Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-07-19

ticed the large, live look in Edith's eyes
and her air of suppressed. joyous excite
meDt.
II guess you have had a splendid time.
Miss March, and no mistake"
Indeed | have" said Edith. laughing
softly as she drew in her breath"
"And how in the world did you ever
get so thick with them Ashleys, Miss
March? They're the most exclusive. top
loftical people in Littleheld."
Indeed / don't know" said Edith
with a happy sigh. The fairies must
have done it."
Fairies. boshr" returned practical
Mrs Northup. II guess Harold Ashley
is q pretty gay young man, and Of course
you know he has been engaged to Miss
Trevor for some years. Nj. Ashley is
Miss Trevors guardian, and she is tre-
mendously rich, somewhere up in the
millions, they do say. and Of course they
wouldn't think of letting the money go
out of the family"
Miss March brushed briskly past her
landlady in the dark hall, mounted the
stxirs to her own room and closed the
door. It was nasty Of Mrs Northup to
say such things to her, and yet it was
kind, truly kind The words bad shat
tered her little spun glass house. and
suddenly her feet felt as heavy as lead.
and she was conscious that her head was
aching. What a fool she had been 10
think for a moment she could associate
with people like the Ashleys and partic-
pate in the life they led-she. q poor
scibbler, with scarcely enough money
in her purse TO pay her weeks lodgingi
She had taken a bewildering draught
and it had gone to her brain, but now
she was sober and well awake she must
and shut the door and buckle 70 her
task Shame on her for having forgot
ten Wills future for q single moment
That night Edith slept but little. She
bad q hard tussle with herself, but shs
conquered in the end, as she always did.
and fell asleep at last resolved as TO what
abe must do.
A soft rain was pattering on the roof
next morning, mixed with the chirp Of
nesting robins and ~bluebirds. The odor
Of growing things and opening flowers
came in at her window a Edith ar
ranged her little work table, everything
severely rectangular, 70 check the play Of
Grant fancy and bind down her mind to
the grindstone Of duty. There she sat
and wrought hour after hour. with the
mOnotonous scratch Of the pen going on
over the paper without panse. Trains
rushed by, shaking Mz Northup's little
house with a giants hand every fifteen
minutes. The storm had cleared away,
and now the sun blazed on the sloping
roof and turned the attic rom 10 a Ere
bath Wasps and flies buzzed about
Ths lovely blue Sky, full Of floating
white clouds, invited her to hook, but
stin Edith wrought on, feeling neither
hunger nor heat, o the small earth
quake shocks of the trains.
It was four in the afternoon. She was
still sitting at her taak with bent bead
when voices were heard outside her
door. Mrs Northup was saying to
some one behind her:
Il keep q te1lin' her shell hn herself
wTitn' day and night and fmgutin' 70
ct, but it don't do no mAunr Of good"
Then came a dainty little rap. Gnd
Fanny Ashley, in An exQulhskght@ sum
mer gown and fnn fsstheTed hat. Stood
smiling in the doorway.
You see / have hunted you down; /
told you l should And this n the room
where you spin your pretty webs" and
she glanced lightly sbout at the little OIL
stove, the two cracked tea cups ON the
shelf, the breadth Of faded carpet before
the lame bureau
But | don't intend to leave you here
shaving away all this beautiful afternoon
We are to have a matched game of ten
nis and then tea on the lawn, and laeera
drive in the cool evening air, and l have
been ordered 10 fetch you strzightw1y."
Il thank you 80 much" said Edith,
her voice qulvering q little, but / can't
possibly go: | have 50 much work on
hand" She had not wen asked her
guest TO SIT down.
But you must, Miss March Papa
has been reading your stmyin Inc Fire
idA and be wants 70 mOw yen; and IL
10 90 seldom he does czre 70 know any
body, especially hare m Ltx1eAeA"
Il am so sorxJ, Mis- Ashley, but I
have no time to spnrn
~But you must cuzDe. Harry vn Be
ldreaAfully d~iapputufed, mdvm hzme
me II 4 dp1ftfek8 yun, andDwin My
TrsvQ thsy have an tAkmseha fzpry
70 yon-
Edkk va pals. a1w nd aEgtdv
eumncp4 Sc apt adw ut y
bat ty Up w p1sazSs