The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-09-17
CT hope II Il TO ask me TO take Jed

ct hope 1t Is to ask me to take Jed
In hand" | said.
NO; it is to ask you to permit me
to announce the engaecment of my
daughter Isobel TO You. Don't be
alarmed. 1t shall not make any diff
ference in your life. Ii is Il desperate
~eEpcdient i am using out Of Il diff
Guilty"
j felt as If l were in q spiritual fog.
us that the only way l can help you
outf" l asked.
THE only one" She said. u have
thought of everything.'
Has it to do with jed a%galn?" !
asked.
with things I cannot possibly eX-
plain. Is there any one who would be
distressed by such an announcements
"Not a soul" | said, Except Miss
Sidney"
Il would not cause pain said Mrs.
Sidney. Are you sure there is no
onc?'
Mrs. Sidney" I said, "you are the
only lady who ever has given me a
lll'ltA2ul SltlNt L hll'N lin lll'Itllt4s
an merely wondering what Miss sid
ney will think Of me in such a role.
WEI she understand why l take It? l
am not hesitating. l hope | do not
seem to be, but | know suspect
that your decision is sudden"
"Isobel's affection for Us is greater
than her demand for Independence
said Mrs. Sidney. IF She knows that
l asked you TO consent TO this an
nouucemcnt, she will think of you as
a proved friend
had suggested all the precautions
that were reasonable. you certainly
may make any use Of me you want
TO-" | said. She thanked me and said
good night.
=
lSoDCl'S view of our engagement was
purely comic. She may have had a
second Of spiritual revolt, but comedy
and consideration for her mother as
serted themselves. Mrs. Sidney, when
she told ISObel of the engagement, had
me present. The mother was really
embarrassed. almost clustered, but she
was determined. Isobel was greatly
amused.
1t may be imagined that | was not
heroic. l might better have been a
wax figure taken from Il display win
dow. | felt like one, a thing with a
wax smile and no animation.
ut is merely precautionary" said
Mrs. Sidney uneasily. 1T is quite inn
possible to explain. You will have TO
accept my judgment, Isobel. DR.. John
ar odd halfway house toward init
macy she reached and stopped at
CDR. John has been kind enough to
do as | asked him. | need and want
the support Of my children in what l
am doing"
/ felt a touch of emotion at that.
UncOnsciOuSly, intent upon her main
point, she had included me at the fire.
side and had spoken Of her "children."
"Anything you do or have done is
all right, mother" said Isobel, recov-
ering from her sense of humor. Or
John-will not be unhappy-I am sure
will you, doctor? And I-mother-
I'll get an advantage Of you il this
see if | don't"
"You mustn't try to, Isobel," said
Mrs. Sidney anXiously. II am doing
the best | can"
Later in the evening / saw IsObel,
finding her alone in the library, where
she was reading. | went in to get a
book before going to bed. She was
by a lamp near the fireplace, AID she
looked very beautiful.
Il want TO talk to yOu," she said
when she saw me. "Do you know the
explanation Of this?"
mo" | said.
"YOu are not quite honest" she said.
"A man engaged to a girl he never
asked to marry him might suspect that
something was out of the ordinary"
"Of course, something is extraOrdi-
nary" l said. 'Do you know what
IL is?"
mo, l don't" she said. "Why don't
you sit down."
With Il soft witchery Of feminility
she pervaded and glorified the room,
but she was peremptOry. I was not
sullen, but / felt defiant.
Because l don't want to sit down."
/ said.
IsObel smiled indulgently at me.
ooh, sit down, DT. John" she said,
II want to talk 10 you. We are en-
gagged, you know, and engaged people
ought to have a talk after the event,
If not before"
you understand how this hap
pened," l suggested.
II do" she said. "My mother is
frightened. Jed has been trying to
marry me-"
what can give him the privilege of
such insolencel :" ] exclaimed.
II imagine he is enamored," she said
serenely. 1T may seem impossible to
you"
HAS this man approached you di-
rectly?" | asked.
"He has been gallant, amOrous, sug-
g~estive, tender, soulful, aggressive,
pleading, threatening, subservient and
i think that is all-but only in man
ner."
II don't understand It," ! said help