The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-12-20


She had his club address, though she had not
corresponded with him for years. He might
be dead, or married, which would be worse.
He had been young, too, eight years ago. He
had taken flight to Australia, following some
prank of his youth in the old country, and
her husband had volunteered to teach him
colonial experience. But 1t had ended by his
having to take flight once more-in home
ward direction this time-and they had never
mentioned his name, ana the only letters she
had exchanged with him had led to trouble,
and the correspondence had ceased, of neces-
sity; and then there had been a stagnant
period In her existence, followed by fantas-
tic rise to fortune. Those Queensland runs
had realized fancy prices, and Mr. Delany had
taken his place little before his death among
the wool-kings of Australia. But Fern knew
nothing of this, nor must he know anything,
she said to herself, until that question regard
ing the quantity and quality of his gladness
should be settled.
''I am in London" she wrote him, "alone,
poor, and friendless. My husband died last
year. If the past has anything to say to you,
will you come and sec me? 1 shall remain
indoors every morning this week between 10
and 12."
And then she waited like Mariana in her
Moated Grange. Every morning at $50 she
made her appearance at the door of the
Westbourne Park lodgings Every after
noon at 1890 a hanson cab drove up
to the same door and bore her away.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed
in waiting. On Friday there was
sudden peremptory knock at the door that
caused her heart to beat tumultuously. 1t
was all she could do to summon up sufficient
courage to frustrate the evident design of the
landlady to find out what her lodger was sup
to-" For the card that was handed to her
bore the name of Mr.. Ferdinand Hopetown,
and it was the voice Of "Fern' himself and
none other, that she heard in the little passage
outside.
Yet there was nothing in the meeting, after
all, to whet the lingering landlady's curiosity.
Nothing but conventional hand clasp, as
between two restored friends Only when the
door was closed Mr.. Hopetown cast a glance
OF keenest scrutiny at the back-robed figure
in front of him. The May sun shone through
the much-washed muslin curtains upon the
gimcrack furniture of the little room, and the
Observation-Disclosures gown of its occupant.
But what 1t revealed besides caused the visitor
to take Helen's hands in his and draw her to
the sofa, covered with apple-green repp, where
he seated himself by her side and kissed her
downcast eyelids.
"Poor little woman," he murmured, 'sdear
little womanl tell me all your history since
We parted"
She did 80, keeping only the fact of the for
tune in the background. he must not know
her in her lately-acquired role of wool-king's
,xrtl h. I.oI
until he had wooed and won her as she ex-
pected him to do en- tout bien, tout honneur
He listened, stroking her head fondly the while,
and uttering soft words of sympathy. He had
changed more than she had. She could not
have believed that he could have come to look
SO much more worn by life than herself
Only his voice had all its old power. But,
strange to say, among all the expressions of
tenderness and sympathy, and even passionate
alteration that he lavished on her, she could
not discover a single one that limited at an
offer of marriage. Had she made some dread
full dire mistake? she asked herself. Did
his gladness 60 no further, after all, than that
of an attached friend, or did he think because
she was poor and friendless and had sought
him out, that? But no, he could never
have meant to humiliate her In such fashion
as that.
But before the close OF his visit she had full
enlightenment.
"The first thing, my dear little woman,' he
said, after pause for reflection, sis to get
you out of this dismal hole. We will go and
look for rooms at Kensington, somewhere
close to my town quarters, so that can pop
In upon you at all hours"
''But-but-' she hesitated, the color fading
from her cheeks as she spoke, 81 am all alone;
is that quite the thing?"
''The thing-nonsense Who knows you
here? Do you think am going to lose sight
of you after keeping your image in my heart
all these years ?"
''Have you, reallyH" Perhaps she had mis-
taken his meaning, after all. "And now am
free at last.'
She felt she had emphasized the word un-
duly, and blushed, but he did not seem to
notice it.
SIT seems only yesterday since saw you,"
he continued. "Do you remember all our
castles in Spain? And who would have
thought then we should ever have found a
chance of living in them? VIII you come
with me to Paris next week ?"
"To Paris? You don't mean it serously?"
"Of course I do. Why mott"
Her eyes gathered curious expression of
perplexity and resentment. She rose hastily
from her seat
81 must send you away now; l must,
raaIlv - sha said lT-T have an apDointmanf