Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-25
Chapter LII

Copyright. 1918, by Kings Fea-
ture Syndicate, Inc.)
Envy and 1 did little talking as
we spun up the avenue on the way
to Carriers. and our very silence
/ suggested intimacy.
The crisp air had a PLEASANTLY
restorative effect. | suppose every
lonely, worried woman in all the
world has at some time fled to the
big impersonality of the out-of-
| doors world and has found healing
in the sunshine and the breezes
that refuse to be coaxed inside of
| four walls. So by the time we got
to Carriers 1 was ready to echo the
sentiments of Browning's "alls
right with the world"
/ need not have been in such a
hurry. For, hardly were we seated
when ENVY renewed her attack.
You'll come to me for the week
end, won't you, Anne? I've quite
set my heart on having you. I'd
begun to feel that we four were
cosy little intimate group such as
| one doesn't often find in the city.
/ And lately we have been drifting
apart-that dates to the coming of
| Virginia Dalton, j should say"
l actually managed to answer her
in merry mood and without
thought of my old foe-jealousy.
"A lot dates back, to. the coming
of Virginia, ENVY. She's a danger
GUS rival to the young bride. Jim
mie just adores her"
How any man can adore that
icicle-is beyond me-" Interrupted
Envy with little grimace of dis
taste. Just hearing her mentioned
congeals me-so I'll have to order
my tea hot. How about you?'
For a moment Envy bent her at
tention on the order-tea, nuts and
lettuce sandwiches and little cakes
then she returned to the subject
of her house party
Lets not talk about Virginia.
I'm sure you don't like her much
better than | do. Surely Jim isn't
going to be silly enough to insist on
staying in town every weekend
this fall just because his sister is
here-that would be too silly!"
well, Jim is almost silly as
you call it, about the girls; but we
mustn't blame him, Envy They've
been apart so long-and l think
Virginia needs him-she isn't alto
gether happy, I'm sure, and Jim
seems to be the one person to whom
she can really talk. Then there's
Phoebe. She must have been just
little girl when Jim left-and he
comes back and finds her a young
lady. It's no wonder he's perfectly
happy just to be in the same room
with them right now"
You mean you won't Gomez"
Evvy's eyes narrowed and she
stared at me with hostile insistence
almost as if she were ordering me
to do as she asked. When she spoke
again to bridge my silence, the
husky tone of her voice had given
way to a sharp ring.
Look here, Anne-we might just
as well call a spade a spade. 1t
isn't Jim's willingness to come that
bothers you. It's Neal you're hesita-
ting about. That brother of yours
is treating me shabbily and 1 won't
stand for it. He certainly was
anxious enough to see lot of mo
at first. Have you two a little habit
of-using people-and then drop
ping them after they've served your
purpose?"
She looked at me sneeringly over
the rim of her teacup and under
the unexpected fail of her angry
demands l could only stammer in
amazement.
Envy, you'd better speak more
plainly. What are you insinuating?"
Envy smiled, put down her cup
and took one elaborately casual
nibble at a sandwich. Then she
pushed her plate aside and leaned
across the tabe--still smiling.
ar-NI Il -. 4 n
You know l was a very convenient
friend for you to have not so long
ago-when you didn't want Mrs.
Warden to suspect anything about
that gorgeous robe my cousin Tom
gave you"
There was an unmasked threat in
every word. Envy had helped me.
Now she was ready to collect-and
to collect in full.
self
"Ah-I see we do understand, each
other now. 1 don't want to be
made fool of-used and dropped
by you and your brother Neal. And
you don't want the world to know
how-useful my cousin Tom has
been to YOU"
stop! Stop right this instant!''
should understand that I rejected
her ugly bargain, and rejected 1t
completely You know as we'll as
| do that there can't be any ugly
discussions about the robe, since
your cousin merely left 1t in his
apartment along with the rest of
the furnishings. Jim looks upon
that robe exactly as he does the
carved chest in which it was stored.
So we won't discuss this again,
please And IL you want Mrs. Var
den to know that you-fbbed to
her-just tell her, That won't re-
fleet on me either"