The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1888-01-06

Eve, with some Of tho other servant
maids, over the moor, at the head Of
tho avenue stand, at first sight to the
girls terror, and then to their relief,
two men-old Stratton, tho head-kcep.
or, and Will Halfacre-readyt to pilot
them safely through tho darkness Of
the frs. And as the old man warns up
into some keeper-Saga-now under
that very tree some one had killed some
ono else that was deer stealing-Wil.
liam drops behind with Patty, and
speaks!
Hootl hoot! your warning to them,
wise old owl! coursing through the treesl
You know how hard it is to find food for
two young ones in tho old church tower
Of Eversley, and avoid keepers trapsi
Yap !yap! your warning, crafty Mr.. Foxi
You too have your family cares, and
rabbits ore scarce and cubs ore hungryi
But the wisdom of the owl and the craft
of the fox arc UNDECIDED; and tho young
couple live lifetime OF love in that
short homeward walk.
Happy at lag; .7as Patty. But still q
cloud hung over her little horizon. The
wedding day was not to be till after mid
summer-till after the pheasants' nest
ing season was we'll over, as till then
Will would have to DO up and out all
night and every night and who knows"
said he carclessly," that the Hartford
Bridge boys maynt pay us some more
visits? ?"
Mays thirty-onA says were long to
Patty, especially as the Hartford Bridge
boys had one heavy brush with tho
keepers of the Great House. and then
another, till Patty began to fear for her
swain's life. An impulsive lover was
Patty-having once loved, her love
was her very lifc-and when tho
third brush came with the poach-
ers the poor child was well-nigh
wild. A month still of the pheasant
season and the most dangerous Of
all-how could she survive it? What
could she do to help him? Pray? She
had prayed morning, noon, and night.
Could she ask her young mistress to
intercedo with the Squire to get Will
something else to do? No-she dare
not. The Squire at that moment was
red hot, externally and internally, with
govt, and lie had already given Will
two chances. He would never give him
another. What was to be dcne?
While she was rocking her poor little
heart strings and brains to find some SO.
curer life for her beloved, one day there
appeared ut the hall door, where the old
Squire was sitting in the warm south
sun, watching tho hounds exercising on
the grass plot, the well-known face Of
Dinah Lce-the Mother-in-I Israel Of
North Hants gypsies. Every ono was
kind to old Dinah; and the Squire, oven,
after cursing her and her tribe for
sheep stcalers, and goodness knows
what else, clucked her shilling, and
sent her around to tho buttery door,
where, as luck would have it, she met
Martha.
OF all people Dinah was the one Pat
ty wished most to meet, for story of
her grandmother's had been running in
her head for the last few weeks, to the
effect that if "some one" did something"
on St. JONAS Eve, it would render him
or his friends invisible. And ere Di-
nah coulS csy word Patty had drawn
her into - buttery room, crossed her
palm with silver si4pence, and asked
the result: which was simple enough,
for Dinah had seen the cricket match
nigh upon year ago and
my pretty honey would marry a tall,
dark man, but not till he had passed
through many dangers even to the dan
ger of death, from which he might or
might not recover"
Too futtered to see the incoherence
of this prophesy, Patty then broached
her more important question.
"Was there not some way Dinah
could tell her that would make her lover
invisible, SO as to save him from oil
these dangers?"
eyes," but Dinah could not let ont
tho secret to everybody. She was
"poor, and had to live"
In a few moments the little hoard Of
money from Patty's box up stairs was in
the old gypsy woman's hand, in answer
to which came these directions:
Con st. Johns Eve, between eleven
o'clock and midnight, if you would find
invisibility, take platter of wood. and
let there fall into it some seed of the
king fern; which done in fasting and in
silence, will insure You to walk both day
and night, in heat or cold, rain and fire,
without being seen."
"But where am I to find the king
fern?"
"Asls your man, honey" was the only
answer vouchsafed; and, to avoid fur
ther questioning, Dinah slipped away,
deaf to all entreaties and even to the
enticements of the larder.
On that same day Patty found out
where the king fern grew, under the
summer.house hill and twas only the
next that Will, unwilling of the pur-
pose, and provided her with specimen
Ct the fern itself, wooden platter, and
full description of where to gather
more down in the damp shaughs.
Verify life seemed unbearable to
Patty for the next few days, overweight
with fear for her lover. All the super
ttition of the old Southern Saxon
blazed out in her, SO that though Dinah
had not absolutely said the fern seed
would render Will invisible to the
poachers, she had come to the conclu-
sion that if she could gather it herself
che could hover about him like guar
dian angel and save him from harm.
A doubt Of tho infallibility of Dinahs
specific never entered into her mind.
Even the coming home of tho young
Squire toward tho middle of June was
Of no import to her, though he waa
more ardently inclined than ever.
Patty lived only for her lover, and
ignored all else. Indeed, SO pale and
anxious sho grew that every ono noticed
it; but with set purpose before her,
sho looked not right nor left, except to
make such love to the old housekeeper
us should get her possession of the key
of the door leading on to the terrace,
whence she could easily go around by
the corner of the bowling green into
the park.
st. Johns Eve camo at last! The
morning seemed unenling, tho otter
noon intolerable, and tea in tho ltuse.
keepers room oppressiyoly weary.
As luck would have it, Patty's young
mistress went to bed early that night
The lights in tho lower suit of state
rooms were put out ct q little past ten,
and II o'clock found Patty creeping OIL
tip-toe down tho staircase into the
hall, through whose lattlced windows
the moon streamcd in on to many tro.
Dhv of middle are nrmOr-on sword