The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-12-22
she regarded him with a look Of woariet

They're too many Tor you. You must g
away, at once"
"Never." he snid Indignantly. "Ever
If it were not q cowardice. II would b
more-a Confession!"
"Not more than they already know,
she said YEARLY. "But, / tell you, yoI
must go have sneaked out Of thu
house and ran here all the way to war;
you. If you-you care for me, Jack
az should be traitor to you II l did,
he said quickly. ~ shall stay"
But if-if--Jack-if-" she drew
nearer him with n new found timidity
and then suddenly placed her two handl
upon his shoulders: "if-if-Jack-l
were to go with yon?
The old rapt. eager look Of possession
had come back to her face now; her lips
were softly parted. Yet even then she
seemed to be waiting some reply more
potent than that syllabled on the lips oil
the man before her.
Howbeit that was the only response.
Darling" he said kissing her, but
wouldn't that justify them"
STOP" she said suddenly. Then put.
ting her hand over his mouth, she con.
tinued with the same half weary express
ion: Don't let us so over all that again
either. 1t is SO tiresome. Listen, dear.
You'll do one or two little things for me
won't you, dandy boy? Don't linger
long at the scbool-house after lessons.
Go right home! Don't look after these
men to-day-to-morrow, Saturday, is
your holiday-you know-and You'll
have more time. Keep to Yourself to-
day Us much us you can, dear, fortwcIve
rs-until-until-yO hear from me,
YOU know It will be all right then," "
she added. lifting her eyelids witt. u
sudden odd resemblance to her fathers
look Of drowsy pain, which Ford had
never noticed before. Promise me that,
dear, won't youI
With mental reservation he PROM
Used hurriedly-preoccupied in his
wonder why she seemed to avoid his ex.
PLANTATION, in his desire to know what
had happened, in the pride that kept
him from asking more or volunteering
defense, and in his still haunting sense Of
having been wr0nged. Yet he could not
help saying us he caught and held her
hand:
"You have not doubted me, Cressy2
You have not allowed this infamous
raking up Of things that are past and
gone TO alter your feelings?"
She looked at him abstractedly. "You
think it might alter anybody's feelings,
then ?h
"Nobody's who really loved another
-" he stammered.
"DOn't let us talk OF it any more, she
said suddenly stretching out her arms,
lifting them above her head with wear
led gesture, and then letting them fall
clasped before her in her old habitual
fashion. at makes myhead ache; what
with Paw aud Nav aud the rest OF them
Pm sick OF it all"
She turned away as Ford drew back
coldly aud let her hand fall from hisarm.
She took a few steps forward, stopped,
ran back TO him again, crushed his face
and head in close embrace, and then
leemed to dip like bird into the tall
bracken, and was gone.
The master stood for some moments
chagrined and bewildered; it was char
acteristic of his temperament that he had
paid less heed to what she told him than
what he imagined had passed between
her mother and herself. She was nat
urally Jealous OF the letters-he could
forgive her for that; she had doubtless
been twitted about them, but he could
easily explain them to her parents-as
he would have done TO her. But he was
not such fool Us to clope with her Mt
such moment, without first clearing his
charaCter-and knowing more Of hers.
And it was equally characteristic OF him
that in his sense ofinjury he cenfounded
her with thew writer oithe etters-as sym.
pathiZing with his correspondent in her
estimate OF his character, and was quite
carried away with the belief that he was
equally wronged by both.
TWAS not until he reached the school
house that the evidences OF last nights
outrage Tor a time distracted his mind
from his singular interview. He was
struck with the workmanlike manner in
which the locks had been restored, and
the care that had evidently been taken
to remove the more obvious and brutal
traces OF burglary. Thissomcwhat stag.
gercd his theory that Seth Davis was the
mechanical skill and
were nOtamong the louis
characteristics. But he was still more
disconnected on pushing back his chair
to find small india.rubber tobacco
pouch lying beneath it. The master in |
recognized it: he had seen it
hundred times before-it was Uncle Ben's
1t was not there when he had closed the
room yesterday afternoon. Either Uncle
Ben had been there last night, or had an
him this morning. But in the
latter case he would scarcely have over
looked his fallen property-that in the
of the night, might have readily
escaped detection. His brow darkened
with n sudden conviction that it WINS
Uncle Ben who was thereal and only |
offender, and that his simplicity Of the
previous night was part OF his deception.
A sickening sense that he had been again |
why or to what purpose he
hardly dared to think-overcam him.
Who among these strange people could
he ever again trust? After the fashion
of more elevated individual Is, he had &c.
cepted the respect and kindness OF those
he believed his Interiors us natural tri'
butte to his own superiority; any change
in their feelings must therefore be Ivy
pocrisy or disloyaIty; it never occurred
to him that he might have fallen below
their standard.
The arrival OF the children and the re-
OF his duties for time divert
ed him. BVtalthough the moEning'sex-
erclse restored the masters self-con-
tidence, it cannot be said TO have i'm
proved his Judgement. Disdaining to
question Rupert Filgee, as the possible
contidant OF Uncle Ben, Unanswered the
curious inquiries OF the children as to
broken door.lock with the remark that
it was matter that he should have to
bring before the Trustees OF the Board,
and by the time that school was over and
the pupils dismissed, he had quite re-