St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-21

his cousin, pretty Mrs. Ainslie, unfolded to
him it seemed almost incredible, though he
knew what a foolish, impetuous girl she was.
But her evident distress convinced him that
! she was in earnest
"Doyou really mean to say that Carruthers
is bad enough to refuse to return the letterP'
he exclaimed, in amazement.
II assure you / almost went on my knees
to him the other night at the Beresford's
ball." returned Mrs. Ainslie, excitedly. "But
he only laughed in his sneering way and said
he should keep it as curiosity"
''Was that after you explained the circum-
stancesY' asked Jack.
ooh, yes! 1 made clean breast OF my
| foolishness. 1t was humiliating, but it was
the only thing to do"
sWhat did you say to him?"
81 was perfectly outspoken. said had
had quarrel with my husband, who had in
sisted on my writing to request him to dis
continue his attentions. fully intended to
do so, but when I sat down with the pen in
my hand for the purpose was seized with
foolish impulse TOTO vent my ill-humor by
dangerous practical joke. l meant no harm
and nothing was further from my mind than
to send off the letter 1 wrote"
81 wonder you thought your husband ca
pable of reading letter addressed to third
person." said Jack, rather sharply.
"Tm perfectly sure that if I had been in
his Jealous mood and had seen an unsealed
letter addressed by my wife to an admirer
lying about 1 should have read it," said Mrs.
Ainslie, with conviction.
"Anyhow, your husband did nothing of the
kind" remarked Jack, with shrug.
mo; I discovered afterwards, to my bor-
hor, that he simply sealed up the letter and
posted it, thinking it was the letter 1 had
promised to write" said Mrs. Ainslie.
s'Then why on earth didn't you undeceive
him when YOU found out what ne had done?"
| inquired Jack, a little contemptuously
''Because-because-w the truth is, I
felt ashamed of myself. He had trusted me,
and couldn't bring myself to confess my
littleness, said Mrs. Ainslie, with embarrass-
ment. ssBesides, thought I should have no
difficulty in getting the letter back from Mr..
Carruthers I should meet him the next
evening at the Beresfords.
81 suppose he was disagreeably surprised
at your explanation" said Jack, with a
| laugh.
'FWell, found myself in very difficult
position" said little Mrs. Ainslie. ''He de-
| clined to believe me and-and pretended to
| think l really felt towards him all had said
in the letter. had to speak very plainly
in fact we quarreled-and he almost threat
ened to make use of the letter"
''The little cad'' exclaimed Jack, vigor-
ously. ''Do you recollect what you wrote
was it very COMPROMISING"
81 am afraid So" said Mrs. Ainslie, rising
| in great agitation and unlocking her writing
| desk. 81 have endeavored to recall, word
for word, what said. think this is cor
| rect'
Jack HARDWOOD took the letter which his
cousin handed him and read as follows
MY DEAREST MARMADUKE.-My husband has
ordered me to write and forbid You the house.
Since he refuses to trust me will no longer en-
deavor to stfe mEfeelings, but will avow myself
| now and ever-Your own AMY.
| !. Jack had no occasion to express his dismay
and disgust at this wantonly foolish lucubra-
| ton, for his expression caused his cousin to
| break into torrent of excuses and lamenta-
| tons, which eliminated in flood of tears.
| O"There, there-it's no use crying" he
said, good naturally. "What is that other
! paper you have in your hand!'
| 1T is the letter / really intended to send I;
but, of course, it was no use sending it after
| the other had gone" returned Mrs. Ainslie.
''May ! see it! Yes. That letter is straight
enough" said Jack, after glancing through
| it.
81 really intended to carry out john s
wishes" added little Mrs Ainslie, again hay
ing recourse to her pocket-handkerchief.
swell, now. why did you send for me?"
| inquired Jack, in m atter-of-fact tone.
II want your advice and assistance, Jack, !"
| returned his cousin, Frightening up. 81 did
not know who else to apply to, and / have
| always regarded you as q brother. / am
| dreadful afraid Mr.. Carruthers has been bragg
ging about the letter"
''Surely not. No man calling himself a
gentleman could behave so suobbishly. What
makes you think so!'' inquired Jack. sternly.
u hope it is not the case, but Mrs. Richard
son limited to me last night that her husband
had heard something unpleasant about me
and Mr.. Carruthers at his Club" said Mrs.
Ainslie, plucking nervously at her dress.
'What! at the BlenheimH" said Jack,
frowning.
eyes, Mr. Carruthers is a member, you
| know. But, at all events, it is desirable to get
the letter back, and you know what my hus-
band is, Jack. / really dare not tell him
| anything about the letter, or ne would fly at
Mr.. Carruther's throat and create scandal, "
said Mrs. Ainslie. "Besides, of course, /
would prefer to keep the matter secret from
him.
II will try what can do, ANY, and I need
not say will be careful to avoid scandal, ="
said Jack Harwood, rising to his feet. "You
had better burn the draft of that unhappy
| letter. 1t has done enough mischief already.
l will keep the other one" he added, putting
it in his pocket.
''Oh, Jack, now l can thank you!n ex-
claimed his cousin, seizing both hands in
| her impusive fashion.
''In the first place, have done nothing at
present, and in the next, am going to give
you parting piece of advice which will
probably diminish the warmth of your feel
lug towards me-" said Jack, grimly, 81
| hope this scrape you have got into Amy,
will be lesson to you and will make you
more discreet in your conduct. People have
talked about you and Carruthers in a man
ner which was deuced unpleasant for me to
listen to, can tell you"
With regard to the task he had undertaken,
the young man felt considerable doubt how
to act for the best. For a subaltern in the
guards Jack HARDWOOD was more than gifted
with shrewd common sense and business
like capacity. His impulse was to call upon
Mr. Marmaduke Carruthers and insist upon
his giving up the letter. But Marmaduke
| Carruthers was one of those men who inspire
more candid natures With wholesome distrust
and a somewhat exaggerated notion Of their
cleverness. He had very doubtful reputa-
ton, and though entitled to the courtesy title
of honorable by virtue of his father being
peer, he bad the smallest pretensIons to
that desirable epithet. Jack Harwood imag-
| ined that Marmaduke Carrutburs was not
the least likely to part with his Cousins let
| to- the asking Il ham