The Opelousas courier., 1884-01-19
A COMEDY OF ERRORS.

a COMEDY OF ERkUhS.
"a telegram telegram from Tom,
grannie, I am certainP' / exclaimed,
jumping out 0 fapny low chair by the
window as I saw q telegraph-boy COM
ing quickly up the pretty shady garden
at Elmside; and, before Pitchers, gran
MES demure old maid, could reach the
hall, l had flung open the door, taken
the envelope from the lad, and hurried
back into the morning-room. opening
the telegram as I went.
"From T. Hetton TO May Hetton-
Meet me at Charing Cross Hotel, Tues
day, eight A. M. Cannot leave Mrs.
Elliott
Eyes, grannie dear" / cried, having
read the contents, sit is from Tom,
dear old fellowl am to meet him in
town. / wonder what he will be like;
and however can / get to Charing
Cross Hotel by eighto'clock tomorrow
morning. You"
my dearest child interrupted
grannie's soft sweet voice, "just n
moment, please. Have you closed the
door, and did you tell the boy whether
there would be any message back?'
"Good gracious, mol" / exclaimed in
elegantly. II forgot all about the boy
and once more / made a hasty journey
into the hall.
To dismiss the lad was the work of
q moment, and then I again returned
to grannie, eager to make plans for my
journey in the morning.
These plans, owing to certain unto
ward circumstances, were not easily
arranged. In the first place, Elmside
was d pretty suburban detached cot
tage, a long drive from Charing Cross.
As a matter of course, no trains were
available; and, lastly, grannie did not
like the idea of letting me go alone,
Betty, Pitchers subordinate, was al
home for q holiday. and old Andrew,
the gardener and general factotum,
had that very afternoon declared him,
self wholly ~incapacitated by an attack
Of srheumatics,. SO it was very eyi.
dent 7 must go ~unescorted, or not al
al.
Cabs were unknown in our pretty
but inconvenient suburb, but a certain
respectable serious-minded individual
named Tomkins had a vehicle, a 'sfy,'
much patronized by the old ladies O
the locality, and to Tomkins we ap
pealed for help. Accordingly, earl.
next morning, fortified by tea ant
toast, I started for town, not a littl
nervous. IL the truth must be told, a
the prospecto of meeting my long absen
brother.
Twas still in deep mourning for on
dear father, and / had tied a little EN-
broidered Grape veil over my face
through which I could hardly see, an,
thus, as ! argued, could not be seen
The 'say'' was clearlya nlisnomer, 70
Tomkins craWled on stelidly alta snail
psDs, and, al / sat, mythoughts revert
ed sadly to the country home, and {
my dear fathers last loving words. t
Gle oft-repeated-
atom viii take care Of my it'll
maid. You must look to Tom. dal
ling, when i am gone"
I was just eighteen. an orphan, an
Tom was my only brother, or rattle
h~alf-brother. my fathers son BY hi
Grss wife. He was nearly twenty year
elder than I, and had been In Indi
since I was eight years old; SO matt
rally / did not remember much abou
him. But + had grown UP with the grea
est admiration Tor Tom and Tom
nayings and doings; and, now that i
Wss really coming home, and We we
Is I've together, I was greatly please
and excited.
Mrs Elliot was the invalid widow
i general officer who had been kille
III the recent outbreak, and I unde
stood Why TON. would not leave b
alone at the hotel. but would, after
lew hours' rest, take her down 70 y
fathers place IL Norfolk.
AK last we drove into The court-yal
of the hotel, and ], shy country gil
felt rather aMed and nervous; but
managed ID iDQuire whseher Mr. He
Ton had arrived, and VA told that
bad ana that be bad desired The lac
might II shown so y room Whe
breakfast was prepared
followed the man upstairs, al
down j long corridor. and then bib .
snsd 4 dool. announced Miss Hetton
and closed II quickly alter ME.
u tan fair mani could SO ID
nsough my rel and go tears n