The Widowed Bride — page 80: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE WIDOWED BRIDE. 71 supposed but that it was equally a joke on your part fo re- ply to them, Miss Cheriton. Is it possible that you really supposed M. Adolphe Lemaire had fallen in love with you?” Before the next day’s sun had set, the story of Adela Cheriton’s elopement with nobody was known throughout the school. M. Adolphe Lemaire himself had evidently gleaned some inkling of the ridiculous occurrence, or the girls fancied he had; at all events, there was a sparkle of amusement in his dark eyes, as he read them a “dictation lesson,” which was not accounted for by any humorous bent in the author he had selected to read from. Adela herself wasreally sick in bed from rage, disappointment, and morti- fication, and Rena Percival went to inquire after her with ostentatious solicitude. “TI owe all of this to you, miss,” said Adela, biting her lip, and clenching her hand until the blood stood in dark ‘blue dots under every nail; ‘‘and Ill be quits with you yet!” ‘‘Don’t excite yourself, dear, or you'll be worse,” said Rena, innocently. 3 Miss Hartford read her young favorite a gentle little lec- ture, but Rena kissed away the words almost before they were uttered. “TY don’t approve of practical jokes, my dear,” said Miss Hartford; ‘‘and——” “Then she shouldn’t have made Allie cry,” interposed Rena. ‘‘I don’t care how insolent she chose to be, as far as I was concerned, but I won’t have my sister teased and tor- mented.” “But, my dear Rena “It has done, her good, Miss Hartford; her conceit was like a towering, rank weed, which the sickle of my little plot has pruned. Isn’t that a nice figure of speech. I mean to write if down for my rhetoric lesson to-morrow morning.” And Rena danced away as lightly as if her little slippers were ‘‘finished off” with wings, like a female Mercury. ‘‘T think Adela Cheriton and girls of her stripe will let me alone after this,” she thought; and she was right. In the little world of a boarding-school, a girl who is not afraid to assert herself is sure to be respected accordingly. And after this incident Rena Percival and her gentle sister were more popular thal ever. 33 EComichbooks (E(@) mm