Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-11-08

but after a few moments ne said
briskly, "Well, Larry, my boy, ]
hope you've been able to persuade
this girl of mine to be sensible"
Laurence answered lightly, "I'm
not sure I feel that she needs any
persuasion along such lines. I've
always considered Meggie very
sensible young woman!"
Jim tried to laugh, patting his
crisply barbered gray mustache
lightly with his napkin. Sensible
young woman? That hardly sounds
as loverlike as I would have expect
ed under the circumstances"
"Oh, I'm a very sensible young
man," Laurence assured him pleas
antly. "And sensible young men
don't go in for a lot of romantic
nonsense, nowadays"
Don't they, now?" Jim was elab-
orately surprised. "Weu, of course,
things have changed a lot since my
day! But seriously, I feel that we
nave a splendid offer for this place,
and since you and Meggie won't be
able to run it yourselves, and a
tenant is very unsatisfactory"
"Megan seems to feel that it
would be best for us not to be mar
ried for another year." Laurence
said gently. 'And therefore, she
will want to run the place herself
this year, at least"
Another year, eh?" he said at
last. "Sorry-thought you two were
in love with each other and had
been waiting several years for you
to get start so that you could get
married."
"As I said before, we are sensible
young people, Meggie and I. Slow
and sure is our motto" Laurence
told him.
Jim's jaw set and he made a pre-
tense OF eating, but after a little he
looked at his watch, thrust his chair
back, and asked to be excused un-
der the plea of an engagement. They
heard the outer door close behind
him with bang that threatened its
old-fashioned glass panel.
I'm afraid he's upset." Lau-
rence's words were wry with un-
reinstatement. HE won't try to
make things difficult for your"
Goodness, no-and if he does, it
won't matter. I'm not in the least
afraid of himl" She laughed at the
very idea.
Laurence nodded. but if there
should ever be anything lowell, to
make you feel you need help-you'u
remember my telephone number?"
he reminded her.
"Of course-didn't l yell for you
the minute thought Matthews was
going to insist on that commission"
In the next few weeks, life in
Pleasant Grove, on the surface at
least, was entirely normal.
The draft called up more and
more young men for the armed
services; several girls registered
for the Cadet Nurses Training
Corps; Bud Harrison's oldest girl,
twenty-year-old Mariana, Joined
the WAC; Preacher Martin, beloved
and feared for his straight talk
ing " to evildoers and the like, fell
on his front steps and broke his leg;
the Jordans, over behind Turkey
Bend, had another baby.
But there were currents under
meath that popped above the sur
face now and then, and to no ones
very keen surprise, Alicia Steven
son seemed to have a large part in
them. Her malicious tongue, her sly
little smile that limited at SO much
she did not say, the way she had of
always being in the very middle of
any untoward event, filled people
with angry unease.
"1t's got so body amt safe in
their own home nights, with that
woman snoopin' around" Mrs.
Stuart complained to Megan one
afternoon as they sat sewing before
the fire that the chill rain made very
welcome. She shot Megan an oblique
look and then came out frankly with
what was in her mind. 81 can't
imagine what your paw sees in her,
anyhow"
Megan dropped the tablecloth she
was mending and stared at Mrs.
Stuart.
"My father?" she gasped incredu-
lousy.
Mrs. Stuart shifted and set an
unusually sharp stitch in the diaper
she was hemming for the newest
Gordon youngun."
well, if you don't know that the
way your paws runnin' after that
Stevenson woman is the talk of the
town, it's high time you was finding
out, l say" she snapped belliger-
emily. They're always ridin'
around in that car O. hers-and
where she gets the gas, nobody
seems to know, but folks say it's
black market and she gifts all she
can pay fer-or what your paw can
pay fer"
Megan said CURLY, MY father
does not patronize black markets
for gasoline or anything else. And
I doubt very much whether he has
seen Mrs. Stevenson more than half
a dozen times
"Half a dozen times would he