Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-10-08

known; and II II was money trouble,
were there not many hundred thousand
dollars belonging 10 the Burt-Robin-
sons, and but three to divide it amongp
TtAn Maurice was so handsome, and
played so grandly--only the sooner he
stopped playing the bettor. And SO
Miss Lillian dreamed and planned, sit
ting in faultless attitude in large
armchair, slowly fluttering her Wat.
teau fan, while the breeze as softly flut-
tered her filmy draperies. Next to her
sat mamma, as dutiful and obedient as
the American mamma usually is in
families of the BmtRobinson stamp,
and back of them the French girl with
Gwendolen sprawled all over her lap.
The first time the eyes of Jeanne Le-
fevre and Roller had met something
like an electric shock had passed 10
tween them. Jeanne had thought 1t
was hate, although it might have been
love, rs the boundary line between these
two emotions is not always clearly de-
fined. Jeanne's father had been an Of.
Iiicer in the French army, from Alsaee,
and had been killed in the sortie from
Metz; and Kollcr had actually belonged
TO the army of occupation, and had
spent two years in garrison at Strasburg,
Ias she found out in some way. Natur.
Ially she hated him, and Roller, seeing
the fierceness of the hatred that famed
in her pretty face, had determined to be
rovenged on her. He had had his vic.
tories, and he said 10 himself that he
would make this black-browed French
girl yet give him soft glance out Of
her Southern eyes
He had way of looking at her ten.
derby, intently-that exasperated her.
He played at her, things she knew, full
of sentiment and longing, that made
her yearn to box his ears. And yet he
was so stealthy about i'll He saw, what
every body saw, what filled Mrs Burt
Robinson with anguish, that Lillian was
making what is vulgarly and with vul-
garity called "a dead set at him.
Why, he could not imagine, Why
any girl on earth, with Lillian's
beauty. her youth and her money,
should want to marry n man whom ev.
everybody supposed TO be pennies;
German violinist, was beyond him. He
mistakenly fancicd that titles without
money were not valued in this glorious
Republic; and having squandered all
that he could lay his hands on, and hav-
ing nothing but his violin at present bo-
tween himself and starvation, he saw
no more reason why Lillian should de-
vote herself to his capture than to that
of the cornet, who was also remarka-
bly, good-looking young fellow But
Miss Lillian knew her game. Count
Rollers palace in Munich fixed it. She
would not in the least mind being
Countess Roller, and if the violin ep..
sode got out it could be treated as a
lark.
Miss Lefevre, sitting far back, and
glowering darkly at the handsome
young German, rather amused Lillian,
until, in n paroxysm of ill-temper one
day, she remarked that she didn't be-
lieve Roller was Count at all. Some
thing like thrill of, fear shot through
Lillian's heart Suppose, after all her
languishing and posing, the violinist
should turn out no more than the cor.
net? But she treasured herself; she
had Mr.. Prescott Fairbanks word for
it, and when, after a triumphal progress
to Munich, gilded by the Burt t-Robinson
dollars, she burst upon New York in n
blaze of glory rs the Countess Maurice
Roller, she would reap a rich harvest
for her penetration.
After whilo little rlyulct of talk
began TO trickle between tho violinist
and the sofa wherron the Burt-Robin-
son sat Very deity Roller would get
the French girl in conversation. They
would talk about music in the pauscs
between the nocturncs and concertos,
and Koller would, Inadvertently as 1t
were, drop into French. ARhis made
Jeanne tingl- the first time he did so.
When the music was over, and the poo
pie would stream out of the vast room,
Roller got into the way of sauntcring
along toward the BurtRobinson cot.
tage, and finally to sitting on tho little
red and green porch, In vain Mrs.
Burt-Robinson entreated, almost wept,
aud pointed out to Lillian how necessary
it was for them to do like other people,
and that Roller went to no other cot
tage. Pink and white Lillian had some
OF that nerve and enterprise about her
that had helped to make Josiah Burt
Robinson, out of small beginnings, one
Of the greatest hardware men In New
York. The Van SantvoOrds and tho
Van der Trunks had made ovcrtures to
Roller on the strength OF the floating
reports, which day by day became cryS-
talzed, about his superiority to his en-
ployment, and of this Miss Lillian did
not fail to remind her mother. And so,
with heartburnings and anxieties and
much gossip, Roller gradually became
an ha6ttNe of the Burt-Robinson cot
tagp.
For himself, he thought il much bet
ter to sit in the shade aud watch Lilian's
graceful whte-roted figure swinging in
the hammock than to drink beer and
play dominoes with tho cornet. His
whole soul was absorbed in one idea
TO make money enough to get back to
Germany crcditably, and with an outfit
which would not reveal the straits TO
which he had been put after getting rid
of the handsome allowance made him
for his tour Jeanne Lefevrc was an
episode Americans puzzled him, but
this French girl he saw through easily
enough. She hated Germans; she laid
her orphanhood, her poverty, her
changed position, all 10 the Germans,
and she fed her resentment on this cool,
handsome young fellow. Roller adorcd
dark eyes, and Jeanne's glowed so
charmingly when thoy rested on little
Gwendolen, which was the only genuine
thing in the Burt-Robinson family. BY
slow degrees he got Jeanne to look at
him, and then gradually the fierceness
melted out of her face; and when she
smiled she was beautiful. Tho first time
she answered his glance, as he sat play
ing Chopin in the half-light, Roller felt
that he had won hard-fought battle.
1t was getting latei in the season; sum-
mer had uttered her mysterious "Hush!"
before she takes her flight; there were
but few people left at the Brandon House,
whcn, late one afternoon, Roller and
Lillian, sauntoring along, met Miss
Lefevre. Gwendolen, for once, was
not with her. The two young women
saluted each other coldly, and Lillian
walked on when she saw Roller dis
posed TO loiter behind. In moment
or two they had disappeared. Miss Le-
fovre stood still when they were out of
sight that they might get long way
ahead. Presently, as she moved slowly
1oyvn tho yindinr r oath che c,,y a f,n