The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-03-22

Keen eyes on cara race one Sulllcu
entrancingly
king is only boy; she is mista-
ken, she said
My father drew n deep breath. The
hand which cara clasped he drew sud-
denly away. l am sure his arm was
where my brother Kings had been a
little before for "A single instant; then,
with swift, panied movement he
withdrew it and went away out of the
room
Only cara and | were left She did
not see me; she thought ] went away
with mamma, but she would not have
cared, l think, if she had known l was
there
| had often seen cara alone, but l
had never seen her look as she did
now. Something seemed to drop
from her face like beautiful veil. 1t
was a wicked and distorted counte-
nance the freight shone on, and all
the time she slipped on and off her
finger a curious, heavy topaz ring she
wore, and looking at it from time TO
time, smiled viciously.
Presently she held it to the light,
and | saw that the topaz setting was
lifted. had seen rings that opened
before; only wondered what this one
contained to make cara set her lips
and then murmur:
at is time
She replaced it upon her finger after
a little, and falling back into the cush-
toned recesses of her chair, sat silent
and thoughtful, her face in shadow so
that could not watch it, as / in very
unchildish fashion was fond of doing.
fell asleep in the silence and tum-
bled off my chair. cara bounded as
though some one had struck her She
drew back angrily when she saw that
it was only l, and l crept away, Won
dering what made her look so scared
was not much like other children,
| have said. l was up very early the
next morning and curled away in the
window seat in the breakfast room,
long before the others came down.
cara came next, and after glancing
sharply about the room an instant
the curtain concealed me-she APP
preached the breakfast table, which
was set ready.
We all drank coffee but my mother,
who took her tea from a dainty porce-
lain service a present from papa in
their early married life. Tara stood
a moment trifing among this service
aid, which struck me as very odd, she
opened her topaz ring and shook it n
moment over my mothers cup.
As she moved away and seated her
self at the piano in the adjoining room,
| stole out and went and looked in the
cup, l could see nothing, but some
within of childish meddlesomeness
made INC climb upon n chair, and tax
ing the cream jug, empty it into my
mothers cup. In another instant |
should have swallowed the dainty
draught. But some Jingle of the china
betrayed my presence to Cara, and she
came flying toward me like some wild
animal, her eyes ablaze, her face ghast-
ly. Almost before | was conscious,
she snatched the cup from my lips,
kissing some jargon at me that was
none The less terrific from its Hindoo
unintelligibility
She darted away kitchenward with
cup and cream jug, and was back
swiftly with the cup clean, the jug re-
filled, just in time to escape remark
from the others coming in.
81 shall not tell, )" she dropped into
my ear as she passed me to seat, and
vaguely unthankful, but too fearful OF
a reproof to tell what had happened.
| remained silent
We were a grave breakfast party, all
save cara and my brother, King, who
laughed and chartered like two mag
pies. My fathers face was sombre,
my mothers very pale and cold. My
mother was very proud woman, an
conceived herself greatly injured in the
events of the night before. She rose
first and quilted the table. / followed
her. She sighed heavily as she took
my hand and led me to the door which
opened upon the garden
As we stood there my father joined
us.
Margaretta, he SAID, IN low voice.
you are altogether mistaken about
Cara. King is nothing to her"
My mother lifted her eyes and
looked at him grayely, without speak
ing. She was too proud to argue a
point My father colored.
"She is my ward, Margaretta How
could l be SO false TO my trust as to
send her away from my guardianship
for a within like that %
My mother bowed haughtily, and
turned toward the garden slowly As
we passed the window Of the breakfast
/ parlor, CARA stood just within the
, sweeping curtain. My father had
come beside her. and she had caught
| his hand to her lips in her impassioned
t way. felt my mother shudder with
: anger; for the shadow of a second she
{ paused; then, rallying, she walked on
We took two or three turns up and
E down the garden walk. My mothers
face grew winter with every step
: Then we went in, and my mother
wrote two letters; after which she rang
r the bell for a servant, and sent foi
. Xara, to whom she read what she had
written. They were to the friends OF