The Portland daily press., 1892-05-28

pocket, Mr.. Lamar presents it to her,
murmuring, sYours, | believe" and
vanishes through trap door.
The Lamars were famous for their
chivalrous attitude toward the sex.
What should he do to spare her feelings
and his own? And he turned the cause
of his perturbation over in his pocket.
Just then he heard a step outside-a
feminine step. With guilty start he
reiterated from the table, fell into a
chair and seized the morning paper, in
which he buried his head. Any one
noting this fact would of course imagine
that he slumbered, and feel themselves
safe from espial.
''It is she," thought Bertram, seized
with guilty tremors. "She has come to
hunt for it," and he remained notion
less.
So did she. There was not the slight
est vibrating rustic from her silent
figure. Bertram ratified the paper,
stabbed a little hole through it with his
finger, and peeped at her. She was stand
ing in the doorway peeping about the
room, and she was the young lady with
the yellow shoes. She was charmingly
pretty in light dress of striped flannel
and a loose shirt of thin silk made like a
boys. Under the rundown collar was
knotted a four-in-hand anecktie of white
pique, and about her waist was a woven
silk belt clasped with silver S. She
was slowly sweeping the room with a
long glance, only her head moving, her
figure firmly erect, her right thumb in
her belt and her left hand hanging by
her side and lightly clasping a little
leather thong which wound about her
knucRles. AS to her head-that lovely
head with strong brown hair curling up
crisply under her sailor hat, delicately
rounded cheeks and gravely pouting lips
it was an image of soft, delicious
beauty. At her side sat a little pug dog
on its launches, gasping and rolling its
eyes.
She cast hurried glance at the
gentleman reading the paper and walked
into the room looking intently about the
floor
What would she say" thought Ber-
tram, as she passed him in her search,
''if were to innocently ask her what
she was looking for and CALAMITY offer to
help her find it? But Ill spare her
that"
She was certainly hunting thorough
~. She moved several Of the chairs,
drew up the lace curtains and looked
under them and peered into all the cor
ners.
When she had searched everywhere
she Strengthened herself with a sigh,
threw one last reluctant look about the
room, and calling to the pug, "Come
along, dearest; it isn't here" departed.
Bertram laid down the paper and
looked after her. She appeared to him
to have a singular amount of sang froid,
also very graceful back.
Mr.. Lamar was not bored that after
noon. He was consumed with perplexi-
ty. How could he return the lost trea-
sure to the owner without causing her
embarrassment, without making her his
enemyifor life? II it had been any thing
else how delightfully."- he could have
broken the ice with it! But to break the
ice with that historic emblem--impossi-
blei
II must give it to her this evening""
be thought. ''Ill wrap it up in paper
and tie one of the ribbons round it that
are on that handkerchief case Milly gave
me. Then. if she asks meas of course
she will-what it is, I'll say carelessly:
ooh, nothing! just a little trihe I think
belongs to you. Don't hurry to open it.
Have you noticed what beautiful night
it is?' And SO I'll engage her in absorb
ing conversation. But, if the converse
ton is not sufficiently absorbing and she
begins to open it I must flee from the
wrath to come. And when next meet
her, dying to speak or even bow to her,
there will be wall of ice raised be-
tween US. She will turn her profile to-
ward me and become engrossed in the
beauties Of the landscape. Such is the
irony of fate"
At o'clock Mr.. Lamar came slowly
down the broad stairs, looking as hand
some as the young Dionysius, in his
dress suit, his shining shirt bosom and a
white pink in his buttonhole. The hall
was full of moving figures and blaze
of light and color.
Mr.. Lamar was too perturbed to min
gle with the gay, loud voiced, laughing
crowd. He wished for solitude and di-
rected his steps toward the little writing
room. He had not wrapped the treasure
in paper, not tied it with ribbon from
his handkerchief case. He had not done
anything with it. He did not dare. The
sight of its owner might inspire him to
the desperate pitch of boldly offering it
to her Or suggest to him some cunning
way of returning it without betraying
the identity of the finder. With these
ideas in his mind he carried it still ia his
pocket in company with his keys.
The gas in the writing room was not
Lit. Mr.. Lamar went to the open win
dow. just outside it on the balcony
was the young lady who had worn the