The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-06-06

beauty, or perhaps more in consequence of it.
 She was a shrewd, close manager of finances, and the small amount left by her husband had in the ten years since his death rolled up into neat little sum. But with all her shrewdneSs in money matters, she was as credulouS and trust- ing as a child in all her intercourse with the world socially. That there were bad men and women somewhere in the world she did not doubt, but they never seemed to eater her social orbit; or if they did. she must have preserved some magnet in her own nature which had hitherto drawn only the good to her.
 Her heart was as soft as a babys, everyone admitted, and some ot the spite iul old maids were heard 10 declare that her head must be equally soft if she wc uld take up with that Thornton with out knowing anything about him.
 It was true, Gerald Thornton was wholly unknown to the community ex- ceps such information as he chose to give concerning himself, which was little enough. Through some business con- nections with the owners of the Pember- ton mills he had come to the village and secured the situation of overseer of a part of the works-a position he seemed admirably fitted to fll-at least, he gave full satisfaction to his employers, and they never troubled themselves to searcAl out his antecedents. He claimed to have come from Cincinnati, though he gave very meager information as regards his' former life, seeming to consider that shat' was his own business and no one else was concerned in it.
 Later an unhappy marriage and legal separation was reported, but he was very reticent about that, as we'll as all else concerning his past life.
 Two months after his first advent in the town, in some business connected with the mill, he met Margery Hunter and int mediately pleasant acquaintance com' menced.
 He had previously mingled very littl, in the society of the village, had mad, few acquaintances, no intimate friends but from the first he seemed deeply in: terested in the widow, and there wert few evenings he did not call for an hou or more at her pleasant cottage, wherf apparently his company was not in tht least undesirable.
 What Mrs. Hunter could find in him so interesting, after having turned awas from what they considered far handsome and more agreeable men, was somethint | the good gossips of the town could no, understand.
 It certainly could not have been good looks for, though an intelligent an1 stylish appearing man, be could lay ne particular claims to beauty. In fact thd spiteful part of the female community, called him ihe "homeliest man ia towt, and that no one ever saw the color of hi, eyes"
 There might have been some truth iI the latter statement for he possessed : pair of those peculiar steely blue eyea which seem like metallic plate intere posed between the soul and the worl4 through which it is impossible to reat, any emotion of the mind. He might have been the best or the worst man iso the world, but no man or woman wh. looked in his eyes was ever the wiser a., regards his character. ii He was about forty, tall and musculait and without an ounce of spare flesh on his frame but there was no element cs weariness in the straight, supple bod, every muscle of which was strong anis we'll developed, and the graceful, eax carriage of the whole person had nc peculiar fascination which more ths' counterbalanced the plainness of his fese lures. "a
 He had held himself SO much alocn from general society and had been g., reticent as regards his affairs that he ha.e won the in-will of all the gossips. Bun he was so thoroughly independent he never seemed to care for their opinion either good or bad.
 When he felt it worth the trouble hes could be very agreeable, as the widow could testify, but with others he was cool and indifferent, always gentlemanly and polite, but careless whether he were liked or disiked.
 He was remarkably intelligent ana, well informed, conveTs;ng readily on any and all subjects, but it was only to the few he troubled himself to display his