New Britain herald., 1922-08-17
W MAINLINE

(continued From Our Last Issue)
 "cayley asked us to bring a lette, along" Bill explained to Betty Gala dine. Here you are"
 You will tell him. won't you, how dreadfully sorry am about-abou what has happened? It seems SC hopeless to say anything;, SO hopeless even to believe 1t. If 1t Is true wha, we've heard"
 Bill repeated the outline of tho events of yesterday.
 Yes '. And Mir. Ablett hasn't been found yet?"
 No" ...
 She shook her head in distress. "It still seems to have happened to some. body else; somebody we didn't know at all" Then, with a sudden grave smile which included both of them But you must come and have some tea"
 fs awfully decent of you" said Bill awkwardly, but we-er-"
 You will, won't you?" she said tc Antony
 Thank you very much"
 Mrs. Norbury was delighted to see them, as she always was to see any man in her house who came up to the necessary standard of eligibility When her life work was completed ana summed up in those beautiful words; "A marriage has been ar- ranged. and will shortly take place between Angela. daughter of the late John Norbury ." then she would utter a grateful Nunc dimittis and depart in peace-to a better world, if Heaven insisted. but preferably to her new son-in-law's more dignified es- tablishment
 But 1t was not as "eligibles" that the visitors from the Red House were received with such eagerness today, and even If her special smile for "possihles' was there, 1t was instinc- tive rather than reasoned. All that She wanted at this moment was news news of Mark. For she was bring ing it off at last; and, If the engage ment columns of the Morning Post were preceded, as in the case of its Obituary columns, by a premonitory tulletin, the announcement of yester- day would have cried triumphantly to the world. or to such part of the world as mattered: "A marriage has very lately been arranged (by Mrs. Norbury), and will certainly take place, between Angela. only daughter of the late John Norbury. and Mark Ablett of the Red House"
 The girl was often amused by her mothers ways: sometimes ashamed of them; sometimes distressed by them. The Mark Ablett affair had seemed to her particularly distressing, for Mark was so obviously in league with her mother against her. It was a pleas ure to turn to Cayey, the hopeless in eligible
 But alas! Cayley had misunderstood her. She could not imagine Cayley in love-until she saw 1t, and tried too late, to stop 1t. That was four days ago.. She had not seen him since, and now here was this letter. She dreaded opening it. It was a relief to feel that least she had an excuse for not doing 50 while her guests were in the house.
 Mrs. Norbury recognized at once that Antony was likely to be the more sympathetic listener: and when tea was over, and Bill and Angela had been dispatched to the garden, dear Mir. Gillingham found himself on the sofa beside her. listening to many things which were of even greater in- terest to him than she could possibly have hoped.
 Tt Is terrible, terrible" she said And to suggest that dear Mir. Ab- lett"
 Antony made suitable noises.
 You've seen Mir. Ablett for your self. A kinder. more warmhearted man"
 Antony explained that he had not seen MT. Ablett.
 .''Of course, yes, was forgetting. But, believe me, Mir Gillingham. you con trust woman's intuition in these matters"
 Antony said that he was sure of this.
 Think of my feelings as a mother"
 Antony was thinking of Miss Nor tury's feelings as daughter, and wondering If she guessed that her affairs were now being discussed with a stranger. Mark engaged, or about to be engaged. Had that any bear ing on the events of yesterday? What, for. instance, would Mrs. Nor bury have thought of brother Robert, that family skeleton? Was this an- other reason for wanting brother Robert out of the way?
 T never liked him, never."
 Never liked-?" said Antony, be- wldered.
 That cousin of his-Mr. Cayley."
 How did Miss Norbury get on with him?" Antony asked cautiously.
 There was nothing at all," said Miss Norbury's mother emphaticaly. Nothing. would say so to any, body"
 "Oh, beg your pardon, never meant"
 Nothing. I can say that for dear Angela with perfect confidence. Whether he made advances-", She broke of with shrug of her plump shoulders.
 Antony waited eagerly.
 Naturally they met. Possibly he might have-I don't know. But my duty as a mother was clear, Mir. Gill lingham."
 Mir. Dillingham; made an encourag- ing noise
 T told him quite frankly that-how