Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-09-03

stockings climbing the ladder. He drew
In his head like turtle behind the wall
and crouched as low as he could, con
scious that the little maid, after gather
ing handful of cherries, had begun Il
peep through the spikes into the Spot
fords' garden, possibly in quest of Mr.
O'Raferty, the gardener, who was young
by no means i'll looking, and a grea
''swell" among the nursemaids, cook.
and chambermaids of the neighborhood
But Larry O'Rafferty, though he was
with the natural Inconsistency of his sex
somewhat given to indiscriminate firt
ing, had fixed his affections on Susan
Mrs. Spoford's pretty waitress and din.
ing room maid, and was now savagely
jealous of Denis, the Childers' coachman,
who had also cast favorable eve in the
direction of the alluring Susan on the
way home from early Sunday mass.
Now a thought occurred to Mark,
whose mind, as we know, was fertile in
inventions. Some two or three years
previous, before the feud had broken out
between the two families, Mark, who
had dipped into variety of things, was
studying shorthand, and had taken pleas
ure in imparting a little of this knowl-
edge to his friend Kitty. On long win
ter evenings they often sat with heads
close together under the light of the lamp,
Mark eager and animated, Kitty with
an intent puzzled face, while he let her
into the mystery of dots and dashes.
Mark trusted that his Kitty did still re-
member some of the cabalistic signs he
had then impaired to her. Now quick
as thought he took out his notebook,
tore away a blank leaf and scrubbed
hastily on it in pencil two or three lines
of shorthand This he wrapped about a
quarter of a dollar, and watching his
opportunity when the maids head was
turned away, he swiftly rose and threw
it into the Childers' garden, as near as
possible to the foot of the ladder. 1t
clicked against the dog house. He heard
it distinctly, and so did the maid, who
stopped eating cherries, looked about in
some surprise at the sound and then trip
ped down to see what it might mean. The
little white packet had ricochetted to
some distance, and Grip was reaching
out his paw to grasp it. But the maid
was just in time to snatch it away.
Mark, who had cautiously advanced
his head again, saw her slip the quarter
of dollar into her apron pocket, and
then her eye rested blankly on the curl
GUS writing, which might be Choctaw or
n ha1 oil q, l.. 1 I
knots ran in her eyebrows, her mouth
pursed and she shook her head in utter
bewilderment. She could make nothing
at all, at all of these ''hathenish' char
acters.
The idiot! thought Mark. VIII she not
have wit enough to take the scrap of pa
per to her young mistress? No; after
skipping up the ladder again, and peep
ing over to see if she could discover a
solution of the problem, she walked
slowly away toward the little alley by
he side of the stables, where Master
Tom was peppering board with pistol
pals. Mark knew he had bungled aw-
.ully when he heard Tom Childers say
n loud voice:
"By Jovel this is fresh insult. They'll
De sending White Cap notices next, with
,offins and deaths heads. The governor
hall hear of it."
Mark had occasion to reflect on the
,erfdy of the female nature. The girl
lad said not word about the quarter of
! dollar snugly reposing in her apron
,ocket. He ought to have written open
y to Kitty, and then corrupted the maid
# the tip tilted nose with a large bride.
lark was naturally very respondent
fter the miscarriage of his little inven-
ion. Now that tire scrap of paper
rOpped over the wall had fallen into
'Om Childers' clutches, there was little
Iope that it would ever come into Kitty's
ands. As he smoked his pipe and
rowled disconsolately about in the
hady parts of the garden where he could
watch Kitty's windows unobserved, the
widest projects came into his head, mixed
p with fire alarms, burglars and cy-
lones, in all of which he played the part
f Kittys heroic deliverer. If Kitty
yere willing to be carried off, how easily
e could effect an elopement! He
tanned it all out even to the wringingl
f Grips neck; but when a young lady /.
eclines to be carried off what is her I'M
1rtunate lover to do?