The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1914-04-25
The Hollow
BIZ ; Of Her Hand
george Barr MoCutCheOn


true that Sara forestalled her in a way
by sending word, through Leslie, that
she would be pleased If Mrs. Wrandall
would issue invitations to as many of
Challis' friends as she deemed advis-
able. AS for herself, she had no wish
in the matter; she would be satisfied
with whatever arrangements the fam
lily cared to make.
II is not to be supposed, from the
foregoing, that Mrs. Wrandall, the
elder, was not stricken to the heart
by the lamentable death of her idol.
He was her idol. He was her first
born, he was her love-born. He came
to her in the days when she loved her.
husband without much thought Of re-
specting him. She was beginning to
regard him as something more than
lover when Leslie came, so 1t was diff
ferent. When their daughter Vivian
was born, she was plainly annoyed but
wholly respectful Mr.. Wrandall was
no longer the lover; he was her lord
and master. The head of the house of
Wrandall was a person to be looked
up to, to be respected and admired by
her. for he was a very great man, but
he was dear to her only because he
was the father of Challis, the first
born.
In the order of her nature, Challis
therefore was her most dearly beloved.
Vivian the least desired and last in
her affections as we'll as in sequence.
Strangely enough, the three Of them
perfected a curiously significant rec
ord of conjugal endowments. Challis
had always been the wild, hayward,
unrestrained one, and by far the most
lovable; Leslie, almost as good look
ing but with scarcely noticeable
trace of charm that made his brother
attractive; Vivian, handsome, selfish
and as cherries as the wind that
blows across the icebergs in the north.
Challis had been born with a widely
enveloping heart and an elastic con-
science; Leslie with a brain and a
soul and not much of heart, as things
go; Vivian with soul alone, which be-
longed to God, after all, and not to
her. OF course she had heart, but it
was only for the purpose of pumping
blood to remote extremities, and had
nothing whatever to do with anything
so unutterably extraneous as love,
charity or self-sacrifice.
As for Mr.. Redmond Wrandall he
was very proper and dignified gentle
man, and old for his years.
II may be seen, or rather surmised,
that If the house of Wrandall had not
been so admirably conferred under its
own vine and fig tree, it might have
become divided against itself without
much of an effort.
Mrs. Redmond Wrandall was the
vine and fig tree.
And now they had brought her dear
ly beloved son home to her, murdered
and-disgraced. II it had been either
of the others, she could have said:
Gods will be done" Instead she
cried out that God had turned against
her.
Leslie had had the bad taste-or
perhaps it was misfoTtune--to blurt
out an agonized 81 told you so" at a
time when the family was sitting
numb and hushed under the blight of
the first horrid blow. He did not mean
to be unfeeling. It was the truth burst
ing from his unhappy lips.
II knew Chal would come to this
/ knew it" he had said. His arm was
about the quivering shoulders of his
mother as he said it.
She looked up, sob breaking in
her throat. For long time she looked
into the face of her second son.
How can you-how dare you say
such a thing as that?" she cried,
aghast.
He colored. and drew her closer to
him.
Il didn't mean It," he faltered.
you have always taken sides
against him." began his mother.
please. mother" he cried miser-
ably.
you say this to me now" she went
EHH~