The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-02-21

wait! Oo not interrupt me, please.
Maybe you have not exactly interfered
~ yet, but you are determined to do
so-for the honor Of the family, / sup
pose" She spoke scathingly. "I defy
you-and mother, too. am not a
child to be-"
II must interrupt you," he e1-
claimed. II haven't the slightest idea
what you are talking about"
Don't Me." she cried, stamping her
foot. "Give me credit for 4 little In
telligsnce. Don't you suppose know
what mother wanted to see you about?
ThsrAl l can see the guilty look in
your eyes. / am . naughty little girl
and my big brother has been called In
to put . stop to my foolishness. II
you What are you laughing at. Mr..
0wynneY' she broke on to demand
furiously.
II am laughing at you," he replied,
suceinctly. You are like 4 little girl
In q tantrum-all over nothing at all.
Little girls In tantrums are always
amusing, but not always naughty. Per-
NIT me to assure you that your moth
er and have not discussed your in
terssting affair with Mr.. Lapelle. We
talked Of business mat"
"Then." she cried. "how do you hap
pen to know anything about Mr..
Lapelle and me? Aha! You're not
as clever as you think you are. That
slipped out, didn't 1t? Well. what is
the verdict? What are you going to
do to me? Lock me in my room, or
tie me hand and foot, Or Please
stay where you are. 1t is not neces-
sary to come any nearer, Mr.. Gwynne."
He continued his advance through
the thicket, undeterred by the omi-
nous light in her eyes. She stood her
ground.
"viola," he said, affecting sternness,
"as q matter Of fact, do not intend
to thrust myself upon you or your
mother. That il understood, hope
We have nothing in common and !
daresay we can 60 our own ways with
out seriously inconveniencing one an
other. I want you to know, however.
that l went to that house over there
this afternoon because thought you
wanted to consult with me about some
thing. was prepared to help you, or
to advise you. or to do anything you
wanted me to do. You were not there.
Your mother-my stepmother-got me
there under false pretenses, solely for
the purpose Of Strengthening out GER
tain matter in connection with the
well, the future. For your information
will state that your mother did not
refer to the affair at Strikers. nor did
l. I knew all about 1t, however.
know that you went out there to meet
Lapelle. You planned to run away
with him and get married. I may add
that it is a matter in which have not
the slightest interest. If you want to
marry him, all well and good. If you
were to ask for my honest opinion.
however, l should"
II am not asking for It," she cried,
cuttingly.
Il should advise you to get mar
ried in more or less regular sort Of
way in your mothers home"
THANK you for the advice" she
said, curtly. Il shall get married
when and where please-and to
whom please, Mr.. Gwynne."
"In view of the fact that am your
brother, Viola, would suggest that
you call me Kenneth"
II have no desire to claim you as a
brother, or to recognize you as one"
said she.
He smiled with all my heart
deplore the evil fate that makes you
sister of mine"
She was startled. "That-that
doesn't sound very-pretty," she said,
trifle dashed.
1.-The Gods truth, nevertheless. AT
any rate, so long as you have to be my
sister, / rejoice in the fact that you
are an extremely pretty one. 1t is
great relief. You might have turned
out to be a scarecrow. l don't mind
confessing that last night i said to
myself, There is the most beautiful
girl in all the world and / can't be-
gin to tell you how shocked I was this
morning when Striker informed me
that you were my half-sister. He
knocked romantic dream into
cooked hat-and- But even so, sister
or no sister, Viola, you still remain
beyond compare the loveliest girl
have ever seem"
There was something in his eyes
that caused her own to waver-some-
thing that by no account could be
described as brotherly. 1t was some
thing she had seen in Barry Lapelle's
eyes, and In the eyes Of other ardent
men. She was fiustered and q little
distressed, but recovered herself
"Who told you about Barry Lapelle
and me?" she demanded.
You mean about last nights ad-
ventureT he countered, trife
maliciously.
She colored. T suppose someone
has Oh, well. 1t doesn't matter.
sha'n't ask you to bstray the sneak
who"