The Penn's Grove record., 1885-01-24
A BRoK EN- BOND.

Tie evening light was gray and sub
dued in the library Of Wolstenholme.
The lamps were not lighted, and h fire
was only sm~ouldering in the midst OF a
pile of light gray ashes, giving forth an
occasional flash which could not dissipate
the darkness of part of the spacious
room {; but the gray wintry twilight a
not come to a close yet, and the W fig
ures standing before a deep old-fash-
Toned window c0nld see everything
around them.
Outside the snow lay thick upon the
ground, and a keen northern blast went
Wailing and soughing between the r
poles Of the larChes and frs on either
side of the winding carriage-drlve,
while the shadows from the marsh-lands
to the east grew deeper and deeper still
IL was not a pleasant prospect to look
upon. and with a sigh of WEAKNESS Cap
tain Richard Lucas turned from 1t 70
the girl at his side, taking IN with a
1u,ck glance the wondrOuS beauty Of
stately head and braided hair, and the
look of half-sorrowful meditation in
the luatronS eyes.
As lovely as a pasSion-ilower vas the
Lady Isabel Ddcre, 1.-THE daughter Of d
hundred earls," but surely zone to be
desired" with that sweet FAINT carmine
flush IN her face and the clustering hair
OF golden brown over her BROW. Her
c|lose-itting but sweeping dark dress
showed the symmetry of her hssom tig-
ure to perfection, and costly diamonds
sparkled from the delicate old lace at
throat and wrist and yet over all lay
n shadow, underlined, close-cllnglng.
Captain Lucas too seemed i'll at ease,
and, though they had been standing in
the same position for many minutes, he
did not care to break the silence that
prevailed. There WIS a restlessness
about his slim straight form, a nervous
twitchipy Of the white hand and gnaw-
ing of the heavy moustache which old
OF the conflict going on In his mind,
even il the ~sm0ulderlng tire OF his blue
eyes had been no index to it.
He was hardly taller than the Earl's
daughter, and, if one could have seen
him well III the gray light, there would
Lawn been noticed tell-tale lines and
wrinkles in the handsome naughty face,
speaking plainly of passion and pleasure
and pain which had surged round nm
with stronger currents than the gener-
alItv Of men are called to face.
''And | shall see you and speak to
YOU meyer again, Lady Isabel Z"
1t was his voice that broke the still
ness of the room and fell in deep sad
cadence upon his companions a
'sSee me and speak TO me you most
likely will, Captain Lucas, but say
what you have said and be what you
nave been never again.
"Aud. when | am thus cast out from
hope and love, what fate do you think
will be mine, IsabelT"
There was almost a wall in the sound
of his imploring voice, and for a mo-
ment the hot tide would mount unbld-
den to Lady Isabei's lovely brow ; but
in an instant it was followed by d Grn-
traction of the brow and a iTmer set
ting of the fmely.chiseled lips-the Da-
ores were not wont to change tneir
minds when nce they spoke theiF will.
"YOu did not say such words as those,
my love, in the old days when l wooed
YOU under the chestnuts of that small
Norwegian town-and it is only Two
years since, Isabel"
If some of his comrades could have
seen Captain Lucas then, they would
hardly have believed that it was he. He
did not bear the reputation of a ladies'
man in the officers mess of the crack
Cavalry regiment to which he belonged.
CAPTAIN Richard Lucas, slim, erect,
handsome. with but one blemish, a long
scar curving from his right ear down
his cheek and across his throat, riding
his gray herse Wooden like a centaur,
and looking at everything with a lazy
half-mocking glance from under the
dark lasbes of his steadfast eyes, was A
man to be feared and courted because
of the keen weapon of sarcasm he pos
sessed than laughed at as a love-sick
man. Captain Lucas s'bound by the
letters of a silken tress ]" Why, every
officer in the regiment would have
laughed the idea to sc0rni He was
their admirable Crichton,n their
faultless one, who had never been
known to lift eyes of love to a lady in
his life. III any other line they &C
knowledged that he did excel. There
were wonderful tales told of his powers
at the billlard-table, for instance, of the
clear cool head and steady hand that
never failed hin. The youngsteF who
Joined his regiment looked upon him
with awe as the man VIC had played
for tremendous stakes with Flashaway,
the pro! essi0nal, who had ruined scores
of men at the board of green cloth, and
cleaned him out Of every penny he pos
sessed. And most likely thai same
goungster. having lost half his years
income TO the irresistible Captain Lucas,
would receive his money back with a
kindly but emphatic word Of advice to
talk less and work more aud esch9w
brandy and billiards. The scar on his
cheek he had received in a fierce fray
with a hlll-trIbe in India ten years be-
fore, when he was a stripping Of twenty
two. His men called him "Dick the
Devil' in those days and when he led
the way set their teeth and gripped
their lanees tightly, for they knew that
he would fight to the death. though
Wooden stood knee-deep in blood. Ont
of many a hot fight he had ridden scath-
less with a triumphant smile on the
proud face with its almost womanly
beauty, and with his long sword red
with blood, till he got that slash from
the crooked blade of a mad Mahouetan
chief, who fell the moment afterwards
in the middle Of his shout "Anah Ak
bah ~ cut through brow and BRAIN by
Sergeant Tomkins' stalHart arm. he
wore a little bronze cross on his breast
on field DAYS for that days work, and