The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-04-03
Now, on the rasn OF August the grous-,

Now, on the T2Jn or August the grous.,
| who for long months had lived a happy life
in the heather, enjoying all the privileges
of social order and protective force, saS-
/ denly awoke to the fact that chaos was
| come again, and that the gathered or bare
| kneed beings, who once guarded their in
| tereSts so jealousy, had turned into relent-
less, inveterate foes. Il was bad day for
the grouse, but for Dickie Gray, who by
| this time had outgrown his TASTE for fer
reting except at very slack seasons, it was
| always a solemn festival 70 which he in
vited men with guns from all quarters Of
| the kingdom. Thus il was that the seclu-
sion of the girls was rudely interrupted by
an invasion of Dickie's friends. They were
ali very much like Dickie-honest, mus
| tached, square shouldered, thick headed
| young Britons, who went about in twos
and threes and skunk behind trees and
stable doors when the approach of a petit
/ coat was imminent. They did not, there
| fore, weary the girls with their company
| Except at dinner they were scarcely ever
visible to feminine eye. So many came
and went, and they were all of such COM
| ical similarity, that the girls at last gave
| up trying to remember their names or the
! times of their arrivals and departures.
| One Sunday morning Susie came down
| from her room about half past 10 and went
| onto the terrace in 'front.' of the house
! Down at the foot of the grounds ran the
river, shading into hundred tones with
! pool and shallow and stream, and topping
the ragged, rocky bank, patched with gold
en- gorse, rose a screen of fir and larch and
russell beech; and then came heaving, swell
ing uplands, hills and hollows, giving the
| sense of perpetual motiop-ereen with pas
/ ture land, dim yellow with corn fields
| with here and there tiny homestead send
| ing up it's peat smoke from behind the
clumps of fir; and away beyond was the
| broad, purple moor stretching upward and
upward, melting imperceptibly into the
slopes of the mountains that shimmered
blue against the sky.
| After filling her eyes with this scene,
! Susie looked around for company. Anna
bel had gone to the Free kirk in the vii
| lage with Mrs. Gray. Marion had re.
manned at home, but where she was Susie
did not know. Not even a grouse shooting
young man was in sight. So Susie, cast
upon her own resources, went down TO the
river. There, however, she met Dickie
| and three young men, evidently bored with
each other, and longing to break the Sab
bath. For once they welcomed Susie
! among them. The idea Of seeking distrac-
/ ton in feminine society came upon tham
as novelty. They had not thought of it,
The honest young Philistines found Susie
charming, especially when they discov-
cred that her notion of fly fishing was that
| the angler sat idly on bank and let his fly
dangle in the water until trout swallowed
it comfortably.
They talked, therefore, great deal about
! fishing, to enlighten her, and she learned
many things-the sacrosanctity of parr and
smolt, and the grown up responsibilities Of
grilse, and the supernatural cunning OF a
trout They also told her terrible tales of
poachers, and how they were going to lie
in wait for certain piratical scoundrels
who practiced otter fishing of nights; but
when she wondered how they could train
a beast which she had never heard was
| noted fer its intelligence, they were hugely
delighted. Now an 'otter" is fat board
with casts and flies attached to it, which is
foated down stream.
Then Dickie interrupted the converse
ton, and asked her if she had seen Hurst
anywhere aboutp
Susie being, as before stated, only vague
ly cognizant of the names of Dickie's
friends, replied simply:
II don't know"
One of the youths came to her assistance.
81 don't think Miss Lee has met Hurst.
She was not down to breakfast this morn
ing, and Hurst turned up late last night"
IF meet strange, lost looking gentle
man I will send him to you," said Susie,
laughing. And she turned to go.
please don't leave u.s." chorused the
youths
But Susie, with little spirit Of CO
quetry, thought she would punish them
for previous neglect, and departed from
them up the winding path through the
larches that led to the grounds. She went
along the trim walks between the smooth
turf that contrasted strangely with the
ragged gorse and whims below, with sad
little thought for company. You see.
Hurst was his name, and the mere men
ton Of it, though of course it belonged in
this case to somebody else, brought back
old associations. She shook it away, how
ever, and went in quest Of Marion. One of
the maids in the house thought that Miss
Marion was in the grounds So Susie W It
out again and wandered into all the shady
corners were the girls loved to dream over
little alleys between great rhoCodendrons
and Irish yews. at last she caught the
CLEAN of a white skirt and heard Marion's
fresh laughter. She ran to an opening.
'Oh, there you are, Marion Pve"-
Then she stopped, gave a Ii. lie gasp and
turned deadly white. There was Marion,
bright and happy enough; but around her
waist was the arm of handsome youth
clfnpaH lilo hauh and
the owner thereof settled his shirt cuffs, as
every man does, as preliminary, when in
difficulties. Marion ran forward and seized
Susie by the hands
"You naughty, wicked little girl. 20
creep around corners like that" she whis-
pered, blushing and embarrassed There.
don't look so shocked Run away, do,
that's a dear. and perhaps III tell you all
about it later. And, Susie-please don't
tell Annabel."
Susie ran away quickly. without a word,
and reaching her own room threw herself
on the bed, reeling and dizzy.
Marion turned around TO her lover. The
little scene had not taken twenty seconds.
1T was only Susie, Eric; but what do
care-nowy"
Perhaps he ought TO have kissed her for
the little speech, but be did not, He took
out his handkerchief and wiped his fore
head.
"She Is one OF my great chums, ron
know" she went on. slipping her hand
through MS arm And she is such dear
little girl lwant you 20 be great friends
with her You will, wont you, fox usy
saket"
Anything for your sake, dearest re
piled the youug man tenderly. But
like Miss Lee for her sweet little self
DO you know herr asked Marion Ii
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