Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-06-16
"Excuse me, emammas, n s.;d -,

wa 1 III sure i near the
vegetable man, and l must see about
luncheon before l 60"
Away ! ran down the stairs AZ fast
as ! onl go, and raped upon the door
of the Doctors study.
He opened the door, and already had
his hat in his hand and his oycrcSat on
his arm. He put both of them aside
and with gentle cordially babe me-
come over to the open fire.
"For the air is chill, Miss Betty.n he
said. Though we are getting on toward
April. 1 believe"
YES" I said, and rushed immedi-
ately into the subject in hand. ~ will
not detain you, Doctor. Imust tell you
that mamma has concluded to move. I
I'm going out house-hunting to-day"
Mamma ought to have been there. for
II ever surprise amounting to c~onsterna-
ton was depicted anywhere. # was
painted on the Doctors face at that;
moment.
"House-hunting" he cried. ..What
the-the deuce would you do such an
insane thing as that for? Move! What
does your mother want now? PAPER
ing? painting? kalsoming:o a HANGING
garden on the roof? a caIcium-light in
the hall? a steam calliope in the parlor?
Tell me what she wants, and if it's pos
sible to accomplish it with the aid of
Aladdin's lamp it shall be DONE"
How L could l say that she wanted
him to marry my sister Blanchep 1t
made me burn from the crown of nv
head to the soles of my feet to remem-
Der the conversation between mamma
and me.
"You are very generous, Doctor" /
said, s'but my mother wants to move.
Don't you knowth women are change
able sometimes, and get tired of the
one placer"
"And the one partyp" he rejoined-
.'the one old fossil who began to hope
he might settle down to certain sur
roundings and be happyp Are you one
of those women, Miss Betty? Do you
want to leave your landlord?"
1 knew that it was nothing but a gen
erous pity for my condition Of mind and
body that made him look upon me with
such sweet compassion. He threw his
gloves aside, and took both my hands in
his own. That was his unfortunate
manner, his all too friendly way, so
easily misunderstood, as 1 tried to per-
suade my mother. If it had been my
beautiful sister instead of my plain little
self, it might have been thought that the
cOnsummation to mammals ambition
was about to be reached.
"You look already so tired!' he said.
est down here in this easy-chair, and
tell me what 1 can do to save you from
the awful fate of a house-hunter. Did
you ever hear of Mynheer Won Ghlan,
who Eel morning said: Il am the rich
est merchant in Rotterdam?' He came
to grief, my dear little woman, from too
much walking. Haven't you cares
enough upon your poor little shoulders?
If your mother will move, why don't
she go herself upon this hunt that she
desires?"
"My mother is never quite wcll," I
said.
"And your sister," he said.
"That would never do" [ replied,
quickly; ''she is too" and here I hes
itated.
.'Too beautiful" he said, with a wry
eyes," I exclaimed, resolving to
make one little struggle in mammals
behalf. .Don't you think that my sis
ter is beautiful, DR.. Steele?"
eyes" he said, with all the vehe-
mence that could be required of him;
''too beautiful altogether. 1 wish she
was as ugly as a stone fence"
Ared flame leaped into his dark cheek.
He was certainly agitated by some I'M
wonted emotion. Thought perhaps he
loved her, but distrusted his fate be-
cause of her beauty and her youth. Who
could tell? The moment passed while
I hesitated, not knowing Just what to
say in mammals behalf. If I only could
have gained courage to ask him what
was the motive that he spoke of to NAM
ma upon that day at the beach; but how
could L? 1t was impossible. / got up
on my feet. He picked up his gloves
and followed me out into the hall.
"You must persuade your mother to
abandon this idea of moving, he said,
gently.
.Oh, please, now 1 exclaimed. 81
can not, Doctor. We must 60"
81 can not force you to stay" he said,
coldly; then turned to his man John,
who watched his horse outside. $50 get
a BILL" he said, ''and put it upon the
house."
"To let?" said John, with curious
surprise.
EYES," said the Doctor. "No-for
sale. I'll sell everything out" he added,
'sand 90 to the de-desert of Sahara. "
Then he leaped into his buggy and drove
away, leaving me to ponder over the
wretched Illustrations Of this miserable
world.
DR.. Steele had lived twenty years at
least in this dear old house, for he had
often said that he came there when a
boy of fifteen, and he could not be fal
from forty now. He was the only child
of a widowed mother who had idolized
him. When she had died, two years
before, the doctor had put an adver-
tisement in the paper that, 1 well re-
member, seemed very attractive to
mamma. Our arrangements with him
were, indeed, very satisfactory. He was
generous to a fault, simple in his tastes,
punctual in his habits. From a boarde1
he had become a friend, almost a bene.
factor. Had it not been for the beauty
of Blanche, or the ambition of my