The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rope, by Holworthy Hall

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Title: Rope

Author: Holworthy Hall

Release Date: August 2, 2009 [EBook #29570]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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ROPE

ROPE

BY

HOLWORTHY HALL

Author of "The Man Nobody Knew," etc.

NEW YORK

DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY

1922

ROPE

CHAPTER I

As Henry came blithely into the house with a heavy suit-case in one
hand and a cumbersome kit-bag in the other, his Aunt Mirabelle marched
out like a grenadier from the living-room, and posted herself in the
hallway to watch him approach. There was this much to say for Aunt
Mirabelle: she was at least consistent, and for twenty years she had
worn the same expression whenever she looked at him. During that
period the rest of the world and Henry had altered, developed,
advanced--but not Aunt Mirabelle. She had changed neither the style of
her clothes nor the nature of her convictions; she had disapproved of
Henry when he was six, and therefore, she disapproved of him today. To
let him know it, she regarded him precisely as though he were still
six, and had forgotten to wash his face.

"I suppose," remarked Aunt Mirabelle, in her most abrasive voice, "I
suppose you're waiting for me to say I hope you had a good time. Well,
I'm not a-going to say it, because it wouldn't be true, and I wouldn't
want to have it sitting on my conscience. Of course, _some_ people
haven't got much of any conscience for anything to sit on, anyway. If
they did, they'd be earnest, useful citizens. If they did, then once
in a while they'd think about something else besides loud ties and
silk socks and golf. And they wouldn't be gallivanting off on
house-parties for a week at a time, either; they'd be tending to their
business--if they had any. And if they hadn't, they ought to."

Henry put down the bag and the suit-case, removed his straw hat, and
grinned, with a fair imitation of cheerfulness. He had never learned
how to handle Aunt Mirabelle, and small wonder; for if he listened in
silence