The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1881-08-09

dain and surprise were all expressed,
and left him where he stood.
III.
Stephen LangtOn gained the solitude
Of his own room, and shut himself in, Ia
fight out the great struggle of his
life. and have his bitter hour unseen.
The pride that had kept back
any avowai Of what be
now knew to be a hopeless
passion was too shallow prctense to
b. kept up to himself. The agonies
If such 3 mind are easier imagined
than described. at least by such a pen
rs mine There is no scrap Of the
proverbial wisdom which il trner
than that one which teaches US that
the stillest waters are oft times the
deepest. and those passions that
Stephen Langion go perseveringly
cloaked in cynic;>m were wider and
more real than any even ofhi closet
inmates would have deemed them.
4 knock came to his door. and. in
answer to his query, the voice Of his
valet announced the advent Of his
dinner hour. He babe the fellow be.
gone savagely. and a minute after
cursed himself for his weakness.
You ass" he said, apostrophiz-
Ing his reflection in the mirror. us
this your philosophy? Is this the re-
suit of the selfdriIling of q lifetime.
to make yourself the babble of your
own servants hall, and the tool of
such match-making old harridan as
that. What do YOU want with tn
girl. the wriukled. crow's-footed, over
grown schoolb"v. What's the girl to
you or you to her? What quality of
BODY or brains or heart have you to
win such prize by? What right
have you TO cast Your ugly shadow On
two Iives?"
A second knock came to the door rs
he finished this uncomplimentary
harangue.
WHO'S there" he asked.
lit is l." answered a female voice,
is anything the matter, Stephen?
No" he answered. afraid to trust
his voice to saw more.
John said he thought YOU were
i'll, returned the voice.
Il am not i'll, returned Stephen. I"
Il shall be down to dinner pres .ntly."
"Stephen. | am sure there is some
thing the matter. continued the voice
with feminine persistency.
LangtOn opened the door and COLI
fronted MS visitor
What do YOU want :" he asked,
graciouslv.
What is the matter with you -
reiterated this feminine Irish echo.
Stephen I.angtOn was tail and
dark. Bertha Langton was small and
fair. Stephen was forty, and looked
more Bertha was almost twenty-One,
and looked less They differed in II
dozen other things, and yet were alike
in some mysterious way. Where the
likeness lay the most astute observer
could never have determined but it
existed. nevertheless.
There's nothing the matter with
me" answered Langton. Cant
you take an answer"
"Don't talk to me in that way,
Stephen" answered the lady, in calm
reproof. "You'll only he sorry for it
afterward.
Langton gave an uneasy growi:
Bertha smiled.
Its only business affairs. my dear.
I've been bothered lately. Run away,
like good girl. I'll he at dinner
directly"
He turned away as he spoke, and
walked towards his toilet table. But
before he reached it a pair Of soft arms
were around his neck, and his sisters
cheek against his own.
He sat down, almost unnamed by
this touch Of womanly pity. The
girl would have spoken, but there was
such look in the eyes that he turned
on her that she forbore. Presently
he said, quite i'll his ordinary voice /:
"YOu are the only creature who
has my secret. Keep it. Bertha"
She answered by a kiss and left
him.
Feeling strangely composed and
quiet after his intense mental excite
ment, Stephen dressed and descend
ed to dinner. His appearance was
tho signal for a general movement to
table. Roderic Vane, he noticed,
was i'll at ease, and divided his fartive
regards between Lady Matilda, who