Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-03-27

"Oh, yes; very pleasant, repled MI
Hope carelessly. "She's nice sort OF a
girl, / dare say"
A nice sort of girl, The wretched mani
hated himl
sWe think a great deal more of her
| than that" said that dear old Mr.. Ram |
say.
'Indeed," replied his companion, with !
out evincing the slightest interest in the
matter.
"Yes-indeed and indeed" echoed my
old friend "But joking apart, did you
not notice she bids fair to be most beau
| tiful woman?"
| It would have needed little more to
| have brought me from my lurking-place
to have kissed that good old mani
/ Vincent Hope laughed quietly,
"She seemed to me of the ordinary
schoolgirl type. / don't care much for
schoolgirls
I dug my nails into my hands and
ground my teeth. Handsome as the man
looked in the moonlight, 1 could have
killed him then and there.
"Yet," said Mr.. Ramsay, II noticed she
talked pretty freely to you"
The shrug of Mr.. Hopes shoulders al
most maddened me.
/ I waited a minute: then l peeped out,
and at last ventured to creep round the
laurel and reconnoiter. The broad back
of my candid critic was just disappearing
through the dining-room window. Ishooll
my fist viciously at it. I watched Mr..
Ramsay follow his guest, saw the window
close and the blind fall: then flew at top
speed to the library, whence / made my
exit, entered noiselessly, and threw myself
into chair, feeling that my life was
blighted.
\ 4 -
Five years passed by Either for better
} or worse, had. changed in much, but still
retained my llnack of never forgetting a
foe or friend Incredible as it seems, my
anger against Mr.. Hope was keen as ever
my wish for revenge as strong.
1t was winter. l was spending some
! weeks with new friends, who had taken q
great fancy to me-kind, hospitable people
who liked to have a constant stream of
visitors passing, but very slowly, through
their house Breakfast was just over, we
had been longer about it than usual, the
, weather being too damp and drizzly to
! ! tempt us out of doors. Letters were being
l l read with the last cup of tea The Squire
. . we called him the Squire-selected one
l from his pile, and tossed it over to his
: wife, remarking that she would be glad to
hear the good news it contained. Then it
: | went from hand to hand until had the
pleasure of reading:
"I will do no more work for weeks, but
. will take the train tomorrow and come tc
Blaize house. in time, I hope, for dinner
;. "V1NcENT HOPE
. Vincent Hope 1t must be my OLE
= enemy.
y l had plenty of time to mature my plans
- and draw soothing pictures of the effect:
>, of my revenge.
. Fortune favored mo. As the Creates
! stranger and last arrival, it would
l have been in Vincent Hopes province
% to take our hostess into the dining
!. room, had we not been favored
v that day by the presence of a county
= magnate, whose claim to precedence coult
not be lightly overlooked. 1t seemed bu
, natural and part of the plot that tn
/ Squire should present Mr.. Vincent Hop
II to Miss Rivers, and for the second time il
- their lives these two should be seated sid
:, :, by side.
a I lifted my lashes and looked straigh
L. at him If time had not been quite idl
=, with him. it had treated him kindly. ii
" was handsome as ever. The hair nea
~ his temple being just flecked with gra,
~ did not detract from his good looks.
L, thought his features looked more marked
70 = and the whole expression of his face NOR
=, confident and powerful even than of Ole
70 He had won success, and, no doubt, full
10 10 realized the fact.
I'd avincent Hopper I echoed. aNot tn
Va Vincent Hope?"
lls I guessed instinctively that fattery wa
10 not bad gun with which to open fir
By this time his name was so well know
n. that it would have been Gffectatlon to al
he near to misunderstood me. He bowe
'st and smiled.
n aExchange is but fair I scarcely hear
if what the Squire called you"
ed "Rivers-Heritage Rivers"
nd "Heritage Rivers" he echoed musingl
gh ait is an uncommon name; but fancy
he have heard it before"
ice "Oh, please don't say so, Mr.. Hope.
ite did think l had one original thing
We boast of-my name How would you lik
a after looking upon all your plots as ori
ny inal, TO find them but plagarisms"
S ( He laughed.
OF @Many are, fear. But you are tire
ere passing on forbidden ground Let !
air seek fresh pastures"
ng We did so. We talked all dinner tim
l Mr.. Hope was condescending enough n
the only tc listen attentively to my WORD
nal but to reply to them as if they had weig
in with him. All this was very delightfr
the The first steps to revenge were smoo
yk- and pleasant ones; for there is no need
n.y. say that hated him as much, and felt
md vindictiye as ever.
the r,-,,, ,,,o,1-;nr, str.ioh+ +o His fate
not e,,t - ,,I,o,, i,,st bafora fhe SIGNAL for ,
opo parture, he dropped his voice almost tc
whisper, and was good enough to 81
e of that, to him, the peculiar charm OF q
ell particular dinner was that such an agr
md, able interchange of ideas would not
,his ended with the night, but might be
ned sumed tomorrow Coming as it
lie it from such a famous person, could OF
,een glance my thanks, blush, and look plea'
hest at the compliment.
ga Very promising, too, were the events
ide, the next day. He walked with me,
d to told me, among other things, great d
the about his early life and struggles for S
died cess He was quite interesting, so mi
so that wished I could check these co
that dences. feared that his talk mi
: SO awaken a suspicion of sympathy in
was mind, which would grieyously interi
uish with my vendetta.
Vim There!-I viii write no more abou
olIed Now, am utterly ashamed of it al ]
it not been for my resolve to reJect 1t w
,,+,, offered, 1 would have stopped to VII
mans love-not even Vincent HoI
But in five days I knew that my work
r.n-,, doae-and fully done-so fully tina
oer ~ dreaded the result of 1t, and began to '
, }1e I had not been so yindictive. Worse I
M all, friends = as friends will = were
changing knowing gianees, and comm
~, ing on the relations which appears
4iSt. aviot hatyyaan INV foe and myself