The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1911-05-05
CHAPTER KIN. (cOntlnued.)

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 l 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
brought me some undergarments of
JG1's to be patched. She explained at
length that he had always worn out
his undergarments, because he always
squirmed around so when he was sit
ting. And she showed me how to lay
one 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
sat with the thing on my knee and
stared at it, while rebellious tears
rol,oi down my cheeks. The patch
was not the shape of the hole at all,
and every time l took a stitch I sewed
it fast to the pillow beneath. 1t was
terrible. Jim came up after a while
and sat down across from he and
watched, without saying anything. /
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
"I wish l were dead"
$50 do l." l retorted, Jerking the
thread.
Where is she now?"
Looking for more of these" 1 In
dicated the garment over the pillow,
and he wiggled. Please don't
squirm," 1 said coldly. You will wear
out your-lingerie, and I will have to
mend them"
He sat very still for Ave minutes,
when / discovered that had put the
patch in crosswise instead of length
wise and that 1t would not fit. AS l
1erked 1t out he sneezed.
"Oh, sneeze," added venomously
"You win tear your buttons off, and 1
will have to sew them on"
Jim rose wrathfully. Don't sit,
don't sneeze," he repeated. Don't |
stand, suppose, for fear will wear
out my socks. Here. give me that. If
the fool thing has to be mended, I'll !
do It myself"
He went over to corner of the
parapet and turned his back to me.
He was very much offended. In about !
a minute he came back, triumphant, |
and held out the result Of his labor
/ could only gasp. He had puckered
up the edges of the hole like the neck
Of a bag, and had tied the thread
around it. 'You-ypu won't be able
to sit down." ventured
Don't have any time to sit" he re-
torted promptly "Anyhoy, 1t will give
some, won't It? 1t would If it 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
loon while she was going over his
,lothea, and as 1t took Jim some time
o explain them. she forgot the task
The had given me altogether.
When Lollie came up to the roof.
Ihe closed the door to the stairs, and
,oming over, drew chair close to
nine.
"Eave you see much Of Tom todayY"
ihe asked. a. an Introduction. II