"You won"t have to worry about me any longer, daddy dear," said Aline, her voice suddenly breaking.
"Well, I"ll be--well, well, well!" cried my late victim of the links.
"Is _this_ the way the wind blows?"
I was perfectly dumb. My face was scarlet. My dazzled eyes saw nothing but the fine, aristocratic features of Aline"s mother. She was leaning slightly forward in her chair, and a slow but unmistakable joyous smile was creeping into her face.
"Aline!" she cried, and Aline went to her.
Jasper t.i.tus led Rosemary up to me.
"Kiss the gentleman, kiddie," said he huskily, lifting the little one up to me.
She gave a sudden shriek of recognition, and I took her in my arms.
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed I, without the slightest idea of what I was doing or why I did it. Sometimes I wonder if there has ever been any insanity in our family. I know there have been fools, for I have my Uncle Rilas"s word for it.
Mr. t.i.tus picked up the newspaper he had been reading.
"Listen to this, Allie. It will interest you. It says here that our friend Tarnowsy is going to marry that fool of a Cincinnati girl we were talking about the other day. I know her father, but I"ve never met her mother. Old Bob Thackery has got millions but he"s only got one daughter. What a blamed shame!"
It must be perfectly obvious to you, kind reader, that I am going to marry Aline Tarnowsy, in spite of all my professed opposition to marrying a divorcee. I argued the whole matter out with myself, but not until after I was irrevocably committed. She says she needs me.
Well, isn"t that enough? In fact, I am now trying my best to get her to shorten the probationary period. She has taken off three months, G.o.d bless her, but I still hope for a further and more generous reduction--for good behaviour!
THE END