St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-06-23
LADY BIS BUTLER.


Miss NJ. is pretty heress, whose name
for obvious reasons we must suppress; Mr..
L. is young diplOmatst who fancies he
has every chance of becoming an ambassa-
dor before his short-cropped locks has de-
serted him. Mr.. R. has heard of Miss NJ
as being the owner of wonderfully beau
tlful diamond necklace, and also as pos
sessing more personal attractions than is
supposed to belong to any but interesting
paupers. Miss M, on the other
hand, had been informed that Mr..
r. was very decent fellow, with the
officer swagger. They met for the first
time UNDER Lady BIS roof and surveyed
each other with mutual interest from Oppo-
site sides of all deliberately decorated dinner
table. The necklace came up to Mr.. r. IS
expectations, but their owner surpassed
them. Not only was she pretty, but viva
ciouS and evidently amusing-not painted,
dressed-up doll, like the woman beside him,
got up for admiration and incapable of con-
Versation. Not being accustomed to adj
mire without some sort of return, he left
the doll to the tender mercies of her left.
hand neighbor and devoted his attention to
Miss M. They had grown quite friendly
over 5 o'clock tea and now exchanged
telegraphic signs across the table about
any small episodes that arose during the
dinner. MI. r. thought he was getting
on. and became so engrOsSed that he
neglected his favorite entree and had
scarcely time to do justice to the saddle of
mutton. But when the regulation ice
cream had made Its round he noticed
sudden change in the girl opposite to him.
She turned as white as her own handker-
chief, and leaned back in her chair, silent
and distracted, with wide-Open eyes and
parted lips For the rest of the time she
scarcely talked at all, and seemed in
capable of rallying; but she shook her
head when he made sign that he was
ready to assist her out of the room, and
kept her seat till the ladies rose and
filed slowly through the door. He
would have given much to follow
them at once. because his curiosity was
wildly aroused. He was sure there was
some mystery behind the scenes, for she
looked as if she had received a shock-seen
a ghost or discovered an unwished-for
friend. AS soon as he could get away he
looked round the drawing-room, and, seeing
Miss NJ. sitting apart from the other ladies
and turning over the leaves of photograph
book in evident preoccupation, he made his
way to her and. standing before her SO as
low voice if he could do anything for her.
She looked up in surprise. Thanks. I
don't want anything"
''But you are annoyed or ill-one or the
other. I shall never forget your look at
dinner"
Ibid any one notice it?" eagerly. yJ
.''Not a soul, except myself. OF course,
l don't wish to force your confidence, but if
L can be of any service to you" -,
mo one can do me any good" hur-
riedIy. ''Only L wish to heaven had never
comep'
He looked at her with genuine compass
sion, for he saw that she was shivering from
head to foot.
''Shall fetch Lady B-?"
mot for the world. I would tell you,
only you would think me so foolish" look
ing round to be sure that no one could over
hear.
81 promise you WON'T" earnestly,as he
took chair and sat down just in front of
her, so that she should not have to raise her
voice. pray tell me-"
ut was only a dream" with the ghost of
a smile. ''Last night 1 thought l was be-
ing murdered for the sake of this neck
lace" playing nervously with the diamonds
round her white throat, land / woke up
struggling with mana man with long
chin and reddish hair. I felt / should
know him anywhere, and saw him to-day
at dinner" with Shudder, handling the
liqueurs."
why that was Bird, the butler. You
couldn't be afraid of him?"
81 am" looking up at him with terror in
her pretty eyes. II am sure he will try
and murder me tonight. can't go to bed
l should never close my eyes," and she
shivered again.
''You can go to bed and sleep in perfect
confidence. | tell you what I'll do for
you," and MI. r. smiled, feeling that he
was making a noble effort Our rooms
lie on the same corridor. l have heaps of
letters to- write-Worse luck-so that [
must sit up. I'll keep my door ajar,
which wont be noticed, as there is light
in the passage, and my ears are so sharp
out my knowing it. Will that content
YOU"
on are very kind; but he might wait
till your letters are finished"
'sThat will make no difference. 1 prom
ised to sit up till my hot waters brought.
Will that satisfy you?"
''Oh. but that's too much"
mot at all. If you can tell me in the
morning that you've had gooa night"
with a pleasant smile, L shall feel amply
rewarded: besides | can do with less sleep
than most people, and I'm sure to take it
out before luncheon"
Miss M. eXpostulated. but he would
listen, being quite excited at the idea of
rendering a service to such q pretty girl,
and when the guests separated for the
night, and he whispered: Il haven't for
gotten" she gave him so charming a look
of gratitude that his heart fiuttered like a
school-boy's.
Two o'clock a. M, with decaying fire
and without the Solace of pipe. He had
written two or three letters Just to save his
conscience but the effort had been so great
that he wouldn't have begun another to
save his life. In order to reasSure Miss NJ,
who might be on the lookout, he left the
smOking-room on preteXt of a headache
and established himself in his room about
midnight. Smoking and sleeping were
both out of the question, and two longer
hours he had never spent in his whole eX-
istence. He heard doors opening and shut
ting downstairs suppressed laugh at the
last good story told amidst tobacco-sm smoke
the tread of several pairs of feet in different
directions, and then silence.
Miss NJ. being no longer there with her
white face and her small figure all of a
tremble to work upon his feeling he began
to feel his position eminently ridiculous.
His excitement had cooled down. his conf
passion had waned like the moon. but
infinitely bored and intensely sleepy, he
was bound by his promise to girl. And
all OH account OF dream. He asked him.
self, with his fingers running through his
usually neat hair and his mouth distended
i'm an unconscious yawn, if anybody had
ever heard of man being victimized by
somebody else's dream. 1t was arrant
nonsense, and he was fool to give
| in to it. No, not quite that. with a
throb of conjunction, or the girl would
have worried herself into fits; but he
ought to have reasonedEwith her, or sug-