Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-10-02

"tOr shame, hOlE' bhlu his sBbeT.-
"Y OH might have made II pretty speech
then. RememDer, lima is city-bred and
used to all that sort OF thing"
And she moved away, while Roland bit
his lip, wishing he had Sir Philip DarrelPs
golden tongue. lie used To call it "con-
founded foreign ptlayering" ut one time,
but Cupid alters some mems estimate OK
the graees of lie.
Roland and lima were left pretty well
alone, for Sir Philip and the rest were ut
the other end OF the room, and there SEEM
ed to be a good deal of fun going forward.
lima longed To join the group, but she did
not like to play recklessly, and Roland
was long over his moves.
"Oh, Roland" she said at last, "don't
take "a month over move, there's good
boyw
Roland looked mp. lima leaned back,
olasping her hands behind her head, and
met his eager look with one Of inditler-
ence.
"YOu Sec" he said, al am not thinking
of the game"
"Then | wish you would, or shall read
book while you are meditating."
.llma, why are you so cruelI"
His tone and look startled, even fright
ened her; but she was too young TO know
how to meet such an advance. Sne turned
pale, but her eyes flashed angrily.
"Don't be foolish, Roland, Or"
81 am not foolish, lima" he interrupt
ed. 81 mean what say-I do indeed"
"Well, then, | am foolish, and don't
know what it is that you mean, and L
don't want to know. | will sweep up the
men if you will not finish the game prop
erly."
"llma, will you let me explain another
timer"
"Yes-no-how can / stop you? DO
| move your queen, or l shall take her."
| Roland turned very red and obeyed in
silence, though he bit his lip till the blood
almost came. In three more moves he
was checkmated; and lima declared he de-
| served JAMES, condemnation.
"Play IL game OF draughts, lima; that
won't take long, and it's quite early in the
evening"
"Not now, Rol-presently."
"rhey don't want you over there. They
are playing at something"
But, even as he spoke, Darrell crossed
the room; and the next moment he was
! bending down to lima.
! Gam | too impatient? May l not beg
now for little musicV
How different this man from blunt coun-
tryiied Roland-the soft sweetly-modulat-
ed voice, the crisp refined accent, the tone
! halt.pleading, wholly deferential, the man.
| ner that forbade denial because 1t made
a favor of acquiesccncel Was Roland so
| blind that he could not see how the young
face lighted up as IL was turned to Dar-
rel? Was his ear too dull to catch ring
In the girl's voice that was not in II when
she spoke to her Cumberland cousin?
"What shall l play!" she asked, rising
at once.
"Play some OF the pieces you played
from memory ut the Court the other
day."
"Some!" said lima, laughing. "You
mean one"
ado YOU offer a wineglass Of water TO q
thirsty man, lima? You know you would
never tire me with music. You might be-
come weary of playing, but should never
be tired of listening"
lima went to the piano and played, and
Roland came near-not that he cared for
classical music or understood it, but he
could not bear to leave lima alone with
Sir Philip Darrell.
Suddenly Roland noticed that the DAM
ask rose was gone.
"Ima," he said, as the girl struck the
last chord in a moroccan of Schuberps,
"wheres your rose!"
lima started and looked down at her
dress.
al don't know" she answered; al did
not take ii out. / must have dropped it,"
"Perhaps while you were playing chess"
suggested Sir Philip.
.'No; l saw it when you left the table,
said Roland.
.It ,,,,at i,o aounayybara ahout tho floor -
and lima looked around her. "NeveT
mind, Roland; you'll have to give me an.
other"
Just then Rose drew near.
"Roland, we want you for whist; aunt
Rachel has no partner. Come along"
Roland could not well refuse; he could
not make u pretence Of wanting TO hear
classical music; so he was fain to be vic.
finland never was there u more unwill.
ing one.
"Will you play that last piece again?'
asked Darrell as soon as he was gone.
lima complied, and while she played,
Sir Philip, who was looking down, caught
sight of something lying near his foot. IL
was Roland's little-cared-for rose. He did
not pick it up at once; but when lima had
finished playing, he raised it and placed II
OH the piano before her.
"Your rose," lie said. 81 wonder that
did not see it earlier; it fell close tC
me-"
"Thanks." There was 10 pleasure in
her face. She took up the rose as ii she
hardly knew what to do with 1t. "The
stalk is broken off," she said with per-
picked look. al can't put it back in my
dress; it's not much good now" and she
let It drop on the piano again.
Sir Philip Darrell bent forward with q
quickly breath, and his deep gray
eyes flashed.
"You have not always so treated the gift
Of u flower" lie said.
Crimson as the rose itself were Ilma's
cheeks and brow; eyes, half turned t.
him, had seen the look in his, her eur had
caught-nay, to her very heart had rung
the tone in his voice. Yet she knew
nothing and felt nothing clearly. She had
a sense of losing some safeguard, Of hav.
ing some veil or mask torn from her. She
saw how Darrell read her conduct about
the flowers he had given her; but she
could not, in that bewildering moment,
tell whether he was right or wrong. She
could not think at ALL
Darrell, a man of the world with u wo-
mans subtlety Of perception, saw that this
child who turned from him and knew not