The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-03-01

late!"
 Mir. Coode swallowed the last portion of his bread and butter whole, and dashed like harlequin out of the front door. When he had gone, surveyed myself in his parlor glass and wondered if was looking very i'll, or whether, being a dis nal man, he vas trying to frighten me, and arrived at the conclusion that l was looking about the same as usual, "a prim, pale, pert little puss," as my dear old dad called me once when was ar guing with him on the housekeeping ex- penses, and how the weekly money would never hold out if he would continually ask the dodgers in to supper and a game at cribbage afterward.
 Poor dad, he died next year, and left me sole proprietor of the lease and fur niture of the house in Prossiter street. and there were no late suppers and crib bage any more. l was seventeen when he died, and had had five years charge of No. 10 since" getting quite an old maid Lily Brian, who lived next door. said, but then Lily was four years younger than l. and presumed upon her youth, as girls will. 4 nice girl was Lily Brian, and my one friend and confidant. but perhaps too fond of laughing at ev- erything. although that showed she was happy. and had keen sense of humor and fine set of teeth.
 Well, perhaps was trile paler, was my secend conclusion after the first five minutes, and with ,inge of redness-a mere tinge the nose, jus, as if I was breeding cold" as Bridget put it. And this was not remarkable, consider ing last nights experience and sure enough the cold was bred before my early dinner-hour, when the sneezing stage had set in with considerable force. This re- minded me once more of the umbrella which had been dropped into the area las, night, and asked Bridge, 10 bring 1t me"
 The what, m'm:' asked Bridget, with wild stare
 The umbrella
 . Umbereller, and down our airy. did ye say, min: There's no, scrap of um- bereller down our airy. I've been in and out twenty toimes, and must have seen it. continued Bridget
 Bridget, there must be an umbrella, = said :" go and see.'
 Bridge, departed, and returned with the information that there was no um- brella in the area. and then went and looked for myself, and as Il was still driz- zling with rain l caught another cold on top of the first one, and was at fever heat ere twenty-four hours had ensued. But before then the gentleman had called for his property, and had met face to face the individual who had rendered las. night hideous.
 sending in his card by way of preliminary announcement that he had arrived I did not associate him with the umbrella indeed, was feeling drowsy and " out of sorts, with pains al ,hc back of my head. when huge glazed card was pre- sen;ed 10 me bearing the inscription in large fancy letters, " Geofiry Bird. Carver and Glider, and Picture Frame Manu- taeturer, 967 Boswell Road, Isling,on. N"
 /" don't want any picture-fames, Sa- rah. said to my small help. wearily.
 " It's the gentleman abou, his umbrella. mum. said sarah.
 Good heavens. oh. indeed. Well. ask him 10 step in then. =
 My sitting room was small apartment al the end of the long passage, the only llttIe room had 10 myself and my day dreams-yes, my day-dreams when the house was full, which lt had been all these years, tor they were the same lodg- CTS who had lived with us in fathers time odd, inconsiderate, queer-,empered iodsers enough. but faithful to my house, and keeping an old promise to my father 10 stand by the little woman bit when he was gone
 NIT. Bird was ushered into my presence and he came Tn with a low bow. and with tr,Iie too much of q smile 10 wholly please me. although II suggested itself to me somewhat quaintly that he would not have so much to smile al presently Mir. Bird was slim and somewhat short young man who wore his black hair long enough for vioiinist. and had upon the smallest of hands the reddest and most prominent of knuckles. He was rather good-looking young man, with brown eyes and black bushy eyebrows, and with a habit of shaking his head suddenly. as II to get the hair back from his forehead. or as fl he had just come up out of water. He was fairly well dressed. might have passed even for gentleman if il had no, been for his red knuckles and ,ha, very obtrusise smile
 Good afternoon. Miss Neild-foi understand your name is Neild.r he be- gan; :" am very sorry for the third time in my life to be such a complete nuisance 10 you. But think am in the right this time, being here by invitation
 = Yes asked you to cali at a more seasonable hour, remember replied :: "bu,-'
 And owe you no end of apologies" he added. for the noise l made last night. was in too much of hurry-I am naturally impulsive, in fac,-and when the wind caught my umbrella and blew t clean out of my hand into your area, my first impulse was 10 run up the steps and knock"
 :" ies, heard your knock said, qui- eily.
 No. I'm sure you didn't he said. fiatly contradic;ing me here: you could not have heard me the tlrsr lime tor |