The Penn's Grove record., 1883-12-15

me, that, in fact-that is to say-ohi
where am l wanderinggn
Well might he stammer and grow
confused. for Dora Dacre was looking
up into his flushed and excited face
with the most innocent ar Of amaze
ment possible.
"Did I do anything so silly?'' said
she. "Well, I'm lure I'd forgotten all
about it."
"Let me put it down on my ivory
tablet, lest it should slip out of my
memory again. That / was not indif-
ferent to you, was it2 | think you
said l made use Of a word like that.
"But, upon my honor, Percie, don't
know what we're alike in, unless 1t lies
in the foot, eh?"
And the saucy little mink just eleva-
ted her skirt a couple of inches, and
laid beside his a pedal extremity that
by contrast looked like a captains gig,
as it awaits his descent alongside of his
towering frigate.
Dora knew that her size vert small
twos well enough.
'Oh, Doral would / were a spider,
and you would do me the honor of
crushing me with such "A dainty little
brodequin; yet, for all that, l don't
exactly relish the ~igurative crushing
that you are ~inflictipg On me at present.
Just pass me those tablets, and I'll
write down what you said onthe occa-
sion / refer to. If / don't put the ex-
act words, at all events it shall be what
they implied"
With a mocking laugh, the fair girl
did as he asked her, and the young OIL
Ger at once wrote therein, in a firm
round hand, GLOVE Lieutenant Egerton
and III never marry any one else
Dora Dacre."
Having accomplished this, he handed
her back the tablets with a smile.
swell, l never heard of such pre-
SUMPTION" laughed the young lady.
"a libel, sir-a libel l declare l
never said anything of the kind; but as
the words imply a prior offer On your
part of both hnnd and heart, with all
your worldly goods to mi endow, I'll
keep it in evidence, so that L may
bring an action for breach of promise,
should you ever fall into any of those
great expectations that you are SO often
talking about, and which alone might
render you really acceptable, you know"
And, with another silyery laugh, she
thrust the tablets, S she thought, into
her pocket.
AT this moment, who should enter
the garden pertaining to the Colonel's
villa, or bungalow, as he loved to call
it, in remembrance of India, but Dora's
father, arm-in-arm with Shan Tchesnl
beware of that man, Dora; encour-
age not his attentions, even in jest. All
Asiatics are vindictiye and revengeful.
/ know them better than you do, and i
speak as a friend now" said Percie
Egerton hastily, as they approached,
and with the speech their private tete-
a-tete ended"
"His Excellency will stay to lun-
cheon, and if you do not hurry, Dora,
you will be late to do the honors,n said
the Colonel.
"Mr. Egerton, please hurry to bar
racks, to relieve Mckay, who has APP
piled for twenty-four hours leave of
absence.
And thus was one of Dora's adorers
despatched with a flea in his ear.
As for Dora. she flushed crimson,
and hurried towards the house.
But in the indignant little shake she
had given to the skirt of her dress,
something fell to the ground, which
Shan Tchesn bent his rotund form to
pick up-of course, with the primary
object of returning it to her; though,
directly his eyes caught a couple or 90
of the words that Lieutenant Egerton
had just written therein, he altered his
mind, and thrust it into his own pocket.
He was no uneducated, pigeon-speak-
ing Chinaman, except when in his cups
wa his Excellency, Shan Tchesn
chad he been, we should have tried to
have got some fun out of him. but q
statesman and scholar, who understood
ond pronounced English, at all events
as well as a Frenchman or a German
generally does.
He was in gala attire, andhad entered
the garden with his melon-hued face
wreathed with smiles.
A very different expression sat on it
now, however, though he dissembled
tolerably well.
He had not had time to master the
whole passage, but he could do that
anon.
Luncheon over, Colonel Dacre tried
hard to keep awake, in order to do the
polite, but drowsiness oon got the bet
ter of him, and his usual midday nap
would not be said Mo- to.
When he was sound off, Shan Tchesn
said, with an oily s how much he
should be pleased if Dora would only
sing to him, and on her conserving, for
she knew not how well to refuse, he
led her into the drawing-room and up
to the piano, but he did not suffer her
to play.
For while she was turning over her
music-book, to discover one of his
favorite songs, he threw himself down
OF his kness before her, and began to
implore her to be his wife.
Yes, his wife-the wife of a pig-tailed
Chinaman-and there was something
in his manner that plainly enough told
Dora that he expected that she would
say eyes"
There was nothing olare OF comical
in his speech, save such as was impaired
to it by his strange aspect.
He set forth much the same induce
ments before her as a millionaire Eng
lishman might have done in p~roffering
like request-namely, that all that
wealth could buy should be hers; that
her social position would be the very
highest In Hong Kong; that she would
be a princess of the oldest empire in
the world, have servants and slaves by
scores to attend upon her, and much
more to the same or nearly the same
effect.
Then he stopped suddenly, for he
caught sight of an expression of mingled
horror and disgust in Dora's blue eyes
and parted lips, and he was shrewd
of the world enough to read her
thoughts in an instant-to know that
his color and his race were scorned and
hated by her.
'tsitay, Miss Dacre," said he, rising
to his feet, and spreading out the palm
of his hand towards her, while he
averted his head, ''Shan Tchesn had a
SAINT dream, but your look has
woke him up. Let it be-he will not
go to sleep again."
HYou need not sneak. he can cues