Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-16
your daughter Betty that 1 love, you
blind and foolish woman, and not you

blnd ana foolish woman, and not your
beautiful Blanche"
felt his rough beard craze nv chin,
his lips touch mine, in the twilight of
upper hall, and then 1 sank away
into paradise. When 1 came back to
the world again l was lying in my
mothers bed in the second-story back
OF the dear old house of the Doc
tors; l must have fingered long time
in that queer and shadowy land to
which [ had drifted on that last wonder
full day Of my dreary house-hunting. A
soft balmy air tloated in at the top of
the window that looked over the old
fashioned garden; the thick knobby old
hlac-tree must have been bursting into
hloom, for the faint sweet fragrance
reached me where l lay; the tulip bed
must have been one blaze of color. Nv
mother sat in a low chair by my bed.
side with her prayer-book in her hand.
But she looked younger by ten years
than when 1 had seen her last. Poor
dear woman! she was reconciled to nv
Struggle with life and Heath, so long as
more important matters had been doubt.
Jess comfortably settled. But she was
&verjoyed to find that 1 was there again.
Poor mamma had always depended SO
Upon me, and loved me well in her own
Nay Now it seemed that she almost
lived me in another way, too, as she
DID her beautiful Blanche. Amid her
tears and smiles she began to twist some
wsps OF hair upon my forehead into
cutls,, and arrange the blue bows that
decorated my night robe.
t'Thank Cod" she said, ssfor all His
mercies! Ny dear, dear, child, COM.
pose yourself. Betty, before the Doc
tor comes-he has forbidden any ex-
element, any confusion-but, my dar-
ling, you must know-it is necessary, it
is right, that you should know, and per-
haps it will do YOU good; it ought to,
Tn sure; it has sustained me through
all these weary weeks-Betty, my love,
my darling, wonderful as it may seem,
it was yoW that the Doctor admired, it
was you that the Doctor spoke about at
the beach, and his motive was perfectly
honorable and creditable. I'm sure If
I'd only known it all this trouble might
have been saved. But it's recognized
now by everybody. He openly ac-
knowledged it the day that you fell ill,
and I must say he has acted up to it
ever SINCE"
"Who are you talking to, mammal"
said a voice at the door. elias Betty
come TOP"
And in ran my beautiful sister. She
hated tears, but they fell from her
magnificent eyes upon my sunken
cheeks and wasted hands; they fell in
torrents; and although she was always
SC careful of her clothes, she flung her
self by my bedside, rumpling all the
pretty breadths of her marvellous spring
outfit. She looked like a gem in porce-
lain. She was a hundred times more
beautiful than ever. No wonder my
mother was so astonished. 1t seemed
a miracle that the Doctor had not a mo-
tive about Blanche. And my beautiful
sister also loved me in her own way.
She had determined to save me from
what she considered an immolation.
"You mustn't talk, Betty" she said,
''and we mustn't talk to you any more
than we can possibly help. You've
been very i'll, dear, and we've been wild
about you. The Doctor has gone about
likes ghost, and we've followed him
around like phantoms. 1 must say ]
think a great deal of the Doctor; he's a
very nice, splendid man in a great
many ways. But you needn't marry
him, Betty, when you get we'll, unless
you want to. know how queer you
are about these things-how you'd hate
to marry him if you didn't just worship
the ground he walked on; and yet you'd
feel badly about the rest of us. And !
want to tell you as quick as I can, be-
fore he comes in, that you needn't
think of anybody but yourself any
lore. You've worn yourself out for us
long enough. I'm engaged to Fitz-
Edward Smythe, and only waiting for
you to get well to marry him."
ooh, Blanche!" I gasped; for the
young man was little better than q
poodle-dog.
.I'm fond of him, Betty; I am in
deedw! she exclaimed; and she really
looked as if she meant what she said.
II actually love him. He'll do any,
thing in the world I tell him to do, and
we shall have a most elegant time to-
gether. because his money is all his own,
and.I can help him take car of it, and
show him how to really enjoy it in q
proper way. There will be money
enough for us all. You and mamma
and Fred are to live with me, and it's
all arranged between Fitz-Edward and
myself that my family is to be held in
the greatest consideration. I'd have
been buried alive with your Doctor, and
any one that marries him will be worse
than a door-mat-Oh, goodness grar
cious mel"
For the Doctor walked softly in with a
big bunch of roses in his hand. Blanche
slipped out the door, my mother noise
lessly followed her, andI was left alone
with my benefactor.
The roses fell out of his hand. He
scanned me at first with the eye of a
physician. He felt my pulse, my fore
head, my hands, my feet; he watched
me for fully ten minutes, his face soft
ening the while from the Esculapian
rigidity to an ineffable tenderness.
At last he took a long breath, and,
seating himself in my mothers chair,
he pushed back his hair from his fore
head. I could see how gray it had
grown. I could see the lines in his
face. held out both my hands to him.
"You would have been very sorry,'