Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-06-08
teryal she had been thinking Of her

idan, L"
The coupe stopped. "You, Joer' said
the driver, reproachfully, and climbed
down and opened the door.
whats the trouble" Bibbs in
quired.
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 it mustn't
be true that they had driven all the
way without speaking.
Bibbs descended to the curb. "Why,
yes" he said you seem to be right"
And while he stood staring at the dim
~ 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 I
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, joel" cried the driver, angrily,
climbing to his box. And he rumbled
away at his teams best pace-a snail's.
''Thank you for bringing me home,
Mr. Sheridan" said Mary, stiffly. 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 a
short walk; she almost ran. Realiza-
ton Of the queerness of their drive was
growing upon her, beginning to shock
her; she stepped aside from the light
that fell through the glass panels of
the door and withheld her hand as it
touched the old-fashioned bell handle.
'I'm quite safe, thank you," she
said, with a little emphasis. "Good
night"
Good night" 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 tbs
street. They were Roscoe and his
wife.
'Where are your eyes, Bibbs?" de-
handed Roscoe. 'Sleep-walking, as
usual?"
But Sibyl took the wa 'erer by the
arm. "Come over to our house for a
little while, Bibbs," she urged. 81
want to"
mo, I'd better"
Eyes. | 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 outv 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 a
tiny glass filled from one Of the de-
canters on the sideboard. Roscoe
gloomily poured for himself a much
heavier libation in a larger glass; and
the two men sat, while Sibyl leaned
against the sideboard, reviewing the
episodes of the day and recalling the
names of the donors Of flowers and
wreaths. She pressed Bibbs to remain
longer when he rose to go, and then,
as he persisted, she went with him
to the front door. He opened it, and
she said:
Gibbs, you were coming out Of the
Vertrees' house when we met you.
How did you happen to be there?''
Il had only been to the door," he
said. Good night, Sibyl."
wait" she insisted. eve saw you
coming OUT
Il wasn't" he explained. "rd just
brought Miss Vertrees home"
"What?" she cried.
EYES," he said, and stepped out upon
the porch, that was it. Good night,
Sibyl"
wait" she said, following him
across the Threshold "How did that
happen? l thought you were going to
wait while those men filled the-the-'
She paused, but moved nearer him in
sistently.
II did wait. Miss Vertrees was
there he said, reluctantly. "She had
walked away for while and didn't
notice that the carriages were leaving.
When she came back the coupe wait
ing for me was the only one left"
Sibyl regarded him with dilating eyes.
She spoke with a slow breathlessness.
"And she drove home from Jim's fu-
neral-with you!"
Without warning she burst into
laughter, clapped her hand ineffectu-
ally over her mouth, and ran back up
roariously into the house, hurting the