Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-11-06

S=@
MENT.
stance of souls getting into wrong bodies as
in the case of that girl and her twin broth
er, sir. Phil, my lad, look here. 1t makes
her hopping mad to say it, but-your ear,
boy-he's young milksop. 1t breaks my
heart, sir-it breaks my heart"
The Colonel sat rubbing the knee of his
uppermost leg with his open palm, and
pursed up his lips as if to whistle, but sud
denly turned and spoke again.
Sand the way that child loves him is pos
itively pathetic. Phil-'tis, on my souli To
hear her talk you'd think he was the smart
est, bravest, Quickest - well-well-the
boys never been tested, that's fact. I've
hopes of him-yes, hopes of him." said
the Colonel, who would never have made the
foregoing admission had it not been for that
extra glassful of the mysterious beverage,
drunk in Boughton's honor.
Boughton all this time was steadily won
dering if Judith would give him a chance to
make his graceful speech by appearing at
dinner.
The Colonel, who was a mighty hunter
and sportsman generally, always dined late
at this season of the year. He employed an
overseer, and spent most of October and
November in fox-hunting. So it came to
pass that they dined as a rule by candle
light.
Phil spent round hour in making him
self presentable. He was a welllooking
Young fellow, with long, clean limbs, and
curiously naughty pose of head. His hair
was as abundant and waving much after
the fashion of Judith. Perhaps his most de-
lightful feature was his mouth-well curved
and parting little one-sidedly over uneven
and very white teeth. HIS luggage had fol
lowed him in the care of his body servant,
and heissued from his room finally as de-
liciously and fragrantly fresh as it is only
given to fair men to appear.
When he entered the drawing room he
found, little to his surprise, that Judith
was there already, engaged in the start
ling feminine employment of knOtting
Boughton only saw that her foot, in its
bronze slipper and silk stocking, was very
slender-slenderer than any he had ever
seen, in fact-with an instep under which
the young man was convinced he could have
rolled a good-sized marble.
She had on a nice little frock of some
creamy stuff, that fell about her, guiltless
of crinoline, and a string of blue Persian
beads around her throat.
The Colonel was revolving slowly before
the fire, with parted coat tails, at the same
time rocking backward and forward on his
toes.
Boughton paused in the hall some time to
watch them. They made such pleasant
picture in the welded light of the wax can
dies and leaping fire. Beyond them was tho
handsome desk of the oak-paneled room,
It's high. carved furniture and big French
mirrors.
As he entered he saw that in one of these
mirrors was another Judith, and another
and another, and another, stretching, like
the kings in Macbeth, to the crack of doom,
for all he could tell. And they were a.,
knotting, and all had delicate feet in bronzs
slippers, and wore bluebeads, and notone O.
them looked up at him, although the Colone
came boisterously forward, and hauled him
in by both hands, and he babe his lass give
greeting to her cousin Phil.
Quote she:
Eyes, dad, dear, that's all right; we have
met already. My bail, dad, darling; you
are stamping all over it. Thanks" as Phi
handed it to her.
Now, the Colonel was a good deal, as h.
would express it, ACKNOWLEDGMENT" He
said: "Hey! what's that!'' and looked from
one to the other, and let go of his coat tails
in sheer amazement. But as Mistress
Judith maintained unbroken silence
and appeared absorbed in her knotting
Boughton was at the pains of explaining
that he had met his cousin on the high
road, and how they had mutually recog-
nized each other.
As he made these remarks he caught
himself watching the subject of them out of
the tail of his eye, and fell, moreover, into
a strange fancy which ikened the slim
foot in the gray silk meshes toan iridescent
beetle caught in a somewhat bulky SPIDERS
web. Her hair was just about the color of
her shoe, he observed-a little redder, per-
haps-and bow of blue ribbon fluttered
over her fair bosom like a butterfly.
The Colonel laughed good deal, and he
had the rare accomplishment, or, rather,
faculty, of laughing well. He was as hand
some as his daughter, in a more regular
way, and wore his thick, riotously-curling
hair in a queue. He had broad chestnut
eyebrows, that met above his nose, which
had peanut like but aristoe ratio ripple in it,
and his mouth was set between two longish,
curving dimples, like a pleasant sentence
between two brackets. He had a deep
cleft in his chin, which was sometimes
more or less leveled with shaving powder,
and he wore knee-buckles of brilliants and
stock and ruffies.
The Colonel was believer in the good old
times, clamored for the retention of stage
coaches and always Travelled in his private
carriage. He took snuff, and treated him.
self to a pinch now, while slyly observin2
the hero and heroine of the adventure just
related. He had his suspicious, had the
Colonel, that there had been a tow-row Of
some kind between the two, and he also no
ticed the blue bow, and the beads, and the
bronze shoes.
The Colonel was a closer observer than
people generally gave him credit for, and
he recollected that Judith did not generally
wear her bronze shoes to dinner, neither
the blue bow nor the beads. He was alse
aware of the fact that Phil Boughton was
an extremely dashing- looking youngster,
and that the damsel in the chimney corner
had announced her intention many years
ago of marrying her Phil" This was at
the time of the missing tooth, and radlsh
dolls, and fishing with crooked pins, etc.
1t gave the Colonel quite comfortable
and perfectly natural glow to think that
Boughton's father was wealthy, and their
old place one of the handsomest in Virginia.
Also he recalled with satisfaction the fact
that only two years ago Master Phil him
self had graduated with honors at the
L'Ecole des Pont ct Chausses in Paris. A
very good thing it would be, the Colone-
told himself-and perhaps they would re-
main with him at Carylon for some years
until in fact Here the Colonel, who hHd
been getting sober and soberer, sighed
rather heavily.
Then Judith looked up for the first time,
but not at Boughton.
"Why do you sigh, dad, decr." she said,
quickly.
GGOb 7 rec1-on I'm h.-a0T-v said the