Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-09-14

duu she leaned Dack beside BiDDS once
more. Il noticed that he was asleep
when we got in," she said. Il suppose
they nave great deal Of night work"
Bib5S drew a long breath and wait
ed till he could command his voice
I've never been able to apologize
quickly" he said, with his accustomed
slowness, because if l try to I STAN.
mer. My brother Roscoe whipped me
once, when we were boys, for stepping
on his slate pencil. 1t took me SO long
to tell him it was an accident, he hn-
ished before l did,
Mary Yertrees had never heard any.
thing quite like the drawing. gentle
voice or the odd Implication that his
not noticing the motionless state of
their vehicle was an accident" Al
once she discovered that he was unlike
any Of Ter cursory and vague imagin-
ings of him. And suddenly she haC- a
glimpse of Bibbs' life and into his life.
She had q queer feeling, new to her
experience, of knowing him instantly.
1t startled her little; she did not
no response to his apology, and they
passed out of the cemetery gates, nei-
Their having spoken again.
Bibbs was so content with the ST
lence he did not know that it was ST.
lence. The dusk, gathering in their
small Enclosure, was filed with a rich
presence for him; and presently it was
so dark that neither of the two could
see the other. nor did even their gar
ments touch. But neither had any
sense of being alone. The wheels
creaked steadily, rumbling presently
on paved streets; there were the
sounds, as from a distance, Of the
plOd-plOd of the horses Oblongs of
light came lancing into the coupe, and
passed, leaving greater darkness And
yet neither of these two last attend
ants at Jim Sheridan's funeral broke
the silence.
1t was Mary who perceived the
stTan"cneSs Of ft---tOo late. Abruptly
she realized that for an indefinite in
fer7al she had been thinking OF her
companion and not talking to him.
Mr.. Sheridan" she began, not know
Ing what she was going to say, but i'm
PEELED to say anything, as she realized
the queerness of this drive-"Mr. She-
idan, /"
The coupe stopped. you, Joew said
the driver, reproachfully, and climbed
down and opened the door.
Whats the trOuble?" Bibbs In
CURED.
Lady said stop at first house north
of Mr.. Sheridan's, sir"
Mary was incredulous; she felt that
1t couldn't be true and that 1t mustn't
be true that they had driven all the
way without speaking.
,Btbbs descended to the curb. "Why,
yes" he said. "You seem to be right"
And while he stood staring at the dim
ly Illuminated front windows of Mr..
Vertrees' house Mary got out, unas-
sisted
Let me help you," said Bibbs, step
ping toward her mechanically; and she
was several feet from the coupe when
he spoke ..-.
ooh, no." she murmured. 81 think 1
can" She meant that she could get
out of the coupe without help, but, per-
ceiVing that she had already accom-
plished this feat, she decided not to
complete the sentence.
''You, Joer' cried the driver, angrily,
climbing to his box. And he rumbled
away at his teams best pace-a snails.
'Thank you for bringing me home,
Mr.. Sheridan" said Mary, stiff1y. She
did not offer her hand. Good night"
Good night" Bibbs said in response,
and, turning with her, walked beside
her to the door. Mary made that
short walk; she almost ran. Realiza-
ton of the queerness Of their drive was
growing upon her, beginning to shock
her: she steDne6 aside from the HRht
that fell through the glass panels of
the door and withheld her hand as 1t
touched the Old-fashioned bell handle.
I'm quite safe, thank you," she
said with & little emphasis. Good
night"
Good light" said Bibbs, and went
obediently. When he reached the
street he looked back, but she had
vanished within the house.
Moving slowly away, he caromed
against two people who were turning
out from the pavement to cross the
street. They were Roscoe and his
wife.
where are your eyes, BibbsY' de-
manded Roscoe. "Sleep-walking, aa
usual?'
But Sibyl took the wanderer by the
arm. Come over to our house for a
little while, Bibbs," she urged. ~
want to"
mo, I'd better"
YES. l want you to. Your fathers
gone to bed, and they're all quiet over
there-all worn out. Just come for
a minute"
He yielded, and when they were In
the house she repeated herself with
real feeling: "'All worn outp Well, If
anybody Is, you are, Bibbs! And
don't wonder; you've done every bit of
the work Of it. You mustn't get down
sick again. I'm going to make you
take a little brandy"
He let her have her own way, fol.
lowing her into the dining room, and
was grateful when she brought him
tiny glass filed from one of the de-