m from the West. He was a friendly
man and had much to say, so he talked all through dinner, and afterward
followed the ladies to the drawing-room to finish his gossip. The gas in
the room was turned very low, and as they entered Miss Prudence caught
sight of Miss Carew, in company attire, sitting in upright propriety in
a stiff-backed chair at the extremity of the apartment.

Miss Prudence had a sudden idea.

"We will not turn up the gas," she said, with an emphasis intended to
convey private information to her sister. "It will be more agreeable to
sit here and talk in this soft light."

Neither her brother nor the man from the West made any objection. Miss
Boggs and Miss Prudence, clasping each other's hands, divided their
attention between their corporeal and their incorporeal guests. Miss
Boggs was confident that her sister had an idea, and was willing to
await its development. As the guest from Iowa spoke, Miss Carew bent a
politely attentive ear to what he said.

"Ever since Richards took sick that time," he said briskly, "it seemed
like he shed all responsibility." (The Misses Boggs saw the Daguerrotype
put up her shadowy head with a movement of doubt and apprehension.) "The
fact of the matter was, Richards didn't seem to scarcely get on the way
he might have been expected to." (At this conscienceless split to the
infinitive and misplacing of the preposition, Miss Carew arose trembling
perceptibly.) "I saw it wasn't no use for him to count on a quick
recovery--"

The Misses Boggs lost the rest of the sentence, for at the utterance of
the double negative Miss Lydia Carew had flashed out, not in a blur, but
with mortal haste, as when life goes out at a pistol shot!

The man from the West wondered why Miss Prudence should have cried at so
pathetic a part of his story:

"Thank Goodness!"

And their brother was amazed to see Miss Boggs kiss Miss Prudence with
passion and energy.

It was the end. Miss Carew returned no more.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shape of Fear, by Elia W. Peattie

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