The Holly chieftain., 1924-02-28
CHAPTER v-continued.

CHAPTER V-continued.
She didn't feel at all sure she liked
lhe taste of joe She found his real
site moments uDpleasantly acrld; his
gotism, naive; and his prudery-for
he'd been awars that she'd sometimes
Shocked him-ridiculous She admit
ed the attractiveness of his looks, his
surprisingly good speech, his vigor and
freshness. and the queer miscellany
! that formed his background the
ssjungle, and the musical-comedy stage;
that he bought pictures, and had never
: been to Europe, and knew Sorolla.
TSThis was how her palate reported it
bout as boys palate reports his first
aste Of strong drink. She didn't
I reckon on anything in her. behind her
palate and capable of overruling Its
report, being concerned in the matter
But, even on that first morning she'd
been forced to ignore as irrelevant
some rather queer sensations and i'm
pulses she'd had.
1t annoyed her to learn that Joe was
married man with grown daugh-
ter; she lost her temper with John,
who told her about it. Hes probably
got five or six wives" she raped out
"One in every port, like sailor.
suppose one of them is trying to put
him in jail and he's come to you
And I'd bet you've said you'd help him
(, out!"
q She would barely listen to Johns
, detailed explanation that Greer's mat
'rimonial difficulties were, compara-
Stlvely speaking, respectable. and 1t did
Anot in the least placate her when she
! heard. Respectable she fumed.
,J"That's the beastly second-rate vul-
garity Of it. Why do you think they
have to marry those people7"
p When she heard about Beatrice, and
Hoes wish to enter her in smart
echool, preferably Thornycroft, where
dorothy was. she fairly boiled over
What affair WAS it Of his, or hia daugh-
ter's. where Dodo went to school?
How did he even know of the school
unless John had been babbling about
IT. But Of course John had been
Given the man all the details. no
doubt; Miss Hoods address, himself as
q reference. everything!
whats the harm IL I did?" he
asked. "He couldn't get her into that
SCHOOL in hundred years-not in ten,
anyhow. And next years all that mat
ters to u.s." 1t wasn't this argument,
however, that had the effect Of pulling
his wife up short: 1t was his look of
curiosity at her. What was there for
Der to be so disturbed about?
1 She, herself. couldn't understand
Why she'd been so bitter about, it nor
why she went on thinking and feeling
kilat way. She tried to make out that
l,e was angry with herself for being
r,ngry, but the intricacies Of this abb
ySrraction were little beyond her Pre-
Aosterously. what warmed her into
.Tiendier feeling for the man was the
outrageous surmise that the girl
pightn't be his daughter, after all, but
Some little fuff he was trying to palm
off upon them, under cloak no one
you'd think to look beneath. She
found this notion rather entertaining,
though she didn't take 1t seriously
We'll, she didn't take him seriously,
, either!
She didn't pass 1t on to John. for
wouldn't think it funny. She didn't
suppose Margaret Craven would think
flt funny, either, but this didn't prevent
her mentioning 1t to Margaret. expert
mentally.
/ Margaret took 1t in the most sur
prising way: fairly flew at her over it.
"That's like you, Violet" she said
when, after tight silence she spoke
at ALL Her voice was brittle with
anger and her eyes were dry with it.
"How long have you been telling that
sweet little story?"
1 The mere impact of the charge took
Violet's breath. 81 haven't been telling
It at ALL she protested. ~ only just
thought of it. 1t struck me as anus
ing. and said it,"
at will be frightfully amusing for
her, won't it?' There was no quality
of reelection in Margaret's voice, not
even the thinnest veneer to give 1t
surface. ITO find story like that GO
Ing round! A young girl, alone as
she is; even her father "A stranger to
her"
|, "It isn't going around Violet re-
Z iterated Then, with a short laugh,
as she recovered her balance: "Oh II
1t is. it's not my doing. But it's a
I natural enough thing for anybody to
think Of. who knows what he's like.