The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-03-15

land carried 'un out. 1 should havl
stood on my head if she'd ha' told
me. She had that way with her z
Then Lottie took q brief survey O
the chamber In which she found
herself. She was too true q daugh'
ter of . scientific and well-bred mar
to attempt any tidying q dustine
of those dearly beloved books and
papers, which she found here ID a.
great profusion as IN her iatber't
study at home. But somehow her
fairy touch went round the room
and frightened it. She straighten.
ed rumpled chair cover, put back
useless stool into its place, wiped
the pens afresh and laid them in the
pen rack, then she opened a win
| dow and let little fresh sunshine
and balmy summer air into the
mustiness of the stiiiingly close at
mosphere. In making her little
rounds she glanced, without touch
ling them, at the books and papers,
and she made the discovery that
they were asl on one subject-chem-
istry.
She did not Of course understand
quite what branch of the science it
was that Mr.. Reade was studying,
but evidently be was engrossed in
some deep researches, and this made
her quite cheerful and hopeful.
Il knew the man was not so bad
as he was painted" she said to her
self, joyfully.
"A man with one absorbing taste
or pursuit has always a vulnerable
point. shall get at him somehow,
/ think"
Then she sat down in the one
comfortable armchair in the room
Mr.. Reade's own particular seat
and waited for his arrival. Well,
she had to wait a long time. The
day was warm; bee hummed
drowsily in through the open win
dow: there was a distant sheep-bell
tinkling on the hill; and presently
Lottie fell fast asleep in old Dun
stan Reade's leather-coyered arm
chair.
That was how he found her,
when, quite unprepared for any
such marvellous discovery-haying
let himself into tlse mousse without
encountering Timothy-Mr. Reade
came in by himself into his study.
Timothy, to be sure, heard him
come in fast enough, but he was in
a dreadful fright of what would
happen, and kept himself quiet and
still in the kitchen awaiting the
event.
Well, Dunstan Reade came in,
and there was white mass of soft
silk and lace curled up in his arm
chair. He did not quite see what it
was at first.
"Bless my heart !" he said below
his breath, and came nearer. Then
he saw a white hand and wrist
thrown back over the arm of the
chair.
"A scoman The impertinent bag
gagel"
In another minute he would have
shouted for Timothy, have raved
aloud at him and his unconscious
visitor-but something arrested
him. Perhaps if she had been
awake he would have turned her
out summarily and roughly, refus-
ing to listen to what she had to say,
and only furious with her for being
there. But she was asleep, and she
lay so still, and looked so perfectly
lovely in her childlike unconscious
ness, that somehow he stood still
and said nothing, only looked at
her. Her bright hair made sort of
sunlight in the room, her little pink
and white face looked so refined and
sweet amongst the unlovely sur
roundings of the dreary place her
very dress so dainty and so pretty /;
the little hands flung back careless
ly, with their blue veins showing /
through the creamy skin all was
so unlike anything he had seen for
SO long she looked like an exotic
flower fallen by mistake into cab
bage garden.
Dunstan Reade drew a long
breath. and sat down opposite to
her, with his eyes rivited upon her
face. 1t did not occur to him to
wonder who she was, nor where she
came from he only knew that he
was gazing on something that was
passing fair.
"If She wakes she will spoil it ALI"
he said to himself 81 haven't seen
such sight as this for years-not
for years !" and he sat quite still,
hardly daring to breathe for fear he |
should wake her.
Old Timothy, who had crept out
side the door to listen to what would |
happen, could not make out the alb
solute silence within the room a bit,
and stole back to the kitchen again !
quite puzzled and perplexed.
Presently something the con-
sciousness, perhaps, that somebody |
was looking at her-roused Lottie
from her slumber. She stirred un-
easily, then half opened her eyes.
Dunstan Reade's face grew hard
and grim again. Asleep, she was e
lovely picture-awake, she was
merely a noisy, shrill-voiced wo-
man-one of the sex he hated. She
would be horribly frightened, he re-
fiected, with grim satisfaction, when
she woke and found him sitting OPP
posite her.
If you have seen a child awake
out of its midday sleep, with just a
little stretch of its arms, and a rosy
flush upon its face, and a little open
ing of Its rosebud lips-that was
how Lottie woke. Then, when she
was awake, she did not start up
nervously, or look frightened or
scared-no, not in the least. The
image ofihat grim-faced miser glar-
ing at her did not appear to alarm
her at all. She just moved her head
a very little against the back of the
chair and smiled at him.
"Oh, you have come back, have
your" said Lottie.
"What are you doing here ?" said
Mr.. Reade, sternly.