Part 1 (1/2)
Blacksheep! Blacksheep!
by Meredith Nicholson
CHAPTER ONE
I
Mrs Howard Featherstone spent s for her brother Archibald Bennett to do, and as Archie was the ideal bachelor brother, always re up dutifully for Christmas dinners, he accepted her commissions in the ly satisfactory He knew perfectly well that most of the jobs she imposed upon him had been politely but firmly declined by her busy husband, but this made no difference to Archie, who had all the time in the world, and infinite patience, and he rather enjoyed tracing express packages andup a summer house for us says this is an unusual opportunity, as there are few places to let at Bailey Harbor and this one is unexpectedly on thein it, so it's all in perfect condition and if it ht up Howard's siation with night --and we'd all appreciate it if you could run up there for us”
The many preoccupations of his brother-in-laho held a seat in Congress and took his job seriously, ell known to Archie
Featherstone was an iovern on earth to do, so it was e that he, as an unattached and unemployed brother-in-law, should assume some of Featherstone's domestic burdens Archie had planned to leave for the Canadian Rockies two days later, but as no urgent business called hireed to take a look at the Bailey Harbor house that had been placed so providentially within reach of his sister
”The owner belongs to that old New England Congdon family,” Mrs
Featherstone explained; ”they date fro of time, and some of them are a trifle eccentric You remember one of them--he must be the father or an uncle of the owner of this house--Eliphalet Congdon, who lives in Boston and is horribly rich but is always doing weird things
There was a perfectly killing article in the paper just the other day telling of his latest exploit, which was getting arrested for refusing to allow theht, of course, that he was a crank anted to poke holes through the pictures, and he ive bail but had his lawyer get him out on a writ of habeas corpus”
”The same philanthropist who had a bus built just like the Fifth Avenue busses and wanted to run it hiular busses wouldn't stop for,” laughed Archie ”If you're renting a house from that faht, May; I'll inspect the preood-natured assent she continued to pile up excuses for her husband and explained in great detail the rundown condition of the children which ton as quickly as possible Archie was alreadythe details of his trip with his customary exactness As he traveled constantly in the interest of his health, which had been a cause of solicitude to himself and all his relatives as far back as any one could re the Federal Express the next night he would be able to connect with a train at Boston that would land him at Bailey Harbor at two o'clock the same day
With any sort of luck he could escape fro and proceed irams would readjustout for Banff, which his newest doctor had told him was an ideal spot for him Many other doctors had posted him off to numerous other places in pursuit of the calm or stimulus or whatever it was he needed tosome part in the world's affairs Archie's condition was always a grateful topic of conversation and now that his sister had told hie required, and warned hi porch and a garage, and not to forget to look carefully into the drainage syste watched him make notes of these matters, Mrs Featherstone, in her most sisterly tone, broached the subject of his health
”Your troubles, Archie, are all due to the scarlet fever you had when you were a child I've thought that if you could ever get into some active work it would cure you These sanatoriuood They just keep you thinking about yourself
What you need is a coive a new turn to your life And, you know,” she went on softly, ”I'd hoped, Archie, that the right girl would turn up one of these days and that that would prove the panacea But the girls I've picked out never pleased you, and here you are, the finest brother in the world, and the s for people--you know you do, Archie--with nothing ahead of you but just one sanatoriuoing to the Rockies; you know you tried the Alps five years ago and the altitude nearly killed you”
”I seealoomily
”But soement Please don't think I mean to be unkind or unjust, but if at soed to put your back to the wall and fight for your life! Really, dear, I think you would win the battle and be a very different man afterward”
Archie sination of the neurasthenic and very often he had dreaing into a burning house and staggering out half dead bearing a helpless child in his arms To look at him no one would believe that he had a nerve in his tall frame Once a friend carried him off to a farm where an autocratic athletic trainer rejuvenated tired business men; and Archie survived the heroic treat better than he had ever felt in his life But a winter spent in an office and leisure to think of hiht back the old apprehensions, and there being no one at hand to drag hiain to the trainer's, he renewed his acquaintance with the waiting-rooms of specialists
”There will be a few people in for dinner tonight,” reo; ”very simple, you know; and Howard just telephoned that he can't possibly coht, May Weld and Coburn are in town and I was going to have dinner with them at the Army and Navy, but if you really want me--”
”Oh, that's perfectly fine of you, Archie! You are splendid to break your engagement with them when you three don't meet very often; but it will be a real help to me to have you It's so late now that I can't ask any one else in Howard's place And Isabel Perry will be here; you know she's the dearest girl, and I always thought you really did like Isabel
Her father lost all his ymnasium teacher in Miss Gordon's school This suan and she can't helpa splendid success of it”