Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-08

unexpected manner by the death Of dis
tant cousin who had only bought the place
giving very large sum Of money for It
some two years ago.
Hugo Burnet has been forced till now to
count his coins, and has, moreover, had but
few to count, and a position to keep up in a
regiment where most of his brother officers
were wealthy men.
But he was light-hearted then Poverty
scarcely sits heavily on CHEEKY natures. Is
he as lighl-hearted now-eYen though he
whistles the last comic opera refrain
Scarcely. With the responsibility of
wealth he has already found his first gray
hair.
A gray hair at %, with Hugo Burnet's
fortune and Annie Clareford's love-ab-
surdl
Aye; and she loved him, too, before he was
rich; had vowed that no adverse fate
should part them-"adverse fate" being
somewhat highly strung epithet used BIZ
a prudent, fiery old Colonel who claimed to
be her father, and, having suffered from a
rash, impeeunious marriage himself, was
resolved that If he could help it Annie
should not follow in her mothers footsteps.
But now that Hugo Burnet had stepped
into the roll OF landed gentry, and was the
owner fWeir Abbey and several thousands
be no further reason to oppose the marriage,
and the Colonel thought he would only show
his sense by giving in. Annie natura1lywas
radiant with happiness, and Hugo expressed
himself to be most grateful Tor the gift
Colonel Clareford was ready to bestow on
him; yet, somehow, he did not appear to be
nearly as keen to become Annie's husband
as he had been when three hundred a year
at the very outside would have been the
sum total of their income.
When he was in Annie's society he smiled
on her and kissed her, and was as affection
ately devoted as ever, but when he left
her a cloud would sweep across his usually
frank. happy face, and a connoisseur in
whistling would have decided that the
merry tones did not always ring quite
true.
Could it be that Hugo Burnet had found
some other maiden whom he deemed more
worthy to be the mistress of the time
honored abbey?
Let such an imputation on his honor be
forthwith crushed. He was too stanch, too
honest, too much of typical high-minded
EDglishman to waVer one moment from his
allegiance.
And yet though weeks had passed into
months; and to the outsiders there appeared
to be no possible obstacle, he always
avoided bringing matters to climax, and
had never yet asked Annie to name the
day.
Poor child, the roses were beginning to
fade out of her cheeks, and though she never
complained nor would have allowed herself
to doubt Hugo's love for an instant, vet it
was obvious that she suffered not little,
The Colonel was becoming as fussily irate
about the marriage being deferred as he had
once been that it should be contemplated at
all, and would probably have called the
owner of Weir Abbey some hard names if he
had not been kept in check BY his patient,
long-sufering wife.
Still, even she was puzzled by the delay.
Every one was puzzled. The world in gen.
eral-meaning all the country for miles
round - was puzzled, and matchmaking
mothers were beginning to think that per-
haps, after all, one of their daughters might
have a chance, for Annie Clareford did not
seem to be by any means as much in the run
ming as they had believed her to be.
Yet the couple were engaged, and the en-
gagement had been given out quite officially.
1t was one of those society mysteries that
give everybody something to talk about, ga
sort of thing that nobody can understand"
as Ralph Egerton, quondam brother officer
of Hugo's was heard to say to that inquisi-
tive little monkey, Susie Scrivener. She
had been told that Captain Egerton was
Hugo's great friend and confdant, and was
consequently trying to pick his brains Un-
lucky Egertonl he had not got very many,
and the few he had were not sufficient to
solve the riddle Of why Hugo was SO dila-
tory about his marriage.
And whatever Hugo had done in his
marching DAYS, he did not help Egerton by
any condolences now, but shut up his lips in
a resolute manner, which there was no
controverting, whenever Annie Clareford or
anything connected with mis- engagement to
ner was mentioned. During the first few
weeks after his accession 10 wealth, before
his manner grew enigmatical, he had sug-
gested that Colonel Clareford and his family
should pass the summer in a charming cot
tage which, being on the estate within a
quarter of mile of the Abbey, was a sort
of appendix to the great house. Colonel
Clareford had accepted greedily; he was
always most avarieiously ready to save
money.
Had it not been for this the county would
not have known by any means as much Of
Hugo Burnet's love affairs as they did.
But August was waning. In September
the Colonel and his family must return to
their own small dwelling in West Kensing-
ton, and the fiery old gentleman's fatherly
instincts being thoroughly awakened, he
told his wife that he did not care what she
said, he would have it out with that fellow