Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-06-29

laid his heart at the feet of the lovely and wilfu
little mistress of s'The Hail." which offe
was received first with an incredible stare
then a merry laugh so loud and long ant
hearty that the canary in the gilded edge
cage overhead took up the refrain and pipet
in a shrill treble until the room rang again
All the while Nat stood humbly and nervous
ly twirling his hat, with his naturally florit
face several shades redder than usual.
Il don't see why you should laugh at true
and honest love, Dot, }" he said, when she ant
the canary paused for breath, ''you may have
offers from richer men, | know, but none Cal
love you better than l."
ssIt is not that, Nat, do forgive me fol
laughing. l don't care about the money, but
the idea was so funny. Why you and have
grown up together, and -and-you are thlci
and large and have got red hair, and you know
1 always said l should wed one who was tai
and slender, with black hair and eyes anC
and high pale"
'sSpare me Dot from hearing that again,
broke in Nat passionately, ''if brains 60 tol
nothing with you, and all you care for !:
looks, then suppose my hopes are IN vain. y
"And," continued Dot, unheeding the in
terruptiOn, ''your name is Smith, Nathan
Smith. Of all names, should die with such {
name. Now when your folks christened you
why couldn't they have given you Christian
name p,
''And so you refuse me for the looks and
the name ?"replied Nat, ''well1 only hope yor
may not marry a bald-headed man with cross
temper that would break your heart" here
Nat broke down utterly, and with the red OF
his face, changed to deadly white, turned tc
leave the room when Dot sprang to him and
seized his hand in both her small white ones
g., cb hpx, of I
be wretched. l Shan't marry for years and
Years vet. of course, and I don't think you
would care so much. Goand WOO Lottie How.
ard she likes you and is as good as gold"
And now that Dot was married and that
dream ended for all time, Nat thought of hel
parting words, for he had never dared trust
himself in her presence again, not even When
she started on that memorable visit to the sea
shore, and now the whole seemed to come
back to Nat, and all that afternoon two pair OF
eyes, one pair of heavenly blue, the other q
tender brown, seemed dancing through the
shadows of the dingy office, and the the wires
seem to click over and over again las good as
gold.''
s'Pshaw!" said Nat angrily to himself
"why should l be thinking all day of Dots
foolish words when they never entered my
mind before Lottie Howard is good enough
but shall never love again, never"
Wednesday came and with it the noon ex
press from w. and a committee of three
leading citizens of Millfield waited in solemn
dignity on the platform until with sundry
snorts and angry putting the train stopped
and just as the brakesman called out Mill
field, twenty minutes for dinner,'' tall ele:
giant young gentleman, with black hair and
eyes and diamond pin, stepped out OF the Cal
md three
committee men as Mr.. DeLong, and in po-
lite little address cordially welcomed to Mill
field and invited to repair then and there to
his future residence, 1.-The Iall' to partake
of dinner gotten up for his special benefit.
The handsome visitor looked for an instant
curiouSly from one to another of his inVitors.
and seemed for a moment just bit nonplused,
but when he met on every side with smiles
of recognition and little bobbing curtesies
of welcome from the children, he appeared to
''take in' the situation, and in happy and
graceful manner thanked them and accepted
the invitation.
While this was taking place the other passen'
gers filed out into the depot dining hall. There
was the usual number of drulnmers, Il fat
man and a lean one, a lame boy and two ol
three elderly business men, old and young
women, and back in the car by the window,
man with eye glasses and slightly bald sat
reading, but not one among them all who
could possibly be mistaken for Dots husband.
''You see, sir" said one of the committee
waving his hand toward the group, 'that we
needed no introduction to you, for there is not
child in Millield but could have picked out
Dots husband, knowing so well her taste,
without her flattering description OF you, to
all of which the gentleman gave such pleas
ant and smiling replies as to quite win the
hearts of the committee before they reached
s'The Hail. where nurse Moore presided in
tluttering state.
sAnd how is my darling child ?" she asked
with hutter of gratitied pride at the friendly
pressure of the aristocratic hand.
81 see you have got her diamond, Sir" she
continued, "many's the time, sir, Dot has
telled me none should ever wear that ring but
her future husband; should have known
you by that alone, Sir"
The stranger gave the least perceptible start
when she began, then glancing at the ring IN
question, a large and handsome solitaire, re-
piled with emotion
eyes, my dear little wife insisted that
should wear it, and babe me by that token tC
give her best love to her kind and good friends
here, bowing gracefully around.
The day passed pleasantly, and before night
the conviction was gaining ground that Dot
had done well, that is all but Nat Smith who
held grimly alOof and viewed the arstocratl(
stranger from distance with an air OF dlsdaln
and when the next day the gentleman saun
tered into Mats Office and requested a LITTLE
business sent, Nat accepted his explanation
that 'sOur house always dispatches in cypher,'
in silence, but after the stranger had gone he
eagerly copied the strange words Of the dis
patch and locked them in his private drawer
The second night of the stay of Dots hus
band in his wife's home, marked an epoch in tho
history of Millfeld, and it had enjoyed al
honor (?) not often vouchsafed to small towns
it having been visited by burglars, and severa
houses plundered Of money and iewelry.
Two of the houses belonged to two OF ou
committee men, one of which had suffered ;
loss Of five hundred dollars and the other ont
thousand. it being the habit of the Millfielt
folks to keep their money at home III defaul
of a bank, until occasional visits to the cit,
made it convenient to deposit it. 'The Hail
was also entered, and Dots husband missed
his diamond ring, valuable gold watch, ant
pocket-book containing two hundred dollars
lie had entered the breakfast-room ut an TN
usually early hour. with a harrassed air AM
asked nurse Moore if she had heard anything
in the night. Nurse Moore remembered hear
ing his door open or close but supposed he wa
restless and had risen.
mo, l slept very soundly,' he replied
land did not wakenat all, and this morning m
pocket-book is missing, also my watch AM
ring which LETT lying OH the table when
RETIRED 1t is incredible, :" he continued, 'thl
the house should be burglariZed and | no
hear anything; do such things often happe
here?'
But nurse Moore had sank helplessly on he
seat when he began and could only stare in a.
idiotic way at the narrator, until the doc
bell rang violently and a boy rushed in wit
the alarming news that the village had ''bee
robbed and all of Lawyer Dean's money take