Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-01-15

endure much more OF the noise aad bus
tie Of this hotel"
'sHave little patience. child; we may
hear from them any day"
''Oh! mamma, if you could only know
how tired I am of being necessarily fol-
lowed and Swallowed by suitors of all
sorts and conditions and of being made
love to by old men and smooth-faced
youths. you would say go. at once.
and let Mr. Wilcox follow u.s."
mo. my child 1t would never do to
go until we hear from them There Is
no alternative but to wait"
Every well, just as you say, mamma;
but am very anxious for change"
The last speaker was Armida Delaro
Eleven years had elapsed since she left
the vineyards and blue skies Of the Pa
cific slope and now she was grown into
one of the most perfect of Gods Great
ures-a beautiful woman The rich
Southern blood which she had inherited
from her parents tinged her cheeks
| with a subdued flush of perfect health
She was tall, graceful girl, and per-
| feet type of Southern beauty; though
decided brunette she was not so dark as
| to be distinguished for it. With her
| beauty she seemed to have inherited
| also the sweet disposition of her mother.
| together with the frank open-hearted-
ness of her father.
| Mother and daughter were sitting in
private parlor forming one of their
suite of rooms at the West End Hotel.
Long Branch. where they had been
spending the summer. It was only dur
| ing the last two years that Mrs. Delaro
had enjoyed much of her daughters so
ciety, for they had necessarily been
thrown very much apart owing to the
mothers set determination to personal
| ly assist in the search for her husba nd's
| murderer.
This employment, which had kept
her travelling all the time. combined
| with the fact that Armida had been at
tending school a a convent near 60
Paris gave them very little opportunity
of being together.
Mrs. Delaro really showed very little
sign of the struggles she had undergone
in her features. though close observer
might have noticed settled and de-
termined expression which told with
out the aid Of words that she was q
| woman living with a purpose
And indeed her purpose was stern as
ever, for as she sat on this bright Sep
TENDER morning talking to her daugh-
ter. her thoughts were far away with
her two staunch friends, Joel Wilcox
and Percy Lowell, who had left her two
weeks before to follow up clew at New
Orleans. They had only written twice
since their departure. and even then
had given no particulars. SO that she
was anxious and longed to know
whether or not they were meeting with
success.
Often and often had she waited like
this before, but her interest had never
tagged, nor her desire for vengeance
become less keen. When in converse
ton with her two loyal friends she al
ways spoke hopefully of the ultimate
success of her life work and had fire.
quently intimated that she fully ex-
pected to see Leon Velasquez face to
face before death should call her to meet
her husband.
OF one thing she had been scrupu-
lousy careful, and that was to have 10
word regarding her husbands cruel
death uttered in the hearing of her
daughter. STILL Armida knew of she
manner in which her father had come TO
his sad end
But to the girl the tragic affair had
never been so real and terrible as to her
mother, and in recent years. as the mat
ter was never referred to in her pres
ence, the whole story, which SO much
affected her entire life. was buried in
the oblivion of shadowy youthful mem
cries.
The conversation at the opening OF
this chapter might lead one to imagine
that Armida was of rather peeviSh
temperament but such was not the case.
She had just cause to complain, and was
J literally bored to death. She had been
, sought after by every unmarried weare,
of pantaloons and suspenders during
, her stay at the Branch. Races one day,
a garden party the next then a ball.
followed by yachting excursions and q