Show MRS HAHOLD STAGG I 1 tand 1891 by aobert SOBS CHAPTER emma rose and haughtily proceeded to lower one of the awnings a little I 1 am so sorry I 1 can see you think me very Tic grateful I 1 suppose you have the right to throw away your opportunities it you choose to just AS ro one could pre vent you from throwing yourself over board it you were inclined but as I 1 said to your uncle phineas this morning I 1 hae done my best be fore yon resolve on anything foolish however I 1 should advise you to con cult with bilm you may rest assur chat your uncle harold ill not consent to your leaving this house and I 1 cannot believe that prof bald win has so little knowledge of the world as to sanction anything of the eort you spoke of paying him a why don t you write to him and tell him you ft pass a few days with him 1 I should like to immensely I 1 will write to day I 1 will talk matters over with him I 1 have talked with him already he is sensible aunt emma and would be the last person I 1 know to advise me to do anything that Is foolish it Is not he that suggested my leaving you I 1 did not suppose it was said emma relieved nevertheless by the announcement she had been think ing hard as to a plan tor thwarting without seeming to thwart this vagary of eleanor s as she still chose to con elder it and on the whole a change of scene seemed the most feasible the more emma thought over this project the better it pleased her and she felt almost jubilant when eleanor announced that she had received a letter from her uncle urging her to come as soon as possible she ab stained from further discussions of the points at issue believing that to ignore what had been said and trust to eleanors common sense to re abert itself was the proper course to pursue and she sent her off a day or efto later equanimity although owen page s yacht was in the offing for as she said to herleif the child would be sure to stiff and con strained were she to meet him in her present spirit even it she were not absolutely repellent altogether mrs stagg flattered her self that the situation was not nearly so serious as she at one moment feared and she even did not feel that it was necessary to complain to her husband of eleanor s threatened exodus so little did she doubt that her niece s mental aberration was merely temporary he expressed some surprise that she should visit new york in the heat of summer but emma pointed out in such eloquent terms the loneliness of the professor and the undoubted need in which bis apartments stood of a dust discerning feminine eye that harold made no demur prof baldwin s apartments were indeed in need of female scrutiny at least any woman would have said so though it must be confessed that the professor himself considered that he was lodged very satisfactorily the first thing one noticed on entering his living room cr den as he called it was u baor oi tobacco which except when his pipe was out was supplemented by a haze that pro deuced the effect of a murky london fog and imparted an air of greater dinginess to the already dingy carpet and curtains and furniture eleanor came in upon the professor just as he had finished breakfast and had set tied down in an easy chair for his first 1 e he pounded up his seat with so much heartiness that he jog aled violently the center table on v aich the tray containing the remains of his breakfast was resting n the midst of books geological specimens maps music rolls and sundry smaller paraphernalia all hing in perfect con fusion and overflowing on to the piano peach blossom Is it youa yes uncle phin here I 1 am well well this is too much luck for an old bachelor like me this handbag all Is it where are our other duds oh they re coming I 1 ve brought a bruni nearly as big as this room un cle phin so you mut make up your mind to with me for long visit this Is your parlor I 1 sup pose her eyes as she spoke made a cir cult of the room and then rested for a moment inquiringly on a tall modest looking man who had risen at her entrance and was standing in the background with his pipe in his hand yes this Is my parlor also my breakfast room my study my library in fact everything except my bed room which Is there and the probes sor nodded toward a door on his right allow me to introduce william struthers rising electrician and devotee of science the stranger bowed respectfully eleanor saw that he had large dark eyes and a pale rather thin face full of quiet determination he wore a short fustian jacket which had seen a great deal of service and which seemed rather small tor his muscular looking figure he bowed again and walked to the door now do not work too hard cried uncle there la the rock that will bring you to grief if you do not have a care how goes the great it Is too soon yet to tell anything bisot too soon to hope some day peach blossom we will storm his sky parlor and investigate for ourselves these inventors have a way of hiding their light under a bushel for fear of somebody else discovering their dis co verles before they are completed I 1 hate a suspicious nature my workshop is a very alve place tor ladies struthers said but it miss baldwin would like at any time to see rt I 1 ahall bo pleased to show her what there Is to see Is your workshop in this house she asked interestedly tes in the attic some day before you go you may like to see the lew from the root Is rather fine who dares talk ot ber going T avaunt boung man she Is never to go I 1 shall keep her forever and woe betide him or tier i or it who barea to try to rob me 0 her and the pro bessor put his arm about her neck caressingly dear old tanda ahin abe said laying her cheek against bis as the young man left the room A promising lad 1 am becoming fond of him who is he I 1 have told you nearly all I 1 know I 1 found in the house when I 1 ar his father was killed in the war his mother died three years ago worn out with the struggle to earn a living for herself and boy and just at the time when he was beginning to take the burden from her shoulders but come let me look at you how we are to be sure in our fine dress and bonnet how unkind when 1 bad purposely chosen my plainest summer frock be cause I 1 knew you bated fuss and feath ers and pray who has been enlighten ing you as to my but you are waiting to see your room the lady who occue es it has gone to the sea side to recuperate she is a music teacher thereupon he conducted eleanor up another flight to the front of the house where she found herself in a snug lit tie room plain but clean and defur bashed there were reminders of the previous occupant over the walls and mirror christmas cards and IX painted texts and a water color or two and family photographs and a canary in a cage hung from a chain in the window which was caroling as she entered the landlady mrs todd was go ing to remove the bird said the pro fessor but I 1 told her that maybe you it oh I 1 very much miss strange the music teacher wept because she coulden couldn t take it with her for her month s holi day poor little lady she leads a solitary life I 1 fancy I 1 don t mean you you tat yellow he added thrusting his round face against the bars of the cage but your mis tress she tolls while you warble and plume your fluffy bosom that s the way of the world however there are wage spinners and wage spenders peach blossom you will find this room hot and maybe stuffy I 1 warn you no sea breezes here such air as there Is passes over broiling pavements in stead of an ocean view you look out on tall tenements while speaking he threw open the green blinds and let in a flood of glar ing sun me phin I 1 am neither sugar nor salt I 1 can see that I 1 shall be perfectly comfort able and happy here well you know your way down to my den excuse me your parlor now and when you are rested you will find me there ready for anything from a picnic to a voyage in a bal don t talk to me of picnic I 1 have come to work uncle phin you must get out those socks I 1 intend to over haul your entire wardrobe while ou work at your lectures I 1 will darn and mend and sew on buttons and talk for I 1 want your advice advice eha this sounds serious can it be that you have come to con suit an old bachelor on the subject which he Is supposed to be hobt ig borant ofa I 1 thought your aunt had a significant look when she assured me that you would not be allowed to throw yourself away have I 1 guessed righta he added perceiving that eleanor flushed and looked able no uncle nothing of the sort it you refer as I 1 suppose to the ability of my being married I 1 dont know what aunt emma may have said but im not interested in the matter at all it was I 1 that suggested it to her ha ha I 1 told her that I 1 envied the man who won you as a wife and so I 1 do peach blossom but that is quite another thing irom wishing me married isn t it un cle phin she spoke so that the professor instinctively felt a desire to be rid of the subject with all his predilection for his niece he could not help remembering his profound con that women were strange crea tures and that he shrank habitually from any dealings with them that were likely to induce emotional dis play he did not pretend to have dl the cause of eleanor s biscom kosure but he thought he perceived that she was distressed so he as slimed the shy sphinx like expression that was characteristic of him when be felt ill at ease and said there are certain matters concern ing which no one can be so safe a judge as a young lady herself least of all an old fellow like me thereupon he shambled through the doorway unheeding the look of sur prise which eleanor cast at him on account of the words but by the time be had reached his own room he was reproaching himself for his behavior and wishing the words unspoken the poor child had come to him in a dary tor counsel and he has checked her off it was inexcusable it was barbarous the women always he murmured gloomily as he lit his pipe again and it was with a clouded brow that he settled to bis task of ing his geological lectures for the corn ing season eleanor stood still for a moment after he had left her he thinks it some love affair she said to herself how ridiculous what can aunt emma have saida then she began to inspect her room pensively at first but the arrival of her trunk drove her thoughts into other channels when it was unpacked she went down stairs with her work box to seek out uncle phyneas he was deep in his papers so with a nod which signified that he waa not to let himself be disturbed she glided into the bedroom and reappeared with a pile of stockings there was no in ter to their respective labors until just after the stroke of 12 when a rap on the door announced a boy with a trap containing a supply of sandwiches and two pots of beer mahomet exclaimed the pro fessor I 1 had forgotten and though his large eyes gleamed hungrily he said not to day adolph I 1 am go ing out to luncheon I 1 will send you word when I 1 v ant ou again no no uncle phin not on my ac count I 1 we will go to Delmo nicos peach blossom interrupted the professor rising and jingling the silver in his pocket we will do nothing of the sort un cle phin you are to make no change in your habits adolph she added addressing the boy who stood lute listening to the dialogue you may leave prof baldwin s luncheon just as usual the lad grinned and glanced at his employer who extended his palms and shrugged his shoulders as much as to say you see how helpless I 1 am after which adolph approached the table and placed upon it one of the plates of sandwiches and one of the tankards may I 1 not have the rest she asked as he turned to go the attendant grinned again please ma am this Is tor mr struthers up stairs oh she murmured with a little laugh that is awkward the professor surveyed her gloat angly it would serve you right to go hungry he said then he added you may leave the other portion adolph and tell mr struthers when you see him next that it was stolen from you on the staircase by a beautiful ama zon go now and do not let him fam isn long you will tell him nothing of the sort adolph said eleanor ap a ng a sandwich I 1 trust to your discretion to let him know nothing about it yes ma am said the delighted as this Is a true workingman s re past said uncle phyneas as he set down his pewter after a draught and am I 1 not a working woman she said at least I 1 wish to be but where she asked after a moment do you do the other people here take dinnery this is only a lodging house isn t ita to be continued |