"Is not an engaged
man entitled to his secrets? Has it escaped your memory how, once upon a
time, you and I--."
"There, now, Bake! Stop, can't you?" she interrupted with vehement good
nature; and I ceased to intrude upon the three old friends.
That afternoon, when I sought Helen at the studio, I was more surprised
than I should have been, and wonderfully relieved to discover the result
of their conference.
Ignorant of any quarrel and overflowing with anxiety, Helen's father had
unbosomed his anxieties about her health and accomplished what no
diplomacy could have done. Mrs. Baker had flown with him to the studio,
where, constrained by his presence, Helen had submitted to an incredible
truce with her aunt.
"I told Tim'thy an' Frances we'd eat Sunday dinner with 'em," Mr. Winship
told me; "an' they say you'n' Sis had ought to be married f'om their
house. Good idee, seems to me, though Sis here don't take to it, somehow."
"Oh, I suppose I can endure Aunt Frank," said Helen, making savage dabs at
Cadge's typewriter; "if you wish it--you and John."
She was making a great effort for her father's sake, and I could not
exclaim against her chilly reception of the olive branch.
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