The Tupelo journal., 1911-03-03
CHAPTER v. (continued.)

mo one would think that, Bella" /
soUthed her. Everybody knows you
loathe him-Jim, too" She looked at
me over the edge of her cup.
"Tll 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. never saw
such a kitchen in all my life. Well.
lead the way, Kit. l suppose they are
deep in bridge, or roulette. or scme.
thing"
She was fixing her veil. and | saw
l would have to tell her. Personally,
l would much rather have told her
the house was on fire.
"Wait a minute, Bella" said. You
see, something queer has happened.
You know this is the anniversary
well, you know what it Island Jim
vas awfully glum. So we thought
we would come"
What are you driving att" she de-
manded. You are sea-green, Kit.
What's the matter? You needn't
think l mind because Jim has a joTli-
ication to celebrate his divorce"
TIT was Takahiro-in the am
bulance," l blurted. Smallpox. We
Bella, we are shut in, quarantined."
She didn't faint. She just sat
down and stared at me, and / stared
back at her. Then a miserable alarm
clock on the table suddenly went on
like an explosion. and Bella began to
iacph.-4 knew what that w~as--hys-
terra. she always had attacks like
that when hAings went wrong. was
quite despairXpg by that time; !
hoped they woH}d all hear her and
come downstairs and take her up and
put her to bed like Va Christian. SO
she could giggle her soH out. But
after a bit she quieted down. n pc
gan to cry softly, and | knew tne
worst was over. / gave her a shake,
and she was so angry that she got
over it altogether.
Exit, you are horrid," she choked.
Don't you see what a position / am
in? l am not going upstairs to face
Anne and tho rest of them. You can
just put me in the coal cellar"
Isn't there a window you could get
through" / asked desperately. Lock
ing the door doesn't shut up a 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 I said
she would have to get out, because /
was playing Bella in the performance,
and / 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 e the
fun out. But l 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 l
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 a door in
a corner and led the way through a
narrow hall past the refrigerating
room, to a huge, cemented cellar,
with a furnace in the center, and q
half-dozen electric lights making 1t
really brilliant.
Get a CHAIR Bella said over her
shoulder, e~xcitedly. T can get cut
easily here, through the coal hole
Imagine my
But it was my turn to grip Bella.
From behind the furnace were 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
q portly policeman. with q newspar
per and an empty plate on the hoor
on one side, and q champagne bottle
on the other. He had slid down in his
chair, with his chin on his brass but
tors. and his helmet had rolled q
dozen feet away. Bella had to clap