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Show Rachel and Leah By MARTHA M. WILLIAMS (Copyright, 1911, by Associated Literary Press.) Sybilla burst explosively into the sitting room, shouting subduedly: "Mother! Mab! Everybody! The new minister is coming I saw him in the lane and you know the road doesn't go anywhere else." "Dear me! And this room in such a clutter!" Mrs. Ray cried, dropping her sewing and glancing at the shreds of pink silk, the tatters of tulle and snippets of gauze that littered the rug and clung wispily to everything. ; "That frock does look dance-y," Sybilla commented but over her shoulder she was on her knees gathering gath-ering up the offending shreds and tatters. "But don't you worry, mother L'll whisk everything out of hight. Besides, I believe his reverence will be so taken up looking at Mab he won't see anything else not if it was as big as a grown dog." "Hush! You dreadful child!" Mrs. Ray reproved. Mab, the beauty of the family, pouted pout-ed visibly. "I do hope he won't stay long. If he does my new frock will never get done in time," she said anxiously. Sybilla laughed outright, saying pro-vokingly, pro-vokingly, "And if it shouldn't why, the Hampton pound cake may turn out all dough!" Mabel flushed angrily. "You deserve de-serve to be sent to boarding school only you're such a savage you might disgrace the family," she said severely. severe-ly. Then she turned to her mother. "Why can't you go upstairs and sew? I'll make out you've got a headache arid send the Rev. Peter Benn away in a jiffy." You ask me to do everything ex cept your lying," Sybilla bubbled, her eyes dancing. "I like Peter Benn. Why don't you leave me to entertain him? He's almost as nice as a big healthy two-weeks'-old calf." "You forward thing!" Mabel ejaculated. ejacu-lated. "Mother, send her upstairs. If you don't she'll make me cry " "No she won't crying makes red noses for little Mabel and she doesn't want even a minister to see her so," Sybilla flung back undaunted, whirl- I AT) iSS "Of Course I'll Be Married Then. ing about as she talked and reducing the chaos to order. "You're Miss Goosie, all right, all right trying to put it over me that way, when you know I know you oO well " "Hush! I won't hear such language! I don't see where you ever learned it!" Mrs. Ray Interposed despairingly. Sybilla looked contrite and ran to her mother, pushing her down into the easiest c'air and smoothing her hair deftly. Mrs. Ray got up, saying, irritably, "I will go upstairs but mind, Mabel, if you keep Peter too long I can't do very much. That left side-form has to be set in differently and without you to fit it on" "I know! I know! Only go," Mabel Ma-bel interrupted. As her mother vanished in the wake of Sybilla, whose arms overflowed with inchoate finery, the minister knocked. Mabel welcomed him warmly warm-ly she had a warm heart toward any man who admired her, so warm. In fact, it was three hours before she let Peter leave, notwithstanding the' state of the pink silk frock. "You can finish it by twelve o'clock tonight and we'll sleep late tomorrow," tomor-row," she explained when her mother complained of wasted time. Sybilla, who had just come in, stood with clenched hands. "You know mother ought to be in bed early," she said, her voice singularly restrained. "And she shall be there, too even If you go to the hop In your old blue tar latan." Mabel glared at her younger sister she was badly spoiled, and all along had tyrannized over everybody, especially espe-cially this gawky creature, willing as she was gawky. Now, she was growing grow-ing unbearable at seventeen a girl should know better than to be saucy. Sybilla had taken cast-off clothes, studied in cast-off books, waited on everybody, and eaten at the second table, unmurmuring. Of late she had grown restive the frocks were too short Mabel was several inches lower than she. Then, too, she had developed devel-oped a quaint and ready bitterness of speech, an Insight that was critical, and worse still, a reckless regard for the truth. Therefore when Mabel asked tartly: tart-ly: "Well, Miss Smarty, where have you been all afternoon?" she answered with a lovely flush, but clear-eyed and high-headed: "Oh, out riding with Len Hampton. He saw me up in the apple tree and said he'd give me a drive for three red apples." "Just as you are? My!" Mabel gasped, glancing at Sybilla's faded serge frock, scuffed shoes and battered bat-tered hat. Sybilla smiled softly, nodded and murmured: "I don't believe Len noticed no-ticed what I had on he was too busy looking at me." "I never heard such insolence. Mother, she'll be the talk of the town People have said always you couldn't raise a forward daughter, but I'm afraid " "They won't keep saying it?" Sybilla interrupted. "Wrong, honey Len says I'm as shy as I'm sweet Mab, did he ever say anything nicer to you?" "I'll send you to school day aftei tomorrow," Mrs. Ray groaned. "If your poor father does say it's no use, you've got to go" "Thanky, ma'am I've wanted to this ever so long," Sybilla countered undauntedly. "Not for what books will teach me I can get that at home but so as to rub off the angles and make me sweet and attractive like Mab." She ended with a laugh of genuine amusement that had yet a sound unlike un-like her usual bubbling. Still, she had her way about the frock after all. Inciting In-citing her father to exercise husbandly husband-ly authority for once, and send his wife to bed betimes. All next day she was singularly gentle, singularly willing not once did she say a briery thing, nor fall of doing the most exacting duty. Rested and refreshed, Mrs. Ray did marvels with the pink silk. When it lay complete upon the bed in the spare room, Mabel surveyed it with a happy smile, and even said to Sybilla: Sy-billa: "Syb when your time comes, I'm going to see to it that you have new things and real pretty ones. Of course I'll be married then but I shan't forget how nice you can be when you try." "Thanky, ma'am," Sybilla said, her eyes dancing. "But isn't it lucky. 1 never cared for clothes? If I did care if would spoil all my fun tonight. I've nothing to wear to the hop, but my pink organdy and I've had to let down every tuck in it." "You must have your joke," Mabel said smiling indulgently. Sybilla also smiled. "If you take It that way I'm glad," she said. "I thought maybe you'd be mad as Tucker Tuck-er over my going, but when Len asked me why, I just bad to say yes." Mabel stared at her as if paralyzed. "You you don't mean to tell me you're going with Len Hampton?" she gasped. gasp-ed. "Why! I I was sure " "I know," Sybilla nodded. "But don't you mind Mab. I won't ever cheep to him what you thought. He's going go-ing to take us both, and Mrs. Dean into the bargain his car is big enough you know, though we don't actually need a chaperon, now we're engaged. Oh, say Mab, will it be too much out of the picture if I wear my diamond ring with the pink organdy?" Mabel said nothing. In fact, Just then it appeared to her there was nothing left to say. But when next Sunday Peter Benn preached about Leah and Rachel, she, of all the congregation, con-gregation, understood him best Bernhardt's Callers at Stage Supper. Boston society in the audience at Bernhardt's performance of "Camille" were surprised at the familiar look of certain of the dinner guests in the first act. It happened thus: Some young men, who had met the divine Sarah In Paris, called on her at the theater. As they were in evening dress it wag suggested that they have supper with Marguerite Gautier. They became actors at a. moment's notice. |