Show THE HUSBANDS OF EDITH ETU IT H bu GEORGE BARR bu dodd mead co L CHAPTER VH 01 4 wonner wonder tr ir you wily d tho me difficulty edith will have in satisfying vil on incredulous world with her bar abaco acly truthful story shell have to explain you know theres bound to bo be a skeptic or two my dear con betance but theres roxbury sho she protested tier her face clouding nevertheless lie ile will set everything right tho the world will say aay he ta Is a gullible foul sald lie he gently and the world always laughs at not with a fool almi A in s my dear slater sister its a very deep pool were in fit ue leaned closer and allowed ii a quaint half bantering wholly diffident smile to cross its his face 1 I im afraid that you are arc the only being on oil kurtli who can make the story thoroughly il 1 I she demanded quickly their eyes met inet an and tile wonder suddenly loft left liers she blushed furiously non nonsense ense she said and abruptly left bort him to take a seat scat beside kather tile rodney lie ile found small comfort lu ili the whisperings and titter ings that came brilly nilly to ills his burning ears cars fruin front the ceriter corner of the compartment ile H lilt biad it disquieting impression that they yere were discussing him film it was forced it in upon him that 41 being a broth er in law la Is not an enviable occupation tion I 1 1 1 wot ho he asked almost fiercely after tle the insistent freddie had thrice re it a question 1 I say will you have a cigarette naif half shouted sli freddie exasperated oil no thanks the train makes such stich a beastly racket dont you know they T hey told tile me at the bristol you weve were dvar but oil oh I 1 say old man yin im sorry which ear Is it I 1 the ne otic one next to you replied brock recovering front from ills confusion 1 I head hear perfectly well with tile the other one yes drin vied freddie with a wink so ive observed after a reflective SlI vilJo the young man vent ventured tired the interesting te resting CO conclusion ic lusion ashes a stunning prid i arl all right brock looked politely ask aska aiKe tive by jove im glad she my sister til ln law 1 I sill pose im tit expected to ask why f frigidly 11 idly coital certainly lily because if sho she was I 1 do you got get the point ho crossed tits his fe begs and looked insupportably sure of himself they reached munich late in the afternoon ell loon und went at once to the hotel vier where they were to find the odell carleys carneys mr odell carney was a middle aged englishman of the extremely unini fl etive type ile ho was tall end and narrow and dir tant far beyond what is commonly accepted as blase indeed ho he was especially slow of speech even aven for nit an englishman quite as if it were an everlasting question with him aln whether it was worth woith while to speak at all one lie had bad the feeling when listening to air odell carney that he was being favored beyond words it took him film so long to say anything that if one were but moderately bright he could finish the lie sentence mentally some little time in III advance of the speaker and thus bo be prepared to properly appreciate that alch otherwise might have puzzled him considerably it could not be said however that mr air odell carney was i poli derous ne ile was merely the effee i result resu it of delay perhaps it la safe i i t r t to 0 agree with ali those ose who knew him best they maintained that odeil ode ll car noy ney was a poso pose nothing more ills his wife was quite the opposite in nearly every particular except height and angularity she was bony and red faced and opinionated A few sallow years with a rapid profligate nobleman had brought her in widowhood to a alne sense of appreciation of the slow going though tiresomely unpractical men of the odell carney type it mattered little that he made poor investment estment of tho the money she had bud sequestered from his lordship ile he had bud kept her in the foreground by associating himself with every big venture that interested the financial smart set not the fact that lie he never was known to have any money ho he was looked upon as a financier of the highest order which Is saying a great deal in these unfeeling days of pounds and shillings of course mrs odell carney was dressed as all rangy long limbed imbed eng lish women are arc prone to dress after a model peculiarly not her own she looked ridiculously ungraceful alongside the smart clife chic american women and yet not one of them but would have given tier boots to be abrie able to array herself as a one of these there was no denying tile the fact that mrs odell car ney was a regular its as mr rodney kodney wan only too eager to say she find the air of 1 n I born lender leader that Is to say site she could lie he when occasion de demanded mandod without being patronizing ron ising izing in III due course of time thue the bo Med crofts and miss fowler were presented to the distinguished couple tills function way was deloyed until odell carnoy carney hit and time to go into the details ot of a particularly episode of the afternoon no he wits tolling telling tile story to ili his friend hodkey and of course everything L was wag at it n standstill until he got till through bligh it seeing flint ti tit mr odell cornoy felt the need or of it imp lit at i rie gave strict injunctions that there was to be no noise in the halls while lie he slept and then went inlo his room and tin stretched out any one who lm hit stopped at tin the hotel pour seasons will have no in wailing the electric hall bells willett which ene to litt attract bract the chambermaids to given spots pots it if one needs the lit lie presses the button til fit atif 4 room an and a 1 I little ittle bell in tit alio ball thil tinkles fles furiously until slip responds ili shuts it off in that way ono one is sure that she tins has heard and it most bit of german ingenuity if she happens to be enking tier lunch it at the time tit the bell 1111 noes goes on oil finning until she ahe returns return 4 it II Is it thrill bell coming back to odeil the mald on ills his floor ans nial mcklim tip it room in ili cloe proximity 11 it most annoying tiling thins happened tu to her A porter who had reason to dislike lier her came along and turned tier her key from aron the outside locking tier her in the room she get out and she had been warned against making a sound that might disturb tho the E english guest with rare intelligence she did not scream or make inace an outcry but wisely proceeded in acceded to press tile the button for it chambermaid then she evidently sat down to wait to make tho the story short she rang tier her own call bell for two hours no other maid condescending to notice noille the call which speaks volumes for the almost martial system of the hotel the bell was opposite tle the narrators door Is it therefore surprising that he required a great deal of time to tell all that ho he felt it was not so much of what lie he did it that lie he spoke tit at such great length but of what he felt 4 pon roe ine soul lie he exploded in tile the end twisting tits his mustache with nervous energy it was tit the den idest juip I 1 over ever had I 1 close cloae my eyes me if I 1 did CHAPTER VIII tho odell carleys carneys HILK odell odeh carney W busly adjusting his fils cre eyeglass glass for it inal gaitre at nn nit enof fending bus hoy boy who ulmont cilmo st tits his tray of plates in eoll e mr air rodney fussily lut tid irid introduced mcf crofts mrs N I 1 rs 1 odell carney was delightfully gra clous sli alio way sure tant no nicer party aher could have been got together her husband way have been ex excessively slow in III most things hu but i lie he was quick to recognize nit and appreciate fern indic kunuty of face and figure no ile unbent jit ait once in the presence of tho the 6 V TL 1 ur j li lt al 1 where the devil did you flat such ideas eh ch wot unmistakably handsome hand sume fowler sis tera his expressive ma was in direct contrast to ills hla ordinary manner of acknowledging un tin ili trod mr Med Mede croft Is tbt ancill hect you you know explained the envious mrs rodney oh yes I 1 know drawled mr odell carney you american sects are doing great things pon my soul lie he added luminously brock stuck tits his eyeglass in tighter and hem hein mod med with raucous precision A mrs I 1 rs Med Aled croft stiffened perceptibly oh but hes roxbury al Med ted croft the great english architect cried mrs airs rodney in some little confusion odell garney carney suddenly remembered he glared hard at brock the rife rod saw signs of disaster oil oh by jove are you the fellow who put those new windows in tile the chaucer memorial hall ton ion me soul are you ko u the man who did that there was no mistaking tits his manner ile he was distinctly annoyed brock faced the storm coolly for his friend sake 1 I am roxbury Med hied croft if what you yon mean mr odell carney il ekno know w youre Med but hang it il nil 1111 wot vit I 1 was vs did you design desiga shoso I 1 wint lows mid sir the e sen halfon of the age where tit the it devil vil did you got get such ideas oh ch wot Us 1114 wife aind find calmly diplo moll villy innerve anti inti ve d 11 4 1 anto diat hint man sald mrs airs med mcd croft to tier supposed husband a few tuff minutes intes later there was a dangerous red in tier her cheeks and she was breathing quickly brock gave an embarrassed laugh and mentioned something audibly about a stupid ass the entire party left on the following day for innsbruck Inns bruck where mr air rodney already had re reserved s arved the better part of a whole floor for himself and guests mr odell carnoy before they left munich brought himself to the point of apologizing to brock for his peppery remarks ile he was very sorry and ana all that and he hoped bo be friends but the windows were atrocious there was no getting around that his wife smoothed it ft over with edith by confiding to 6 i the lamentable truth that poor odoll odell carney the remotest idea what he was talking about half of the time after carefully looking edith over oker and fl hiding riding her valuably bright and attractive she cordially expressed the hope that she would como to soe see her in london wo we must know each other better my dear mrs airs Med Mcd croft she had bad said amiably edith thought of the famous drawing rooms in mayfair and exulted vastly and mr air Mcd croft too I 1 am so interested in men who have ft a craft they alway sare worth while really dont you know how like an american mr Med Mcd croft I 1 daresay tie he gets that front from having lived so long with an american wife and what a darling babal ashes wonderfully like mr Med Mcd croft dont you think no one could mistake that childs father never beverl edith may haye have gasped and looked wildly about in quest of help but her agitation went unno unnoticed by the now new friend from that momentous hour mrs Med Mcd croft encouraged tin nn inordinate regard for tho the circumspect sita decided that it was best never to bo be alono alone with her husband the future was now too pre precious clous to go unguarded for a single moment that might bo beun unexplainable when the triumphal hour of revelation came to hand she bho impressed this fact upon her sister with the result that while brock was never alone with his prudent wife he was seldom far from tho the sidd of tho the adora adom blo lieutenant As if precociously providing tor for an ultimate alibi the fickle tootles began to show unmistakable signs of aversion for her temporary parent mrs rodney being quite nn an old fashioned mother could not reconcile herself to this atti attitude tudo and gravely confided to her husband that she ahe feared Med croft was waa mistreating his hij child bekind backs to be co continued |