Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1879-10-02


one among them who CHANGED to be
lovely and adroit enough to tske his
fancy; or Mr.. Burleigh, the great pork
contractor, who owned half Illinois; or q
score of others, in fact, to the tired ex-
perience of each of whom Stella was like
some spirit wandering out of strange
land, just ALT for a moment among
them. / knew in my heart that Stella
was faithful to her love, but all of this
disquieted and kept me in turmoil;
and there was no one of all the suitors
that so filed me with disgust as De
Luyster.
Utterly worn out in the fierce pursuit
of pleasure as he was, and knowing all
did about him, to see him address my
little girl was proclamation: and when
furiously watched him in the waltz, the
light touch of his hand seemed sacri.
lege. For some insorutable reason, or
rather from my very reverence for her,
could not speak freely to her on the
matter; | could not even harbor the idea
of making him the subject of second
thought in her innocent mind. If chances
could have killed the man, he would
have been stabbed to death; the rest
endured in silence.
And it asked for endurance, to see her
| flashing by beside De Luyster as he drove
| his four-in-hand; to see her strolling
with him in the moonlight, and pausing
in the pauses of the music to listen to
! the murmur of the sea; to see him hand
her to the deck of his yacht as if she
were its queen-no matter if crowd
were with them, it always seemed to me
then that she was there on the wide sea
| alone with him.
1t was concerning this accursed yacht
that all the trouble arose Mrs. Rittener
and her retinue of youths and maidens
were to go out with De Luyster sailing
along the coast some days. His yacht
was the last pet fancy. She had spread
her wings and flown across the Atlantic
in | don't know how few days, and from
truck to keelson she was altogether per-
feet Doubtless could have gone along
had / chosen, but there were not forces
in nature sufficient to have drawn me on
board the Flight.
!" Not going!" cried Stella, coming
down to me in her blue yachting dress
and broad hat, with the fair hair waving
around her sweet face-a sea nymph in
disguise.
Certainly not!" said I. "And II
should greatly prefer that you also re-
main at home"
"I?" she cried, in gay astonishment.
F." Why, how could l, dear2 couldn't,
you know. The sail is given for me. I
wish you would CO."
"Go!" answered her in scorn.
She looked at me in amazement.
" Why do you speak SOP" she asked.
"What right has that man to give
the sail to your-that-" paused, re-
myself.
please tell me what you mean," she
said, gently.
mean nothing, except to insist that
you shall not join that party"
1t is absolutely impossible for me
not to do So" she said with little gasp.
" If you had spoken before; but now
now it would be rude and unkind, and
he is always so kind to me, it would not
even be decent; and then you know how
Mrs. Rittener-"
"Confound Mrs. Ritteneri What do
l care TO her? care for you. / won't
have you compromised by this felle rs
addresses. Twill not have the good TO ne
of my future wife"
"Your future wife can take care of
her own good name, u said Stella then,
softly and gravely, with lovely digni-
ty that for a moment quelled me. al
cannot cee," she resumed, breaking the
short silence, the surprise not all yet
gone from her eyes, "why you will not
go yourself. Just think how perfect it
is, DEAR" and her face began to kindle, |
sweeping out under the great white
sails in the sunshine, beneath blue sky
and over blue sea, with music and dane |
ing and the glorious wind-and sunset at |
sea-and the little young moon sailing
along beside us; and then the starlight,
dear, when the dark is overhead and un-
derneath, and we seem to be floating sus-
pended in mystery! And then, at last,
the sunrise, after the dawning, all pur-
pie and rose, and all the dewiness of
morning at sea. / was once with Mrs.
Rittener. Oh, darling, do comel"
"Never!" l cried, like the brute !
was, rage and bitterness getting the bet |
ter of everything else as thought of her
with that wretch in all those scenes
"neverl And if you persist in going,
warn you now that it is the last request
l shall ever make of you. shall leave
the place, and l shall consider every
thing between us at an end" And be- |
fore another word could be said, Mrs. |
Rittener and De Luyster and Florence
Il Il -, Il H.