The Tupelo journal., 1909-03-12
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1.WEW

"Ah," sighed the colonel very softly.
not stirring a muscle. of his politely
attentive face; "and does Aunt Re-
becca expect to go on the train?"
"They told me at the Pullman Office
that she had the d~rawing-room, the
stateroom and two sections. OF course,
she has her maid with her and
Archi-"
"Does he 60, too?" the colonel
asked, his eyes narrowing a little.
"Yes, she's taking him to Cali
fornia; he doesn't seem well enough,
she thinks, to go to school, SO he is
to have a tutor out there. I'm a lit
tie afraid Aunt Rebecca mollycoddles
the boy"
AUNT Rebecca never struck me as
a mollycoddler. / always considered
her a tolerably cynical old Spartan.
But do you mean there is any doubt
of their going? Awfully good of you
to wait to see if they don't go, but I'm
sure Aunt Rebecca wouldn't want you
to sacrifice your section"
Mrs. Melville lifted a shapely hand
in a Delsartian gesture of arrest; her
smiling words were the last the col
onel had expected. Hush, dear Ber-
tie; Aunt Rebecca doesn't know I am
going. I don't want her to know I'M
til we are on the train"
ooh, I see, a surprise?" But he did
not see; and, with a quiet intentness,
he watched the color raddle Mrs. Mel
ville's smooth cheeks.
Hardly" retHned the lady. "The
truth is, BERTHE Melville and l are
worried about Aunt Rebecca. She, we
fear, has fallen under the influence of
a most plausible adventures; l sup
pose you have heard of her COM
panion, Miss Smith,
Cant a | have exactly" said the
colonel placidly, but his eyes mar
rowed again. who is the lady?"
81 thought am sure Melville must
have written you. But Oh, yes, he
wrote yesterday to Boston. Well, Ber-
tie, Miss Smith is a southerner; she
says she is a South Carolinian, but
Aunt Rebecca picked her up in Wash
ington, where she was with a kink of
cousin of ours who was half crazy.
Miss Smith took car of her and she
died"-she fixed a darkling eye on
the soldier-"she died and she left
Miss Smith money"
"Much?"
"a few thousands. That Is how
Aunt Rebecca met her, and she pulled
the wool over %auntie's eyes, and they
came back together. She's awfully
clever"
Young? Pretty?'
ooh, dear, no. And she's nearer 40
than 80. Just the designing age for e
woman when she's still wanting -
marry some one but beginning to be
afraid that she can't. Then such
creatures always try to get money. If
they can't marry it, and there's no
man to set their caps for, they try to
wheedle it out of some poor fool
woman!" Millicent was in earnest,
there was no doubt of that; the sure
sign was her unconscious return to
the direct expressions of her early
life in the middle west.
"And you think Miss Smith is try
ing to influence Aunt Rebecca?"
"Of course she is; and Aunt Re
becca is so, Rupert. And often while
people of her age show no other sign
of weakening intellect, they are not
well regulated in their affections;
they take fancies to people. and get
doting and clinging. She is getting to
depend on Miss Smith. Really, that
woman has more influence with her
than all the rest of us together. She
won't hear a word against her. Why!
when l tried to suggest how little we
knew about Miss Smith and that it
would be better not to trust her too
entirely, she positively resented it. OF
course l used tact, too. l was so hurt,
so surprised" Mrs. Millicent was
plainly aggrieved.
The colonel, who had his own
opinion of the tact of his brothers
wife, was not so surprised; but he
made an inarticulate sound which
might pass for sympathy.
CTO BE CONTINUED)