Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-03-12
feminine compantonship, however;
during the halt-ceutlry Of his. life rs

feminine compan1onship; however,
during the half-ceut1rys OF his life rs
a man. Everybody knew something
land suspected a great deal! more
.Enf various friendships Of his; wen
was not over-cautious in the manage.
Iaent ct his affairs, but they did not
like him the less, nor did their moth.
ers find him less eligible. in q Inatri.
monial sense. Sometimes he met the
i older wonen's hints quite seriously,
with brief illusions to: some little
slrl" who was always as sweet and
deserving and virtuous. as : his o~n
was disinterested and kind. " did
what I could for @her-risking what
might. or might not. be said" Mr..
PoIaeroy might add, with nero's
modest smile and shrug. And II no-
body ever believed him. at least no-
body aver challenged him.
Vivian Saftoris, girliahly perohed Oh
the. great square leather fender that
framed the fireplace;: wass.merely;; q
modern. = very modern ltttle.sirl,ed de.
murely dressed in the smartest OF
white tafteta ruffles. with her small
feet In white silk Stockings and shoes,
a daring little black-and-white hat
mashed down upon her soft, loose
hair. and, slunE about her shoulders,
a woolly coat Of clearest lemon vel.
low. Vivian gave the impression Of q
soft little watchful cat. unfrienoly,
alert, selfish. Her name was
studiedly rowdyish. her speech
nnarred by slang: she loved orly.a few
persons In the world besides herself.
] One Of these few persons, however,
was Clarence breckenridge daugh.
ter, Carol. a~fectionately known to all
these persons as Billy" and 1t was IN
Miss Breckenridge's defence that vi.
Wan was speaking now. A general
yet qesultory discussion of the three
Breckenridge had, been going on for
some moments. And some particular
criticism OF the mar OF the family
had pierced Miss s~artoris' habituel at
Htitude Of bored silence.
That's all true about him.: she
psaid. idly spreading a sturdy little
hand to the blaze. II have no use
for Clarence Breckenridge, and ]
think. Mrs. Breckenridge is absolute.
tly the most cold -blooded woman I
ever met! She always makes me feel
as II she were waiting to see me make
a fool OF myself. so that she could
smile that smooth superior smile at
me. But Carols difterent-she's
you know what I uaean-she's the
finest ever" finished. Miss sartoris,
with a carefully calculated boyish-
+, ness. and what I mean to. say ia,
lshe's never had a fair deal!!" :
f. There was a little nurr1ur .tof assent
land admiration at this, and only one
voice disputed 1t.
You're not called upon to dsfend
Billy Breckenridge. VIVIAN said
Elinor vanderwall, in he cool,
amused voice: -Nobody's blaming
we're saying is that Clarence, in spite
OF what they do to protect HIM. will
get himself dropped by decent peoNe
II he goes on as he Is soing on! He
was tennis champion four or five
years ago; he played against an. Eng,
Nshnaan named Waters. who was
about half his age; It, WAS. the most
remarkable thing ever Saw :.
wonderful match" said Peter
Ponaeroy. as she paused.
. "tWonderfu@I Should say so.' Miss
vanderwalF Sighed ad%mirinsly at the
memory. DO you. remember that
one set went 70 nineteen-twenty-
one? Each man won on his own
service-'rnost remarkable match I
ever, saw! But Clarence Brecken-
ridge couldn't hold a racket now, and
his game of bridge is getting to- be
absolutely, rotten. Crime, T call it,"
Vivian Sartoris offered no further
a. low-toned conversation with. 4
young III on the, fender, l,ElinoS
~Vanderwall, was neither pretty4anor
rich. and she was unmarried at thir-,
ty-four, her social importance being
further lessened by the fact that she
had five sisters, all unmarked, too.
except Anna, the Oldest. whose son
was in college. Anna was Mrs.
I Prince; her wedding was only a long
came next, was a calm. plain worna
Of thirty-seyen, interested in church,
work and organized charities. Alice
was musical and delicate. Elinor was
worldly. decisive, the social favorite
among the sisters. Jeanette was boy.
ish and brisk, a splendid sportswom-
an. and Phyllis, at twenty-six. was
still babyish and appealing, tiny In
build, and full Of feminine charms.
All five were good dancers. good
tennis and golf players, good horse
women. and good managers. All FIVE
dressed we'll. talked we'll, and played
excellent bridge. The fact Of their
not marrying was an eternal mystery
to their friends. to their wiry, nerv-
GUS little father. and their large, fat,
serene mother; Observation-Disclosures
as we'll. They met life,,as theyssaw 1t,
with great cleverneSGsaSS6fx%AEssISt a
rule to do little Observation-Disclosures
where the preponderance ofEwonaen
was most notable, and refusing to. ac-
cept invitations except sinsly. The
gether; each had her pose and kept to
it. each helped th> others to maintain
G~eorgiana's aitruistic duties, these
were matters OF sacred family tradi-
ton. and if outsiders sometimes spec.
ulated as to the sisters sincerity, ut
least no Vanderwall e~varsbatrayed an
other. And despite tAdsts -pby!ous
/ handicaps, the i've E.lsIfwvsre regard.
names were prominently displayed In
newspaper accounts Of all smart at
fairs. While making a hne art >>of
feminine friendships, they yet dif-
fused a general impression OF being
involved in endless afIalrs Of the
heart: They were much In demand to
All ia bridge, tables. 70 servo On club
directorates. to anause weekend par.
aesl to be present ct house weddings.
drs1 blank day or two utter ths;br1ds
and groom were gone.
Queer fellow, BreckenFdke,," saad
George Ponsroy. old Peters. nephew,
L. red.facsd. dortd, simple man OF for.
ity.
"well. he never should have mar.
RED az he did. it's all in Z msss,'a
wornAn's voice said Iaxly. "Rachasls
s~xtrAordipary Of couEse-there's 40
one quite ltks her But she wasn't
t the 7M iitt1e,t ol Ias nse. adori tasn !sfs nas sssd
would put cracked. ltcs t6a his fore,
head. and wish those bad aalnnnkaAn.