The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-11-10

layed long," she suggested Il am not
accustomed to waiting"
Jalna was pleased with her new role.
People with the infections Mrs. Ham,
mersley employed always rubbed her
the wrong way.
"No longer than Is necessary,
Madame" she said. II assure you 1t
Is concession on Madame Saitou's
part to receive you at all without an
appointment" She bowed herself out.
and again Laura was left to her own
devices. Time passed slowly until But
tons at last appeared once more.
Madame Saitou will see you now
If you will come this way" he said,
and led her past the angles Of the cor
ridor into the lounge at the rear.
The room was modernistic, the walls
sharply patterned in black, red and
gold; the floor black. highly polished;
the hangings of the little stage red
velvet. tone softer yet as vivid as
geranium. The boy went out the way
l'c had come and again Laura waited.
Then the curtains parted silently and
Madame Saitou advanced.
For just one instant Laura was in
doubt. Costumed in the color Of her
surroundings there was something
oriental, mysterious and majestic
about her youngest sister which she
had never sensed before.
"Smif!" she cried; but Smif shook
her head.
Madame Saitou," she corrected.
"You wished to consult me?"
Don't he silly" Laura rejoined pet
tishly. "What in the world would
want to consult you about? I only
wanted to see you"
"You need not have come here to do
that" Sniff pointed out.
Laura's rejoinder was tart.
81 had to come to find out IL you
really were making such a show of
yourself"
SURPRISING a smile, Sniff shook her
head slowly.
81 am not making show of myself"
she said. 81 am making money. And
that is what set out to do. / have
use for money"
"Most people have" Laura brushed
this aside. you're only quibbling,
Smif. You must know this can't go
on. We can't have our sister prac-
Using as a sort of charlatan. Impos-
ing on the gullible-"
81 am not charlatan," Sniff re-
turned without heat. "For the first
time in my life am useful member
of society. am ashamed when I
think of the years wasted on Cintra."
you're talking like an awful prig."
Laura was eager to make the argu-
ment commonplace and to drive home
her contentious. "The truth is, what
you want is money, as you owned at
first; and not for charity or any high
falutin object but just for self-in-
diligence. You want to buy back
Lovelylea. All right, say you could
buy it back, what would you do
with it."
81 can make it self-supporting. which
is what Bill-I4ee ought to have done"
Laura swept on. not, however, ig-
noring the interruption:
And that would only be postpon.
ing the evil day. It is bound to go
out of the family. I ask you, what
do you think would become of the
plantation after you died? You'll
,a.,ou how, opy ah;ldrao ond 20 x,o,, Iof<
it to any of US, we'd be only too anx-
ious to sell it and get it off our hands,
oh, Sniff, don't be an idiot! Be salts
fed with something suitable. I'll get
Jim to buy you dear little place
in the country. In Virginia, If that's
what you want; and, if you really
need it. we'll manage an allowance
Laura meant to be kind and one or
two of her arguments had struck home.
Sniff had long been sure she would
never marry and asked herself why
the bald brutality of the statement
that she would never have any chill
dren had given her such pang? But
it was the suggestion that she should
live out her life dependent on Jim
Hammersley's bounty that reused her
to rebellion.
you're very generous for Jim,
Laura" she said angrily. "Please for
get that plan, as shall. am entirely
able to support myself. I'm sorry If
you don't approve of my business.
find it both remunerative and enjoy
able, and propose to continue in it.
It is useless to argue the matter fur
ther."
Seeing at last that her first efforts
had been wrongly directed, Laura tried