The Argosy — page 280: what you’re looking at

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

The Mystery of Allan Grale. 261 eat ar tik kV. AN EMPTY BEDROOM. WHEN Edgar Vivian had seen Mrs. and Miss Grale driving from home in their carriage, they were on their way to call on a certain Lady Laura Bond, a fashionable lady, who had recently come to live in the neighbourhood. Of course they purposed returning home before the dinner-hour, six o’clock. But when at Lady Laura’s, cir- cumstances, soon to be explained, had induced them to convert the intended brief call into a longer visit. When they returned, they found Mr. Grale in a very bad temper over their unexpected absence. He did not let them know that he himself had been late for dinner by two or three hours, having not long taken it when they got home; but he was very cross with them. The next morning the two ladies sat down to breakfast alone. Neither Mr. Grale nor Allan was present. The former had taken his breakfast, as was usual, at a much earlier hour; the son often took his at a later one, when everybody else had finished. Which caused Mrs. Grale on this morning to give utterance to the following plaintive remark. “Really, Mary Anne, it seems as if we might as well have nobody that belong to us, for the little we see of those who do.” Sometimes Mary Anne would have sharply chid her mother for being fretful and exacting. But this morning she was in an especi- ally good humour and inclined to take everything with the greatest equanimity. “Tt was nobody’s fault but our own that we did not dine at home yesterday, mamma, and it would be too much to expect Alny to wait indoors for us till we did put in an appearance. I dare say he had a visit to pay himself.” ‘Well, well, I suppose so,” admitted Mrs. Grale. ‘‘ But somehow when one does not find things just as they should be on coming home, it makes me feel as if I had no night to go out.” “ But what was not as it should be?” argued Mary Anne, with un- wonted good humour. ‘“ Four nights out of the seven Alny does not spend his evenings with us. It is papa’s having been so fidgety and cross last night—I’m sure I can’t tell why—that has made you gsrumble. And we never did such a thing before, as not come home to dinner when expected, while the others are always doing it!” “That is a different thing, Mary Ann.” Mary Anne did not see that it was, and said so. “I dare say they did not wait for us long. James,” she continued, addressing the servant, who at that moment came in, “did papa and Mr. Allan wait dinner very long yesterday ?” “No, ma’am,” he replied imperturbably, for he had overheard his master’s complainings and could guess the drift of his young mistress’s VOL. XXXIX. | S GOnmlGoaooks (SO) an