The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1924-03-21

Il y
The policew exclaimed Mr.. Ben
nett, forgetting his lacerated tongue
and his other grievances. 1--WE must
summon the policew
"Obvlously! I" said Mrs. Hignett, with
drawing her fascinated gaze from the
ragged hole in the front door the
cost Of repairing which she had been
mentally assessing. "We must send
for the police at once"
"We don't really need them, you
know" said Jane. "If youll all go to
bed and just leave me 20 potter round
with my gun :"
"And blow the whole house to
pieces" said Mrs. Hgnett tartly
She had begun to revise her original
estimate Of this girl. To her, Wlndles
was sacred, and anyone who went
about shooting holes in 1t forfeited her
esteem.
Shall I go for the policeT said
Billie. 81 could bring them back in
ten minutes in the car"
Certainly mott" said Mr.. Bennett.
my daughter gaddlng about all over
the countryside In an automobile at
this time Of nightr'
IF you think ought not to go alone,
| could take Bream."
Where is Bream?" said Mr.. Morti-
mer.
The odd fact that Bream was not
among those present suddenly present
ed itself to the company.
where can he be-" said Billie.
Jane Hubbard laughed the whole
some, indulgent laugh Of one who is
broad-minded enough to see the hui
NOR OF the situation even when the
joke IS at her expense.
What silly girl l ami" she said.
Il do believe that was Bream l shot
at upstairs. How foolish OF me max
ing a mistake like that"
"You shot my only son I" cried Mr..
Mortimer.
II shot at him. said Jane. "My
belief Is that missed him. Though
how l came TO do 1t beats me. / don't
suppose I've missed a sitter like that
since / was a child in the nursery
OF course" she proceeded, looking on
the reasonable side, "the visibility
wasn't good and fired from the hip
but it's no use saying l oughtn't at
least to have winged him, because
ought" She shook her head with a
touch of self-reproach. 81 shall be
chaffed about this If 1t comes out"
she said regretfully.
"The poor boy must be in his ROOM"
said Mr.. Mortimer.
under the bed. IL you ask me-"
said Jane, blowing on the barrel of
her gun and polishing 1t with the side
Of her hand. Hes all right! Leave
him alone, and the housemaid will
sweep him up in the morning"
"Oh, he can't be - cried Billie, re
volted.
A girl Of high spirit, it seemed TO
her repellent that the man she was
engaged to marry should be displaying
such craven spirit. At that moment
she despised and hated Bream Morti-
mer. / think she was wrong. mind
you. 1t Is not my place to criticize the
little group of people whose simple an
nails l am relating-my position is
merely that OF reporter; but person
ally think highly Of Breams sturdy
common-sense. If somebody loosed
off an elephant-gun at me in a dark
corridor, / would climb onto the roof
and pull II up after me. Still, rightly
or wrongly, that was how Billie felt :;
and 1t flashed across her mind that
Samuel Marlowe, scoundrel though he
was, would not have behaved like this
And for a moment certain wistful-
ness added itself to the varied emo
tions then engaging her mind
"Tll go and look, II you like" said
Jane agreeably. "You amuse your
selves somehow till I come back"
She ran easily up the stairs, three al
time. Mr.. Mortimer turned to Mr.
Bennett
"It's all very well your saying VIII
helmina mustn't 60, but, il she doesn't
how can we get the police? The house
isn't on the phone, and nobody else
can drive the car"
That's true," said Mr.. Bennett,
wavering.
"I'm going" said Billie resolutely.
1t occurred to her, as 1t has occurred
to so many women before her, how help
less men are In a crisis. The tenn
porary withdrawal Of Jane Hubbard
had had the effect which the removal
of a rudder has on a boat. "It's the
only thing to do. l shall be back in
no time"
She stepped firmly to the coat-rack,
and began to put on her motoring
cloak. And just then Jane Hubbard
came downstairs, shepherdlng before
her a pale and glassy-eyed Bream.
Fright under the bed," she an
nounced cheerfully, making noise
like a piece of duff in order to deceive
burglars"
Billie cast a scornful look at her
fiance. Absolutely unjustified, In my
opinion. but nevertheless she cast It..
But II had no effect at all. Terror