Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-08-31

| present CDree W ioui IiiiiSo, ""os 9? - '
! for an occupation. At length she broke
the silence with an ironioal accent in
her voice.
els that book new to you?'
Clarence looked up quite serenely.
"Not new, but always engrossing..
Your friend is gone, see" as if he. had
but lust noticed his absence.
This was certainly not a propitlous
time for the disclosure Clarence had to
make, but he defiantly resolved to go
through with it.
tBy the way" he began, ''it was OF
him that I came to speak. I have
recently learned. from trustworthy
source, that he is a gambler by profess
ion, and that he is here to keep out OF
the way of an Indictment. thought
it my duty to tell you, he went ON,
with slight touch of irony, $50 that
yoa might be able to give him the coup
de grace before every one knew the
story"
I Kate, keer,y nettled at this speech,
said more than she intended.
Suppose I don't choose to believe all
this of man who appears in every
way a gentleman ?"
| ..In that case" said Clarence, coolly,
| bu. stung to the quick, 4 have nothing
more to say than good evening"
And, taking up his hat, he was gone
before Kate had decided what she
ought to say. She walked slowly
towards the house, swinging her hat by
its strings in vexed but unrepentant
mood.
This unpleasant state of mind cons
tinued the two following days. She
could not believe Clarence guilty Of the
baseness of wilfully traducing rival.
Yet there might have been some
mistake, and like most high spirited,
generous people, our young lady was
not inclined TO give up friend at the
first breath of suspicion.
Her pride, too, was enlisted in Dales
favor yet, after all, she could not help
some qualms of conscience whenever
she thought Of her old lover. The
second day was gloomy as possible. A
cold persistent rain poured down from
early morning till late in the afternoon,
when it held up for short time.
During this interval, Kate was stand-
ing in the hall looking out listlessly at
the sullen sky, where the sun appeared
mere angry spot in the gray waste OF
cloud, when Mr. Dale. unexpectedly to
her, rode mp the drive that led to the
house. She noticed an unusual gravity
in his greeting, and her heart toreboded
scene as she led the way to the draw
ing room. After few absent remarks,
the caller came directly and rather
clumsily 10 the matter in hand.
He was not much IN love, at least
not more than it is easy for a young
fellow to Re while proposing to pretty
young girl; and the words lacked
fervor for nothing is harder to feign
than the grand passion. Do what he
would, his words had a business>like
sound, as he told "the old, old story
that he loved her as he had never loved
any one else that, would she be his
wife. his life should be devoted to her
happiness.
He then tried to take her hand but
Kate drew back with little SILVER,
and instinct, subtler than reason, Warns
ed her that all was not as it seemed.
The wooer saw and understood the
gesture, slight as it was. He stopped
short, turned quite pale, then said, with
some emotion, for his disappointment at
least was real
81 see, Miss Stanton, my suit is not
agreeable to you, but l will not annoy
you further.
The tears came into the girls eyes at
that she held out her hand with some
half audible murmurs of regret and
esteem, but quickly drew it away again:
Then occurred an awkward pause of
more than minute, broken at length
by Dale's low goodbye,
A moment after he was riding swift
ly from the house, amid the pelting rain
that had begun to pour down once
more.
Kate watched him disappear, not
without pain. She really liked him,
though not quite well enough to marry,
Her remorseful feeling, however,
brought with it another source OF
anxiety to her mind.
That morning her father, sole surviv-
ing parent, by the way, had been
summoned to a distant town by ur-
gent legal business, and the flooded
state of roads would probably prevent
his return before morning. Contrary
to his habit, he had left a considerable
sum of money in his strong box The
house was far from any other house.
1t was, moreover, very inefliciently
guarded, there being in it besides Kate