Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-10-15

| wirra! wirrar' says Timothy, sympathetic
! ally, as he shambles toward the door.
When he is gone, Miss Priscilla turns up
| on Terence and Kit
Il must say, think your mirth at such
| time unseemly," she says. Il am glad Mon
| lea takes no part in it. Terence, did you go
up to the widow Driscoll with my message
| this morning."
Yes, aunt"
She evidently expected him to say mo-"
| because her tone is considerably modified
when shespeaks again.
''Was she pleased, do you think"'
! Yes aunt
''She said so, perhaps9"
mo, aunt"
"Then what did she say? I wish, my
dear boy, you would try to be little less
reticent"
''She said, Her duty to you, aunt, and her
| very coarse veins were worse than ever"
''VaricOse, Terence,-Varicosew
! ''Sle said very coarse, aunt, and sup
| pose she knows more about them than any
one else"
| He has very sweet face and it is more
| than usually so as he says all this.
! ''And her son, how is he, poor soul"' asks
! Miss Penelope, as Miss Priscilla WlthdraWs,
| beaten, into the background.
His duty to you, too, and The IS better,
but he has been much afflicted with the egg
| cups for the last two days."
The aUhdtr' says Miss Penelope, looking
perpleXed in the extreme.
"Oh, Terry! how can you be SO sillv?"
| says Kit, with another merry laugh.
How am 1 silly?" with an impossible
! cOuntenance. Young Driscoll is silly, of
course, and evidently looks upon part of the
| breakfast-ware as enemies of some sort. But
that is not my fault"
''Hccoughs he must have meant, my
dear" says Miss Priscilla, hastily. Dear
| -dear-dear! what terrible shock he
they-must have got last night at coole!
When day is deepening into eventide,
Monica finding Kit alone, kneels down be-
side her, and lays her cheek to hers.
All day long she has been brooding miser-
with foolish persistency upon future dam
gers born of her terrified imagination.
She had been down to their tryStng-place
at the river, hardly hoping to find him there,
yet had been terribly disappointed when she
| had not found him, Brian at that very mo-
ment being busy with police and magis-
trates and law generally,
What is it, ducky?" says Kit, very ten
| derly, laying down her book and pressing
nor pretty sister close 10 her.
Kit" says Monica, with fearful eyes, ''clO
you think it is all true that Timothy said
| this morning about their-their STARRING at
| Co0le? Oh, Kit, can't bear to think he is
hungIy!'
sit is dreadful! I don't know what to
| think" says Kit. ''If nobody will sell them
anything, [ suppose they have nothing to
| eat"
At this confederation of her worst fears,
| Monica dissolved into tears.
II couldn't eat my chicken at lunch,
thinking of him." she sobs. SIT stuck in
| my throat"
Poor sweet love! lit 1CGs dry" says Kit,
| expanding into the widest affection. She
kisses Monica fondy, and Though you
| would inevitably have suffered death at her
| hands had you even limited at it, is begin
| ming to enjoy herself intensely. Once again
| this lucLless couple look to her for help.
| She is to be the one to raise them from their
| IS. ough of Dee sond, "-difficult but con-
| genial task. Then you have been existing
| on lemon tart and one 9 Ass of sherry since
! breaktast-time she says with the deepest
| commisaration. Poor darling! ! saw it;
| noticed you ate nothing except the tart.
| You liked that, didn't your
| II didn't, says Monica. "Ihdtcd it. And
| it. But it was sWeet-and-I-it-some
| disappeared"
sit did, says Kit, tenderly.
| ooh, Kit help me!'
| y on mean you want to take him some
| thing Wherewith to stave off the pangs of
| hunger says the younger Miss Bcresford,
| with that grandeur of style she usually af-
| fects in moments of strong excitement, and
| with the yigor that distinguishes. II sec,
| certainly" She grows distracted. There's
| leg of mutton hanging in the larder, with
| some fowl, and quarterO of lamb, she says,
presently. "But suppose, if we took them,
| Aunt Priscilla would put us in the hue-and-
| cry"
1T mustn't be thought of. No, no; think
| of something else"
Bread then. Ordinary, of course, very
| ordinary but vt the staff of life"
II co1tllN't take him anything so nasty as
mere Bread" says Monica, il despair. but,
! II cock would make lis a cake-'
"a big one, with currants! The very
| thing" says Kit, with decision. ''And she
will never betray lis. Reilly, in little affairs
Of this kind,-th0ugh sadly wanting where
SOUPS are concerned,-is quite all she ought
to be-"
''When will it be baked? He must get it
tonight" says Monica, who is evidently
afraid her lover, if not succored, will die of
want before morning.
Leave all to me-" says Kit, fitting away
from her through the gathering gloom to
seek the lower reg .OnS and its presiding
goddess.
L'aving at to Kit means that when din
ner is Over, about hal.-past eight the two
Misses Der sford may be seen crossing the
honndarv thNt divides Mnvne from Coole
with anxious haste ana not CAKE.
THIS last is Rugged to Monica's breast
and is plainly causing her the greatest in
convenience. 1t is huge cake, and has to
b. carried parcelwiSe, being much too big
for the smaller basket they had, and much
too small for the bigger. BIT Monica
though it is heavy beyond description
Ghough, hope, light in every other way,
for the sake of ReilIys reputation) and still
appallingiy hOt-trudgeS aongwith it brave
ly, reSis ing all Kits entreaties to be allow.
ed to share the burden.
''Who are those coming toward us through
the elmS down there?" says MI. Kelly, sud
denly.
lie AMI Brian Desmond are sitting upon
garden-seat outside the dining-.oom win
dows enjoying an after-dnner cigar.
''Where"' says Brian, TO lowing his glance
''Eh?-What?' There is a second pause,
then, rising to his feet with much preci j.
fancy, he filings his cigar to the winds, and
before Owen has I. ne to recover from his
establishment at these proceedings, is well
out of sight. A turn in the lawn has hidden
Brian and the advancing figures from his
view.
"Monica!' says Desmond, as he reache.
her; what has brought you here at this
hour? My darling! how pale and tired you
lo0k!'