Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-05-25
CHAPTER XVIII.
AIison's Story.


She told her story evenly, with her
eyes on the water, only now and then,
when 1, too, sat looking seaward,
thought she glanced at me furtlvely.
And once. in the middle of it, she
stopped altogether.
"You don't realize it, probably" she
protested, "but you look like "a war
god. Your face is horrible"
az will turn my back, if it will help
any," I said stormily, 'but if you ex-
pect me to look anything but murder
Gus. why, you don't know what. am
going through with. That's all.
The story of her meeting with the
Curtis woman was brief enough. They
had met in Rome first, where Alison
and her mother had taken villa for
a year. Mrs Curtis had lowered on
the ragged edges of society there,
pleading the poverty of the south
since the war as a reason for not go
ing out more. There was talk OF
brother, but Alison had not seen him,
and after a scandal which implicated
Mrs. Curtis and a young attache OF
"A
been forbidden to see the woman.
'The women had never liked her,
anyhow" she said. "She did uncon-
ventional things, and they are very
conventional there. And they SAID
she did not always pay her-her
gambling debts. didn't like them. L
thought they didn't like her because
she was poor-and popular. Tfen-we
came home, and l almost forgot her.
but last spring, when mother was not
welI-she had taken grandfather to
the Riviera, and it always uses her
up-we went to Virginia Hot Springs,
and we met them there, the brother,
too. this time His name was Sullivan,
Harry Pinckney Sullivan.
81 know. Go on"
Mother had a nurse, and l was
alone a great deal, and they were very
kind to me. II saw a lot OF them.
The brother rather attracted me, part
ly-partly because he did not make
love to me. He even seemed to avoid
me. and 1 was piqued. l had been
spoiled, 1 suppose. Most of the other
HlSH l. hnON AcSo
81 knew that, too" 1 said bitterly,
and moved away from her a trifie. l
was brutal, but the whole story was
long torture. / think she knew what
| was suffering, for she showed no re-
sentiment.
ct was early and there were few
people around-none that / cared
about. And mother and the nurse
played cribbage eternally, until l felt
as though the little pegs were driven
into my brain. And when Mrs. Curtis
arranged drives and picnics, II
slipped away and went. I suppose
you won't believe me, but had never
done that kind of thing before, and /
well. have paid up, l think"
What sort of looking chap was
Sullivan?''l I demanded. l had got up
and was pacing back and forward on
the said. / remember kicking savage
" at a bit of water-soaked board that
lay in my way.
Every handsome-as large as you
are, but fair, and even more erect"
1 drew my shoulders up sharply. 1
am straight enough, but | was fairly
sagging with jealous rage.
when mother began to get around.
somebody told her that l had been
going about with Mrs. Curtis and her
brother, and we had dreadful time.
/ was dragged home like bad child.
Did anybody ever do that to you?"
Nobody ever cared. l was born
an orphan" | said, with a cherries
attempt at levity. 60 on"
IF Mrs Curtis knew, she never
said anything. She wrote me charm
ing letters, and in the summer, when
they went to Cresson, she asked me
to visit her there. / was too proud
to let her know that 1 could not go
where 1 wished, and sol sent Polly,
my maid, to her aunt's in the country,
pretended to go to Seal Harbor, and
really-went to Cresson. You see l
warned you it would be an unpleasant
story"
l went over and stood in front of
her. All the accumulated jealousy of
the last few weeks had been fired by
what she told me. If Sullivan had