Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-09-22
A GOLDEN WEB.

toms pink-and- blue neat of & room-pink-
and.blue from the rosebuds and forget.me-
nots of the carpet TO the dainty stencilling
Of the ceiling. And all outdoors was
merely loyelier color; for the beaming
blue March sky bent over endless orchards
laden with piHk bloom.
All their chatter was Of past and pros
pective "April Fools Day" prsnks. Zai.
da Lawton's, and Flossie's, and Meg Nor.
ley's, at least, for Lilis Brainard, Zaida's
pretty cousin, had dropped entirely from
the conversation, and sat knitting blue
silk glove with slightly scornful express
ion on her high-bred face.
We'll, said Flossie, as the girls paused
a. last in their merry recitals, 1--WE haven't
heard from you yet, Lilis. Who are you
going to fool the day after tomorrow"
"Why, girls, interposed Zaids, don't
you know that All FOOLS Day is a festival
that Lilis would scorn to celebrate"
Z" You iconoclast, you'll try to abolish
Christmas next u exclaimed Meg, shaking
her dimpled fist at Lilis, with pretty as.
sumption of anger.
''No, indeed p said Liiis, laughing. 81
would not raise finger to tear that holly
crowned King of Hearts from his throne
of peace and good will But these practi.
cal jokes, which the First of April is sup
posed to license. are really beneath any
one but clown or a school-boy. l have
never fooled anybody and never have been
fooled"
"And never will be ?" inquired Flossie.
And never will be !" repeated Lilis,
confidently as she chased a fugitive stitch
with her bright needles.
A telegrsphic message sped from blue
eyes to black and from black to brown, as
Flossie looked mischievously at Zaida, and
Zaida sent glance onward to Meg.
a few minutes later Lilis put on her
things to run out to the fancy store for
more knitting silk, and Zaida's bourdoir
was left in possession of the plotters.
"We mast do something to fool her.
but what ?" said Flossie, pulling at curl
as if it were bell-repe to wake up her
brains.
81 have it ~ exclaimed Zaida, ecstati-
cally pirouetting on rosebud. "You re-
member Mr.. Raynor, who was in the place
so long last year, and who seemed to ad
mire Lilis so much And you remember
that we noticed the remarkable similarity
between his handwriting and Franks
Well"
And the plan of routing Lilis from her
vantage. ground with great slaughter was
divulged at length, to the infinite delight
of the two remaining conspirators.
1t was a delicate matter that those
thoughtless girls were tampering with, but
would-be makers of April Fools often
rush in where angels fear to tread"
The first day of April dawned fair and
clear. Meg and Flossie came for Zaida
early in the morning, and the three set off
on April.fooling thoughts intent.
Lilis, confident of a mornings long lei
sure, drew her favorite chair into the re-
cess of the bay-window, and established
herself therein, with her Coz The and pet
kitten as companions.
She had not been reading long. when her
aunt came bustling in, sowing small pack
ages as Peggotty sewed buttons.
Here's a letter, Lilis, she exclaimed,
dropping one On the pages of the open
book. "When MolIie came to make the
spiced gingerbread she found we were out
Of nutmegs and cinnamon, and l don't
know what else, 30 had to go to the gro
GERS, and l thought 1 might as we'll drop
IN at the Postoffice, although Zaida said
she meant to go before she came home"
Then her housewitely nose scented some.
thing burning, and she gathered up her
packages and hurried kitchenward.
The letter had fallen with its address
downward.
When Lelis turned it over she gave the
Kittens paw, which she had been using as
pointer, so severe wrench, that Butter
cup uttered a feline protest and bounded
away with an injured air.
Paul Raynor had, as Zaida said, admired
Liis greatly, but he was lawyer with
his way yet to make in the world, and with
a mother and several young brothers to
support.
He knew that matrimony would be i'm
possible in his case for years, so kept an
iron hand on the admiration that bore a
perilous likeness to love but he thought
that he might allow himself platonic
friendship with the pretty charmer whose
taste and habits chimed so pleasantly with
his own.
But although Lilis knew of his circum.
stance, she was not so cautious, and in
those scented summer days, those regal au-
tumn mornings, baby hope was born,
which was buried in the hazy October
cleaning, when Paul bsde her good-by
without even requesting a correspondence.
But the buried hope had glorious res
direction on this pink and. blue April morn
ing!
His letter told her that the love which
he had tried to subdue had become an
overmastering passion, sweeping prudence
and caution b,fore it like dried leaves.
He said that he knew he was doing her
injustice In asking her to enter into an en-
gagement which must necessarily be a pro-
tracted one, but, for all that, would she
consent to be his wife
If Lilis could only have known, before
she answered this letter, that Zaida had
composed it and sent it to Fred Beresford,
her tiance, to copy and post as coming from
Paul Raynor.
Did Lilis get letter this morning ?"
inquired Zsida, as she came in late to din
Der.
"Yes," answered her mother "and
she has just gone to the Postoffice with her
answer"
Zaids started up in CONSERVATION. She
had not intended the matter to 90 to this
length. She had meant to be present
when Lilis received the letter. and to in
form her of the deception when she had
read it.
II she should have answered the forged
rroposal in the affirmative
The thought was too horrible to eontem-
plate.
Perhaps the letter might be recovered
from the Postofhce.
But even as she caught at this hope with
rapture, Lilis entered the room saying,
gleefully,
II was barely in time with my letter.
auntie
dWas your letter from Paul Raynor!
snd did he propose and did you accept
him ?" inquired Zsids hurriedly.
al see that Mr. Raynor has been confd-
ing in Fred, and that Fred has shared the
confidence with his fance, laughed Lilis.
/" Yes, to sll your questions. you impetu-
GUS Zed!
As soon as Zaida swallowed few mouth
fuls of dinner, she hurried to the telegraph
Office and sent message to Fred, inform
ing him of the present crisis, and begging
him by fair means or foul, to prevent Paul
Raynor from reading Lilis's letter.
But it chanced that Fred, an impecuni.
GUS young lawyer, like his friend Paul
Raynor, becoming tired of watching the
evoIutions of blue bottle in his office
window and scribbliug Zaida's name over
endless sheets of legal'cap, had started on
a long country walk, so the telegram was
/