Frostburg mining journal., 1881-11-26
gele&t Stony,
MY RCBBER.

and important question which mad
forced itself upon our lives, but at lost
we had reached conclusion.
Perhaps to others Il would appear
trivial. To us it was of mighty
moment, for it threw open our doors 10
the admittauce of a stranger--in other
and less enigmGtic words, lodger.
We we're alone in the world, Helen
and I, living in pretty cottage left us
by our parents, just on the outskirts of
London, in one of the fashionable
suburbs, too for our father had pos
sessed comfortable means, and had died
believing our future wSs well provided
for.
Unfortunate speculatiens and invest
ments, however, had consumed so much
of our capital, that, without encroach-
ng upon it farther, the interest would
no longer support us.
For two years we had struggled along
in the vain effort to make dollar do
the work Of pound, until We reiin
quished it as hopeless, AID with the
future merged into necessitous and
pressing present, the idea just e1pound-
ed occurred to us.
It was in Helen's fertile brain that it
originated. She was three years my
senior, but even that made her but
twenty-three. I was very proud of her,
for she was very lovely, with sad, far
off look in the great brown eyes, whose
secret only 1 knew,
She never spoke Will Hastings's
name. They had had some foolish
quarrel just prior to my fathers death,
and soon after the regiment of which
he was captain was ordered to India
I did not mean to spy upon Helen's
movements. Tt was quite by accident
that, lying on the hall table, 1 saw q
latter addressed to him in his London
quarters, for the maid to give the post
man in the morning.
said nothing OF my discovery, but /
understood my sister's restless expect
apny for the past few days, every time
it came the hour for the postman's
rounds.
shared it silently, but in vain. We
read one morning in the paper that the
regiment had sailed, but from Will
himself no word reached us.
1t seemed strangely unlike him, this
hard unforgiveness-but Helen had held
out the olive branch--she could do no
more. Only even yet, in the dead Of
night, when she thought me sleeping, 1
heard her sobbing in her room
But I am depressing from my sub
iect, and just now it occupied all our
thoughts. We were sitting together at
the breakfast table, when we first fully
appreciated our own temerity at seeing
before us in the Tines the advertise
ment we had inserted with such care.
How many times it had been revised be-
fore the printers had obtained posses
sion OF it was O secret locked in our
our own breasts.
eff he," the pronoun referring to
the elderly gentleman for whom our ad-
vertisement wa3 inserted, "should walk
in now, it would not look uninviting,
would itY asked Helen, forcing smile
and glancing at the dainty table set out
with It's sparkling glass and rich old
silver.
The letter VAS small fortune in it.
seaf--we could have lived upon 1t for a
year; but it Was an heirloom, Helen
and must have been In sad want in
dsed to have Parted with single piece
"No," / answered, cheerily; "let US
hope he viii arrive at such an auspicious
hour as this"
But my hopes were to be blightea.
Daring the ensuing forty-eight hours
We had many candidates, but on one
side or other some obstacle was in the
way.
Our hearts sank as we reviewed the
situation. Which one of them would
we tolerate to share our homeP We had
almost determined to give it up-to
struggle on yet little longer-as we
sat together in tho twilight, on the
evening of the third day, when there
came quick, decided peal to the bell.
Our little maid answc ID it, A mo-
ment later firm, r1anly tread crossed
the hall-a tall form stood upon the
threshold of the room in which we
were. The stranger bowed courteously.
"May enterf he said, in a strangely
musical voice.
had been sitting on cushion at
Helen's feet, resting my head upon her
lap. / was conscious that her soft,
caressing hand had produced the wild
est disorder among my loosened braids
as ] sprang up confusedly; but save
that pair of eyes momentarily regarded
me from behind darkened spectacles,
our guest devoted all his attention to
my sister.
Quiet and dignjfed as she ever was,
she babe him be seated.
can elderly gentleman our adver-
tisement called for; we were alone, and