Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-27
.MeMAN II the...
BROWN DERBY
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WkuS HASTlN6S
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The Professors kiystsrJ
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back, that you have some idea how
to run one Of these things, and will
keep in mind that life Is still sweet
to me. Mr.. Ellsworth"
81 think you can depend one me-
il answered; land Nancy, If she will,
is going to sit In front with me, which,
4 added maliciously, twill give you an
opportunity for little tete-a-tete with
Mr.. Bond. BY the way, beg your par
don: l am afraid you have not met
Mr.. Bond. Mrs. Lathrop, may intro
duce Mr. Bond? You have heard me
speak of him, am sure. He is my
uncle-in-law, and he Is going down
with US into Pennsylvania"
Mrs. Lathrop shifted, and, regret to
say, winked at me portentously.
"Mr. Bond" she said, you don't
know how pleased l am to meet you.
Mason has said SO much of his fairy
godfather"
Ephraim Bond said nothing, and
looked SO wan and dazed and stricken
that almost found it in my heart to
be sorry for him. Mrs Lathrop evil
IDENTIFY was made of sterner stuff, and
as Nancy changed into the front seat,
heard her assuring him Of the Joy 1t
must be to shower blessings with such
an open hand. Then, with Nancy by
my side, and the open road before me,
with home at Its farther end. forgot
about them, as had already done
once that morning. For little while
we talked in monosyllables. A strange
shyness seemed to have come upon
Nancy; and acquainting myself with
the intricacies of an unfamiliar car
took my mechanical attention. At the
first crossroads we stopped, and had
out my road maps; for 1t occurred to
me joyfully that need not take the
roundabout route via New York, nor
perhaps even return ar far as SYRIA
cuse, but could strike directly south,
cutting into Pennsylvania somewhere
below Binghamton and, by way Of
Scranton, come down to Doylestown
and home. Nancy held the fluttering
maps straight in her lap, while pain
fully plotted our route and made some
rough estimation of the miles; finding
to my surprise, that we had but little
over two hundred and fifty miles to
60, with such an early start, not i'm
possible days journey for the car l
was driving. The road was perfect,
and save for an occasional farmer or
dairyman we had 1t to ourselves, SO
that by breakfast time we were In
CORTLAND.
And we were all of US very ready
for breakfast. The rush through the
May sunshine, and perhaps some mea-
sure Of rebound happiness, had acted
on Nancy like tonic. Mrs. Lathrop
was once again her natural, viyacious,
bird-like self. Even Bphraim Bond,
by what miracle of teasing and ca
jolery could ever understand, looked,
not himself again, but new and alto
gether more pleasing old gentleman.
At the hotel made some shift at re-
moving the marks of my night con-
flict, and although my clothes were so
torn that I thought it best to sit down
at table in driving dust-coat, yet, but
for this incongruity, felt, and | think
looked, fairly presentable. Nancy, I
know, was a radiant creature, whose
sparkling beauty fairly dazzled me.
She was hatless, of course, but with
MRS Lathrop's voluminous veil half
shrouding the glory of her hair, caught
In some dexterous intricacy at the
neck, and falling from her shoulders
in wondrous folds that am sure it had