Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1916-09-21
CHAPTER XIII.
Bibbs said

CHAPTER XIII.
The outward usualness of things
continued after dinner In the library,
while his wife sat in her customary
chair, gazing at the fire, Sheridan let
the unfOlded evening paper rest upon
his lap, though now and then he lifted
1t, as If to read. Bibbs came in noise
leSsly and sat in q corner, doing moth
ing; and from reception room
across the hall an tndistinct vocal MUIR
muir became just audible at intervals.
Once, when this murmur grew louder
under stress of some frrepressible mer-
riment, Edith's voice could be heard
Bobby, aren't you awfulr' and Sheri-
dan glanced across at his wife appeal
ingly.
She rose at once and went into the
reception room;" there was a furry Of
whispering, and the sound Of tiptoeing
in the hall-Edith and her sutton
''They won't bother you any more,
papa" she said, in d comforting voice
''She told me at lunch he'd 'phoned he
wanted to come up this evening, and
l said 1 thought he'd better wait a few
days, but she said she'd already told
him he could" She paused, then added,
rather guilty: 81 got kind of a notion
maybe Roscoe don't like him as much
as he used to. Maybe-maybe 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 reverie that brought
tears. ''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,
foA he nodded once more, affjrr d
| lively.
did you How did you fix it about
the-the Realty company" she fall
tered. Did you-"
He rose heavily, helping himself to
his feet by the arms of his chair. 81
fixed it," he said, in a husky voice. He
went to her, put his hand upon her
shoulder, and drew a long, audible, ire
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.
THE Realty company'H go right on
Io
it's like sand, mamma. It puts me in
mind of children playin' in a sand
pile. One Of 'em sticks his finger in
the sand-pile and makes a hole, and
another Of 'em II pat the place with
his hand, and all the little grains
Of sand run in and fill it up and set
tie against one another; and then,
right away it's fat on top again, and
you can't tell there ever was hole
there. The Realty company IL go on
| all right, mamma. There amt any
| things anywhere, l 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 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 1t
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 It! She just seems to lose her
head over him, and it scares me. You
heard what Sibyl said the other day,
| and-and you heard what-what-'
what Edith said to SibyI?" Bibbs
| finished the sentence for her
eve can't have any trouble O. that
kindr' she walled. "Oh, it looks as if
movin' up to this new house had
| brought US awful bad luck! 1t scares
mer' She put both her hands over her
face. "Oh, Bibbs, BiNs! if you only
| wasn't so queer! If you could only
been a kind Of dependable soni don't
know what we're all comm tor And,
weeping, she followed her husband.
Bibbs gazed for a while at the fire:
then he rose abruptly, like a man who
has come to decision. and briskly
sought the room-it was called ''the
smoking room"-where Edith sat with
Mr.. Lamhorn. They looked up in no
welcoming manner at Bt5bs' entrance,
| and moved their chairs to a less con-
spicuous adjacency.
Good evening" said Bibbs, pleas
antly; and be seated himself in a