The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-05-14

what Is 1t : DO tell me J! Lord Herlot
pleads laughingly
lit is q secret-a nice one. Guess"
Miss Middleton is coming"
Eyes. How did you know" cried tho
little fellow, chagrined.
II guessed. Are you glad ?"
Oh, yes! I love her!" EVE asserts
gravely.
Lord Heriot laughs.
$50 do l. EVE but won't try to cut you
out. We might be obliged to fight, you
know, in that case"
with swords or guns ?"
whichever you liked best. When is
Miss Middleton coming, Gladys?"
Tomorrow. had letter from her this
morning."
"Im glad she is coming, Lord Heriot re-
marks, pulling his brothers long hair. eve
! want something to amuse us in this horrible
weather, and Bah Middleton is safe to do
that. We are all in love with Miss Middle
ton in this house, Hereward," he adds,
laughing 81 wonder how long you will
| hold out against her fascinations?'
'rhat 1 shall surrender i'll the end is q
foreSone conclusion z"
without the shadow of doubt"
For the first time since he has come to
Kingscourt Lady Gladys turns to look at
Hereward of her own accord. But why she
looks Mt him cannot be known. For an in
slant the blue eyes meet the brown ones and
then Hereward laughs.
81 have no present intention of surrender
ing, at all events" he says ''but lido not pre-
tend to answer for myself in the future. 1
have been warned about Miss Middleton be-
! fore now.
"Dick Blount, for thousand !" cries
| Lord Heriot delightedly "Dick was badly
hit Did he tell you that y
81 suspected it,, Hcreward answers, not
very much surprised.
''Did he deny it, the rascal? ?"
''He certainly denied it; but suppose he
though he was not called upon to publish
the fact merely because 1 asked him ?"
'Poor Dick 1 really do think she treated
him very badly"
''You must not malign my friend" Lady
Gladys remarks smiling
''Was he really and truly in love with
herr" Hereward asks He is thinking how
good-naturedly Blount tried to heal his
wound while his own heart was perhaps ach-
ing with sterner pang.
ooh, absolutely gone! You never saw q
fellow so gone in your life 1 used to quiz
him numerically. 1 wantod him to come
here for Christmas, but he won't. 1t would
be royal fun to see them together"
81 don't think So" Hereward answers.
frowning. 81 think it is scarcely less cruel
sport than the fights between men and wild
beasts in the Colosseum, or the bull-tghts i'll
Madrid, or any other bloodthirsty amusc-
ment of the kind.
ooh. come now! !" Lord Heriot exclaims,
laughing 81 don't believe in that kind of
thing you know. l assure you Blount en-
joycd it all the time"
'If he did, Hereward returns quietly, 81
doubt of his being SO very far gone as you
imagine"
You are SO desperately in earnest always.
Somebody ought to warn Dab Middleton not
to trifle with YOU"
81 think So"
| Hereward speaks drily, and for the second
time Lady Gladys Looks at him. This time
she does not meet his eyes, and so takes a
comprehensive glance at his thin dark face,
ut his fine head, and ct the naughty carriage
of that head too, perhaps. But she does not
think 1t will be necessary to warn her friend
not to tri1e with this young man. Her
friend is very we'll able to take care of her.
self, Lady Gladys thinks, and turns away to
caress her Russian terrier.
Hereward is sorry that Blount has seen fit
to decline the invitation to Kingscourt. 1t
would have been pleasant to him to have had
his friend here during the Christmas holi-
days. For it has been decided that he him
self Is to remain at Kingscourt for Christmas,
as Lord Heriots exceedingly slow progress
shows that he has very little time to lose and
that his holidays must be of the shortest.
And Hereward is content to stay, having no.
where else to go, unless he returned to Col
lege, and startled the old porters and bed
makers there by such an unprecedented oc-
currence rs q students spending Christmas
under its roof. Since he has tacitly shut
himself out of Lancing and from intercourse
with its inmates, he has but few friends
whose company he would in such case pre-
fer to his own
Miss Middleton arrives On the following
evening. Hereward, from his undisturbed
retreat in the library, hears her advent, hears
the shrlll ordinations with which Eyie
greets her, rushing to meet her in the great
hall, hears Lady Gladys call her ''dear" and
sympathise with her because of the snowfiakes
that have fallen upon her in her transit from
the carriage to the hall door. He hears the
newcomer laugh, merry laugh which some
how makes him think of Blount.
1t is about five o'clock when she arrives,
and very soon afterwards Hereward and his
party sit down to dinner-at the very mo-
ment indeed that Miss Middleton is allowing
her maid to divest her of her travelling
wraps, and Lady Gladys is sending down
stairs for tea. They are old friends, these
two, and they have great deal to talk about,
standing on the rug in Miss Middletons
room, while her maid unpacks her dinner