Saint Mary's beacon., 1883-03-01

Now, this took Tim0tf breath
away. No snch audacioua roteanI
had ever been made to hin I9f8
'No. that you cant % Rsads
don / allow no women-folk BID lis
doors to pull things about nsss
MP his papers and books e
"0h you needn't Be afrni of that:
I shouldn't think Of tono na his
things. Hera j. hall-a-crow lor y0n.
and please show me into III Reade J
room at once"
Something in the y0ung N II fene
Of authority $50 per-
haps. in .he sight Of tha 81 4 half
crown she put into his not willine
hand--took all the braf IS and
bounce out Of old Time He
utuuahad sis ehages's far ".
and showed Miss Harfield into the
one sitting-room his master used in
the house.
"Well. You'll have to. take the
blame if the master il angry" he
grumbled, ''for / don't know what
ever he will say to me for letting
you in. It's quite against all rules.
"Oh. / don't mind that at all; he
may scold me as much as he likes r.
said Lottie. cheerfnlly; then her
quick eye looked about the diney,
dusty, comfortless-looking room.
Take that tray away, please?" she
said, pointing to the slatternly re-
mains Of scanty breakfast left upon
the table.
Old Timothy never could tell after
wards. in relating the story to his
old cronies, why it was that he obey
ed her, but somehow or other he did.
"She just said. Take away that tray,
please. and l picked 'un up and ear
ried 'un out. should have stood on
my head if she'd ha' told me. She
had that way with herI
Then Lottie took a brief survey of
the chamber in which she found her
self She was too true a daughter of
a scientific and well bred man to at
tempt any tiding or dusting of those
dearly-loved books and papers, which
she found here in as great profusion
as In her fathers study at home. But
somehow her airy touch went round
the shabby room and frightened it.
She Strengthened a rumpled chair
cover, put back q useless stool into
Its place. wiped the pens afresh and
laid them in the pen-raek, then she
opened a window and let a little
fresh sunshine and balmy sumner
ali into the mustiness of the sti-
fingly close atmosphere. In making
her little rounds. she glanced, With
out touching them, at tho books and
papers, and she made the discovery
that they were all on one subject
chemistry.
She did not, of course, understand
quite what branch Of the science it
was that Mr.. Reade was studying.
but evidently he was engrossad in
some deep researches, and this made
her quite cheerful and hopeful.
81 knew the man was not so bad
as he was painted, she said to her
self, joyfnlly. "A man with one abb
sorblng taste or pursuit has always a
vulnerable point. / shall get at him
somehow. / think"
Then she sat down in the one COM
Portable armchair in the room-Mr.
Reades own particular seat-and
waited for his arrival.
Well, she had to wait long time.
The day was warm; q bee hummed
drowsily in though the open window;
there was distant sheep-bell tink-
ling on the hill /; and presently Lottie
fell fast asleep in old Dustan Reade's
leather-covered armchair.
That was how he found her when.
quite unprepared for any such mar
velous discovery, (having let himself
into the house without encounterins
Timothy,) Mr.. Reade came in by him
self into his study. Timothy. to be
sure, heard him come in fast enough.
but he was in a dreadful fright of
what would happen, and kept him
self quiet and still in his kitchen,
waiting the event.
Well, Dunstan Reade came in and
there was white mass Of soft silk
and lace curled up in his armchair
He did not see quite what it was at
first.
Bless my heartl" he said. below
his breath, and came nearer. Then
he saw white hand and wrist thrown
back over the arm Of the chair.
"a seOaGni The impertinent bag
gageF'
In another minute he would have
shouted for Timothy. hayeraved aloud
at him and at his unconscious visitor
but something arrested him. Per-
haps if she had been awake he would
have turned her out summarily and
roughly, refusing to listen to what
she had to say, and only furious with
her for being there. But she was
asleep. and she lay so still, and looked
so perfectly lovely in her childlike
unconsciousness, that somehow hestood
still and said nothing, only looked at
her. Her bright hair made sort OF
sunlight in the room; her little pink
and white face looked so refined and
sweet amongst the unlovely surround
ings Of the dreary place; her very
dress, sodainty and 50 pretty; the little
hands flung back so carelessIy, with
their blue veins showing through the
creamy skin; the small foot peepino
out beneath her skirt; all was 30 un-
like anything he had seen for 50 long.
She looked ike an exotic flower fallen
BY mistake into a cabbage garden.
Dnnsfan paada draw 4 lnr.y k~o,&K,