The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1889-10-05

steamed out of the station, looked |
rather disconnected in finding himself |
tete-artete with q young, pretty and |
elegant woman.
Before reaching Leicester the trav-
elers had already exchanged few
commonplace civilities connected with
the pulling up and down Of windows,
the loan of newspapers. etc. Instinct
lively they recognized that they be-
longed to the same social class; each
discovered in the other certain in
dependent, unconventional originality,
and like strangers meeting by chance
at some dinner party, they soon began
to converse on every possible subject.
"Do you propose stopping at Edin-
burghp' said the gentleman, when.
after Normanton and lunch, they had
resumed their seats.
"For the night, perhaps; but am
bound for lnversnaid," answered Jes-
sica. 50. ,.a...
"Ahr' with slight start; II have
some friends about there myself
relations. !" iifa
II wonder II they know my friends
at the Towers?"
1.-THE Bellunesp"
Exactly"
"Why. Dora Bellune is my cousin
and am on my way to see her."
"How very amusing! Well, had
an intuition that we should meet again
lin fact, had quite mapped out your
destiny before reaching Bedford"
.'Let US hear the horoscope-past,
present, future; the first will, If cor
rect. be a guarantee for crediting the
last"
| "Iconsent to tell you what / think of
you; but only will you tell me first who
you think am"
would you be offended if l said q
charming womanp Don't frown. /
have not said it."
j "Be serious. Am l maid. wife or
widowp"
| mot q miss. certainly" with fine
contempt on the noun.
"Of course not. or you would not
have deigned to be even decently civil. !"
Frankly, am at fault now. Is it
wifeP Is it widow?"
81 own there may be reason for a
doubt. You see, it is difficult to be a
widow without having been wife, and
as men don't marry girls nowadays. 1t
is equally difficult to be wife. How
ever as no other status has been in
! vented, have no husband"
s.And no wife, although have been
married"
"a widower! Hum! l should NOT
have thought So"
, mo, not a widower. l was married
without my knowledge, by mistake, in
, default. The newspapers married me-
/; heard of it in midland SO persist.
emily that l got three months leave
, only to make myself free man once
I; more. left the P. and y. three days
r ago, and am on my way to the Bellunes
to ask what they were about in allow.
ing their nearest relative to be labelled
, all over the world as booked and done
I for"
l "a hard case, and one deserving o.
. much pity. So the indignity Of wed.
lock has been put upon you. Accept
: my deepest sympathy"
3 You may laugh, but it was, it il
t odious. All the fellows out there affect
, to believe it is true-that am a dere
. lict husband with family. On land
ing here found no end of letters o
: cougratulation. l dare not show my
self at the clubs. If at first / was in
8 clined to treat the matter lightly. nov
!; / am determined to sift the whole thing
9 sue the libellers, and give public de
a NAL"
t ITO the compromising accusation o
s matrimonyp I would, if / we're you
2 II SHALL" he said sternly.
y They were just steaming into thu
9 Carlisle station. Jessica remained
alone while her companion smoked ,
! cigar on the platform. She took ad
r vantage of the gathering twilight Il
; rise, and unperceived, to examine tn
n label on the hat box reposing in tn
. rack. She had some difficulty in de
= ciphering it, and fell back into the sea
y as the owner of it stepped once NOR
r into the carriage. he fancied sh
d looked very pale, and asked her If sh'
was tired. She did not answer at once
0 but as soon as the train was fairly un
It der way she said. abruptly: us you
I. name Montgomery Swift"
l. ut is" he said, surprised; but glanc
n ing at the hat box, which lay in a.
q altered position, he added: "Have yo
n guessed that, too, you fortune teller?'
VI "And you call yourself captainp