The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-08-14

her away from the dangerous society Of
the invalid-.he ''lottery fellerw
But in the evening Phyllis suddenly
| turned upon her aunt, with little air Of
defiance, and announced that she must go
and bid goodbye to Mr. Conroy, since she
was to go away so early in the morning.
Miss Eldridge, who had foreseen this
| contingency, thought it was wiser to yield
than TO resist, and fore ed herself to say
40, yes" in a calm and matter-of-course
/ way.
But she followed Phyllis upstairs in two
minutes. The door of the invalid's room
| was ajar, and out to Miss Eldridge's ears
| there foated a most alarming sound. Did
| some one say, in q very low tone, with a
pleading accent, "Phyllis!" or had the
wind played her trick? 1t must have
| been the wind, for, when she went in,
there sat the nurse bolt upright and atten.
| tive, not mapping as was her wont, and
| Phyllis was coming out, looking very calm
and demure; and she could not have been
in the room more than two minutes.
| Nevertheless, Miss Eldridge heaved a
| deep sigh of relief when Phyllis was fairly
| off the next morning.
| 1t happened that the first remark which
her patient made to her that morning was
| that it was time for him to go. He was
well enough now to be moved without dan
ger, and he need no longer trespass on her
kindness.
1
whatever. Her manner had become sud-
denly cold and repellent in the extreme.
Inwardly she was struggling with the doubt
whether it was her duty to labor with the
young man upon the sinfulness of his
| course of life, or whether delicacy forbade
her to do so, since be was her guest, and
| under great obligations to her. She salts
fed her conscience by the severe manner
until just as he was leaving-looking, Miss
| Eldridge thought, sufficiently guilty and
| embarrassed to prove that he was not
utterly hardened-she put into his hand a
| little tract entitled "The Way of the
| Transgressor," and when he diffidently ex-
pressed the hope that he might some time
be able to make some re; urn for her kind
| ness. she replied earnestly:
You can repay me, Mr.. Conroy, by
| turning from your immoral way of life, by
| which you are leading others to ruin"
Then she turned away, and closed the
door. The dark flush that rose to the
young mans brow convinced her that he
was not without shame, and she cherished
some hope that her words might not be
| wholly without effect.
At all events she had done her duty, and
he was gone; only to the next village where
he had secured comfortable quarters, but
he would never venture to trouble them
again, and Phyllis might safely come home.
The squire, still confined to the house by
sprained ankle, troubled himself very
little about the matter, though he still
puzzled over the telegram, and declared
that hewCuld yet find out what it meant.
Phyllis seemed to find staying with
Cousin Cornelia more tolerable than usual,
for she remained three weeks, and when
she came home she had apparently forgot
ten all about Mr.. Conroy.
On a Sunday morning, about q week
after Phyllis return, Miss Eldridge an
nounced, at the breakfast table, her inten-
ton of driving to Fernivale, an adjoining
town, to church. She had heard that a
nephew of Reverend John Lyman, who
had preached at Fernivale thirty years be-
fore, was to occupy the pulpit. Reverend
John Lyman was the lover of Miss FL
bridges youth. She could not now men,
ton his name without little flutter, aud a
dseting blush, although he had married
another woman, and had been dead for
twenty years.
Phyllis, with queer little smile dimp-
ling about her mouth, said she wanted to
go too, and Nicodemus, who had become
strangely shy and quiet in Miss Eldridge's
presence, drove them.
1t was Sunday morning very like the
one on which they had driven to Norwich,
and they all thought of it, but even Nicode-
mus the garrulouS did not speak of it.
Miss Eidridge walked into church with
downcast eyes and great primness, but,
when she sat down in the pew, and raised
her eyes to the pulpit, she started violently;
anybody less dignified than Miss Eldridge
might be said to have jumped. Looking
calmly down at her from the pulpit, in a
clergyman's black gown, stood her late
guest and patient, "the lottery feller"
If Miss Eldridge had not all her lifetime
babe defiance to nerves she would have
tainted at the shock. She cast hurried
looked perfectly demure and unmoved, ex-
cept for queer little dimpling about her
mouth, and a heightened color.
Miss Eldridge could not listen to the SER
mon. That dreadful title of the tract she
had given him-"The Way of the Trans
gressor"-and the still more dreadful part
ing words which she had addressed to him,
rang in her ears!
She hurried out as soon as the service
was over.
"Aunt Hester, don't you think he might
expect us TOTO stop, and speak to him?'
faltered Phyllis, when they were in the
carriage.
81 couldn't, Phyllis! I made a great
mistake. l wronged him very much. 1
don't know whether he would speak to me-"
80, yes, indeed he would. He knows all
about it," cried Phyllis, eagerly.
KNOWS all about it," gasped Miss Ed
ridge.
''Yes, told him. 1 knew you would
want me to, he felt so dreadfully; and
and-he and 1 are-are-if you and papa
are willing"-
"Phyllis Eldridge, how did this state of
affairs come about" demanded Miss FL
bridge.
"He never said a word to me while he
was at our house, Aunt Hester, or only just
one wordw
"Ah! it wasn't the wind that whispered
Phyllis" thought Miss Eldridge.
but he felt SO badly about your changed
manner that he wrote to me to ask what it
meant. l couldn't tell him, and so he
wrote again and again! When came home
Nicodemus told me you thought he was the
agent of lottery. and of course had to
write to tell him."
Miss Eldridge tried to be severe. Phyl-
lis had certainly behaved most improperly,
but the young man was a minister, and he
was John Lyman's nephew. Her gratifica-
ton at the state of affairs was too great to
be concealed. But with Nicodemus it was
easy to be severe.
'How did it happen that you told me
such story" she asked him.
"Well, you see they was expectin' the
lottery Teller over to Norwich, and when
the young man came along they all run of
an idea that't was him. Never found out
that 'twa'n't till the lottery Teller himself
turned up about ten days ago."
them" asked Miss Eldridge, sternly.
''Well, l thought mebbe twas best to let
bygones be bygones, seein' heard he was
parson, and the lottery fellow turned out
a cheat, and cleared out with my money. l
ha'n't felt much like talkin' about it. But
there, never expected to gets good out
of Parson Godfrey, and ha'n't!"
"Papa has unraveled the mystery of. the
telegram He told me this morning." said
Phyllis, sit was intended for John e.
bridge, Greenville, Conn.,, instead of Mass.
1t was mistake OF the telegraph operator
"Happenings are the Lords plans.
hope He'll never allow me to interfere with