Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1873-10-16
verapda and cigar on his rufiled feel


! ings.
So the rose did not answer after all,
! thought Margaret. as she walked to
/ the window to ask what score Mr.. Lei
cester had made.
Leicester never shot at ALL" was
Charles gruir response.
Never shot at all Why not:"
That's just what nobody knows.
lhe fellows are saving it looks awtully
I ilshy; AMI Travers, who can alway 5
kick Il man when he's down. hints that
he got into some trouble or other. as
those wonderfully clever men are sure
to do but that's mere jealousy, be.
cause Iravers is such fool himself.
lla there's Phillips and dinner. al
ways look upon the two rs synonv-
nous. Come along, Meg, lets try to
forget about shooting for while, or it
will decide ly affect my brain after all
| have heard Of it to-day
II Charles brain were not affected.
somebody else's appetite was; tie
song she had been practising that at
tcrnoon would keep recurring to Mar
garets memory, with its refrain Of
Shakespeare verse:
Then sigh no morc, ladies, sigh no more:
Men were deceiyers ever:
One foot on sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never"
''llaye YOU dance to spare me,
Miss Dene:"
Il fear not, Mr.. Leicester and.
without glancing at her programme, J.,
Margaret turned towards her compa n
ion 10 continue the conversation Raj ph
had broken in upon, nor did she look
round again till she knew h c had left
her side.
1t was their first meeting since that
luncheon party at W imbcdon, now
more than month ago, when Ralph
Leicester had been foolish enough u
tax a great deal OF nonsense, which
she had been still more foolish in be-
licying, 50 Margaret said to herself.
She did not in the least credit all tile
nasty things people were saying abopt
him. but he had shown pretty plainly,
by his silence all this time, hi perfect
indifference to her good opinion, and
she was determined pn that point to
meet him more than half way.
She had j ust arrived at this conciu-
sion when Cecil Collins came forward
to claim her for the waltz then com
mcnclug; and as size walked down the
room on his arm. not a few turned t.
gaZc at the handsome couple and Won
der who they were 4 wonder easily
satisfied, for Cecil, At least, was b.
coming we'll known. Not only had hc
won the Queens Prize, which in itself
made him sufficiently marked man.
but with that prize he had come into
the helrship OF Il large fortune.
His uncle, rich and eccentric old
bachelor, who was wont to describe
himself As 1.-THE best shot OF his daN
sir, and who considered that quite
description enough Of any man, wus
50 delighted to find his scapc grI-r
nephew turning out 4 distinguished
marksman that lie wrote 10 him, PROM
islng not only TO pay his debts, but t.
make 4 new will in his favor, il ONLY
that nephew succeeded i'll carrying uT
the prlIe OF the year. A strange cN-
Cusc, through which the truth showed
somewhat pathcticalIy, for making one
last effort to reclaim the prodisa! that
50, If II were possible, this only son of
his dead brother might still hc
found worthy to I'LL his place, when
that place should have become vacant
instead of the old home and weii-iille ei
Golfer, passing into the hands Of stran-
gers.
The dance over, Margaret and Cecil
strp.lrd through the open window into
The mooulIt garden beyond, glad To cN-
change the heated atmosphere Of tie
ballroom for the cool might an. Dll
their thoughts wander back to that 9th.
er garden they had stood together IN
long a.o, ere sin AMI sorrow came to
oyersAalow their young lives: Per-
hapS 50, for both were unusuaiiy silent
and 1t was not till they had paced tile
whole length of the terrace that Cecil
reused himself to say that which he
had brought his companion out there
for the express purpose ot telling her.
Margaret" he said, "RaIph Lciccs-
ter is a friend OF yours. is he not:
AN acquaintance would be the more
correct term.
why 50: | have heard your names
coupled together more than once vet
just now | myself saw YOU refuse to
dance with him. Are YOU offended.
like ali the rest of the world, because
he threw up the shooting at WlmUle-
dom OK, perhaps, because he did 50
without telling YOU the reason:
Margarcts only answer was sug.
gcstion 10 90 in; the night air felt
chilly, she thought.
Not yet, Margaret; not till | have
told sou hat is weighing on my con
science, if. indeed. such Il thing is still
left me-" said Cecil, with rather 4 bit
ter laugh. ''Peoplc are saying that
Ralph Leicester promised 10 win the
Queens Prize ior Your sake, and that
yuu have throvn aim over for giving II
up. How far That may be true, | feel
| have no right to ask but as |, anu |
alone, can tell YOU his real reason for
not -hooting-I suppose he would
rather lose even you than confess 1t
hlmself-you must listen to Inc a few
minutes while | do so. Long ago l
was fortunate enough TO save his life
in an encounter with a mad dog. had
almost forgotten the circumstance, but
it seems that Leicester retained very
vivid remembrance of it; and when,
the day before the prize was to be shot
for, my uncle's strange intentions came
TO his knowledge-how,I do not know,
as | had tried my best to keep the
world Ignorant of the stake for which
had played-and he found that thus
Something more than life, reputation,
and the means of once more facing the
world were within my reach if only |
could be successfully generously de-
termined no act of his should diminish
my chance; and, by quietly withdraw
ing from the shooting, paid back his
debt to me multiplied thousand times.
The prize is mine, Margaret, and with