Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-09-26
LESLIE GRAY.

watching the slepder form of Leslie
Gray, as she stood beneath the labur-
mum trees.
Barton Conway, with his dark, Apollo
face, his deep-blue eyes and faultless
form and plain, earnest James GRAY.
who had loved Leslie from childhood,
and almost worshipped her now, in her
pure young maidenhood.
She was slender, graceful girl, with
shadowy, passionate eyes, with lips
scarlet-t1ushed as the geranium, and a
CONF lexion of creamy fairness and
Barton Conway, the elegant man of
the world, felt his pulses thrill for the
wild-rose beauty of this girls face as
they had never thrilled for woman be-
fore.
Had Leslie been the niece of Farmer
Gray, Barton Conway might have made
her his wife, in spite of her want of
wealth and position
Yes be would have married her,
and gloried in the perfect beauty of
her face.
But that was past !; and now he stood
there, knowing that he had won the first
love OF her heart, and decided he could
give her up and James Gray, watching
his. handsome, naughty face, half
scorntul smile resting on his own, could
almost read his thoughts.
Barton Conway's heart told him to
take Leslie tor his wife, and be happy :;
but his reason said:
why ruin your prospects for a CLASH
cal face and graceful form, and we'd a
girl who has not even name of her
own p
Not even a name of her own"
James Gray had often thought of
that, from the day that she had been
lett, a helpless baby, at his fathers
door, but the very fact of her utter
helplessness only made her the dearer
to him.
But Barton Conway had come, and,
with a deep pain at his loyal heart,
he had seen how Leslie's innocent
heart had gone out to the royaLlooking
stranger
Barton Conway had won Leslie's love,
believing her to, be the niece of Farm
er Gray, instead of being an adopted
founding.
He stood looking at her now, knowing
that he was going to do a cowardly
action, and, selfish and egotistical as he
was, he shrank from the pain he knew
would come into her beautiful eyes in
less than an hour
Suddenly Leslie turned and came
towards them, her soft eyes glowing, her
scarlet lips apart.
James Gray's face turned pale, for his
own tender love told him what was in
store for Leslie
He had known Barton meant to give
her up from the moment he had seen
the expression on his dark, Apollo face
as Farmer Gray told the story of the
night he took dark-eyed Leslie in.
AS Leslie came up, James turned and
entered the house, his one prayer be-
ing that Leslie may not love Barton
Conway as deeply as, alas he fears she
does.
Two hours later he came on her.
standing at the window, gazing with
dark, hopeless eyes out on the dis
lance
She looked like a statue then, with
no tears in her shadowy eyes, only
the deathly pallor of her face telling
what she had suffered, and the firm
line of her red lips the effort made to
repress it.
Two hours had changed her from
tender, loving girl to a cold-faced wo-
man, who seemed to hold her heart in
her hand, and look half-pityingly, half
scornfully at it.
Only one short week before, she had
stood at that same window, one wild.
delirious thought filling her whole be-
ing. She was to be Barton Conway's
wife. Oh, God! the intense Joy Of that
moment and now-and now-oh why
could she not die
James sprang forward, for her slender
form was sWaylng.
James-James I" she cried, piteous-
ly. and the next moment the pearlfair
face was lying white and still on his
shoulder
The branches of the dropping labur-
NUNS swept against the window of the
pretty room where Leslie Gray lay.
You would scarcely know her, she
was SO woefully wan and pale, with her
hair cut closely to her queenly little
head and curling In short rings over her
low white brow.
From the hour James had held her
like a broken flower, in his arms, she
had lain there, fighting with death, and
raving Of her lost love, calling piteously
for his return.
But as the days passed and length
ened into months, health and strength
returned to her. and though she was
never the gay, bright Leslie of old, she
was q nobler: sweeter woman for the
suffering she had gone through, and
smiles returned to her lips again-not
the brilliant smiles that once curved
them, but gentle smiles. that only
added to the rare loneliness of her
sweet face.
Then something came to Leslie that
made her forget for awhile her one great
sorrow.
She learned she had right to pame
Of her own and that she was heiress to
almost boundless wealth
1t was such a long story-a story of
fraud and deceit and Leslie heard that
another held the wealth that was hers by
right; heard a tiny baby stood between