Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-05-09

brown hair, and pair Of large violet eyes
beamed on him with q sweet compassion.
He was an unpromisng subject truly his
face was sharp and sallow, and a beard about
a week old added much to its haggardness.
He must be very tall, for he seemed to stretch
away from her definitely, as she stood there
at the beds head, and he was thin to emacia-
ton.
This is Mr.. Hemingway" she said at last.
ut was once, he answered wearily.
II am Miss Margaret Winthrop" she con-
tinued. II am DR.. Ainslee's sister-ln.law l
believe you are his patient?"
"Yes Tom and are old friends, and re-
member your father very well. Won't you
be seated ?" he asked, suddenly remembering
his position of host.
She drew up the shabby armchair and sat
down by the bed. 1t was not 30 easy to be-
gin as che had imagined.
"He will take me for O lunatio or an assas-
sin with designs upon imaginary wealth, she
thought as she sat there revolving her cold
blooded scheme and wishing she had deliber-
ated upon it more fully before taking this
step. But it was too late to 90 back now.
What plausible excuse could she give for hav-
ing come there unattended? He would tell
Tom, of course, that she had been there.
Tom would tell Annie, who would look unut-
terable things and lecture her for a week. He
had evidently suffered much he was lying
thore so miserable and helpless it seemed
that she had never appreciated the inhumani-
ty Of the whole proceeding until nov. But
she was a woman of resolution. She had sat
isfed herself that the arrangement would be
one Of mutual advantage The only question
in her mind was how to begin.
ut WAS very kind and thoughtful of you
to come" he said, breaking the somewhat
protracted silence.
II - - -
replied with nice discrimination. tom was
telling us to-day how uncomfortable you were
here, and how Ill. 1 understood from him
that you did not have proper attention, and
-that-you-could not get well, and came
with purpose"
He looked up gratefully, and she could not
have felt more guilty or contemplate IL she
had stabbed him with knife and received in
return his dying benediction. But she had
the courage of desperation and she kept on.
She told her plan, which was, TO marry and
attend him carefully for the trihing remnant
of his existence, in return for which he was
to bestow upon her the inestimable privileges
of widowhood.
1t was not 80 bluntly stated, of course, and
was accompanied by many why's and where
fores intended to modify to some extent what
she considered the iendish conception and the
indeicate execution of the plot.
II was Of no consequence whatever TO Hem
ingway that she desired his demise was even
figuring upon it at that moment with pleasur-
able anticipation Of time when it would
have cast about her mantle of unimpeacha-
BILE dignity and permanent security from So
cial prosecutions. She was sitting there, like
a section of paradise, fitted into that dingy
chair, Illuminating the whole room and filling
it with the exquisite odor of heliotrope. To
such presence man may forgive much.
There was but one thought in his mind after
he was assured that it was not an illusion
which had come to taunt him with malicious
contrast. Her friends would certainly OBJ
ject."
She assured him with strict veracity that it
was her own affair entirely and rested with
themselves.
When it all came out Annie was shocked
beyond anything. She had always known
that Meg" would do something disgraceful,
but she was not prepared for this. To delib-
erately propose to a man, and then coolly sit
down with the eyes of the whole community
| upon her TO wait for him to diet was too
| much.
The doctor was secretly in sympathy with
what he called the mutual benefit association,
and the result of all this was an immediate
and quiet wedding, at which the groom did
not wear the regulation black"
lowed the event was neatly averted by story
industriously circulated by Tom Ainslee to the
effect that Hemingway was really an old lover
| of ''Meg's," and some mysterious hints of q
romantic story in the back ground that he
could tell if he felt disposed.
A week later, when Ainslee came for his
usual afternoon visit TO the invalid, Meg call
| ed him aside and hestatingly inquired wheth-
er he thought it would hurt the patient to be
moved.
"Um.m-m, no, don't think it would hurt
him to be moved in fact, am sure it would
not; but would suggest you are in danger OF
defeating your own purpose. II you nurse
him too well, you know, he might recover, and
that, under the circumstances, would fall little
short of disaster"
Don't be brutal Tom," she said. "This
place is ineffably dismal, and he may as well
be comfortable for the little time that is left.
She took a cottage in the suburbs near the
river, with plenty Of space around it and win.
dows that looked out upon the expanse OF
shining water and far blue rims of hills. II
was June about the verandas and windows
hung mass of climbing roses that filled the
air with fragrance, and into the airy frontroOm
with its wide windows and its distant glimpses
of river and green hills beyond, went the in
valid's bed
All day long the fresh breeze from the riv
or, laden with the odor of roses, parted the
heecy drapery of the windows and blew soft
ly upon his face. Everywhere reigned the
delicious quiet his tortured nerves had needed
above all things tho grateful absence of the
sound of wheels and other urban noises thai
had fretted his soul with their din-the only
echo of these that reached him now was the
daily pilgrimage of Tom Ainslee's buggy
Near him, all day long, sat Meg" in her sof
white dress and her flowers, with the soft ligh
on her brown hair, and a softer light in hei
great violet eyes; surroundings which certain
ly invited an interest in terrestrial things
and, as the weeks passed by John Heming
way, a man of honor and sensitive conscience
began to be troubled with a misgiving-I
misgiving that after all he was not going t
fulfill his part of the contract. He felt tina
for the first time in his life he was about Il
go squarely back on an obligation. He hat
entered into deliberate contract to die with
in a given time, and what amends could hI
make for his ungenerous recovery It woulC
be but poor return for her assiduous atten
ton and tender ministrations She could no
have been more sweetly careful of his com
fort if she had ''loved with love that wa
more than love" in return for which he wa
about to inaict upon her permanent and un
mitigated disappointment In vain he assur
ed himself that had he even dreamed of
possible recovery he would never have allow
ed her TO take such a risk. This could no
possibly alleviate her disappointment nor ex
ouse his perhdy.
He was thinking of these things ono day a
he lay with face turned inward looking a
Meg, whose eyes had wandered from the boo
in her hand TO the hills beyond the river. Sh
brought them back presently, and they reste
for a moment on the face among the pillows
The disfguring beard had been removed AM
the face was certainly fuller than when sh
had first seen it. She supplied an imaginar
| roundness of contour and decided that notl