-
ing and the reticence of stupidity! The
one girl for you-and you couldn't hold
on to her! The one chance of your
life-and it's escaped you, leaving a
tuft of pompadour hair and a pair Of
womans eyes protruding from the
golden dust heap your father buried
you in. Now you'd better sit there
and let 1t cover your mouth, and try
to breathe through your nose. Agatha
is looking for a new sensation. She's
tried everything, now she's going to
try you. That's all. She will be an
invaluable leader, Howard, and we
shall not yawn, assure you But, oh,
the chance you've lost, for lack of a
drop Of red blood and a barber to give
you the beard of man.
Which merely deepened the fear and
hatred which Quarter had entertained
FOR his pretty cousin from the depths
of his silk wadded cradle. AS for
Kemp Ferrall, now third vice presi-
dent of Intercounty, he only laughed
with the tolerance of man in safety,
and, looking at Quarter through the
pickets of the financial fence, not only
forgot how close his escape had been.
but, being busy and progressive
young man, began to consider how he
might ultimately extract little profit
from the expensive tenant of the in
closure
Grace made the journey to town to
express herself freely for Sylvia's ben
eft. But when she saw Sylvia the
girls radiant beauty checked her, and
all she could say was: my dear, my
dear, knew you would do it! | knew
you would fling him Oh his head It's
IN your blood, you little iade-you lit
tie jilt! You mink of baggage! \
knew you'd behave like all women of
your race!'
Then she drove to the Santa Regina,
where Marion was to join her in her
return to ShotOver. And she was al
ready trying to make up her disturbed |
mind as to which might prove the
more suitable for Marion-Captain|
Voucher, gloomily recovering from his |
defeat by Quarter, or Billy Fleetwood, |
who didn't want to marry anybody.
In the meanwhile Siward's new du- |
ties as second vice president of Inter-
county had given him scant leisure for
open air convalescence. He was busy
with Plank. He was also busy with
the private investigation stirred up at
the PATRONS club and the Lenox and
which was slowly but inevitably re.
sulting in clearing him, so that his
restoration to good standing and full
membership remained now only mat
ter OF formal procedure.
SO SiwaId was becoming a very
busy man among men, and Plank, still
carrying on his broad shoulders bur-
dens unbearable by any man save such
man as he. shook his heavy head and
ordered Siward into the open. And
SlWard, who had learned to obey,
obeyed.
But September had nearly ended
when Leila, in Plank's private car. at
tended by Siward and Sylvia and two
trained nurses, arrived at the Fells.
The nurses-Plank's idea-were a sur
prise to Leila, and the day after her
arrival at the Fells she dismissed
them, got out of bed and dressed and
came downstairs all alone on a pair of
sound though faltering legs.