Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-03-19

1
the "blonde god' arose and came over
to her desk
'You work very hard he said, slowly.
"You must get very tired, every day.
Rose had hardly lifted her eyes, but
the motion of her pen had stopped.
Eyes" she said, quietly, '|it is very
hard. am sometimes very tired"
Il want" he said abruptly, after
moments pause, II want to ask you
question. When You first come into the
office Price seemed = take great liking
to you. Lately IN seems changed, or
something seems to nave happened.
What is the mattef?n
She lifted her eyes then and looked in
his face.
81 cannot tell you," she sail.
''You do not know or suspect"
She was silent. He watched her with
an interested look. Perhaps he was
thinking how delicate her face was, with
its beautiful deep-blue eyes, its silken-
soft frame of chestnut hair; how gentle
and how refined her speech.
He remained silent for space then
spoke again, even more considerably.
''Would you not like-would it not be
rest for you to go to some place of
amusement this evening? should like
to take you, Miss Rose"
She did not answer for amoment; then,
in low voice:
81 thank you, Mr.. Fraser, but could
mott could not have at once busi-
ness and a social acquaintance with the
same gentleman.
"No" he said, as if surprised. Then,
"Perhaps you are right" :"
She found herself trembling now from
the effort of the little speech. Perhaps
he noticed this, for he withdrew, and
walked rather aimlessly about the place.
II think" he said, 81 think know the
trouble with Price" And then he turned
and looked at her with sudden mean
ing-a something in his look that star
tied her and set her heart to throbbing,
and brought gray mist before her eyes.
She would not have felt any different
had he said: Price is jealous of both of
u.s."
Her head seemed in a whirl. She was
glad when he urged her to close up her
books and desk and cease work for the
day. He closed the office early and they
went out together 1t seemed as if his
road lay toward her home; and thither
he walked with her. They talked as
they went of indifferent matters; but
when the house was reached she spoke
with an abrupt bitterness.
'This is the place live in the attic.
Once | lived in mansion"
He fingered for moment.
''Yes,' he said, 81 knew it." Bat his
tone of gentle compassion, tinged with
regret, seemed to irritate her.
"However," she said almost sharply,
81 neither require nor desire pity. Good
night"
The managers holiday seemed not
to have agreed with him. He
came to the Office next morning
in decidedly unpleasant tenn
per. The black eyed copyist was still
absent, and upon Miss Madison fell
double her usual amount of work
Duval Fraser appeared distrait, and
everything seemed at SKIES and sevens
AS the hours passed the condition of
! things grew worse Richard Price be-
gan to mutter and find fault and finally
to grumble openly. Miss Madison evi-
IDENTITY was not pleasing him.
"You have done this all wrong" he
said, turning savagely upon her "The
addition of that column is absurd
Haven't you any sense2"
! Duval' Fraser's blonde head was sud-
denly lifted from behind his desk. He
rose and came over to the corner where
Miss Madison sat and took the great
sheet from the pale young worker. After
quick look he turned to the other man.
'Miss Madison's work is not at fqult. "
he said, quietly. She makes fewer mis-
takes than any one we have ever en-
ployed. She has done everything as she
should"
Richard Price had his face bent down,
but that which he sneered in reply came
with horrible distinctness to the ears of
both proprietor and clerk:
"Of course anything she does is all
right"
Duval Fraser waited hardly an instant.
He stepped close to Price.
"You will apologize to Miss Madison, "
he said, in low voice.
Price did not answer. He was appar-
emily busy with his figures. His right
hand played carelessly with the wrench
shaped hand-stamp with which all ac-
counts were stamped paid"
81 hope you heard me-" said Fraser,
sternly.
What happened next, happened so
swiftly and was, withal, so shocking that
one could not describe exactly how il
came about.
1t was like the flash of an eye. Rich
ard Price turned upon the other with an
oath, and would have struck him in the
face with the handstamp, but Rose
Madison, who had sprung from her seat,
darted between the two and received the
blow upon her own head She fell with
out sound. A tiny stream of blood
trickled out of the chestnut hair and over
the marble forehead.
4 y 4
Two weeks later she opened her eyes
and looked around her in her wondering
way. The first thing she fully knew was
that she was lying i'll in bed in her board
ing house attic. The next thing she re-
allied was scent Of heliotrope, which
drew her attention to the fact that there
were beautiful flowers in the room. The
third and last thing was the face OF
Duval Frazer looking down upon her.
Then she again lost consciousness. But
it came to her the following morning,
and he was there again.
And many other mornings he was
there, until she grew stronger and able
to sit up.
Then, "You see," he said, II told you