The Penn's Grove record., 1884-12-20

When ] think of her having been any
mans comforter and friend, | could
laugh. 1 should always feel inclined to
pat her on the head if she said a clever
thing"
''Some men consider that the perfect
type OF womanhood," l said, the first
Jealous sting beginning to rankle.
"Yes, some men do"
But we had yet to learn that Katie
could be something else than a doll.
The crisis Hugh had feared in the
factories came, and | could see by the
deepening lines between his eyes how 1t
was affecting him, as he sat evening
after evening with us, wordless, all his
conversational powers having utterly
deserted him.
The market foI cotton goods had al
most closed demands had been made
on him for his current debts his CAPT
tai was all gone /; he had nothing for
the factory hands to do, and he was re-
luctant to dismiss them since no other
mill could receive them. He was suf-
fering agonies of anxiety, l could see,
with a gnawlng sense of inability to
find help or comfort ; but he was trOu-
bled for others as well as himself-for
the poor souls who depended on him.
"If / dismiss them, they will starve,"
he said to me, speaking OF the work.
men When he talked about business,
he was as indifferens to Katle's presence
as to that of a canary.
Gould you not employ them upon
some kind of work that must come in
useful after this crisis is past-white
1w,NIa For fnotanaa ~ Oha aGEaH hn1s
duIcet tones-she had a sweet voice
breaking the silence that had fallen on
us-''and pay them half wages ?o
Her clear eyes were shining on him
as she spoke /; and he answered with a
smile
81 could if l had capital but l am
nearly done for now."
chow much would you need ?"
She stood fronting him, the color
coming and going in her round cheeks,
her feathery hair glittering about her
face, till even l saw how beautiful she
was.
"Oh, too much to mentioni" he an
swered. with an embarrassed laugh.
Would fifteen thousand pounds be
of any use 7"
"Yes-more than enough he an
swered in his kind way, though perhaps
he thought both her and the question
frivolous. but you might as well
speak to me of fifteen thousand uni.
verses.o
"Oh, no, for you can have it ! l own
that amount it is invested at Bombay
Charles invested it. l shall be so
glad if you will take it."
"But, my dear Katie, 1 could not
think of accepting such a sacrifice.
You are too good-too generous"
Don't talk to me of generosity. Am
| not your sister 2" She laid her hand
upon his knee as she spoke-her face
was that of an eager child begging for
"a toy. "And, besides, 1t will be better
for me to have shares in your mill than
simply to obtain bank interest in India. -
"But, Katie, if l should fail and lose
your money ?''
You fail l"-and she smiled on him
with loving confidence. "Hugh Deverel
is not of the stuff of which failures are
made.o
| could never have talked to him like
this, and he was my own, but she had
words at will.
So the money was accepted and the
crisis tided over-the firm of Deverel u
Company stood mistaken when older
houses crashed in ruins around it.
/ tried to think that Katie meant
this kindly, but | could not thank her
for her deed. Hitherto Hugh had owed
no man anything, and it burned nae to
reflect that to her perhaps he owed his
safety and our home.
After this Katie crossed the barrier
that had hitherto held her not quite one
of us, and even upon the things that l
had deemed wholly within my province
she could be huently discursive.
"She surprises me-" Hugh confded
to me, not thinking that each word
smote me like a blow. "She is that
most fascinating combination-half wo-
man, half child, with the charm of both.
| wonder blood has not been shed about
Katie ere this"
And truly, when her weeds were laid
aside, l saw she was fair enough for a
poets dream, but as to her ~infantile
simplicity 1 was very s%ceptical. 1t was
my own pride perhaps rather than any
fault of hers that first planted the bar
rier between Hugh and me. When she
got into the habit Of talking gravely to
him, / learned to keep silence utterly.
unless he appealed to lne-and he did
not often appeal. | saw with eyes that
burned with a jealous fire that she had
usurped my place and held it with a
tenaciry l could not shake.
NY nature was a silent one, as l have
said before therefore | hid from every
Oh Q the fires that were consuming me.
But, even had / chosen TO speak, of
what could | accuse her Was there
anything wrong In her trying to please
the bTOther-in-law whose guest and
b~enefactress she was? Was it unnatural
that she should like and wear Hugh's
favorite fowersp Was it more than
kind that she should sing to him when
he was an ardent music-loyer and ma
ture had denied me a voice ?
"You are i'll, Helen,n Hugh said at
last, noticing my leaden face and sunk
en- eyes. Il shall send for a Doctor"
But / shook off his caresslng hand,
and answered that | was well enough.
"You never talk now, and you are
looking very ill.,"
l laughed as l drew myself back
among the sofa eushions-a laugh that
was sadder than any tears.
Katie lifted her upward-curling eye
lashes, and looked at Inc In grIeyed sur
prise and 1 took advantage of the
darkness in which | sat to clench my
asts and glare at her.
"What ails Helenp Do you known"
/ heard him ask her.
| should have turned away, but / was
greedy to hear every word that passed
between them.
"Oh, some fancies ! Poor Ellie has
an irritable temper"
Plying me 10 him
81 suspected it till lately" he
answered.
/ knew she was looking at him APP
pealingly with her false blue eyes,
though ! could not see her, as she
said
t.U tara kaou fhfuEfno Abat u