The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-07-06
KIN.

SHAF Err Nibi.
The outward u~sualness OF things
continued after dinner. In the library,
while his wife sat in her customary
etair, gazing at the fire, Sheridan Lex
tiae unfolded evening paper rest upon
bis lap, though now and then he lifted
IL, as IL o read. Bibbs came in noise
lessiy and sat In a corner, doirg moth
ing; and from a reception room
across the hall an indistinct vocal muir
muir became just audible at intervals.
Once, when this murmur grew louder.
under stress Of some irrepressibse mer-
riment, Edfth's voice could be heard
Bobby, aren't you awful" and Sheri-
dan glanced across at his wife appeal
kgly.
She rose ut once and went into the
reception ROOM" there was a furry of
Whispering, and the sound OF tiptoeing
in the haI-Edith and her sutton
changing quarters to q more distant
room. Mrs. Sheridan returned 10 her
chair In the library.
They Won't bother you any more,
papa" she said, in n comforting voice.
she told me at lunch he'd 'phoned he
wanted to come up this evening, and
/ said I thought he'd better waat a few
days, but she said she'd already told
him he could" She paused. then added,
rather guiltily: Il got kind OF n notion
maybe Roscoe don't like him as much
as he used to- Maybe-naybe you bet
ter ask Roscoe. papa And as Sher-
idan nodded solemnly, she concluded,
in haste: Don't say l said to. / might
be wrong about it. anyway
He nodded again, and they sat for
some time in a silence which Mrs.
Sheridan broke with a little sniff. hav-
ing fallen into a reyerie that brought
ears. That Miss Vertrees was a good
GIRL she said. "She was all right"
Her husband evidently had no diff
Guilty in following her train OF thought,
for he nodded once more, afirma-
lively.
did you How did you fix it about
the-the Realty company" she fall
teTeu. Dlu you
He rose heavily, helping himself to
his feet by the arms Of his chair. II
fixed It," he said. in a husky voice. He
went to her, put his hand upon her
shoulder, and drew n long, audible, tre-
mendous breath. Its my bedtime.
mamma; I'm goin' up" When he
reached the door he stopped and spoke
again, without turning to look at her.
1.-The Realty company1l go right on
just the same" he said. Its like
it's like sand. mamma 1t puts me In
mind Of children playin' In a sand
pile. One of 'em sticks his finger in
the sand-pile and makes q hole, and
another Of 'em II pat the place with
his hand, and all the little grains
of sand run in and I'LL 1t up and set
Ale against one another; and then,
right away It's fat on top again, and
you can't tell there ever was a hole
there. The Realty company II go on
all right, mamma. There amt any
things anywhere. 1 reckon, that
wouldn't go right on-just the same"
And he passed out slowly into the
hall; then they heard his heavy tread
upon the stairs.
Mrs. Sheridan, rising to follow him,
turned a piteous face to her son. Its
so forlorn," she said. chokingly. That's
the first time he spoke since he came
in the house this evening. I know It
must "a hurt him to hear Edith
laughin' with that Lamhorn. She'd
oughtn't to let him come, right the very
first evening this way; she'd oughtn't
to done 1t! She just seems to lose her
head over him, and 1t scares me. You
heard what Sibyl said the other day,
and-and you heard what-what--"
what Edith said to Sibyl?' Bibbs
finished the sentence for her.
"We can't have any trouble o. that
klndv she walled. "Oh, 1t looks as IL