Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1913-11-07
CHAPTER x.
An Ambuscade.

An AmDGSCdoe.
Fran's conception of the Clinton
Boarding-House, the home of jollity,
was not warranted by its real atmos-
phere. Since there were not many
inhabitants of Littleburg detached
from housekeeping, Miss Sapphire
Clinton depended for the most part
on "transients;" and. to hold such in
subsection, preventing them from in
dulging in that noisy gaiety to which
"transients" are naturally inclined
just because they are transitory-the
elderly spinster had developed an alb
normal solemnity.
This solemnity was not only benef-
cial to "drummers" and court men,
acutely conscious of being away from
home, but 1t helped her brother Bob.
Before the charms of Grace Noir had
penetrated his thick skin, the popular
Littleburg merchant was as unman-
ageable as the worst. Before he grew
accustomed to fall into a semi-coma-
tose condition at the approach of
Grace Noir, and. therefore, before his
famous attempt to get religion" the
bachelor merchant often swore-not
from aroused wrath, but from his pc.
culiar sense of humor. In those Anti
Grace and heather days, Bob, sitting
on the long veranda of the green
frame building, one leg swinging over
the other knee, would say, Eyes, -
1t, "1or. mo, - 1t" as the case might
be- 1t was then that the r%eproving
protest Of his sisters face would jelly
n-rns TAT fJfds Of her doubfe-chin,
helping, somewhat, to cover profanity
with a prudent veil.
Miss Sapphire liked a joke-or at
least she thought so-as well as any.
body; but like a too-humorous author,
she found that to be as funny as pos.
sible was bad for business. The "trav-
cling men were bad enough, needing
to be reminded of their wives, whom
they'd left at home, and, she'd be
bound, had forgotten. But when one
man, whether a traveller or not-even
a staid young teacher like Abbott Ash
ton, for instance-a young man who
was almost like a son to her-when he
secluded himself in the nighttime
by himself? with another male? oh,
dear, no!-with a Fran, for example
what was the world coming to?
There they Stood" she told Bob,
the two of them, all alone on the
foot-bridge, and it was after nine
o'clock. II I hadn't been in a hurry
to get home to see that roomers didn't
set the house afire, not a soul would
have seen the two co~lloguing."
And it don't seem to have done
you any good" remarked her brother,
who, having heard the tale twenty
times, began to look upon the event
almost as a matter of course. You'd
better not have saw them'-at an
early age Bob had cut off his educa-
ton, and 1t had stopped growing at
that very place. Perhaps he had been
elected president of the school-board
on the principle that we best appre-
ciate what does not belong to us.
MY home has been Abbott's home,"
said Miss Sapphire, since the death
of his last living relation, and her a
step, and it a mercy, for nobody could
get along with her, and she wouldn't
let people leave her alone. You know
how fond l am of Abbott, but your
position Is very responsible. You
could get rid of him by lifting your
finger. and people are making lots of
talk; it's going to injure you. People
don't want to send their tender young
innocent girls-they're a mighty hard
ened and knowing set, nowadays,
though, ! must say-to a superinten-
dent that stands ON bridges of nights,
holding hands, and her a young slip
of a thing. His a-standing on that
bridge"
HE amt stood there as often as
I've been worried to death a-hearing
of it." growled the ~ungrateful Bob. who
was immensely fond of Abbott.
Miss Sapphire spoke with amazingly
significant double mods between each
Woodland H.. saw
only four . days
ago
She pointed at the school-house,
which was almost directly across the
street, its stone steps facing the long
veranda. "They were the last to come
out of that door. You may say she's
a mere child. Mere children are not
in Miss Bulls classes"
But Abbott says the girl is far
advanced"
Far advanced You may well sayi
I'll be bound she Island carrying on
with Abbott on the very schoolhouse
steDs. Yes. | venture she is advanced.