The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-03-27

! so far as she was able.
She was still at the Grantlys, and Mr.
Selturn was there on visit. He having
been few minutes alone in the drawing
room, was startled by the appearance o.
Sir IIarry's niece from the conseryator,
door.
"Nir. Selturn," said the young lady. 90
want to speak to YOU | have-donc 6
very bad thing" she was going to say. bu,
checked herself. 81 have lent my assist,
ancc to practical j. oke, Il thing detest as
much as you can do. In the pretended let.
ter from my uncle, you should read Oakes
with al II before it. There is no such
place as know Of, and my uncle has only
two livings iii his gift-Lindhurst Magma
{" Lindhurst Parva. directed the letter. y
"You !'.was all the curatc could get out.
Yes, replied Bell "but indeed knew
thing of the contents. You never looked
| at the seal, or you would have known it
was a-Valcntinc.
She was gone rs quickly as she had come.
l don't know what were the curate' s
thoughts in tho interval which he had vet
to pass, but the other guests were of the
opinion that he was growing into moody,
taciturn sort of fellow. Ii fell to his lot to
take Bell Lindhurst in to dinner, and, as
she put her fingers on his arm, he con-
trived to touch them, and to say Just two
words, '"rhanlk you"
They were all he did say to her. He
was very attentive to his ncighbor, on the
other hand, ard j." "x"rtcd himself to talk.
and talked wcll-bcttcr than usual, if pos
siblc.
"Sclturn, v said the Colonel once, "what's
this l hear about losing youa"
''No such luck" replied Will, shaking
his head. 81 shall plague you for years,
I'm afraid" and then he added, looking
across the table-"N[iss Granlly, if you
were writing business letter, what style
of seal should you choose2"
lie SAID it very quietly, but looked away
from her directly, for he saw that she was
crestfallen, and afraid lest the Colonel
should take up the subject, and investigate
it; and Will did not bear malice. 1t was
punishment enough for her that her trick
had, SO far as she knew, proved a failure.
And strangely thinking of Bell Lynd-
hurst when he got home, he took out the
unhappy Valentine, made face at the seal,
put the lettcr--thc crampcd disguise Of
which he could detect well enough now
nj "a fro ,;,>.S
where.
1t was February again, and the blinds
were down over the rectory windows of
Lindhurst Magma. There was little re-
greet in the village, not much. A good
man had gone to his rest, but he had been
feeble for years, and past his work, so per-
haps it was as well.
Up at the Hall, in the snuggest of snug
morning rooms, there was young girl In
riding habit, half kncelng, half crouching,
beside an old man, who sat in a big chair,
grumbllng with a equity foot. And the
young girl looked very we'll in her habit,
with the color of exercise OH her cheek,
and its light in her eye; and the baronet, as
he looked at her, thought 60, and felt his
mouth twitch.
"You Gipsy !" he said; $50 you helped
to hoax the curate, eh9 Well, I wouldn't
have believed it," and the baronet broke
into laugh, and bade her get on her house
and be off, remembering that she was to-
bring her mother and sister TO help him to
entertain Georges fine new wife.
On this fourteenth of February Mr. Sell
turn received no Valentines; but he had
hardly sat an hour over his unwrttcn SER
mon when cab stopped at the door, and
his landlady ushered In visitor whom the
curatc just knew by sight--an elderly gen
tleman with lame foot.
'lcant offer you Grecnham- cum -Oakes,"
said Sir Harry, when the preliminaries were
over, "becausc don't know the place but
Lindhurst Magma has just fallen vacant, as
you will havS seen by the papers that is,
if you read them. have heard good
deal about you, though really didn't know
there was such person last year when I
had the honor of receiving hem Yes,
Lindhurst is vacant, and it isn't bad
thing. Will you have it2"
Whatever the cnrate said in reply, Sir
Harry didn't seem to be taking much notice,
for he grumblcd hcwholc time in an under
tone about his lome foot, the badness of
the railway arrangements, and keeping the
miserable cab horse in the cold
EVERY Welln he aid at loat It'e aet