Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-05-27

uOtnlnS lot her. Il tnink, indeed, i
ought to warn Mr.. Forester against
her."
''Mr. Forester might decline the
warning-as enchanted people always
dc" Miss Sophy laughed. 'But. then,
Terise never took the money, Susan,
| she is as innocent as / am" she said,
soberly.
But Mrs. Putney did not concur with
the opinion. That conscious silence,
those crimsoning bushes, that uneasily
averted face-to her seemed scarcely
emblematic of innocence.
Mrs. Putney, too, was character
istically precipitate i'm her conclusions;
she was not slow TO credit evil of anoth-
err; and that the girl toward whom she
had been benefactress would at last
be revealed as adeceptive migrate SEEM
ed to her to be neither improbable nor
preposterous! And beside, she had an
unconfessed apprehension of having
been rather niggardly in small matters
toward the girl-she had been chary of
all little gifts for comfort and ornament
toward Terise-and toward her own
young sister no less! But then girls
were always SO prone to foolish extrav-
agances-they ought to be restrained
rather than indulged-was her apology
for what she deemed only prudent
Withholding of few mites from her
abundance.
'"Terise has wanted some extra
finery now she is To be married, and
she could not resist the chance to take
what she fancied l should not miss
until she might be safe out of the
house. Claude Forester ought to be
that" she thought with speculative
glance toward her handsome sister,
whose superior attractions Mr.. For
roster somehow had failed to appre-
| ciate.
Miss Sophy at the moment turned
from window where she had been
standing in indolent unconcern.
That was Mr.. Forester ringing"
she said. II shouldn't tell him any,
thing about the money, if l were you,
Susan"
Il shall do my duty" Mrs. Putney
avOwed with austere determination as
her sister withdrew.
As Miss Sophy tripped carelessly up
stairs she almost stumbled over a little
figure crouched on the tOpmost step
the fairy figure of Terise, whose cheeks
were colorless enough now, and whose
attitude expressed sort of definant
resignation.
Miss Sophy started, and then would
have passed on without stopping, but
the movement of apathy or avoidance,
seemed to hurt the girl whose fevered
and fearless eyes were fixed with strange
intentness upon her needless handsome
countenance.
"You need never wish to avoid me,
Sophy-I shall never betray you, ="
Terise faltered in a voice oddly COM
minglIng pity and disdain and reproach.
IL shall never forget l must be CRATE
full because you have been kind to me
always; ahall always remember if you
had not sheltered me once as you did
might have lived to become more mis-
cradle than ] am now. And am only
mirerable now because after had be-
lieved you so good and perfect, after /
think you would do anything so wicked
so despicable!'-sh ended with a
pathetic and suppressed sob,
What on earth do you mean. child?"
Miss Sophy queried as she gazed won
deringly down at the excited and dis
dainful face.
''Oh, how can you pretend not to
know" Terise cried ously-"a
when / would die before l would let
anyone blame you, too. And can I'M
derstand just how you were tempted;
she was so very, very misery with you
always, and you liked dainty dresses
and everything nice and elegant, and
you thought, perhaps she would never
exactly know where she dropped the
bill. But how could you be so wicked,
Sophy"
For once that young lady was aroused
from her indolent grace of imperturable
serenity.
"Are you crazy Terise? / never
touched the money" she said in down.
right and very animate Indignation.
"You have no reason to deny any
thing to me-" Terise answered, in that
rebuking voice of hushed intensity.
"They may accuse me all they like
they may condemn me and despise
me, everybody-but l shall never tell
them you took it. And | saw you,
Sophy! / saw You drop your handker-
chief over it and then pick up both to-
gether, just before you went down to
the dining room"
For a moment Miss Sophy stood
dumb with her astonished sense of en-
lightenment
You little goose; you unmitigated
little goose!" she exclaimed at length,
with an amused laugh. which had an
undertone suggestive of woman's swift
tears. 1.-The handkerchief you saw me
pick up was tattered affair which /
used polishing the brasses of the CRATE,
and which threw with lot of paper
rubbish in the ash barrel, when went
down to the dining-room. The money
is in the ashes, too, very likely. You
silly, Ridiculous child, come down
stairs with me this instant" she order
ed, as she unceremoniously dragged the
bewildered Terise down the steps after
her.
The girl was crying softly with NOR
LITIGATION and relief as Miss Sophy drew
her toward the parlor, where a some
what troubled young gentleman in
stantly arose to meet them, and then
with manner of tenderest authority,
led her to seat beside him.
Mrs. Putney had done what she
deemed her duty, no doubt; but all the
same Claude Forester had declined her
prompt and disinterested warning.
IL shall never believe any wrong of
you, my dearest" he said to his be-
trothed as her shy embarrassed eyes for
a moment met his own.
"She was ready enough to believe
wrong of me though" interpolated