Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-05-25

she was sorry she couldn't come down."
Mary said, when they were seated.
Sibyl ran the scale of a cooling sim
ulance of laughter, which she had been
brought up to consider the polite thing
to do after a remark addressed to her
| by any person with whom she was not
on familiar terms. 1t was intended
partly as q courtesy and partly as the
| foundation for an impression Of sweet
ness.
Gust thought I'd fly in a minute"
she said, continuing the cooling to re-
lieve the last doubt Of her geniality.
Il wanted to tell you how much l en-
joyed meeting those nice people at tea
that afternoon. You see, coming here
a bride, I've had to depend on my hus-
| bands friends almost entirely. Mr..
Sheridan has been so engrossed in bust
ness ever since he was mere boy,
why, of course"
She paused, with the air Of having
completed an explanation.
"Of course" said Mary, sympathet-
ically accepting it,
Eyes. I've been seeing quite a lot
of the Kittersbys since that afternoon"
Sibyl went on. "They're really delight
full people. Indeed they are! Yes"
She stopped with unconscious alb
ruptness, her mind plainly wandering
to another matter; and Mary per-
ceived that she had come upon def
mite errand.
Mrs. I<ittersby and her daughter
were chatting about some Of the
people here in town the other day."
said Sibyl, repeating the cooling and
protracting it. ''They said something
that took me by surprise! We were
talking about our mutual friend, Mr.
Robert LamhOrn-"
Mary interrupted her promptly. "We
shouldn't consider Mr.. Robert Lam
horn a friend Of ours"
To her surprise, Sibyl nodded eager
| ly, as if greatly pleased. "That's just
the way Mrs. .Kittersby talked" she
cried, with a vehemence that made
Mary stare. eyes, and I hear that's
the way all you old families here
speak Of him!'
Mary looked aside, but otherwise
she was able to maintain her compos-
ure. Il had the impression he was
friend of yours" she said adding,
| hastily, land your husbands"
ooh, yes" said the caller, absently.
''He is, certainly A mans reputation
| for a little gayety oughtn't to make
great difference to married people, of
course. It's where young girls are in
| question. Then it may be very, very
dangerous. There are a great many
things safe and proper for married
people that might be awf'ly imprudent
for a young girl. Don't you agree,
Miss Vertrees?"
81 don't know" returned the frank
Mary do you mean that you intend
to remain a friend Of Mr. Lamhorn's,
but disapprove of Miss Sheridan's do
ing SOP"
"That's it exactlyw was the naive
and ardent response Of Sibyl. "What
I feel about it is that man with his
reputation isn't at all suitable for
Edith, and the family ought to be
made to understand it. I tell YOU"
| she cried, with sudden access Of We
hemence, cher father ought to put his
foot down.
Her eyes flashed with a green
spark; something seemed to leap out
and then retreat, but not before Mary
had caught a glimpse Of it, as one
might catch a glimpse of a thing dart
ing forth and then scuttling back into
hiding under a bush.
"Of course" said Sibyl, much more
composedly, II hardly need say that
it's entirely on Edith's account that
I'm worried about this. I'm as fond
Of Edith as if she was really my sis
ter, and I can't help fretting about it.
1t would break my heart to have
Edith's life spoiled"
This tune was off the key, to Mary's
ear Sibyl tried to sing with pathos,
but she f1atted.
and Edith's life would be spoiled
Sibyl continued. 1T would be a
dreadful thing for the whole family.
She's the very apple Of Father Sheri-
dams eye, and it would be a horrible
thing for him to have her marry a
man like Robert Lamhorn; but he
doesn't know anything about him, and
If somebody doesn't tell him, what I'm
most afraid of is that Edith might get
his consent and hurry on the wedding
before he finds out, and then it would
be too late. You see, Miss Vertrees,
it's very difficult for me to decide just
what it's my duty to do
II see," said Mary, looking at her
thoughtfully. Does Miss Sheridan
seem toto care very much about
him?"
"He's deliberately fascinated her.
returned the visitor, beginning to
breathe quickly and heavily. She was
launched now; her eyes were furious
and her voice shook. "He went after