Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1911-08-25
own brains and energy. But he won

own Drains anu energy. 6ut ne VOL
dered why it was that they never
seemed to have any. company but him
self, and why it was that her aunts
seemed to be so Internally careful of
her. There was something mysterious
about the whole outfit-When a fell
low took time to think it over of an
evening with his pipe. And thinking
it over, with and without the pipe,
had been Bills sole occupation for
matter Of three months, during which,
the more he thought of it, the stran-
ger it seemed to grow.
Bill and the aunts had talked about
every phase of the case-so far as
| Bill himself was concerned. Cues
toned by the aunts-nicely, gently, in
| the most simple and straightforward
way in the world, but soulsearching
and practical, when he came to think
Of 1t. Bill had been turned inside out
and studied in all his tissues with
the microscope. At one or another
time he had told them-when he came
to think of everything of impor
lance that had happened since the
| day of his birth They would dis
cuss hiIn-those aunts of hers-before
his very face, as if he were not there
at all, with mods of approval to each
other whenever they were specially
pleased with any Of Bills various &C
complishments or virtues. They
seemed to be particularly gratified
when he gave them an account of his
family tree, nodding with extra vigor,
as much as to say that there was no
need Of going into that subject any
| farther. Yes, yes. Good old Connec-
ticut family-farmers, you know, but
with excellent connections, and not
undistinguished in history. When
| they discussed him in that strange
| way Bill seemed to feel rather queer,
!, and yet he could not bring himself to
| challenge it, They did it in such a
nice little way that Bill even at times
| imagined for minute that he was not
| the party under fire at all; that he
| himself was one of the aunts, and
that the man they were talking about
was some fellow in New Jersey. But
there was yet thing that Bill had
not given up to them; thing that,
one way or another, he could not
bring himself to disclose. it was alto
| gether such a delicate and personal
matter with himself.
| No doubt he would have told them
| long ago about the silver jaw had he
not feared that the disclosure would
prove a shock to Angelique And yet
his conscience would not let him rest
while the jaw remained a secret.
| Was it right for man with a sill
yer jaw to marry the finest girl in
the world without telling her that that
left upper maxillary of his was made
of silver instead of bone? If she took
him with the understanding that his
| Jaw was of the usual manufacture,
would not the contract be void, &C
cording to the law Of contract as he
| found it expounded in the books?
| 1t was indeed knotty problem; al
together too knotty for Bills as yet
undeveloped legal penetration, and he
decided in the depths Of his woe to
seek out Doctor Cringer and get his
advice on the question. Doctors are
always good counsel, thought Bill,
especially when they have cut three
or four pieces out of mans anatomy
and have set him up again as good as
new.
| When Bill had told him the story,
being careful to omit the lady's name,
Cringer became thoughtful a mo-
ment.
"Has she got any money!"
| NO" said Bill "She lives in a
big boarding house on the avenue"
| Then" announced Cringer, with
prompt decision, your course Is clear
l assume that you are looking for a
wife and not for a handbook. In
which case, up and tell her that you
have a silver jaw. If she cares a
straw for you she won't let little
detail like that interfere for min
ute with the business. She will go
to you like horse to his oats. If she
| balks you can be certain that she
doesn't care as much for you as she
cares for a baby cat. And in that
case, my boy, you'll be better Off with
out her. Take my own case, for in
stance When l was courting-but
come back, Bill, and let me know how
she takes it, will you?"
Bill went away no better than he
had come To him, Cringer's advice
had small comfort in it. II she did
not care enough of him to take him
with the silver jaw as boots in the
bargain, he had no desire to be in
formed of the fact. He was anything
but hankering for proof positive that
she was not the square little, nice
little girl he thought her. And be-
sides all that, the business had run
| along so smoothly and SO fast that it
would be shame to spoil it now.
Hang the silver jaw, anyway!
But as Cringer's advice worked it
self slowly into the texture of his
mind, he began to take another view
of the question. 1t was possible, after
all, that Cringer was right. It was
| just possible that she had been fool
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