Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-03-01
CHAPTER XVII.
A Clash and a Kiss

by Mr.. HARRISON and his square jaw,
and an irresistible force, Jimmy and
his weight and there is bound to be
trouble
The real fault was Jims. He had
gone entirely mad again over Bella,
and thrown prudence to the winds.
He mooned at her across the dinner
table, and waylaid her on the stairs
or in the back halls, just to hear her
voice when she ordered him out Of the
way. He telephoned for flowers and
candy for her quite shamelessly, and
he got out book of photographs that
they had taken on their wedding jour
ney, and kept it on the library table.
The sole concession he made to our
presumptive relationship was to bring
me the responsibility for everything
that went wrong, and his shirts for
buttons.
The first I heard of the trouble was
from Dali He waylaid me in the hall
after dinner that night, and his face
was serious.
I'm afraid we can't keep it up very
long. Kit" he said with Jim trail
old lady keener every day, it's bound
to come out somehow. And that isn't
all Jim and HARRISON had a set-to
today-about you"
about mel" I repeated ooh,
dare say I have been falling short
again What was Jim doing? Abusing
me?"
Dial looked cautiously over his Shout
der, but no one was near.
ct seems that the gentle Bella has
been unusually beastly today to Jim,
and believe she's jealous of you,
Kit Jim followed her up to the roof
before dinner with a box of flowers,
and she tossed them over the parapet.
She said, I believe, that she didn't
want his flowers: He could buy them
for you, and be damned to him, or
some lady-like equivalent"
"Jim is a jellyfish," I said CON
temptuously. what did he say?"
Gle said he only cared for one WON
an, and that was Bella: That he never
had really cared for you and never
would and that divorce courts were
not unmitigated evils if they showed
people the way to ereal happiness.
Which wouldn't amount to anything
if HARRISON had not been in the tent,
trying to sleep!"
Dial did not know all the particulars,
but it seems that relations between
Jim and Mr. HARRISON were rather
strained Bella had left the roof and
Jim and the HARRISON man came face
to face in the door of the tent Ac-
cording to Dial, little had been said.
but jim, bound by his promise to me,
could not explain, and could only
stammer something about being an
old friend Of Miss Knowles. And Tom
had replied shortly that it was none
OF his business, but that there werS
some things friendship hardly justi-
fed, and tried to pass Jim. Jim was
instantly enraged: He blocked the
door to the roof and demanded to
know what the other man meant.
There were two or three versions of
the answer he got. The general pur-
port was that Mr. HARRISON had no
desire to explain further, and that
the situation was forced on him. But
II he insisted-when a man system
atically ignored and neglected his
wife for some one else, there were
communities where he would be tarred
and fathered.
Meaning me?" Jim demanded, apo
pletic.
"The re ark was a general one"
Mr.. HaSbison retorted, "but if you
wish to make a concrete applica-
ton"
Dial had gone up just them, and
found them glazing at each other. Jim
with his hands clenched at his sides
and Mr.. HARRISON with his arms fold
ed and very erect. Dial took jim by
the elbow and led him downstairs,
muttering, and the situation was
saved for the time. But Dial was not
optimistic.
"You can do bit yourself, Kit" he
finished. Look more cheerful, f1irt
little. You can DO that without try
ing. Take Max on for a day or so:
1t would be charity anyhow. But
don't let Tom HARRISON take it into
his head that you are grieving over
Jim's neglect, or he's likely to toss
him off the roof"
81 have no reason to think that Mr.
HARRISON cares one way or the other
about me-" I said primly. "You don't
think he's-he's in love with me, do
you, DALI" I watched him out Of the
corner of my eye, but he only looked
amused
I'm love with you!" he repeated.
why, bless your wicked little heart,
no! Tie thinks you're married wom-
an! It's the principle of the thing
he's fighting for. If I lad as much
principle as he has Td-Td put it out
at interest"
Max interrupted us just then, and
asked if we knew where Mr.. HARRISON
was
Cant find him." ne said. "I've got
the telephone together and have
enough left over to make another.