The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1884-12-26

look-that was gone in fash, and left her
smiling content on u.s..
kept away from thskcottage for three days,
and on the fourth, DIS l was leaving the
orderly room, came face to face with Colonel
Wriothesley.
He is in the Engineers, and had come down
to inspect the fort. 1t took up the rest of the
morning and some time after luncheon.
listened with nervous interest to the ColonePs
gentle little stream of small-talk, hoping
against hope that some allusion to his friends
here might escape HMM vain. We dis
cussed Rocksedge, its visitors, its merits as
seaside resort and as a military station, and
still no mention of his cousins came At last,
heart-sick and desperate, bluntly and abrupt
ly asked:
"You were coming down here one day last
month, were you not, Colonel?"
"Who? L? Never rightly knew where the
place was till last week, am ashamed to say"
was the answer that crushed my last hopes.
Yet to make certainty more sure persisted.
"Do you know any lady down here of the
name of Pierpoint? Darsie Pierpoint?"
"Pierpoint2 No. I've heard the name
somewhere. Pierpoint? There was Pier
point-a young fellow-drowned on his way to
India, remember. Nice fellow, engaged to a
Miss Lawler; one of the Devonshire LAWYERS
Is there anyone here of that name?"
And all L could do now was to keep him
away from the subject, and the chance of
meeting them. Unfortunately, there remained
two hours to dispose of before his train left
We strolled down to the sea, took turn on
the Esplanade, and up the cliff by the old
town. About half mile from Rocksedge lies
fine old ruined church, and the Colonel, to
my unexpected relief, professed himself bit
of an arch@ologist, and expressed wish to
explore it. As it lay on the road to the sta
ton, ordered my trap to meet US there, and
off we started.
The Colonel had great deal to say about
ruins, and we amused ourselves harmlessly for
some time, tracing out foundations, peering
into holes and corners, and examining vestiges
OF ancient decorative work. He was in the
middle Of explaining authoritatively how the
whole place came to be built, when 1 felt
cold thrill shoot through me- as a voice knew
sounded through the roofess aisle from the
other side OF the Wondering wall
II don't want to hurry you, but isn't it al
most time to start" cried The Colonel had
turned away, and was digging excitedly in
corner with his umbrella.
"Roman, distinctly Roman !" declared he,
Strengthening himself. cts not easy to mis-
take the handiwork. Just see here, for your
self, Travers. There has been an inner coat
ing OF cement; l grant you that" CAS- if
had ever disputed it And the voices drawing
nearer and nearer.) "Have that carefully
cleared, and you'll find a very fine example of
herring bone work. The Saxons initiated it,
WITH
''Of course they did; there's some up there"
l declared. Ca yellow Japanese parasol ap-
peared at the opening and paused.)
dragged him up grassy mound where was
once chancel. Another minute and we should
have descended safely on the far side, but as
luck would have it, in that minute Scrap, MAYS
dog, esped us, and with social bark came
tearing up to us, and May after Scrap. She
stopped on seeing us and bowed dcmurely,
"Who's thatY demanded the Colonel-as
great a connoisseur, knew, in female beauty
as in Roman thing. He caught my arm, and
Mrs. Pierpoint stepped into the sunlighted
space in front of us.
"Eh What - and Colonel Wriothesley adj
justed his pince-nez in a violent hurry. saw
the startled look on her face-the detected
look. saw, with sense of sickening humili-
alton, her glance of dismay at the sight of me.
But all my worst imaginations paled and faded
before the shock that followed.
"Eh ?" cried the Colonel. ''It is-no really
little Mary Agar and-Lady Dorothy Champ
neys" ard he trotted down the bank with ont
stretched hands to greet-my godmother.
don't know what the proper bearing of the
hero OF such a dramatic situation should have
been; only know what did. made off as
quickly as possible, and without word. do
not know what the Colonel thought, or how he
got into the dog-cart and away to the train
heard his wheels roll off as 1 sat on a frag-
ment OF an overturned pillar in secluded
angle of the ruined transept, holding my head
in my hands and struggling with the bewilder-
ment OF this most astounding revelation. Lady
Dorothy Champneys, Mrs. Pierpoint MY
godmother here, all the time comparing my
letters and knowing that considered her an
imposter. To whom had | been writing, and
with which was I in love? Both were the
same, of course; but, lifted my dazed head,
and-there she stood.
"Are you very angry-past all forgiveness ?"
she demanded, in a soft little voice. "It
seemed such an innocent little plot-and all for
Mays sake. l didn't know how utterly it had
failed till your letter reached me this morn
ing"
She suddenly blushed red as q rose I kept
pitiless silence.
''You seemed so set against the poor child,
and wrote so disagreeably and sarcastically
about matchmakers and their victims, that it
was temptation to give you lesson; or at
any rate to determine that May should have a
fair chance-that you should be forced INTO
forming an unprecedented judgment of her. It
was such an openingm she pleaded. "We
came home unexpectedly I had absolutely
nothing to do, and nowhere in particular to
go, and was just specializing on the possibility
of taking you unawares at Rocksedge, when in
came your letter, telling me even the train by
which you were going down there yourself"
$50 the meeting was put-up thing2"
'Didn't tell you SO" slightly laughing.
'And you read all the letters wrote to you
about YOURSELF"
"Of course" faltering for the first time.
''What then?"
"rhis You were acting part for few
days amusement, while | was unhappily in
earnest-in bitter earnest |"
She stood with her head bent, silent and
confused.
"However, am glad of it," I declared,
springing to my feet and confronting her. at
has helped me to find out something that 1
might have gone through my life unknow-
She lifted her dark eyes affrighted. 'What
do you understand?"
"That you love me, Dorothy, as l love you.
You could not be Dorothy-the Dorothy that l
have known and loved all these long years, my