The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-04-29

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did not do any part of 1t.
He changed his mind when the time
for disclosure came; resolved to keep
his secret safe; to pursue strictly
guarded course with Alice which should
show her what hero he was. OF course
she couldn't help noticing that he loved
her. She would see that he avoided
food, and grew thin till his eyes took on
hollow look and his coats began TO nap
around his withering form. He would
lock his love up in the dungeon OF his
soul and have fun with the misery OF It,
Then when Brown came back, full OF
misgivings no doubt, he would take the
wanderer BY the hand, and say, with q
hollow cough: II have been faithful to
you, old man, but am a martyr to my
love-"
81 say, young fellow" cried Ray. In
terrupting Russell's meditations at this
point, 'if you stare at me any longer In
that soulless fashion, without saying
any thing or listening to what Pm talk
ing about, shall think you've gone
crazy"
They had been sitting on the deck Of
the yacht, face to face, and Ray had
been talking in lively and as he sup
posed entertaining fashion, for about half
an hour, when it had suddenly dawned
upon him that Russell's face had taken
on an expression of deep misery wholly
uncalled for by any thing that had been
said. His question brought Russell back
to rational frame of mind, and he was
able to conduct himself at the villa as II
nothing unusual had happened.
1t was his last visit there during the
season. The Rays came back to their
town house in the following week. Rus
sell called within a few days after their
return, and his welcome was the same
as ever. There had been no change in
the household But not many days
after that he fancied that he noticed q
difference. There was an indehnable
something in the bearing Of Mrs. Ray
and Alice which puzzled him at first,
but which he soon explained in man
ner fitting closely to the observed facts.
1t seemed evident that the secret OF his
talk with Gilbert Ray had leaked out;
that 1t had at last become the general
property OF the family, He could not
believe that Ray had told Alice; she
must have overheard something which
betrayed the truth. At any rate Rus.
sell was quite certain that she knew
how matters stood, but that was as far
as his perception could get In her direc-
ton. Mrs. Ray, he felt sure, approved.
With all possible respect to her, said he
in his heart, she doesn't know any bet
ter, and couldn't be expected to, by any.
body acquainted with her plastic mind.
Her husbands approval was quite
enough.
Alice, however, was riddle much
harder to read. Sometimes he thought
that she was disappointed at his delay
and again he imagined that she was ly-
ing in ambush, waiting for chance to
tell him what a traitor he was. He
thought OF all the cruel things she
might say; how she might show him
the difference between himself and
Brown, with balance heavily in favor
Of the absent; and she might say that
she would prefer Brown even II he re-
turned from Central Africa with ring
In his nose and confirmed habit OF
pannibalism. Russell fancied her re-
fusing him in so many different ways
that he began to be afraid some slip Of
the tongue would launch one Of them
upon him, even as his acceptance by her
father bad come by accident He began
TO resent this refusal which was only q
fgment Of his imagination, and his res
olution TO seek her society no more
melted in the heat Of his Ill temper.
BE determined to show her that her
charms had no power to tempt him, and
TO make her understand In some way
that her father had committed a piece
Of stupidity. Meanwhile, despite all
this raging in his soul, his bearing to-
ward her was frank, courteous and
friendly, as it had always been.
The Society for General Culture had
survived the summer, and Its members
had come back from the shores Of the