Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-09-14
MY ENEMY JACK.

| III ENEM JAM
"Shall we try the glen 20
| ''Thank you, no."
"A tramp under the falls would pass
away the afternoon
81 am tired of the falls. There will be
fine sunset from the peak, you say? Well,
1 am tired of sunsets. too.''
"See here, jack" broke in. inpatient
ly, ''there is one thing you might do"
"What p"
"Come out somewhere and fall in love.
There's party just arrived. heard
ravishing gill's voice when the stage drove
UP, and caught glimpse of face which
would break your heart at once"
A smile crossed his handsome counte-
nance.
"But am little tired of that, you see.
Lake, and Bessie. and Kittie, and others,
beside-beside-"
beside the little girl from Chilling
WORTH helped out. with an answering
smile. Jack 8 latest ; he couldn't yet quite
speak her name, thought. "Oddly, Of
all your bewltching maidens, she is the
only one have not seen. should really
like to see her, jack"
He turned and gazed with sudden, re-
freshing Herceness down at me.
You -sanld like to see her. Mordaunt?
Well. don't know that should object
to your seeing her, to your IS m!rlng her,
certain way. But, mark you. should yoq .
ever presume to make love-to-to firt,
even, with Rebah Wayne, you will change
your dearest friend into the most bitter
enemy you could have upon the earth !"
| could have laughed outright; it was
so like-so simply Jack. But the tender
ness always in my heart for Jack restrain
ed NE.
every well, I will remember, ;" replied.
good-humoredly. ''And now, since you
will not, will go and try my rife ia the
glen"
It was a still summer afternoon, at the
hour which the gay world IN these noun
tains, with rare exceptions, agree to sleep
away. Slight danger Of meeting any save
my own ilk-some huntsman or dreamy ar
fist to whom nature would give no rest and
with keen sense OF freedom and comfort
I strobe down the rocky glen. Laughing
at Jack, now, heartily. yet wlthal in
thoughtful MOOD. somehow his words
haunted me. Could it be that Jack was
deeper in love with this little girl from
Chillingworth than any one yet knew? l
had never been in love, but I supposed
even to man SO subject to feeting fancies
there came time
when other lips and OF her hearts
Their tales of love sAall tell.
Thought paused, and I was suddenly
IN the path. For this moment, from be-
low, a voice floated up the old, sweet song
"a very angels voice it sounded in this
mountain solitude. stood through the
verses, spellbound. yet involuntarily smil-
ing as the legend came to mind. Glen
Mary had its weird. they said. A gentle
maiden wandered here day and night,
striving ever to WOO back her faithless
lover with the songs he loved Of yore. No
mortal had ever seen or heard her; the
matchless face. the enrapturing music,
were far beyond all earthly ken.
I was never romantic man, but grew
dazod there, beneath the spell. How
pleasant, if such things were-if stood,
now, the one favored mortal within sound
of this secret singing, about to look, may
hap, into the wondrous face of poor Glen
Mary, TOTO"
To carry the news to Jack? Such was
the odd finale drawing on me. as suddenly
the song ended in wee, but emphatically
earthly scream, which sent me flying down
the ravine in the direction from whence
the voice had come.
Glen Mary. indeed! A dainty, nine
tenth century maid. wearing a Wateau
mountain dress and terra ooJta mousque-
tsires, bent over high ledge of rocks, ex-
claiming pltifully as she gazed beneath.
Her broad brimmed hat had fallen off. and
as startled at my step. she turned, saw
the beautiful face had seen peeping from
the coach window not quite an hour ago.
She regarded me blushing. but with an
open expression of vexation.
II frightened you, guess" she said,
naively. II am sorry, but lost my roses,
my lovely jacqueminot. See them scat
tered all the way down the cliff"
"Oh, that was it," I replied, bending
too, to look below. Somehow the loss of
those jac' roses impressed me that mo-
ment as the greatest affliction that could
befall human being. The next. despite
her frightened protest of word and look. I
was climbing down the rocks.
1t was not an easy feat. The stones
we're slippery, and the touch vines in the
crevices held the roses prisoners, at broad
intervals, the whole length of the cliff.
But was bent on having them every one,
sven to the poor broken-leave by the creek.
It was the proudest achievement of my
life when at last I climbed back with
them to her.
"Thank you, oh, thank you - she MUIR
INJURED, with smile and a frank look of
admiration which set my heart to beating