"Fiddlesticks!" said Mr. Cressler, resuming his paper.
"I'm positive that Sheldon Corthell asked her to marry him," mused Mrs. Cressler after a moment's silence. "I'm sure that's why he left so suddenly."
Her husband grunted grimly as he turned his paper so as to catch the reflection of the vestibule light.
"Don't you think so, Charlie?"
"Uh! I don't know. I never had much use for that fellow, anyhow."
"He's wonderfully talented," she commented, "and so refined. He always had the most beautiful manners. Did you ever notice his hands?"
"I thought they were like a barber's. Put him in 'J.'s' rig there, behind those horses of his, and how long do you suppose he'd hold those trotters with that pair of hands? Why," he blustered, suddenly, "they'd pull him right over the dashboard."
"Poor little Landry Court!" murmured his wife, lowering her voice. "He's just about heart-broken. He wanted to marry her too. My goodness, she must have brought him up with a round turn. I can see Laura when she is really angry. Poor fellow!"
"If you women would let that boy alone, he might amount to something."
"He told me his life was ruined."