He will undoubtedly be
located in some group where there is a rural gentleman displaying the
largest banner of beard. My brother has an insatiable mania for laying
bets with sporting young men that he can fondle any set of luxuriant
whiskers without giving the wearer cause for offense."
Coventry answered his sister's call with promptitude.
"I'll keep you only a moment from your whisker-parterres, Cov! When you go
back into that downstairs garden please give some of those beards a good
hard yank for my sake."
But young Mr. Daunt was serious and rebuked her. "This isn't any lark
we're on up here, Dorrie! Dad needs to have everybody's good will and I'm
doing my little best on the side-lines for him. And he isn't tickled to
pieces by your quitting. It's a big project we're gunning through this
legislature!"
"It may be so! It probably is! But I'm not sacrificing four fingers, a
thumb, and a perfectly good arm for the cause and I'm not allowing public
affairs to take my mind wholly off private matters. So here's at it! Are
you and Lana formally engaged?"
"Well, I must say you're not abrupt or anything of the sort!"
"Certain semi-coaxing methods haven't seemed to succeed, and therefore I'm
shooting the well, as our oil friend Whitaker puts it!"
"Simply for the sake of keeping our affectionate brother-and-sister
relations on the safe and approved plane, I'll say it's none of your
blamed business," declared Coventry.
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