The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-09-01
FIVE MILLION POUNDS |
BY 7. wEMYss REID.

old fireplace in one corner Of ths apartment,
and tho mullionad window gave compare
lively little light Tbs room had been
newly furnished In the French fashion, with
heavy chairs giIdei mirrors AMI girandoles,
a beautiful ormolu writing table, a richly
carved bookcase and all the accessories Of a
delightful little salon such as a bachelor
might rejoice to own
A. curtain Of velvet hung over the door
way which led from this anteehamber into
the sleeping room There was nothing
ghost,y here 1t was large. bright. airy
apartment, with big window commanding
a matches prospect along the valley. Like
the sitting room, it was furnished in tha
French fashion, and all the appointments
were sumptuouS The only feature of the
room that seemed to suggest the idea of age
was the embossed leather which, hanging
heavily from the ceiling, covered all the
walls
Il think you win agree with me, Mr.. Fen
ton" said Branksome, shat a man has no
occasion to complain of his quarters here.
This is by far the finest room in the house
to my thinking. Just lcok at the view from
the window. Il Is rather curiou by the
way. that these should be the original
hangin9s Of the room, All the tapestry
downstairs Eiassbeen bon9ht in Paris within
the last two months; but this old leather is
genuine. It must have covered these walls
for coupls Of hundred years at least
We all turned to admire the hangings
The gliding had nearly disappeared from
the surface OF tue leather but the designs
embossed upon it were still plainly to be
seen. They were elaborats and beautiful
Nothing, I felt could be better than he
rooms allotted to me; and yet, even then, /
confessed in my innermost heart that
hardy liked the way to them.
It was five o'clock, and when, our inspec-
ton of the noble old house being finished,
we went down to the great hall, we found
tea awaiting us.
"Had you a pleasant journeyp 1t was
Branksome who put the question TO me-
co.ored To tell the truth, had for
gotten all about the journey AMI my strange
adventure in the excitement of my arri'- al
at Great Lorton AMI joy Of Dalsys pres
ence. Now it all came back 10 me, how
ever hesitated in visible confu ion, pain
fully conscious Of the fact that Branksome
was regarding me steadily
at was not so pleasant as It might have
been l said at last "I had disagreeabls
companion for part of the way.
At that moment, to my great relief Daisy
proposed that she should show me her
flower garden while there was still light
by which TO see it. She hlstily
threw a wrapper Of some kind around
her shoulders, AMI led the way bare
headed / followed her, delighted at the
thought that AZ last | shoul sea her for a
few moments alone; for Mauleyerer and
Brank.ome remained behind
The flower garden was at the end of the
broad walk which passed along the front OF
the hall We entered it through door in
an old stone wall. 1t seemed to M that
everything at Great Lorton was cut up
by wal or barred by doors. ha seen
nothing like it before But within the
garden which wa spacious and well laid
out there were no signs of restricted liberty.
Everything here was beautiful
DAISY was in the best of spirits, and
pointed out 10 me, with all the pride Of
a proprie;o~. the lovely autumn flowers
which were still in bloom. and the promise
which the garden gave of further loveliness
in the coming summar But by and by her
spirits seemed TO flag, and she ceased to
speak The truth was that from the
moment when we entered the garden | my
self iad hardly uttered a syllable. We
moved slowly along the winding walks, now
specchle,s and self-consciou4 Ga, the Joy
of being near her-of hearing the rustic Of
her dress, the sound of her foos upon the
path; oh, the delight Of b-ing allowed once
more to look into that face dearer 20 me
taan the face Of any other Of Coils creaturesI
But The silence was becoming oppressive.
l broke it at last with an effort. "You are
glad that Gamer said.
~. F..n - - IL
that made her face as an angels she turned
and looked at me. She did not speak, but
had my answer, and my heart tarobbed with
an exquisite bliss which It had never known
before
She hal plucked lovely tea rose thatNWe
had found lingering on one of the trees.
"Wiil you give me ths rose" said.
As she gave it TO me our hands touched,
and even at the same moment our eyes met,
and in an instant she was claspsd in my
arms and had printed the first kiss OF love
upon her fair cheek
There were few moments of silence--of
silence broken only by her signs, which
sounded IA my ears almost like sobs. She
did not attempt to release herself; but at
last, in answer to my passionate prayer, she
slowly raised her face, radiant with love
and tenderness, towards mine. and our lips
met in long kiss, In which cur very souls
seemed to mingle.
Presently she slowly drew herself away
from me, though she still left her hand In
mine
"How did you know" she said I'm voice
that struggled against the conflicting emo
tions in her heart, show did you know that
loved youi"
"My darling I cried, @I only knew that I
loved you, and that life without you would
be utter misery to me. But you do love me,
Daisy-do you. dearestp
@Ah, yesi" she said, in voice the tender
cadences Of which sounded like music waited
from some far-off heaven, II love you.
cannot help it. But it is wrong, fear.
They will never allow us to meet again"
@I know" said, with bitter heart. Athey
will say that it is your uucle's riches that
love. and they will despise me as a fortune
hurter.n
@No, no They must know you better
than that It Is not that But know they
will never allow US to see each other any
more when they di.cover-ah, there is some
one callingp
She started from me in alright, and an
swered quickly.
1t was Branksome's voice which we heard
How now, young peopleP he cried. in
tone of banter @The sun has bean set this
half-hour or more, and you can hardly ap-
preciate the flowers insthe dark Besides, it
Is almost time to dress for dinner, and your
uncle has been asking for you. Daisy"
There was nothing in the tone Of his voice
to indicate that he hal any suspicion as to
the reason why we had fingered 50 long in
the garden We walked silently beside
him. When we reached the door, he sug-
vested that It would b. well to lock it now,
as no one was likely to return to the garden
| from the house that night But even as be
pulled the key from his pocket a voice had
earned to know and hate taluted us It was
that OF Finter.
aDon't lock me In ell night please" be
cried. in eruff tones STve been just looking
round a bit There's plenty OF room for
Improvement here, it seems to me-
He took no notice either Of Daisy or my
seif. and there was something in his manner
| that was almost insolent In the dim twi-
iqhs [ eyed him angrily, and lonqed for
chance Of ouarreling with him. But felt
| lioh7 touch upon my arm and tn next mo-
merit / saw that Daisy in her white dress,
had passed through the gate. followed her
instantly.
GHushlp she said in agitated tones @Take
no notice Of that man BE is dangerous
And before could recover from my surprise
she had entered the hall, where her uncle
! awaited her.
/ Our dinner was not quite such a success as
| had anticipated Mr.. Mauleverer. it is true,
was courteous as ever; and Brankscme
/ talEed. with that fuIness on knowledge which
distinguished him above any other man
bad ever met, on many different topics But
Daisy had d headache, ard sat with q pale