Abbott. "He's left here anyway, and like as not we'll never see him
again. This is what I want to know: Can anything be done about
Madeleine Talbot? Of course Howard poured whiskey down her throat
until it got the best of her. But he should know how to cure her.
That is if he knows the worst."
"You may be sure he knows the worst," said Mrs. McLane. "How could
he help it?"
"That maid said she bought it on the sly all the time. Don't you
suppose he'd put a stop to that if he knew it?"
"Well, he will find it out. And I'll not be the one to tell him. One
ordeal of that sort is enough for a lifetime."
"Why not give her a talking to? She has always seemed to defer more
to you than to any one else." Mrs. Abbott made the admission
grudgingly.
"I am willing to try, if she will see me. But--if she knows what has
happened to Masters--and ten to one she does--he may have written to
her--I don't believe it will do any good. Alas! Why does youth take
life so tragically? When she is as old as I am she will know that no
man is worth the loss of a night's sleep."
"Yes, but Madeleine isn't old!" cried Sally. "She's young--young--
and she can't live without him. I don't know whether she's weaker or
stronger than Sibyl, but at any rate Sibyl is happy--"
"How do you know?"
"Can't you see it in her face at the theatre? Oh, I don't care! I'll
tell it! Madeleine asked me to lunch to meet her one day last winter
and I went.
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