St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1862-04-24

Kitty Mills had discovered what sh,
had been longing to discover. There hap
pening lull in the hum of voices just
then, all the otncr girls, who had been
qui1ziug Hope Bayue for the past two
days on this very subject, discovered what
Kitty had discovered. > ~ -
A smile went round the group. So the
mittens Of brown zephyr, with Magenta
gauntlets. were tor Maj'r Thornly. Abe
nut was cracked for them.
Hope Payne sat there, cold as statue
outwardly, but with a fire raging inwardIy.
Proud and reserved in all her actions, she
had no power to turn off" things Of this
natu'e. She felt her delicacy invaded,
and hated, for that time, the invaders.-
Always on guard with the world, she could
not comprehend the u"suarded speech Of
Major 1hor"ly; 50 tor that timc, too, she
hated him.
But ~ sign of this BETRAYED itself on
the cool, calm face at which Major Thorn.
ly looked, quite unconscious as he gazed
that he was observed.
While he gaEcd the others guzed too,
now and then, and wondered what she
would say. She disappointed them by say.
ing not 'ing, but went On with her crochet.
Ing, which was at its last stitches.
Presently the little ivory hook pulled
through the final thread Her work vas
done
She put them together carelessly, then
turning, hauded them to Major I hornly
saying clearly, with no trace O. eubarrass-
ment,
Il hope they may do you much service,
Major ! kornly. Colonel Grey writes that
he finds the w"rsted ones lik: these much
warmer than those of knit yarn"
Flank i hornl y could not have told what
tad hurt him; but vague sense of pain
aud loss stole over him. A moment ago
the world Was So bright and pleasant, now
it was so dead and cold. A moment ago
lie had forgotten the room h:d any occu.
pants but liope Bayne and himself now
half u dozen stood between them, thou. h
she sat before him.
But Hope Baync had succeeded in her
object She had checkmated the inva
ders Of her castle Of pride; so what mat
ter If a knight was overthrown! r
Kitty Mills stood listening by, with her
head Oh enc side, plotting mischief.
Kitty Mills had such an innocent way
nobody believed her malicious, yet her in
nocent way dealt sharp wounds sometimes.
ooh, but Kitty don't mean anything
Kitty is bluat, has o tact, you know, but
go',d-hcarted" That Was The cry. So
Kitty vent on dealing her blows ri sht and
left, and they were most Of them lctt-hand-
ed blows.
This orce she overshot the mark.
'Four times the thread has broken
wouldn't take 'em, Major Thornly They'll
bring bane to the wearer y and she CLAN
ccd up into his ce with her childish ex
preston of serious superstition.
I'D wear them though they brought
my death warrant, 81 tha. they brought
one Iu"e to the wearer," he returned,
catching at her unmeant pun with man.
ncr half earnest half playful. A faint col.
or dyed the cool cheek Of The fair "B,ync"
herself; aud Charley Hayes aud the rest
If the boys clappcd their hands, and "bra-
70" at the gallant Major alroitncss.
So the Major got his mittens. II hope
they may bc Of service to you," she had
said to him. The words were kind, bu,
the manner 11oze. A week ago she had
promised them to him with a smile, and
he had Thought, a little blush How de.
lightfll it had all been. aud now the pleas.
ure VAS gone! What was the matter?
He would know before they separated
that night and with this determination
he turned away from Kitty Mills, VIII,
had been cl,atterlng unheard for the lusl
five minutes to him, and looked for the OBJ
jcct Of his thoughts.
He frowned as he looked. Hayes and
the two licutcnants surrounded her chai,
completely. He was not going to play {:
fourth there; so he went back to little Kit
ty Mills, whose pretty wicked eyes spark
led brightly at this result. But leaning
over her chair, and looking down upon
such pretty fairy even as she was, both
eyes and thoughts kept wandering to the
other side Of the room, where Hope
Bayne's silvery treble rang out brilliantly
in repartee and jest.
1t was easier for Hope Bayne to cvince
levity than deep emotion. Thus she ofte,
belied herself, and got the reputation Of a
woman whose natnra WAS transnarenrlv
fine, but colder than the Arctic seas
Little Kitty now-nestling there amidst
the cushions and prattling away to the
gentleman overlooking her; in her queer
childish lna"ner saying such free things SC
naturally, that they sound prettier. than
any thinS else-*he has the reputation Of
u good heart: ''quite tender little thing