Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-09-10

not add 70 the misery or the SITUATION
The Spofords. your father thinks, ough
to sell their place and move away. 1t i:
unseemly that they should stay here I'm
der the circumstances.
THAT is just what the Spofords thin1
of Us, mamma"
"Wen, Kitty dear, you must give hin
up. There is no other way. You must
try and cease to think of him."
Kitty raised her head proudly, with 8
few glittering drops sparkling on hel
Ions eyelashes.
Mamma" clinching her little hand
Il viii never give him up. Unless
marry Mark | will remain single all my
days viii go and be a hospital nurse,
or enter Protestant sisterhood. 1t does
seem as if you might have little sym
patty for us-for him"
kitty, dear, don't agitate me, child.
/ You know my nerves are all unstrung.
and Tom and his great mastiff and his PTS
toll practice put me into tremors of fright.
dream every night that some terrible
! calamity has occurred OF course sym
! pathize with you, Kitty, my darling
! hCL ul W. 1o lOhEu Llll llhC a SUIT
| He was the best boy ever knew, and if
things were now as they once were be-
tween the families it would be the most
natural arrangement for you two to
marry"
Kitty kissed her mamma and went
softly down stairs with red eyes. She
| slipped into the dark drawing room and
took her place at the window, screened
by curtains, where she could look out
upon the Spofford grounds 1t was q
gray, cloudy evening. but red spark on
the veranda and a large, irregular
shadow told her where Mark sat gazing
| toward the Childers' house as he slowly
pulled a meditative pipe. The night air
was balmy, loaded with the breath of
honeysuckle, and great brown moths
fitted about on stealthy wing. Kitty
sat there long time, quite sunk in mel
ancholy, her pretty chin resting on her
clasped hands, and watched that little
sympathetic red spark until peculiar
sound issued from the library, and told
her that the old gentleman, her respected
father, had camped on the sofa for his
evening nap. a sudden thought came
into Kitty's head and made her ears
burn. 81 must have it" she said to her
self. st shall never be exposed to the
gaze of Lawyer Grundy's stenographer.
Kitty stole into the library on tiptoe
The lamp had been turned low and
burned dimly under a pink silk shade
As the evening was warm the excellent
Childers had taken off his coat. which
cut him slightly under the arms es-
pecially after dinner, and had composed
himself to sleep upon the sofa and COW
cred his face with the evening paper,
only round bald spot on the back Of
his head shone with a vague light. The
coat was hanging over a chair back, and
the cheerful tune issuing from its own
er's nose told how deep and. tranquil was
his slumber. 1t was only the work Of
an instant to abstract the scrap of paper
from the red morocco case, and that
night it lay on Kitty's true and loving
heart as she slept.
Kitty, however, woke early the next
morning with an unusual sense of peace
and happiness suffusing her soul A
thunder shower in the night had put
new gloss on the LEAKAGE of the garden
and washed the faces of the flowers.
where pearly drops still hung and trem-
bled with iridescent hues. The storm
wing was furled, but the sky shone with
white and purple clouds, and vaporous
rays streamed across the lawn from the
young light. The Spofforl house was
sunk in profound slulnber a verieo
twittered over that way II the glitter
ing dawn and catbird sang due west.
Kitty opened her window and looked
out on the perfumed garden, and filed
her lungs with the delicious freshness.
Her golden hair. prettily dissheveled,
shone like star through the vines above
her windows. She quickly dressed. and
putting on slippers and light morn
ing robe tripped down stairs to the gar
den. Toms Siberian mastiff was prowl-
ing about the Enclosure seeking some
thing to devour His eye infamed and
he growled slightly when Kitty APP
peared, but she patted his coat with her
little white hand and spoke few pleas
ant words, and Grips tail went down
and his carnivorous teeth and belligerent
ear were appeased-such power has
beauty over the beast.
The ladder still stood conveniently I'M
der the cherry tree planted against the
wall Kitty longed to send some little
token to Mark to make glad his heart
with the knowledge that she had read
and interpreted his message Alright, but
she dared not trust to a note, even in
shorthand, lest it should come to grief
like the luckless paper he had sent over
the garden wall. Great clusters of the
La France rose, loaded with rain drops,
were blooming about the back porch.
Kitty, knowing the language of flowers,
pulled handful, and detaching bow
of blue ribbon from her morning gown
tied them in a pretty nosegay. White
roses bound with blue ribbon-Mark
must be more stupid than she believed
him to be if he did not understand the
message.
She climbed the ladder, pretty girl
ish vision, with her golden hair hanging
about her shoulders, her little slippered
feet twinkling, frilled petticoats and
f1uttering muslins held in one hand, and
cast the bunch of roses over the wall
without dan lg to look and discover
where it had fallen. 1t comfol ted Kitty
to reflect that if the bunch of roses did
not come into Marks hands no one would
be the wiser, and elated by this thought
she skipped down the ladder and ran
away to her own room. But unfortu-