The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-07-02

why not talk for an hour with two
such nice girls as the rector's daugh-
| ters?
Cathie thinks she knows why not.
She slips out of the room, and puts
some needful gear into q black bag,
and goes down TO the aunt who keeps
house for the rector. Then she signi-
fies her intention DIGGING over to Aunt
Mary's for a day or two.
Mrs. Symons knows that Mary al
ways wants the girl, and both girls al
| ways do just as they like, so she mere
Iy says: "Very well, dear"
And now we see Cathie standing at
the rectory gate. Better, far better,
to fly for few days, for week even,
if only Gerald will in the interval
come to his senses.
Something strikes the girl that she
is doing a strange thing. Her visit is
not strange-no, that might happen
any day, because Aunt Mary, who is
wife to the doctor in Pucksleigh viii
lage, half an hours walk along by the
canal and the meadows, is more truly
mother-ike to these girls than is the
other aunt, who has lived with them
for so many years. No, there Is no
strangeness in going over there for q
day or two, but is there not a vague
mastering or commanding Of fate in
what she has taken for the reason Of
her action.
This thought made her grave.
She does not feel the sweet evening
GOODNESS that comes across the shining
n1 .,l, Il 10 foI
white, and blue, and gold mesh
ings of tiowry and reedy things that
fringe the bank; she does not hear the
Cheep and twitter Of the waterfowl
hidden in those ruShy nests. No; and
when she has walked for the half hour
she pays no heed to a whistle that is
directly towards her. she feels none of
the reddening western light that is
pouring over her head, and making Of
her such sunny bit OffairneSs-no,s she
is simply absorbed in her thoughts.
She certainly does not see Aunt Mary
wave back the author of that very
pronounced whistle.
Chris or Christopher .Landon, the
doctors pupil, or deputy, whichever
you will, must keep out Of sight SO
Aunt Mary DEGREES.
And she is a wise woman. She has
the intuitive eyes of motherhood; she
sees that Cathie with her bag has not
come over to Pucksleigh without rea
son. And so. alone. she comes out
across the pretty, unkempt, daisy be-
starred lawn to greet the girl and to
hear her story.
1t is soon told.
A whole week runs by. and couple
of pressing messages have gone over
from Aunt Mary to her brother, the
rector, to beg for Cathie a bit longer.
What his women folks desire, good Mr..
Lascelles also desires, so there is a
second week running by with Evelyn
alone.
Alone, do we say?
Not at all that.
One cannot go from the Priory to
Pucksleigh without passing the rec
tory, and Gerald Wickham's steeds
are accustomed to water at the rec
tory founts.
Perhaps the impassioned eyes-girls
cannot always set calm veil over
their passion-of Evelyn declare their
beauty to Gerald. He always stops
there and never gets to Puckslcigh.
Perhaps at first he thinks he has
something like an intention of going
there; but days go on, and one day he
wakes up to the fact that no such in
tention does at last have any influence
with him.
He is sure which girl is "best" now.
Evelyn is 'best," the most perfect
girl, the one woman for him.
And he makes his discovery in no
dulcet, dreamy way. Evelyn has said
some fiery words of scorn about his
aimless, pleasure-loying; empty life,
and, like whipped cur, he has gone
riding along the bowery lanes back to
dinner at the Priory.
1t Is g. tete-a-tete dinner with his
father, and, like a tacit reproach to
his own do-nothing state, he finds the
squire is bent upon hurrying over
port wine and Strawberries. He is up
to the ears in business; he has magis-
terial papers to con before the morrow;
he has this and that TO do. And tell
ing it all as by habit to his son, he
little thinks what purposes he is driv-
ing into that sons, as yet, irresponsi-
BILE personality. He goes away to his
der, and Gerald lights cigar and
saunters out over the quaint old
pleasance with his collie at his heels
A young mans fancies are turned
many ways. Gerald may be some
what displeased with the reproving
world in which he suddenly finds him
self, and he may be somewhat dissat-
isfied with his own actions, or lack OF
actions. We do not care to dive into
the mystery of his thoughts; heis per-
haps thoroughly transparent, hon
est-souled individual, and as such may
not reward our search. However, he
smokes out q second cigar, and he
finds himself at what he is pleased to
consider a logical conclusion to one
division OF q multiform difficulty.