Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-11-15
AN EARTHQUAKE CURE.

AS she stood there in the window, with
her pretty hands clasped behind her, the
soft September sun throwing a golden
ray on her bright hair, she was thinking
and calling herself all manner of epithets,
of which ''insane" was, perhaps, the
mildest. And yet, looking at Sophy
Schuyler's arch, lovely face, you would
have thought him fortunate man who
could call that wistful, troubled smile
into the gray eyes which filled their liquid
depths just then.
''It's all in tangle," thought Sophy;
which, being translated, meant that she
was partly engaged to one man, and
awaking to the consciousness that she was
growing rather too deeply interested in
another.
Vaughan Hesketh, the unlucky man to
whom she fancied she owed allegiance,
was an artist, and poor, while Owen
Nugent was a wealthy bachelor whom
half the girls in town were crazy about.
Sophy was an orphan, perilously pretty,
and destined to be the heiress of very
rich old grandfather. Aunt Cynthia,
grandpa's sister, Allotted her wilful little
niece in half her naughtiness
Aunt Cynthia and Sophy had come up
to Catskill quite early in the season, and
among the guests at the boarding house
where they were located was this artist
Hesketh was very handsome; had fasci-
mating manners and great, mOurnful eyes,
with a poetical way of expressing him
self that did him good service; and find
ing this young, fresh girl with an aroma
of grandpa Schuyler's fortune about herr,
picturesque and pretty enough for
''study," he proceeded to study her in
another way, and played the role of a
man wearied, misappreciated and lonely
wouldn't she just try to comfort and
console him little, poor felloww
Nugent was not near as handsome q
man as Hesketh; but there was something
better than mere beauty in the broad,
white forehead and the frank, blue eyes
that met yours SO clearly; and his phys
ique was certainly superb. He lowered
half head above most of the other gen
tlemen in the house and, like most very
large, powerful men, his manner toward
women was peculiarly gentle and defer
entail.
Sophy would have gone on some time
longer, probably in a vague state of dis
content and uneasiness, scolding herself
because Vaughan's society did not give
her unalloyed pleasure, if florence Coch-
rane had not come to Catskill, in all her
radiant, successful beauty, fresh from a
score of triumphs at Newport
Miss Cochrane was a belle of several
years standing, and understood herself,
as the phrase goes, thoroughly; that is,
she had accidentally heard of Owen NJ
gents return from Europe and his pres
ence at Catskill-and nothing but mount
ain air would content the beauty after
that intelligence. So her obedient
mamma gave mild assent to the plan;
and Florence, conscious beauty as she
was, had never looked handsomer than
when she walked out on the piazza the
evening of her arrival and renewed her
acquaintance with Nugent, as he was
walking up and down V it'll Sophy's hand
on his arm.
For two weeks past Florence had posed,
smiled and angled for the golden prize,
while Nugent seemed provokingly I'M
conscious of the entire proceeding. To
be sure, he was with her half the time
Gt would have been a difficult matter to
avoid her without undue rudeness), and
Sophy missed his little attentions and
wondered why it gave her an odd twinge
of something she had never felt before
when she saw him playing chess with the
beauty every evening. And Tonight, as
she sat in the window, she vas speculat-
ing whether Vaughan would engross her
all the time upon the trip which they
were expecting to take up the mountain
next day.
Inc mountain party assembled early
the next morning, but they did not get
on without several secret heartburnings.
Hesketh, very much to his annoyance.
lo''no mat he was, as it We're, obliged to
go IN Aunt Cynthia's wagon; and that
!, turing lady was separated from
oophV I'D compelled to matronize Flor
e1lce 10 Alnot s5ornes very tall, sal