Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-12-17
y shoulders" She said. with a quickl

my shoulders" she said, with a quick
display Of dimples, land l am more
grateful than ! can express. l should,
not have had an easy minute after
Mrs. Bundy's experience, although i
am inclined to believe it was one of,
the strange men who spent the night
here, rather than guest or servant of
the hotel. / would rather think so.
And do you know" she continued,
thoughtfully, my maid says that sew
eral of>these men left very early, with
out waiting for breakfast--as soon as
1t was light, in fact That in itself
seems suspicious, under the circum.
stances, but then, as / said, every one
is inclined to suspect every one else,
and 1t is all very horrid and uncom-
Portable. Now. do let us go outside
again, and not waste this glorious
day"
We had delightful morning, for
our guest was even more charming
than usual. There was subdued ex-
hilaration in her manner, and an ex-
uberance of spirit we had never seen
before; her cheeks were softly pink,
and her eyes shone, as she chatted
merrily of various things after the
| fashion of girls the world over. In
| her softened mood, with the grande
| dame manner laid aside, she was quite
irresistible. and l found myself won
dering why her left hand bore neither
wedding nor engagement ring, and
whether she as well as her brother had
| an unhappy romance to be lived down
and forgotten.
She did not, however, convey the
| impression of lovelorn damsel for a
| more radiant creature l have never
seen. By the time lunch was over we
felt as though we had known her al
ways, and were planning a summer
abroad, part of which was to be spent
at her fathers castle in Scotland.
Il hope" she added, that Wilfrid
will have quite recovered his ppise
before you come over, and you can see
him as he really is-such dear fell
low! And then, who knows what
might happen? One of you might be
induced to stay in the old world, for
we have many friends, and American
girls are very popular, you know"
After lunch Elizabeth declared her
intention of going down the cellar to
see what it was like, saying that II
made her very uncomfortable not to
know what she lived over; but she re-
turned Immediately, with a most dis.
gusted expression.
MARY Anne is scrubbing," she an.
nounced, "and the whole place is as
wet as the ocean. I'll have to wait
until tomorrow. Just now / woulo
need a boat"
Whats the use of bothering?" in
quired Gabrielle, placidly. 1T woulc
not worry me If never explored the
cellar Just so | know it's there, d,
don't care what it looks like"
We'll, / do" returned Elizabeth
land I'm going down there the frs.
thin1 in the morning, if j don't for
get it."
Suppose we walk down to the
wharf in the village" suggested Lady
Edith "and meet Wilfrid. We Nigh
induce him to take us for a sail"
7 But l Still felt very indolent anC
7 preferred the hammock, with it's many
2 pillows and cool breeze, to the long
= hot walk to the village, so the other
three started cheerfully off, leaving
me to my own devices.
4 For while l swung idly to and fro
i watching the dancing water and ad
t miring the effect of the sunlight OF
; the occasional sail which ventureC
! around the point from the island col
| ony on the other side. / was thinking
9 in desultory way of poor Mrs. Bundy
S and her lost emeralds, and of Lady
r Edith and her mothers pearls, ant
wishing she had opened the box anc
t shown them to us before locking then
: away, when | heard q step upon the
A gravel path, and Gordon Bennett lifted
his cap and smiled amicably upon me
as though he were quite in the habit
t of paying uS daily visits.
? | noticed then what white teeth he
e had and how he smiled with his eyes
/ portant depression.
Il apologize for coming so often,
5 he remarked, appropriating com
: Portable chair. my excuse is that
! wish to return your property. for
got it yesterday"
4 He drew Gabrielle's bag from his
pocket as he spoke, and regarded it af
| feetionately.
tt AT last" he continued, II suppose
t it belongs to one of you; found it or
the steamer coming up, you know, just
/ where you had been sitting"
, | acknowledged our ownership o.
l the property, and extended my hant
I for it, but he held it thoughtfully, as
5 though unwilling to relinquish 1t.
Y would you mind" he said at last
. with some hesitation, telling me VIII,
; when / started to bring you this bag
: that night on the steamer, you al
4 turned and fed as though l had beer
a carnivorous animal?"
There was a twinkle In his eye
D which made me holly resentful, al
though l tried to preserve a cool ant
: Indifferent manner.
Would you really like to know?"
/ "Pining to be told; have lost val
3 liable sleep trying to work it out"
4 well, we thought you were crazy
why, please?"
His voice was genuinely astonished
; and plunged at once into an explana
tion hoped would be satisfactory.