Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-11-21

thrown into Kate Gerrow's compan,
even more constantly and intlmatel,
than before Mr.. Gerr0w was TAX en- sud
denly ill. Edgar had to attend him an,
20 labor hard TO ward off an attack o
probably fatal apopiexy.
They were lonely couple, th'
wealthy, eccentric owner of Brixby
Lodge and the fair young girl who wa
reputed his heiress Kate was an only
! child and an orphan. Neither she no
her uncle had any kinsf6lk in the neigh
borhoOd. Cousins, Kate. believed sh,
had somewhere in the North but there
hA0 been an enlargement In the family
and these she had never seen.
us ii anything dangerous, Mr.. Arm
ton My uncle will recover, will he
nOt?" Kate askei, as, after careful
examination of his patient, Edgar stood
for moment of two in the wide old
| fashioned hall:
Il sincerely trust 30, Miss Gerrow,"
me replied; "of course.ssI dare not dis
guise from you that there is risk-grave
rick that h inseparabie from such cases
but see not the least reason for des
pair. Pray do not worry yourself un-
necessarily
"My uncle is the only relative I have
living IN the whole West of England, !"
she said. You will not conceal bis real
condition from me at any time, beg
Mr. Arnton," she subjoined
"NO, Miss Gerrow, I will be quite
frank. although it is medical privilege
to be discreet, you know. But you will
need trained nurse; the work will be
too delicate for ordinary servants, and
too wearying by far for you May I send
you one from the HOlstead Iufirmary ?"
IF you think that that will be the
best course to take. But shall certain
ly wait upon uncle principally myself"
And so Ka'e did. And day by day in
his visits Engar ArDtoD met her, and
fell more deeply in love. Not that he
abandoned in any degree his determine
tiOn to refrain from becoming Kate's
suitOr That resolve was firm rs ever.
He simply elected to drift with the tide
The patient gradually recovered, and
bore grateful testimony to Edgar's pro-
fessional skill.
The mend was not for long, though
q message in the dead nf night some
few weeks after took Edgar hurriedly
away to Brixhy Lodge, to fine that
another seizure had proved fatal
Kate's grief was intense Edgar must
have appeared cold and distant in the
dark days before her upcle's funeral, for
he now felt himself compelled to keep
down his sympathy with au iron hand
and to breathe coincidence in the most
conventional of phrases But for so
doing he felt morally sure that his vow
of personal silence would have been ir-
retrievably broken.
But. in the course of time an odd
rumor reached him The old mans will
had been read, and Kate was not an
heiIess after all. With chaos of con
6icting emotions within his breast, Ed
gar called upon Mr.. Trent and learned
the truth.
back, before Miss GerrOw came to live
"there is no doub as to it's geDnineness.
Every one thought he had made later
one-I did my seif-bnt none can be
found beside this. suppose he put the
business off. as so many people do, un-
Til it was TOO late.. The property al
goes to d wealthy Lancashire manufac-
turer."
"How does Kate-Miss Gerrow-take
t?"
"As quietly as you may guess. Some
girls would have been almost killed by
the Disappointment. but not she. You
had better go up and see her; she is not
al heiress now. Indeed, she'll have
barely sufficient to live upon, unless
this cousin does something tor her."
Edgar took the advice and wen, up to
the desolate great house the same after
noon. Some commonplaces passed. and
then that old, old story burst forth
which somehow always seems to me far
too sacred to be written in detail. Ed
gar made full confession, and not in
vain.
The saddest experiences of my
youth" he said, ''came through mar
riage for money, and through misplaced
confidence. Very early 1 vowed that
that mistake should in no shape ever be |
mine. that nobody should ever throw |
fortune hunting OF that kind in. my
teeth. And yet"-with q smile of inf
uite conteDt-''I am not certain. Kate,
after all, whether love would not have |
beaten me in the end."
II hope So" the maiden answered,
shyiy.