The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1919-12-19

case anything should go wrong"
Fanny deceived him. In the i'm
possible event of anything going
wrong she would have enough left
to slive on" she declared, and laughed
excitedly, for she was having the best
time that had come to her since VIII
bur's death. Like SO many women for
whom money has always been pro-
vided without their understanding
how, she was prepared to be thor
ough and irresponsible p,unger.
Anderson, in his wearier way,
shared her excitement, and in the
winter, when the exploiting company
had been formed, and he brought
Fanny her Importantly engraved
shares Of stock, he reverted to his pre-
diction Of possibilities, made when
they first spoke Of the new light.
"We seem to be partners, all right"
he laughed. "Now let's go ahead and
be millionaires before Isabel and young
George come home"
"When they come homer she
echoed sorrowfully-and it was a
phrase which found an evasive echo
in Isabel's letters. In these letters
Isabel was always planning pleasant
things that she and Fanny and the
Major and George ard brother
George" would do-when she and her
son came home. They'll find things
pretty changed, I'm afraid" Fanny
said. eff they ever do come home!"
Anderson went over the next sum-
mer and Joined his sister and nephew
in Paris, where they were living. ''Isa-
bel does want to come home" he told
Fanny gravely on the day of his re-
turn in October. "She's wanted to for
a long while-and she ought to come
while she can stand the journey"
And he amplified this statement, leay-
ing Fanny looking startled and solemn
when Lucy came by to drive him out
to dinner at the new house Eugene
had just completed
He was loud in praise Of the house
after Eugene arrived, and gave them
no account of his journey until they
had retired from the dinner table to
Eugene's library, gray and shadowy
room. where their coffee was brought.
Then, equipped with a cigar, which
seemed to occupy his attention, Am
berson spoke in o casual tone Of his
sister and her son.
81 found Isabel as we'll as usual"
he said, "only Tn afraid 'as usual
isn't particularly well. Sydney and
Amelia had been up to Paris in the
spring, but she hadn't seen them.
Somebody told her they were there,
it seems. They'd left Florence and
were living in Rome; Amelia's become
a Catholic and is said to- give great
sums to charity ard to go about with
the gentry in consequence, but Sgd
ney's ailing and lives in wheel chair
most of the time. 1t struck me Isabel
ought to be doing the same thing"
He paused, bestowing minute care
upon the removal Of the little band
from his cigar; and as he seemed to
have concluded his narrative Eugene
spoke out of the shadow beyond
heavily shaded lamp: "What do you
mean by that?" he asked quietly.
"Oh, she's cheerful enough" said
Anderson. still not looking at either
his young hostess or her father. "At
least" he said, "she manages to seem
so. I'm afraid she hasn't been really
well for several years. Of course she
makes nothing of it. but it seemed
rather serious to me when I noticed
she had to stop and rest twice to
get up one short flight of stairs in
their two-floor apartment. told her
! thought she ought to make George
let her come home"
"Let hery" Eugene repeated In a
low voice. "Does she want TOT"
"She doesn't urge it. George seems
to like the life therein his grand,
gloomy and peculiar way; and Of
course she'll never change about be-
ing proud Of him and all that-he's
quite swell. But in spite of anything
she said, rather than because, know
she does indeed want to come. She'd
like to be with father, of course; and
/ think she's-well, she intimated one
day that she feared it might even hap
pen that she wouldn't get to see him
again. At the time I thought she re-
ferred to his age and feebleness, but
on the boat coming home remem-
bered the little look of usefulness,
yet Of resignation, with which she
said 1t, and it struck me all at once
that I'd been mistaken: saw she was
really thinking of her own state of
health"
II see." Eugene said. his voice even
lower than 1t had been before. Sand
you say he won't let her come homer"
ANDERSON laughed. but still contin-
ued to be interested in his cigar. "Oh,
1 don't think he uses force! He's very
gentle with her. doubt If the sub
ject is mentioned between them, and
yet-and yet, knowing my interesting
IL Ivf% fnl-