Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-02-14


griefs.
When Annie arrived at the door Of the
sturogate's Office young man OF gentle
man like appearance stepped forward,
and, lifting his hat, said:
II have been waiting some time for
you, Miss Templeton, and quite impa-
tiently."
Annie drew back astonished.
81 am afraid have been awkward in
my speech, he continued. 81 meant to
say that for any delay Mr.. Holbrook will
blame me. He is very exacting in bust
ness matters, That is why l say l am
impatient"
why, it is not yet 10 o'clock" ex-
claimed Annie.
Pardon me, am afraid your time
piece is out of order. II is considerably
after 10. But here is note | am charged
by Mr.. Holbrook to deliver to you"
He handed it to her with bow.
Annie took it and read:
"SURRoGATE's OFFICE,
New YORK. Sept. Ia, 1884.
"MY DEAR Miss TEMPLEToN-I regret
so much to cause you the annoyance L
undoubtedly do this morning, but bust
ness knows no other law than its own
The surrogate sits at home this morning
"a fact l only learned on arriving here.
I have other business as well as your
own before the surrogate. and as he will
sit but for a short time, / must hurry off.
leave a clerk to escort you. Your sim
cere friend, HENRY IIoLBRooK."
l. g,,t- la1 ha
note she looked up with conhding
smile, saying:
You are then a clerk of Mr.. Hol
brooke
Eyes, Miss Templeton, and entirely at
your service. The surrogate is confined
to his house with cold. and sent word
down that he would not dare to venture
out, but that he would listen to all who
had pressing business at his house. Now,
if you please, we will go there. Here is
u carriage l have had in waiting for
you"
The concocters of the design against
| Annie's freedom had evidently counted
upon her ignorance of the methods of
conducting business, for while to almost
any one experienced in the world this
would have proved but clumsy device,
yet, directed against an unsophisticated
creature like Annie, its very simplicity
and transparency made it the more skill
full.
1t is true that after entering the car
riage, and after she bad had time to
make furtive examination of the young
man who had taken the seat opposite
her, she had mentally concluded that she
did not like him, and that he seemed to
be everything else than gentleman,
though he dressed like one and assumed
the speech of one. There were certain
signs which influenced her Judgment, as
they do that of most womCG. His hands
were Enthusiastically dirty, and his finger
nails were in mourning.
\ male observer, especially if slangy,
would have said that the young man had
been on bat the night before; his
hair was harsh and tangled, though wei
oiled the inflamed rims of his eyes, his
parched lips, and the heavy putfs like
cushions under his eyes, would have
shown this, if plain odor of gin cock
tails, above the breath heavy with the
flavor of cloves and roast coffee beans
had not told the tale.
But Annie was not experienced in such
things, and she gave little heed to one
who, after all, was nothing to her
merely an instrument of Mr.. Holbrook.
She did wonder, however, why it wa,
that he had gotten a coach so close, anC
one in which there were such small win
> 70 q,
did not obtrude himself. He was appar
emily busy with memoranda and papers
Once he lifted his head to say that i
was necessary for them, in order to max
a quick trip, to pass through disagree
able portion of the town.
To this she made no reply.
Finally they turned into the street, tn
dirt of which passed all comprehension
upon her part.
Children seemed to swarm on the side
walks; women, often drunk even at tina
early hour, and clothed in rags, talke
and quarreled on the sidewalks and o,
the stoops of the squalid dwellings
She became interested in the scene
novel to her, and leaned forward to loo
from the window. She did not motto
that the young man had drawn the cui
tain over the window on the opposit
side of the coach.
He broke the silence that had cor
tinued for some time:
; II beg you will excuse me, Mis-
Templeton. l know it is not the prope
thing to do, but l am suffering great
with my eyes this morning. Have
your permission to apply lotion
them?"
Wondering at the strangeness of tn
request, she nevertheless murmured he
permission, and turned again to tn
street
l He drew his handkerchief from h
pocket and then bottle, with the col
tents of which he plentiful1y saturate
the handkerchief.
= Before she could realize what was b
ing done the young man snapped spring
q the curtain shot up over the window
front of her, she was forced back on IL
cushions with a vigorous push on he
shoulder, the handkerchief was closel