Page:Gadsby.djvu/255

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GADSBY

Why! Of all things! So that’s Nina—”

That row of print said, simply:—

“By Pastor Brown, on Saturday night, in Pastor’s study, Nina Adams and Councilman Simpkins.”

“Why!” said Lady Gadsby, laughing, “Nina sat on this porch only last month, talking about Old Bill, but saying nothing about this! I’m going right around to hug that darling woman; for that is what I call tact.”

So, as Nina and our Lady sat talking, Nina said:

“You know that Bill and I, growing up from kids in school, always got along grandly; no childhood spats; but, still it was no ‘crush’ such as Youth falls into. As Bill got out of high school, I still had two rooms to go through. You also know that I wasn’t a ‘Miss’ for long from graduation day. But Irving Adams was lost in that awful ‘Titanic’ calamity, and I brought up my baby in my widowhood. Bill was always sympathizing and patronizing, though all Branton Hills thought him a cast-iron grouch. But a public man is not always stiff and hard in his off hours; and Bill and I, slowly but gradually finding many a happy hour could—”

“All right, you grand, luscious thing!!” and Lady Gadsby and Nina sat laughing on a couch,

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