The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1939-10-05
CHAPTER iii


Breakfast in the Dean household
had always been a ritual. In his
busiest season Jarvis Dean never
theless attended his table of morn
ing with the leisurely grace of
country gentleman. If a man could
not begin the day becomingly, the
Laird maintained, he had better re-
main In bed.
He was In good spirits this morn
ing as he sat in his place, his daugh-
ter on his right and old Hannah OPP
posite him at the end of the table
nearest the kitchen. Hannah Stew
art had, since the death of her mis-
tress twenty years before, been ac-
customed to eating with the family
unless there were guests. This ar
rangement had seemed to Jarvis to
be the most sensible one while Au-
tumn was small and had to be at
tended to, and later Hannah was so
much one of the family that it was
unthinkable that she should eat
alone. Hannah had seen to it that
the paper streamers and other dec
orations that had festooned the din
ing room for the dance of the night
before had been cleared away and
the place restored to its wonted
homely austerity. She would give
her attention to the drawing room
and the rest of the house as soon
as the meal was over. Here in this
room, however, life had returned to
its accustomed way.
To Autumn, it seemed that some
perverse fate had ordered the quiet
scene SO that she might find it inn
possible to seek an answer to the
questions that had assailed her mind
throughout an almost sleepless
night. She had ridden home from
the Landor place and had returned
to her fathers guests with a feel
ing that some curse had been laid
upon her. She had moved about
under a black spell that was as un-
real to her as delirious dream.
And when it was all over and the
last guest had gone, she had hurried
to her room and lain awake until
dawn.
Her father turned his eyes search
ingly upon her as she seated her.
self at the breakfast table.
1T was little too much for you,
that business last night" he OBJ
served gently. "You look stale this
morning"
''I didn't sleep well," Autumn ad-
mitted. "I'll be all right when I've
had a little rest"
She had permitted her father to
know only that she had indulged an
impulse last night to get away alone
for a ride in the moonlight; it had
been impossible to tell him of her
frightening visit to the Landors.
at don't know what's wrong with
the women nowadays" Jarvis con-
tinued. "In my time a young wom-
an could dance all night and go to
work the next day and be none the
worse for it. But the women today
have gone to pot"
Old Hannah shifted. az don't see
that your men nowadays show much
to brag about"
The Laird smiled. AYE, they're
a feckless lot, and have a mighty
high opinion of themselves"
sIt's hard to judge the present by
the past, d." Autumn ventured.
"Aye, my girl, there's something
in that, too. It's the times that
make the difference. 1t was a hard
life we lived when was young
ster-and it made hard men of us.
And hard women, too, Autumn
thought, her mind upon Jane Lam
dor.
ltd take more than a hard life
to make anything O. the Ike O. that
Par lad, I'm thinking" Hannah
suggested.
"There's no way of telling that"
Jarvis countered. There's good
blood in the boy. HIS father comes
of a good line"
1.-The worlds full of fools who can
boast of good fathers before them,
then" said Hannah stoutly.
Fright enough" declared Jarvis,
chuckling to himself. 1T takes two
to breed even a flock of culls.'
"Will you be using the car today.
Da?" Autumn asked abruptly.
mo. I'll be down at the pens
till supper. Haven't you done enough
travelling to be content for while?"
II have some things to do in town,
she said. "I'll leave right away and
be back early.
.tThere'll be no call for haste, the
Laird cautioned her. "You drive
that car like something that had lost
her wits