"
"Oh, Maria! If he were my husband I'd lead him such a dance that
he'd behave himself in self-defence. Maria is too much like you--"
"Sally Ballinger!"
"I only meant that you are an angel, mamma dear. And of course you
are so enchanting and beautiful papa has always toed the mark. But
Maria is good without being any too fascinating--"
"Sally is right," interrupted Mrs. McLane. "I am not sure that her
plan will succeed. But no one has thought of a better. If Madeleine
has a deeper necessity for stupefying her brain than shattered
nerves, I doubt if any one could save her. But at least Sally can
try. We'd be brutes if we left her to drown without throwing her a
plank."
"Just what I said," remarked Mrs. Abbott complacently. "Was I not
justified in telling you? And when you get her over there, Sally, and
her mind is quite clear, warn her that while she may do what she
chooses in private, if she elects to die that way, just let her once
be seen in public in a state unbecoming a lady, and that is the end
of her as far as we are concerned."
"Yes," said Mrs. McLane with a sigh. "We should have no choice. Poor
Madeleine!"
XXXII
Madeleine awoke from a heavy drugged sleep and reached out her hand
automatically for the drawer of her commode.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153