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People in our walk of life never borrow anything but trouble, you know. We don't borrow money. We arrange for it occasionally, but God forbid that we should ever become so common as to borrow it. There you are, filled in and ready for your autograph—payable to Percy Reginald Van Alstone Wintermill. I put his whole name in so that he'd have to go to the exertion of signing it all on the back.
Half the young men in town think they are in love with her, and most of them believe she could make them happy. Now, no one concedes physical beauty or allurement to Percy. He is as ugly as they grow, but he isn't stupid. He is just a nice, amiable, senseless nincompoop with a great deal of money and a tremendous amount of health. He—" "I like Wintermill. He is one of my best friends.
"Inasmuch as you are rather closely related to Braden by marriage, you will be interested to know that he is to perform a very serious operation upon James Marraville." There was no mistaking the awe in her voice. "The banker?" "The great James Marraville," said Mrs. Wintermill, suddenly passing her handkerchief over her brow.
"You must be made to realise that I cannot afford such luxuries as these. You have made it impossible for me to refuse you this time. I cannot allow a son of mine to be in debt to a Wintermill. You must not borrow money. You—" He looked up, grinning. "There you go again with that middle-class word, mother. But I'll forgive you this once on condition that you never use it again.
No one appeared to be so well qualified to take your place as Percy Wintermill. He had everything that is desirable in a husband except good looks and perhaps good manners. So she began fishing for Percy. Anne was a delightful bait. Of course, Percy's robust health was objectionable, but it wasn't insurmountable.
Thorpe was obliged to content himself with an occasional word from Lutie,—who was also painfully reticent,—and now and then a scrap of news in the society columns of the newspapers. Once he saw her in the theatre. She was with other people, all of whom he knew. One of them was Percy Wintermill. He began on that night to hate Wintermill.
She defied her mother, openly declaring that she would marry you in spite of everything." "And that is just what she shall do, poor girl," cried Braden joyously. "She shall not be driven into—" "Just a moment, please. When I discovered that young Wintermill couldn't be depended upon to rescue his best friend, I stepped into the arena, so to speak," said Mr. Thorpe with fine irony.
"Percy Wintermill!" gasped Braden, clutching the arms of his chair. "Why, she has always looked upon him as the stupidest, ugliest man in town. His attentions have been a standing joke between us. He is crazy about her, I know, but—oh, well, go on with the story." "To be sure he is crazy about her, as you say. That isn't strange.
The room looked like Thorley's this morning." Mrs. Wintermill could not stand it any longer. "What have you done with them, my dear?" Anne enjoyed being veracious. "I took a whole truckload up to my sister- in-law. She's going to have a baby." Her visitor stiffened. "I was not aware that you had a sister-in-law. Mr. Thorpe was especially free from relatives." "Oh, this is George's wife.
She could not even imagine how they could have come by the extraordinary stubbornness with which they appeared to be afflicted. As for George Tresslyn, he was going to the dogs as rapidly and as accurately as possible. He took to drink, and drink took him to cards. The efforts of Simmy Dodge and other friends, including the despised Percy Wintermill, were of no avail.
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