The Red Cloud chief., 1884-09-19
81 think - ouId IKE diamonds best

gested TIT her younger sister was =
greedy(h e creature.
"AsSc n as you've got your Gil Of
diamens ( which won't take more than
six DC ytbs longer. suggested Mr.. Hall.
'.yon 4 com back again"
,of exactly. ] have an idea Of go
in up the country across the Lambesi.
j "a notion hat / should like to make
81 way oct somewhere in the Medi-
ACKNOWLEDGE, for instance. or Al
k5ers."
'.What,-across the equator? You'd
sever do that alive"
Things Of that kind have been done:
Stanley crossed the continent"
but not from South Ia North.
don't believe in that. You had better
remain at Kimberley and get more dia-
monds."
He'd be with diamond, like the boy
with the bacon said the clergyman:
when prepared for another wish. he'd
have more than he could eat"
: TO tell the truth" said John Cor
don. II don't quite know what l should
do. II would depend. perhaps, on what
somebody else would ioin me in doing.
My life vas very lonely at Kimberley,
and ] do not love being alone"
"Ihen why don't you take a wife,"
said Montagu Blake, very loudly. as
though he had hit the target right in
the bull's-eye. He so spoke a TO bring
the conversation to an abrupt end Ilr.
Whittlestaff Immediately looked con
scious. He was a man who. on such
IN occasion. could not look otherwise
than conscious. And the five girls. with
all Of whom the question Of the loves
Of John Gordon and Mary Lawrie had
been fully discussed. looked conscious.
Mary Lawrie was painfully conscious !:
but ~endcavored to hide it, not unsuc-
cessfully. But in her endeayor she had
To loox unnaturally stern-and was cor
scious, too, that she did that. Mr..
Hall, whose feelings of a were
not. perhaps, of the highest order.
looked round on Mr.. Whittlestaff and
Mary Lawrie. Montagu Blake felt that
he had achieved a triumph. Yes"
said he, iii those are your feelings. why
don't you take 4 wife,"
Lone man may not be so happy As
another" said Gordon. laughing. 'You
have suited yourself admirably, and
seem to think it quite easy for a man 10
make a selection
perhaps" said Blake.
Then think of the difficulty. DO
YOU suppose that any second Miss For
re-ter would dream OF gong to the dia-
mond-iicldS with me -
Perhaps not" said Blake. 'Not a
second Miss FOrrester-but somebody
else"
something INFERIOR"
..Weil-yeS; inferior to my Miss For
roster, certainly
..Ycu are the most cOnceited young
man that | eve came across said the
young lady herself.
And ! am not inclined to put up
with anything that is very inferior"
said John Gordon. He could not help
his eye from CHANGING for a moment
round upon Mary Lawr.e. She was
aware of it, though no one else noticed
it i'm the room. She was aware OF il,
though any watching her would
have said that she had never looked at
him.
"a man may always find a woman to
suit. if he looks we'll about him." said
Mr.. Hall, scntentiOusly. "Don't YOU
think so. Whittlestaff?"
Il dare say he may" said MIR Whit
t~lestatf. very fatty. And as ne said SO
he made up his mind that he would, for
that day. postpone the task of telling
| Mr.. Hall of his intended marriage.
The evening passed by, and the time
came for Mr.. Whittlestaff To ,lrive Miss
Lawrie back to CrOker's Hall. She had
certainly spent a most %uneTentful
period. as far as action or even words
of her own was concerned. But the
| afternoon was one which she would
never forget. She had been quite, quite
sure, when she came into the house;
but she was more than sure now. AT
every word that had been spoken she
had thought of herself and of him.
Would he not have known how to have
chosen a fit companion. only for this
great misfortune? And would she have
been SO much inferior to Miss Forester?
Would he have thought her inferior to
any one? Would he not have preferred
her to any other female whom the world
lad at the present moment produced?
Oh. the pity of it: the pity of it!
Then came the bidding of a1icux.
Gordon was to sleep at Little Arlesford
that night, and to take his departure
by early train on the next morning. OF
the adieuX spoken the next morning
We need take no notice, but only of the
word or two uttered that night. Good
bye. Mr.. Gordon" said Mr.. Whittle-
staff, having taken courage for the oc-
c~asion, and having thought wen of the
necessary syllables to be spoken
Goodbye. Mr.. Whittlestaff." ard he
gave his rival his hand in apparently
friendly grasp. To those burning gueS-
tons he had asked he had received no
word of reply: but they were questions
which he would not repeat again.
.'Good-bye. Mr.. Gordon" said Mary.
She had thought of the monien much.
but had determined at last that she
would trust herself to nothing further.
He took her hand. but did not saw a
word. He took it and pressed it for a
moment, and then turned his face
away. and went in from the hall back
to the door leading to the drawing
room. Mr.. Whittlestaff was at the mo-
ment putting on his great-coat. and
Mary stood with her bonnet and cloak
on at the open front-door. listening to
a word or two from Katie Forester
and Evelina Hall. .'Oh, l wish. l wish
it might have BEEN" said Katie For
roster.
"And so do l." said Evelina. Cant
it he?:"
Goodnight" said Mary. boldly.
stepping out rapidly into the moon
light, and mounting without assistance
to her place in the open carriage.
II beg your pardon" said Mr.. Hall,
following her; but there came not q
word from her.
Mr.. Whittlestaff had gone hack after