The Penn's Grove record., 1886-05-15

Miss Cora was q model hostess anu
| housekeeper-the very memory or her
|, dinners. and antlcipatiOn5 of breakfasts
and lunches made his mouth water, hg-
u~ratiyely. of course. Then there was
Phil-the very best sort of chum, who
! both knew now to entertain him and
| let him alone. And also Madge, whom
he or no one else ever dreamed of call
ing "Miss.n Pretty, boyish, graceful,
independent Madge, with saucy eyes,
that he knew would melt some day and
saucy lips, that would murmur ALE
glance when the master came. He
admired her-as far as she would allow
him, which wasn't very far. Then she
would dash off on her wicked black
pony. at break-neck speed, and he would
say aloud, very carelessly-
"What an odd girl your sister IS,
Miss Castleton,' and 1nwardly invoke
| all good spirits of earth and air to bring
her home with her head still on her
shoulders. 1t had amused him not
a little when Phil had la~ughingly told
him the sobriquet Madge had tackled to
him. And yet, away down in his heart
was a little pang of pain that she had
no higher estimation of him. And then
came an equally severe pang of
sarcastic bitterness, to think he-he,
the grave, the reticent, the particular
! Dignity,n should be such a fool as TO
care what Madcap Madge called him.
But her saucy eyes, her roguish
mouth, her matchless grace, her
, glorious disregard of conventional
things. and the whole covered with
such a delicious veil of innate delicacy
and modesty, had conquered, all uncon-
sclously, this Richard Arlington. And
1t was this very fact, and the stubborn
uess of the case, that he was looking
at. as he sat smoking by the window,
ten minutes after Madge and her pony
had dashed off for their morning scour
of the country. He was recalling how
perfectly beautiful she had looked in
her riding habit-dark blue cloth and
smoked pearl buttons. He remem-
bered every curve of her faultless
figure, so girlish, so graceful. He
remembered the glimpse of a dainty
buttoned boot, and the firm, yet appar-
| emily careless grasp of her gauntleted
hand on the white reins. Then a sum-
mons from below stairs dispelled the
half-delightful, half-painful reyerie,
/ 1t was Phil's voice loud, CHEEKY.
"DIck-come, you're not extra busy
and lazy, as | am"
He tossed his cigar into the receiver,
and went down the broad, delightfully."-
cool stairs till he reached the library,
where he found Phil ''busy" in per-
forming the same duty he had just fin
ished, laughingly scolded him for his
[ 1,+An. O,l ,xyapt clnxuIu IN nn1in IT
was a business letter that he was read
ing. that he finished just as be arrived
| opposite the door, and opened and
entered. There was a cheque in the
| letter and an unsigned receipt to be re-
turned by post, and without raising his
eyes, he made straight tor his desk
between the front windows to ind-not
! a desk, but a marble-top bureau, that
bore unmlstakable signs of Madge's
late presence, in the dainty, perfumed
handkerchief, the scarlet ribbon she
! had worn at breakfast, and a broad
brimmed straw hat he had seen her
wear many a time. For a second his
breath fairly stopped, and a flush
came over his handsome face, to think
of the mistake he had committed
laundering into Madge's room instead
of his own. Then, conscious of the
| blamelessness of his mistake, 1t oc-
| Cured to him how neat, how thor
oughly womanly everything was, from
the snow-white counterpart and rufied
and blnded slips, to the dainty little
kid slippers standing coquettishly where
Madge lad left them. 1t seemed odd
| Madge to eondescend to wear slippers,
and it gave him a thrill of actual
delight to discover this trait of temer-
ity in her; and grave, proud, loving
| Dick actually stopped down and
] caressed them with a strange fiuttering
OF his heart. Somehow, the very quiet.
the very peacefulness of the scene
charmed him. He dreaded to go away,
and yet--what business had he there?
He looked around, taking in every
detail with loving eyes, and then,
in the same spirit of alteration, picked
! up the iaunty straw hat, that was
looped up on one side with long feather
grasses and ferns. He handled it very
~gingerly, turning it over and over;
! then smiled. 81 It's for all the world like
a sombrero L wore once-minus the
grasses. That was ten years age. when
Il llNllCN 0Phihs L lOOhCo III
| that hat then; I wonder if I've grown
older and ug'lier? I've two minds to
just try this on, and put myself to
the test.'
He glanced towards the door that led
! to the hall, and heard no n coming.
He glanced towards the back entrance
that led into the back stairs that
entered the library, and it was deserted
| in that quarter. Then he put Madge's
hat on his curly hair in a very becom-
ing, rakish that quite recon
ciled him to the ten added years of his
life. There was nothing vain or
womanish about him, but yet he quite
enjoyed the effect he had produced,
and stood looking, half amused, half
ashamed, thinking such odd, strange
thoughts that he was fairly petrified
when he heard a voice on the stars,
and a clear. sweet girllsh voice that
came nearer and nearer.
In a minute, Cora. III be there in
a minute. I'm only going to my room
a minute"
The cold sweat started to Arlington's
face in a perfect shower of drops.
Madge on the stairs, and he, the incar-
nation all that was dIgnified, In her
room, with her hat on, and no way OF
escape. The pattering boot-heels came
nearer and Dicks heart beat ~fearfully.
He snatched at the hat, but the elastic
was fast in his curly hair, and refused
to leave, even at the price of a lock
with it. His face was pale with confu-
sion and desperation. Then, not a
second before Madge entered the door,
be made a frantic dash for the back
stair door, whose situation just occurred
to him, and found himself in a dark
wardrobe instead of the passageway.
But it was a respite, a merciful one,
Notwithstanding the fact that he
couldn't stand straight up without
e~ndangering Madge's obstinate hat,
and so he stood there, as best he could,
with his hand on the dcor-knob,
and fairly sufoeating 10 keep from
breathing aloud. 1t was to be only for
a minute, though; he heard Madge say
so, and then he would gain his room,
| apA fha Wnrld in napn,.aI nnH AFahUa in