The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-12-01


There something queer about Stel-
Ia Blake" she said. stepping little
nearer to him and lowering her voice.
Won't You ever tell if [ tell YOU some
thing l saw. Charley? OF course
wouldn't mention it to anybody but
g0U"
"Tn swear not to tell" Charley
cried, kissing the book--I mean. Susan.
What rude. disagreeable fellow
You are. Charley Rossm she exclaimed;
I'D be ashamed to act so as you do, -
trying very hard to look angry, but fail
ing miserably. Now see if Won can
behave while tell you about this Blake
girl"
"Shall swear to that?" he asked,
wickedly.
BE still, or I'll not tell you at ALL"
she answered, laughing. She was in an
excellent humor now. 1T is not much,
to be sure, but it looked queer You
know that Mr.. DeVries is In Chicago.
1t was the first night he was away that
saw a light in his room between e,ev-
en- and twelve o'clock. 1 had the ear
ache and got up TO get something to
put m it. and happening to look toward
the main building | saw it. The blinds
were closed. and the curtains were
drawn, but L could see little Inc of
light up and down the sides of the
windows. At first l thought he had
returned sooner than he expected. but
l soon remembered that all the trains
had got in sufficiently early for him to
have been at home before nine, certain
Is. L slipped on nv stockings and put
through our hall and down stairs. and
then up again to the main hall. Just
as got about half way up stairs, how
ever, there was a quick fash of light
which almost blinded me. | invoiun-
tarily stepped back stair or two. but
the rustic of a dress, and the light pat
of feet on the carpet treasured me, and
L fastened up the stairs. and just as
reached the head of them Stella Blake,
carefully shading the light with her
dress, was going into the room at the
end OF the passage. She did not see
me. but the light fared up and showed
me her face. and if she been dead she
couldn't have been paler or more fright
full looking. l waited till she had Shut
the door, and then slipped across to
Mr.. DeNries room and opened the
door, but it was all pitchy darkness.
Now what, want 10 know. should send
her there in the dead hours of night, in
that secret way?" she asked, argument
atively.
Il reckon she don't like De Vries any
too well. have seen an cdd look on
her face sometimes when she was watch
ing him, and he did not see her-a sort
of fierce, avenging look, that made her
face old and hard"
But why should she go into his room
when he was away? | fancied she
might have taken a notion to rarsack
his trunk, but then knew he never left
it unlocked an hour when he was at
home chow could she have known?),
and it was not likely he would go away
and leave it open. But felt it nv duty
to see the first thing next morning: but
it was not only locked, but strapped,
and ] don't believe any woman could
have slipped tho buckles. L never
saw such hard ones"
"Well, she might have tried them,
perhaps, and found she couldn't slip
them, and perhaps she went in for
something else, may be; he has books
in there, hasn't he's
There is three doctor books of some
kind, and a dictionary; that is all | ever
saw there, and they had not been
touched, i know, because forgot to
dust them after 1 had swept the room
that morning, and they had not been
touched; besides, what could she want
of them? And if she had only tried the
buckles, or the lock, she would not
have been there so long. for it was
more than half an hour from the time l
first saw the light that went up-I
don't know but il was an hour
May be she is a sleep-walker." he
suggested, thoughtfully The truth
was, Charley Ross had taken q very de- |
cided fancy 10 Stella Blake, notwith- |
standing his prompt disclaimer, and he
was secretly anxious to find some rea- |
sonable excuse for her strange conduct |
Il don't know but you have seen |
sleep-walkers hold their clothes round |
a light 20 shade it so people couldn't |
see, but never did," was the slightly |
sarcastic reiolnder
But Charley never had; the truth |
was. he had never seen one at all.
Whether it arose from servants Cos
sip, or was simply surmised by that |
claSs VI Deople lhulSeHous W lne eHtiIe 4
civilized world, who are perpetually |
seeming matches" both in season and |
out, L cannot tell. But certain it was,
the rumor was quite current, and getting
more so every day, that ''old Mont
ford''-as our disrespectful custom is
of speaking OF man who has grown
family-''was going to marry Stella
Blake, the new waiting maid at Mont
ford House"
But Stella herself, not going out. and
having no friends to tell her the dis
agreeable things people might say of
her, was in blissful ignorance of the
story going the rounds of the neighbor-
hood, and being very literally discussed
therein. There was, of course, every
shade of opinion upon the subject
Some fine ladies. who had themselves
been servants In their girlhood, were