Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-12-25
cOrrR1aHr By AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATIONS.

enable you to hive at your ease the rest of
your days, and this is the way am re-
eeived. Como 1ov"
'Tt is impossible you should intend
any benefit to me that would not benefit
YOU ten times more" said Mrs. Bemax
impassively.
"You do me gross injustice; you are
like all women with grievanceP re-
turned Jocelyn, whose temper was GER
tainly very easy. "My scheme is to put
you in receipt of an income of 81 200 a
year. Have you any fault to find with
that
"What are the services for which this
I rs the payment Mrs. Bemax inquired.
'To chaperon a lady-nothing more"
ga ladyw repeated the other, a pc
culiar smile drawing down the corners
of her mouth; 81 begin to understand!
Who is she?"
''The prima donna at the new opera
house"
Eyes; in whom you are tenderly in
terested. Taking everything into con-
sideration, Hamilton, that is very char
acteristic of you; very delicate piece
of kindnessr"
"Bah! Meg, your cynicism is over
done; you are on wrong scent entirely.
In the first place, the lady is not the per-
son she's supposed to be. She's the
daughter of an old friend of mine; l
once intended to marry her, butt
thought better of it. Circumstances
which you will be fully informed of
have led to her personating the Mariana
name and all-the coming season.
It's grand secret, of course, and Sc
lected you as the only woman who could
be trusted TO keep it. You are to con-
firm in every way that suggests itself the
idea that she is the bona fde Marana say
you've lived with her for years in Eu-
rope, and so on. But she is wholly ig-
norant of the world, and you are to see
to it that none of the young fellows gets
ahead of her. You may invent all the
adventures you like for her-in the past,
but on no account let her get into any
scrapes in the present. Do you see what
| mean?"
81 think so. The young fellows you
speak of are to be kept out of the way
for your sake rather than for hers; and
she is to be instructed that any scrape
she gets into with you is no scrape at all,
but distinction and blessing"
Upon my soul l should 1atJer myself
you were jealous if L didn't know you so
well, said JOcelyn with laugh; 81 only
wish to protect the girl from annoyance
and to insure the success of the whole
scheme. If you could make me believe
in your disinterestedness and virtue the
only result would be that l should serve
you less efficiently than otherwise. But
you always liked deception for its own
sake, and you are the same Hamilton
Jocelyn that knew in Richmond twelve
years ago. Well, shall know what tone
to take with her."
''Take any tone you like, in the devils
name, so long as you take the position
and observe the conditions!" exclaimed
Jocelyn, getting up, with some signs of
Impotence.
81 will take the position on condition
of being guaranteed my outfit and twelve |
hundred dollars" said Mrs. Bemax. at |
is not high wages for the devil to pay,
but its better than nothing, and to live |
as comfortably as 1 can, so long as l do |
live, is the best have to look forward to |
now. I'm not so fastidious in other re-
spects as you do me the honor to imag-
ine."
"Weli, Meg, when you've enjoyed a |
few months luxury you'll take more |
genial view of things, hope. Above all |
things make as good an impression on
the lady as possible. She must learn to
confide in you, and to take your advice
In all social matters from the outset. |
You can do anything with her if she
likes you and trusts you, and nothing if
she doesn't"
81 understand; l am to be another
mother to herl" said Margaret Bemax,
In tone and with a look in her eyes so
quiet and yet so repellent that Jocelyn
made no attempt to reply, but took his |
leave without further ceremony.
Certainly Beatrix needed mother at |
this epoch of her career. The peculiar
conditions under which she was making
her entrance into the world rendered |
her especially defenseless. She was not
only ignorant las any girl brought up in
theseclusion of home is likely to be) of the
ways and wickedness of mankind, but |
the strict necessity of her incognito cut |
her OFF from the support and society of
both her father and of al the other rela-
tives and friends who should naturally
be around her. She was not herself,
and she was somebody wholly different
from herself as well. Furthermore she
was singer, with all the sensitiveness
and the liability to emotional impress
sions that the musical temperament i'm
plies. Upon the whole a young woman
can select no career more dangerous than
that upon which Beatrix had Just en-
tered, and the external circumstances
which attended her entrance could
scarcely have been more untoward.
Meantime the subject most constantly
present to her thoughts, since it gave
color to everything else, was her assumed
character of the Mariana. To be herself
began to appear in the light of some
thing criminal. Everything depended
upon maintaining the deception. Nor
could she disguise from herself that the
men she met treated her with a sort of
freedom to which she was quite unac-
customed. This perplexed and annoyed
her, and Mrs. Bemax, when she appealed
TO her, only smiled and said she mustn't
mind them. Finally she thought it
yv0y1ld 1la a o,ood s7ao -, 81