Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-06-21

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Going to mary him."
IF you mean Jim," l said with dig
nifty, Il haven't made up my mind yet.
Besides, he hasn't asked me-"
Aunt Selma had been talking Wo-
mans Suffrage in front of the fire.
place, but now she turned to me.
rs this the vase Cousin Jane Whit
comb sent you as a wedding present."
she demanded, indicating a. hideous
urn n-shaped affair on the mantel. 1t
! came to me as an inspiration that Jim
had once said it was an ancestral urn,
so 1 said without hesitation that it
was. And because there was a pause
and every one was looking at us, l
added that it was a beautiful thing
Aunt Selma shifted.
"Iideous!" she said 1T looks like
| Cousin Jane, shape and coloring."
Then she looked at it more closely,
pounced on it, turned it upside down
and shook it. A card fell out, which
Dallas picked up and gave her with a
bow. Jim had come out of the den
and was dancing wildly around and
| beckoning to me. BY the time l had
made out that that was not the vase
Cousin Jane had sent us as a wedding
present. Aunt Selma had examined the
card. Then she glared across at me
and, STOPPING, put the card in the fire.
I did not understand at all, but 1 knew
l had in some way done the unfor-
givable thing. Later, Dal told me 1t
was her card. and that she had sent the
| vase to Jim at Christmas, with gen.
| erous check inside. When she straight
| ened from the fireplace, 1t was to a
| new theme, which she attacked with
her usual vigor. The vase incident
was over, but she never forgot it. She
proved that she never did when she
sent me two urn-shaped vases with
Paul and Virginia on them, when /
| that Is, later on.
THE cause in England has made
great strides" she announced from the
| fireplace. Soon the hand that rocks
| the cradle will be the hand that ac-
tually rules the world" Here she look
ed at me.
I'm not up on such things" Max said
blandly, having recovered some Of his
good humor, "but-isn't. 1t usually a
| foot that rocks the cradle?"
Aunt Selma turned on him and Mr..
HARRISON, who were standing together,
with a snort.
What have you, or you, ever done
for the independence Of women?" she
| demanded.
Mr.. HARRISON smiled. He had been
looking rather grave until then. I'VE
| have at least remained unmarried" he
| retorted. And then dinner was again
announced.
He was to take me out, and he came
across the room to where sat collaps-
| ed in chair, and bent over me.
DO you know" he said, looking
down at me with his clear, disconcert-
ing gaze, do you know that I have
just grasped the situation? There was
such a noise that I did not hear your
| name, and I am only realizing now
that you are my hostess! l don't
know why I got the impression that
this was a bachelor establishment, but
1 did. Odd, wasn't it?'
positively couldn't look away from
him. My features seemed frozen, and
my eyes were glued to his. AS for
| telling him the truth-well, my tongue
refused to move. intended to tell him
during dinner if had an opportunity:
| honestly did. But the more / looked
at him and saw how candid his eyes
were, and how stern his mouth might
be, the more / shivered at the plunge.
| And, of course, as everybody knows
now, 1 didn't tell him at all. And ev-
erybody knows now, didn't tell him
at all. And every moment l expect
| that awful old woman to ask me what
| I paid my cook, and when had chang
| ed the color of my hair-Bella's being
| black.
Dinner was a half hour late when we
finally went out, Jimmy leading OF
with Aunt Selma, and /, as hostess,
trailing behind the procession with
| Mr.. HARRISON. Dallas took in the two
| Mercer girls, for we were one man
short, and Max took Anne. Leila Mer-
Ger was so excited that she wriggled,
and as for me, the candles and the or
chids- everything-danced around in
| circle. and I Just seemed to catch the
hack of nv chair as it flew past. Jim
had ordered away the wines and
brought out some weak and cheap Chi
anti. Dallas looked gloomily at the
change, but Jim explained in an under
tone that Aunt Selma didn't approve
of expensive vintages. Naturally the
meal was glum enough.
| Aunt Selma had had her dinner on
the train, so she spent her time III
asking me questions the length or
the table, and in getting acquainted
with me. She had brought a bottle
of some sort of medicine downstairs
with her, and she took a claret-glass-
| full while she talked. The stuff was
called Pomona: shall l ever forget
lit?
| 1t was Mr.. HARRISON who first no
ticed Takahiro. Jimmy's Jap had
been the only thing in the menage
that Bella declared she mad hated 10
leave. But he was doing the strang-
est things: his little black eyes shift
ed nervously, and he looked queer.
Whats wrong with him." Mr.
HARRISON asked me finally, when he
saw that l noticed. us he ill?'
Then Aunt Selina's voice from the
other end of the table:
Bella" she called, in a high shrill
tone, "do you let James eat cucum-
bers?"
| "I think he must be-" l said hur-
riedly aside to Mr.. HARRISON see
how his hands shake!" But Aunt
Selma would not be ignored.
| "Cucumbers and strawberries, she
repeated impressively. II was saying
Bella, that cucumbers have always
given James the most fearful indiges-