The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1885-10-03


eoldly, as he paused. "Then 20. 1t Is
well you have chosen 10 leave here at
once, And never dare 10 come in my
presence againp'
He turned without another wo,l, and
went weary out into the autumn eve
ming, where the wet wind, sobbing
through the leafess branches Of the
trees, seemed weary echo to his
thoughts.
And inside, prone on the floor, her
golden hair trailed over the rich carpet,
Helen yinton lay struggling with the
great sense Of loss and pain, as she lis
tened to the sound Of footsteps down
the broad path, and ont of her life, real
izing that Stephen Walker had loved
her no longer or no better than she had
loved him, but knowing, too, that be-
tween John Yinton's daughter and the
foreman of the mill was a gulf that love
could not bridge.
The winter that followed was trying
one to Miss Vintop. Brown, the man
whom Mr.. Walker had left TO I'LL his
place, fell i'll soon after his departure,
and the burden Of responsibility fell
upon her.
She was proud woman, and had
never made friends among her en-
ployees. Murmuring and discomfort on
one side, and scornful implacability on
the other, eliminated In a strike, in
volving heavy loss 10 Miss Vinton, and
much suffering among her people.
In the spring Victor returned--bright,
handsome Yictor--with his happy heart
and sunny smile. And with his coming
the trouble vanished as though by mag
ic. The men loved him, and subdued
by the sharp lesson Of the winter, were
quite ready to come to terms.
He was eager for q speedy marriage,
but one pretext and another it was de-
layed until the summer faded and the
autumn was upon them.
Once or twice during the summer,
Victor brought out a newspaper con-
tanning favorable accounts of an in
vention of Stephen Walller's--an I'M
provement that had been in operation
in her mills long before it was patented.
The paragraph stated that he had ac
cepted an offer to superintend the erec-
tlon of some mills in South America, and
was going far away.
And then the restraint she had put
upon herself suddenly gave way, and
she fell down unconscious at Victor's
feet, who, in all his alarm and anxiety,
did not dream Of the true cause.
A few days after this, she was en-
gagged in some household duties, looking
very beautiful in her morning dress Of
soft muslin, when Victor's bright face
appeared at the window.
81 want you to come down to the
mills by-and-by, Nell" lie said @The
addition is almost finished, and / want
your approval before we remove the
scaffolding."
VERY well, Victor, will be down
presently" she said, laying her hand on
his shoulder, and looking down into the
frank, handsome face, with secret re-
gret that she could not love him as he
deserved to be loved.
"And Nell," he continued, eagerly,
"the men have been working like beav-
ers to get it finished, and l have prom
ised them a half holiday tomorrow, and
a picnic up at the quarrles. Could not
you lay aside your dignity, and honor rs
with your presence for awhile? 1t would
be SO much better, for all concerned, if
there was a better feeling between you
and your people"
"No, thank you, Vic:orr' she said,
haughtily. 'If there is anything in
this house that will serve them, they are
welcome to it. But to go mp there and
play the Lady Bountiful, nurse the
babies and listen to the endless accounts
of last winters rheumatism and this
summers lumbago, is too dreadful for
contemplation.
"What thoroughbred little aristocrat
you are, Nell You were born hundred
years too late. But think ! love you
the better as you are" raising the taper
fingers to his lips.
Yielding to a asudden impulse, she bent
forward and touched her lips to the
bright, boyish brow
And Victor went down the road to
the mills with lighter heart than he
had known formonths, for he loved his
cousin, and her coldness aud indifIer-
ence troubled him sorely.
just then the morning train thun-
dered up to the station, half mile dis
tant, and left single passenger-a tall
man, in gray tweed suit, who nodded
familiarly to the few bystanders and
took the path across the fields TO the
mills.
Victor was standing surrounded by
the men, looking like young god. His
straw hat was in his hand, and the wind
ruiled his bronze curls.
He was telling them Of his arrange
ments for the picnic, amid bursts of
applause and peals Of laughter for the
young master was ''always ready with
his joke"
On the outskirts Of the little group,
unnoticed in the excitement OF the nc
ment, stood the tall man in the gray
tweed suit.
Suddenly he raised his eyes to the
scafolding above Victor's head, and
then, no one knew quite how it hap
pened, but strong men were thrown
right and left, as by giants strength.
There was a sickening crash, and
Victor was thrown, as though he was a
child, far out Of harms way.