Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1910-12-21
LANCASTER DECEMBER

INA put down her bonnet, 1t stirred
up gray white cloud that made her
cough. She did not say anything, but
she looked around the room grimly,
and l saw her run her finger over
the back Of a chair before she let
Hannah, the maid, put her cloak on it.
Anne looked frightened. She ran
into Bella's bath and wet the end of
towel and when Hannah was chang.
ing Aunt Selina's collar-her conces.
sion to evening dress-Anne wiped
off the obvious places on the furniture.
What's that young woman's
manner" she asked me sharply, when
Anne had taken the towel out to hide
1t.
Anne Brown, Mrs. Dallas Brown" /
replied meekly. Every one replied
meekly to Aunt Selma
Does she live here?"
ooh, no." I said airily. 'They are
here to dinner, she and her husband.
They are old friends of Jim's-and
mine"
Seems to have good eye for
dirt" said Aunt Selma and went on
fastening her brooch. When she was
finally ready, she took a bead purse
from somewhere about her waist and
took out half dollar. She held it up
before Hannah's eyes.
Tomorrow morning" she said
sternly, you take off that white cap
and that fol-de-rol apron and that
black henrietta cloth, and put on a
calico wrapper. And when you've got
this room aired and swept, Mrs Viii.
son will give you this"
Hannah took two steps back and
caught hold of chair; she stared
helplessly from Aunt Selma to the
half dollar, and then at me. Anne
was trying not to catch my eye.
"And another thing" Aunt Selma
said, from the head Of the stairs, Il
sent those towels over from Ireland.
Tell her to wash and bleach the one
Mrs What s-her-name Brown used as
q duster."
Anne was quite crushed as we went
down the stairs. / turned once, half
way down, and her face was a curious
mixture of guilt and hopeless wrath.
Over her shoulder / could see Han
nah, wide-eyed and puzzled, staring
after us.
Jim presented everybody, and then
he went into the den and closed the
door and we heard him unlock the
cellarette Aunt Selma looked at Lei
las bare shoulders and said she
guessed she didn't take cold easily,
and conversation rather languished.
Max Reed was looking like thunder
cloud, and he came over to me with
a lowering expression that l had
learned to dread in him.
What fool nonsense is this?" he
demanded. What in the world pos
sessed you, Kit, to put yourself in
such an equivocal position? Unless"
he stopped and turned little white
unless you are going to marry
Jim"
/ am sorry for Max. He is such
nice boy, and good looking, too, II
only he were not so fierce, and did not
want to make love to me- No matter
what do, Max always disapproves OF
it. I have always had deeply rooted
conviction that If / should ever in
weak moment marry Max, he would
disapprove of that, too, before | had
done it very long.
"Are your" he demanded, narrow
ing his eyes sign of unusually bad
humOr
Am / what?"
"Going to marry him?"
IF you mean Jim," l said with dig
nifty, II haven't made up my mind
yet Besides, he hasn't asked me-"
Aunt Selma had been talking wom-
ans suffrage in front of the fireplace,
but now she turned to- me.
''Is this the vase Cousin Jane Whit
comb sent you as a wedding present"
she demanded, indicating hideous
urn-shaped affair on the mantel 1t
came to me vas an inspiration that
Jim had once said it was an ancestral