Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-04-20
CHAPTER XIII. (Continued.)

But what the cook had told about
Bella and Jimmy was not divulged,
for the HARRISON man caught him up
with jerk and sent Flanagan, grum-
bling, with his rugs to the roof.
1t did not seem possible to carry on
the deception much longer, but if
things were bad now, what would they
be when Aunt Selma learned she had
been lied to, made ridiculous, general
ly deceived? And how would | be
able to live in the house with her
when she did know? Luckily. every
one was so puzzled over the mystery
in the house that numbers of little
things that would have been absolute
ly damning were never noticed at all
For instance my asking Jimmy at
luncheon that day if he took cream in
his coffee! And Max coming to the
rescue by dropping his watch in his
glass of water, and creating a diver
sion and giving every body an oppor-
tunity to laugh by saying not to mind,
1t had been in soak before
Just after luncheon Aunt Selma
'rought me some undergarments of
as to be patched. She explained at
9Th that he had always worn out
Indergarments, because he always
med around so when he was sit
And she showed me how to lay
- of the garments over a pillow to
get the patch in properly.
1t was the most humiliating moment
of my life, but there was no escape. |
took my sewing to the roof. while she
went away to find something else for
me to DO when that was finished. and
I sat with the thing on my knee and
stared at it, while rebellious tears
rolled down my cheeks. The patch
was not the shape of the hole at all,
and every time / took a stitch I sewed
1t fast to the pillow beneath 1t was
terrible. jim came up after a while
aud sat down across from he and
watched. without saying anything. l
suppose what he felt would not have
been proper to say to me. We had
both reached the point where ade-
quate language failed us Finally he
said:
4 wish were dead"
so do l." retorted. jerking the
thread
Where is she now"
Looking for more of these" l in
dictated the garment over the pillow.
and he wiggled Please don't
squirm, l said coldly. You will wear
out your-lingerie, and will have to
mend them
He sat very stiu for five minutes.
when l discovered that l had put the
patch in crosswise instead of length
wise and that it would not fit As 1
jerked it out he sneezed,
"Oh. sneeze," I added venomously.
You Will tear your buttons of, and /
will have to sew them on"
Jim rose wrathfully. Don't sit.
don't sneeze,'" he repeated Don't
stand. suppose, for fear I will wear
out my socks Here, give me that. If
The fool thing has to be mended. III
do it myself"
He went over to a corner of the
parapet and turned his back to me.
He was very much offended In about
minute he came back, triumphant,
and held out the result of his labor
l could only gasp. He had puckered
up the edges of the hole like the neck
of q bag. and had tied the thread
around it. "You-you won't be able
TO sit down." I ventured.
Don't have any time TO sit" he re-
torted promptly. Anyhow. it will give
some won't 1t? 1t would if 1t was tied
with elastic, instead of thread Have
you any elastic?"
Lollie came up just then. and Jim
took himself and his mending down
stairs. Luckily. Aunt Selma found
several letters in his room that after
noon while she was going over his
clothes, and as it took Jim some time
to explain them, she forgot the task
she had given me altogether.
When Lollie came up to the roof,
she closed the door to the stairs. and
coming over. drew a chair close to
mine
Have you see much of Tom today?"
she asked. as an introduction.