The Labor enquirer., 1883-02-24

Lieutenant Lacy would prefer to do
tie fascinating himself" remarked Isa-
bel, while Annie, 10th to leave her
cousin behind, and still not much averse
to tetea-tete with the young officer,
gave her dress shake and entered the
house.
"I'l tell you what it is Bel, said Char
ley, seriously, as they were leftalone to-
gether, ayou ought to have too much
sense to judge man by what you see
him do when he's pestered by a lot OF
silly girls, or to allow your prejudices to
run away with you. Bob Lacy is any
thing but the conceited fop you think
him. He's as true patriot as there is
in our land. / don't know another fel-
low with as brilliant prospects as he has
sacrificed for the sake of serving his
country; and if he is handsome, and the
girls will run after him, it's no faultlot
his. He's a good friend Of mine, too,
and want you to like him; so just
come into the parlor with me, and be as
sweet as You always are when you don't
think it necessary to keep anyone at a
distance" s9f... -. zya,. , ssa~
Isabel had no good answer to make to
this appeal, but with the certainty she
felt that Lieutenant Lacy had heard her
severe speech in regard to him the pre-
vious evening, she would sooner have
faced the cannon's mouth than, him.
Charley, however, would only laugh at
her if she told him So. so she said
quietly: " atn<ilt. ~a4", s#. #G
''How canI go and leave all these
flowers to wither, as they will if they
are not taken care of at once" frf,rGl
-"Oh, if that's all'i said Charley, "Ill
bring him out here" and off he event
without waiting for word of remon-
STRANGE. 3.,.-'r. 'nas|,ro" 5,k"T Il
For a moment after he left her Miss
Horton was in a quandary. The doors
and windows were open throughout the
house, so that she could not run around
to the front door without being seen
from the parlor windows, or enter the
house from the piazza without being
seenfrom the parlor door opening into
the central hall. In either case she was
sure of being caught by Charley. Some
WOrkmen, who had been mending the
chimneys, had left their ladder standing
against the piazza. AS her eye fell upon
it she remembered that the windows of
her room opened upon its flat roof.
Quick as thought Quicker, rather, for if
she had stopped to think she would not
have done it, she mounted the ladder
and had just landed upon the roof and
turned to detachi her dress, which. had
caught in a climbing rose, when she
saw Annie, Charley and Lieutenant
Lacy coming along the gravel walk
which led around from the front to the
side door. They spied her at the same
time and shouted with laughter even
the lieutenant, (comprehending as he did
the, cause of her escapade) had much
ado to keep his amusement within
bounds. Charley threw, himself upon
the grass and held his ~sides; while
Annie, after the first involuntary burst
of merriment, drew down her face and
proceeded gravely to introduce, MY
cousin, Miss Horton; my friend, Lieu
tenant Lacy" +
If any other gentleman than the one
in question had been concerned, Isabels
good sense would have told her that the
affair. had better be laughed off as good
joke. AS it was, however, she was too
vexed to be sensible, and returned his
low bow with stately inclination of her
head, which, graceful though it might be
in itself, was, under the circumstances,
ludicrous.
"Come down, oh, maid from yonder mount
ain height!
What pleasure dwells in height?"
quoted Charley, going off into sanother
fit of laughter; while Robert Lacy, too
much of gentleman to wish to revenge
himself upon Miss Horton by increasing
her evidently painful confusion, turned
to Annie with request to see her pansy
bed, which, as he we'll knew, was at the
further end of the garden. ..
The instant their backs were turned,
Isabel bounded through the window into
her room, and pulled the blinds together
Loh;rd ho, Ia 4L;.l= tLa4 aLa LII