Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1914-06-05
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She looked at him for an instant,
and then shook her head. I'D like to
be able to wish you good luck"
He stared. you don't mean to say
she'd be fool enough" he began in
credulously, but caught himself up In
time. "Of course, I'd have to take my
chances" he concluded, with more hu-
mility than she had ever seen him dis
play. do you know Of any one else?"
NO." she said seriously. she doesn't
confide In me to that extent, / fear.
I've never asked"
do you think there was any one
back there in England?" He put 1t
In the past tense, so to speak. as II
there could be no question about the
present.
"Oh, l dare say
He was regaining his complacency.
That's neither here nor there" he
declared. The thing I want you to do,
Sara, is to rush this COMPOUNDED por-
trait. l don't like the idea. not little
bit"
Il don't blame you for being afraid
of the attractive Mr.. Booth" she said,
with a significant lifting Of her eye
brows.
I'm going to have 1t over with be-
fore go up to town, my dear girl" he
announced, In a matter-of-fact way.
I've given the whole situation a
deuce of lot Of thought, and I've
made up my mind to do 1t. I'm not
the sort, you know, to delay matters
once my minds made up. By Jove,
Sara. you ought to be pleased. I'm
not such a rotten catch, II do say 1t
who shouldn't"
She was perfectly still for long
time, so still that she did not appear
to be breathing. Her eyes grew dark.
er, more mysterious. II he had taken
the pains to notice, he would have seen
that her fingers were rigid.
81 am pleased" she said, very gently
She could have shrieked the words
How she hated all these SNUG Wran.
dalls!
II came to the decision yesterday
he went on, tapping the arm Of the
chair with his finger tips, as II timing
his words with care and precision.
Spoke to dad about 1t at lunch.
was coming out on the five o'clock, as
I'd planned, but he seemed to think
I'd better talk 1t over with the mater
first. Not that she would be likely to
kick up a row, you know, but-well
for policy's sake. See what mean
Decent thing to do, you know. She
never quite got over the way you and
Chal stole a march on her. God knows
I'm not like Chal."
Her eyes narrowed again. NO." she
said, you are not like your brother
"Chal was all right, mind you, IN
what he did" he added hastily, noting
the look. Il would do the same, 'por
my soul I would, if there were any
senseless objections raised in my
case. But, of couse, it was right fol
me to talk it over with her, just the
same. So I stayed in and gave then
all the chance to say what they
thought of me-and, incidentally, o.
Hetty. Quite the decent thing, dom
you think? A fellows mother is his
mother, after all. See what I mean?'
"She is quite satisfied, then, thai
you are not throwing yourself away or
Miss Castleton," said Sara, with
deep breath, which he mistook for {
sigh.
"Oh, trust mother to nose int
things. She knows Miss Castleton''
pedigree from the ground up. There's
Debrett, you see. What's more, 20,
can't fool her in pinch. She knows
blood when she sees it. Father hasn'
the same sense of proportion, however
He says you never can tell"
Sara was startled. What do yo'
mean?"
"Oh, it's nothing to speak Of; only |
way he has Of grinding mother onc'
in while. He uses you as an exam
pie to prove that you never can tell
and mother has to admit that be-
right. You have upset every one o
her pet theories. She sees it now, Blu
-whew! She couldn't see it in tn
old days, could she?"
II fear not" said she in low voice
Her eyes smouldered. 1T is quite nat
urai that she should not want you t.
make the mistake your brother made,
"Oh, please don't put it that way
Sara. You make me feel like con
founded prig, because that's what
comes to, with them, don't you know
And yet my attitude has always beel
clear to them where you're concerned
was strong for you from the begir
ming. All that silly rot about"
Please, pleased" she burst Out
Quivering all over.
Il beg your pardon he stammereG
"You-you know how l mean it, dea
girl"
please leave me out of it, Leslie,
she said, collecting herself. After me
ment she went on calmly: "And so yo
are going to marry my poor little Het
ty, and they are all pleased with tn
arrangement"
IF she'll have me-" he said with
wink, as If to say there wasn't an
use doubling it. They're tickled t
death"
"Vivian?"
"Viv's a snob. She says Hetty'
- oood Co. $50 AIooS ood hon.