Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1919-09-19
The
Magnificent AmberSOnS
Continued from page twol

(Continued from page tWol
the bachelors and widowers around
town could just once see"
She did not hear him. "Its a little
odd" she said.
'Whats odd?"
"YOur mothers not mentioning that
Mr.. Morgan had been with you"
didn't think of it, l suppose" said
George carelessly; and, his benevolent
mood increasing, he conceived the idea
that little harmless rallylng might
serve to elevate his aunt's dropping
spirits. "I'll tell you something, in
confidence" he said solemnly.
She looked up, startled. "What?"
"Well, it struck me that Mr.. Nor
gan was looking pretty absent-minded,
most Of the time and he certainly is
dressing better than he used to. I
shouldn't be bit surprised if all the
young fellow had been waiting for was
to know he had an assured income be-
fore he proposed"
"What young fellowT"
"This young fellow Morgan" laughed
George. Honestly, Aunt Fanny,
shouldn't be bit surprised to have
him request an interview with me any
day, and declare that his intentions are
honorable, and ask my permission to
pay his addresses to you. What had
better tell himT
Fanny burst into tears.
"Good heavensW George cried. II
was only teasing. I didn't mean"
"Let me alone" she said lifelessly;
and, continuing to weep, rose and be-
gan to clear away the china and silver.
George was distressed. 81 didn't
mean anything, Aunt Fanny! l didn't
know you'd got so sensitive as all
that"
you'd better go up to bed" she
said desolately, going on with her work
and her weeping.
He Obeyed, and could still hear a
pathetic shifting from the dining room
as he went up the stairs.
"By Georgew he grunted, as he
reached his own room; and his thought
was that living with a person so sensi-
tive to kindly raillery might prove
lugubriOus. He went to the window
and looked through the darkness to
the great silhouette of his grandfa-
theirs house. Lights were burning over
there, upstairs; probably his newly
arrived uncle was engaged in talk with
the Major.
Georges glance lowered, resting cas-
ually upon the indistlnct ground and
he beheld some vague shapes, unfa-
miliar to him. Formless heaps, they
seemed; but, without much curiosity,
he supposed that sewer connections or
water pipes might he out of order,
making necessary some excavations.
Not greatly disturbed, he pulled down
the shade, yawned, and began to I'M
dress, leaving further investigation for
the morning.
But in the morning he had forgotten
all about it, and raised his shade, to
let in the light, without even glancing
toward the ground. Not until he had
finished dressing did he look forth
from his window, and then his glance
was casual The next instant his at
titude became electric and he ran
from his room, plunged down the
stairs, out of the front door, and, upon
nearer view Of the destroyed lawn,
began to release profanity upon the
breezeless summer air, which remained
unaffected. Between his mothers
house and his grandfather's, eXcava-
lions for the cellars of five new
houses were in process, each within
few feet of its neighbor.
1t was Sunday, and so the workmen
implicated in these defacings were de-
MED what unquestionably they would
have considered a treat; but as the
fanatic orator continued the mono
logue, a gentleman in flannels emerged
upward from one of the excavations,
and regarded him cOntempatively.
"Obtaining any relief, nephew" he
inquired with some interest. you
must have learned quite a number Of
those expressions in childhood-it's so
long since I'd heard them l fancied
they were obsolete"
"Who wouldn't swear?" George de-
manded holly. What does grandpa
ther mean, doing such things?'
"My private opinion u.s." said Am
bersOn grayely, "he desires to increase
his income by building these houses to
rent"
"Well, in the name of heaven, can't
he increase his income any other way
but this?"
'In the name of heaven, it would ap-
pear he couldn't"
ITS beastly It's a damn degrade
ton It's a crime"
81 don't know about its being
crime" said his uncle, stepping over
some planks to join him. ut might be
a mistake, though. Your mother said
not to tell you until we got home, so
as not to spoil commencement for you.
She rather feared World he inset"