Helen with the High Hand (2nd ed.)

, "mother fell in love. Do

is quality of the wiseacre who is accustomed to be

it was awfully fu

ho else

laugh over it. You see, mother is a very s

orty-four," Ja

hirty-nine five years

she was forty,

st, I don't

r tell ye sh

N

creature as ye thought for, my l

Helen, with cold dignity, "tha

rove it. I had to get her birth certificate when her father died, and I fancy

y, before love had come into Susan's life like a shell into a fortress, and finally blown their fragile relations all to pieces. A few minutes earlier the sight of great-stepuncle James had filled Helen with sadness, and he had not suspected it. Now her laugh filled

s always interesting to observe the transformation of a lie into a fib). "And I shall

arried again!" James m

to this diplomatic advance, and leant his right elbow on the back of the seat, and his chin on his right palm. He put his left leg over his right leg, an

er named Bratt that used to have

y as I do,"

. "He used to come to Longshaw cat

s!" echoed James

said Helen, sharply.

ngshaw cattle-market?" James inquire

arply. "Mother didn't take anything to the cattle-market. B

s, stoutly. "I thought as

shocked by his ignorance. "We've l

deny it,"

proceeded, "was that mother daren't

y n

mply can't look at a cow, and

thankful as it wasn't

laimed Helen. "In fact, it

mad bull, and she fell in love with

questioned. "Besides, he isn'

the virgin's face, James continued before s

th an air of indulgence that would have been exasperating had it no

ovel in my life," Ja

ou? How in

a woman knocked

r. Bratt was walking home, and the bull was after him like a shot. Mother was looking out of the window, and she saw what was going on. So s

ttered James.

school and found them

between them!"

every week. He was a wi

a' been better

time I thought I should never do it. I'm always in the right, and mother's always in the wrong. She's adm

father," said James. "Susan always reckoned as

-and he was going out to Manitoba. He said he would stop in England. Mother said she wouldn't let him stop in England where he couldn't make a farm pay. She was quite right there," Hele

everal times. The gesture meant whatev

the usual conventional sort of stuff, you know-about how she had no right to marry again, and she didn't believe in second marriages, and about her duty to me. And so on. You know. I reasoned with her-I explained to her that probably she ha

too muc

ence at the registrar's, and one Saturday morning-it had to be a Saturday, because I'm busy all the other days-I went out with mother to

ha

arried because she was wearing her third-be

," said James. "W

asgow last Thursday but two. And I'm expecting a lett

t you to take ca

care of now than I had. Mother quite saw that. But what difficulty I had in getting her off, even af

won

yself on a farm in

ance, with a constant increase of his pride in it. "So y

us

ri

s, of

ou cry

passionately, sitting up straight

never see S

elen. "I only meant that I shouldn't go to stop.