The Marshall republican., 1911-01-20
tspyrisSs u ersas bsiSAia
XIII.

bvhh me hofaEt Wy sOme mbiu OF
footman. we repaired Immediately to
the dining room, where the wedding
luncheon. OF Dearest's creation, await.
cd Us. and had all taken our places bc.
fore the big clock on the mantel quite
ceased booming the hour. or course
the bridal nature OF the table decora.
lions made q hit-as my Americanized
wife persists in saying-with those two
ardent lovers. Brsncepeth and Agatha
First. and they admired and exclaimed
quite N II the whole thing were gotten
up for their especial benefit. And Il
was duriag this meal that We gathered
fuller details Of tho trials and tribula.
tons that had beset the path Of this
o happy pair. which explained and
accounted for many hitherto unac.
countable happenings Of our " ~.
perience.
Among other things II appeared that
B~rancepeth was. OF course. the owner
of the checked coat I had seen In the
automobile In the woods. and that the
coat We had found In Terhune's closet
later had only borne a resemblance TO
H. The young nan had down from
his unoic's place In his machine that
day. he told us. TO meet Agatha First
In the woods, by prearrangement with
her. which. Of courDe. explained the
business Of her assumed headache and
refusal to 90 to Northbury with us.
They had been obliged to keep their
attachment . secret evidently enough.
on account Of ~Brsncepeth's uncls's de-
termination TO marry him TO Miss Sim
plin. hut when W. protested against
their having left I'd out az their conn
tencs. Brancepsth explained they had
thought Il best because they feared
hat Cecil Chiitsrn. who. Il seemed.
was . great frisad and political ally Of
,his lssDotc uncle, would And out from
u. probably through my wife's friend
ship for his wife. about Drancepeth's
engagement 70 Agatha First, IN which
event Brancepeth felt convinced Chill
tern would feel II his duty - inforn
said dsspotio uncle, Thereby" - The
young man himself put u. raising the
deuce Of . row for nothing. don't you
know"
re had At nrst. II appeared. called
upon Agatha Endicott when she was
staying at Chiltsrn house. and courtsd
her oposly. but on hearing Of the Sim.
piin complication. Chiltern. who hated
the possibility Of being dragged into .
family row. " much ~ he disliked 10
b responsible for offending his power
ful friend and ally. had objected vehem-
emily and had forbidden q continuance
Of their intimacy. ut least for a. long
a. II was In his power to demand obe-
dienoc. That is. while tho girl was Q
guest under his roof. which decree
he'd forced B~rancepeth to cease his A.
teations temporarily. when our invita-
tien TO make M Of our house party
had msrcifully removed the other prin-
cipal In this romance to Wyckho6 ~
tie. A change Of scene. which while Il
did not utterly remove her from the
sphere Of danger. since q chance visit
on the part OF either her former or
present hostess to either mansion
might reveal all. still afforded her q
better opportunity to see her lover.
A state Of Affairs which naturally
explained Agatha Nrst's reluctance o
have my wife make the trip to Chiltsrn
house. where she feared mutual revela-
tions might be made which must neces-
sarily expose the secret OF Brance-
peth's courtship Of her. continued a. Il
was, In spite Of and against Mr.. Chill
terms expressed wish. Il was also
made plain to US that Agatha Trst's
devotion to Terhune sprang from two
sources. II IA assumed partly to
throw Mrp. Chiltern on the scent In
case she should make any attempt to
md out whether B~rancepeth were still
continuing his attentions. In case Of
awkward questions she wished my wife
to be able to say with truth that her
guest was interested In some one else.
That some one else CHANGING to be Ter
hume. She had also INDUCED In her
Irritation with Arch. she admitted
with q most engaging laugh aud teas.
ing glance at her lover. partly because
she had conceived a fondness for the
old boy, but softened this shaft by add.
Ing that she liked TO talk to him be-
cause she had discovered that he knew
Brancepeth, and she was therefor able
to talk about her lover. though abe
could not often zee him. Tsrhune's
fondness for her society--for boing
With Agatha gtrst--I thought. could be
explained sven more simply. He had
0uits given himself away that time
When hs had 90 nAivsly oonfdsd 10 me
~ bsuef that the girl VA = love with
him. Il wasn't IN HIS nature TO have
res1stsd an opportunity Of that kindi
But q odurse. I did not tall the rest Of
tAeu That. I had too much regard for
NJ fyjend. 80 spared him. ewes
WAile | lAughtsd tnwardly Il The egre-
sIons ~selfsconesit ~ the "a bay.
II "a al EAther compusated. = ~
nm, ~ very intersee1ne u thst. ~
pooroG< end ! jrtened ahaorho6Dy =
fn3 ~ y IAlaAad-t That hAlrshraattn