Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-12-28
PAGE THREE

uuSI WILL d ldIh! Anu Iu6y dcIu-
ally began to pin up their dinner
gowns. 1t was Jim who stopped that.
"Oh, look here, you people," he OBJ
jected, I'm not going to let you do
that. Well get some servants in to-
morrow. I'll go down and put out the
lights. There will be enough clean
dishes for breakfast"
1t was lucky for me that this started
a new discussion then and there about
who would get the breakfast. In the
midst of the excitement I slipped
away to carry the news to Bella. She
was where l had left her, and she had
made herself cup of tea, and was
very much at home, which was
natural
DO you know" she said ominously,
''that you have been away for two
hours? And that have gone through
agontes Of nervousness for fear jim
Wilson would come down and think
/ came here to see him."
mo one would think that, Bella
soothed her. Everybody knows you
loathe him-Jim, too" She looked at
me over the edge Of her cup.
''Ill run along now,'' she said, "since
Takahiro isn't here. And if Jim has
any sense at all, he will clear out
every maid in the house. 1 never saw
such kitchen in all my life Well,
lead the way, Kit. suppose they are
deep in bridge, or roulette, or some
thing"
She was fixing her veil, and saw
would have to tell her Personally,
I would much rather have told her
the house was on fire
'Wait minute, Bella" I said. "You
see, something queer has happened.
You know this is the anniversary
well, you know what it is-and Jim
was awfully glum. So we thought
we would come"
What are you driving att" she de-
handed. "You are sea4green, Kit.
What's the matter? You needn't
think | mind because Jim has a jolli-
fication to celebrate his divorce"
TIT was Takahiro-in the am
bulance,' blurted. Smallpox. We
Bella, we are shut in, Quarantined.'
She didn't faint She just sat
down and stared at me, and I stared
back at her Then miserable alarm
clock on the table suddenly went off
like an explosion and Bella began to
laugh. I knew what that was-hys-
terra. She always had attacks like
that when things went wrong. | was
quite despairing by that time; I
hoped they would all hear her and
come downstairs and take her up and
put her to bed like a Christian, so
she could giggle her soul out. But
after a bit she quieted down and be-
gan to cry softly, and l knew the
worst was over. I gave her a shake,
and she was so angry that she got
over it altogether.
kit, you are horrid," she choked.
Don't you see what a position I am
in? I am not going upstairs to face
Anne and the rest of them. You can
just put me in the coal cellar
isn't there window you could get
through" l asked desperately. Lock
ing the door doesn't shut up whole
house"
Bella's courage revived at that, and
she said yes, there were windows,
plenty of them, only she didn't see
how she could get out. And | said
she would have to get out, because I
was playing Bella in the performance,
and l didn't care to have an under
study. Then the situation dawned
on her, and she sat down and laughed
herself weak in the knees. Of course
she wanted to stay then, and see the
fun out. But | was firm; she would
have to go, and told her so. Things
were complicated enough without her.
Well, we looked funny, no doubt.
Bella in a Russian pony automobile
coat over the black satin she had
worn at the Cleveland's dinner, and I
in cream lace, the skirt gathered up
from the kitchen floor, with Bella's
ermine pelerine around my bare shout
ders, and dishes and overturned chairs
everywhere.
Bella knew more about the lower re-
gions of her ex-home than I would
have thought She opened door in
a corner and led the way through a
narrow hall past the refrigerating
room, to a huge, cemented cellar,
with furnace in the center and a
nalT-dOZen electric lights making IL
really brilliant
Get chair" Bella said over her
shoulder, excitedly. 81 can get out
easily here, through the coal hole.
| Imagine my"
But it was my turn to grip Bella.
From behind the furnace we're coming
| the most terrible sounds, rasping
noises that fairly frayed the silk Of
my nerves. We stood petrified for an
instant Then Bella laughed. They
are not all gone" she said carefully.
Some one is asleep there"
We tiptoed to where we could see
around the furnace, and, sure enough,
some one was asleep there. Only, it
was not one of the servants; it was
portly policeman, with a newspa-
| per and an empty plate on the floor