St. Landry democrat., 1886-05-08


spoke in tones which blended resigna
ton and fatigue tn something almos
: Jestlng-"Oh, Jupiter, how weary art
my spirits!' This voice Was so neal
and clear that it awokc him and brought
him bolt upright, sitting in the bracken
lhere was sound of laughter and
voices on the little strip of sand below
ana, moving to the edge of the cliff, he
looked over
In tine summer weather it was q
common thing for people to row across
from the mainland and picnic on the
island: Iregarthen's forebears had per-
mltted this, and Tregarthen himself
had never felt an OF, ection to it until
now. 1t may De allowed that at the
moment at which he found himself in
terrupted, his studies were not of the
most exIgent sort, yet his first thought
was that the presence of these intruders
and their like would be inimical to
study. Then he regretted the loss of
his dream, and blamed the irtruders
TOR breaking it, though the dream itself
had awakened him.
His halfslumber had lasted for so
short space of time that the pipe he
held between his finger and thumb still
sent up streak of faint blue smoke.
Tie stuck it between his lips again, and
had turned to ramble homeward when
the voice of his dream spoke in his
waking ear, and stayed his footsteps.
That is Miss Churchill, the actress
he said to himself There is not an
other voice like that in the world, [
should fancy. | should know it among
a thousand.
Since the night on which he had
earned his own ru n by rebuking
Colonel Pollard for his story of the ac-
tress he had scarcely thought about her,
but he felt a curious pleasure and in
terest now in the belief that she was
near. In spite of his short-sightednes
he had very definite idea of what she
was Ike. 1t seemed to him that he
could summon her face before his
minds eye quite clearly, and, as he saw
it, it was worthy OF her figure and her
voice. He confessed to himself that he
| would like to see her nearer at hand,
and to know how far her mind CORE
sponded to his own impressions of her
genius as an actress. 1t could not be
difficult to devise a means of seeing her,
Or even of speaking to her. seeing that
she was actually trespasser upon his
grounds. He thought, however, of
score of devices, none of which COM
mended themselves to him, and as he
thought he strolled toward the spot
where the gradual rise of the sands and
the more precipitous fall of the cliff
brought the two upon level. This
spot was about midway between high
water line and the gates of the old man
sion, and he reached it almost at the
same moment with the visitors to the
island. He heard the sweet voice talk
ing again, and was more than ever per-
suaded that it belonged to Miss
Churchill.
He polished his eyeglass IN readi-
ness to observe, and before he himself |
was seen he had secured a good look |
at every person in the little party. The
lady with the sweet voice was tall and |
graceful. but her face was not the face
of his memory. Compared with that
memory the face was plain, though few
people would have expressed SO un-
favorable judgment had they but
looked at it by itself. The eyes. of no
part cular color, were large, intelligent
and sympathetic; the lips were beauti-
full alike in form and express On, the
brow was broad and white The skin
was pallid and the hair, Ike the eyes,
was of no particular color. Perhaps
the want of definite coloring was the
chief fault of the face; but, be that as it
may, it was thrown back, for whatever
beauty or charm it claimed, upon ex-
preston There was no chance of find
out all these things at look and Ire
garthen was only conscious of dis
The face was not the
one he remembered, nor anything like
it.; and there might be two voices alike
in the world after all.
He was little embarrassed for a
even though he stood ON his
own ground and the newcomers were
strangers and intrude,s, for the lady
looked at him when once she had felt
his glance, and regarded him with a
curiously candid and unaffected gaze,
much more like that of child than 3
Before Tregarthen's sense of
embarrassment became overwhelming,
one of the lady's male companions
stepped forward with a somewhat over
wrought flourish of politeness.
Il believe have the pleasure of ad-
Mr.. Tregarthen?" Tregarthen
bowed, and the stranger fiourished his
nat to his head, and fourished his hand
1erchief out of his pocket. Il have not
The honor of being personally known to
1ou, sir, but my father was your re-
'pected fathers solicitor-Mr. Penruth,
# Gorbay. have dared to trespass in ;
'rder to oblige these ladies and gentle
men with sight of Tregarthen Cas-
la.n