The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1892-09-03

noting with grim satisfaction as he did
so that couple of street arabs were
making off with Vic.
That day Mrs. Hicks Brown went
home to her mother, and two weeks
later she was member Of the divorce
colony in western city, Decking free
tom from matrimonial bonds on
the ground of .'cruel and inhuman treat
ment," which she expected the court,
when her case was presented, to under
stand as having been applied to her, in
stead of to Vic.
In the state where Mrs. Hicks
Brown sought her divorce, it takes
only three months to establish resi-
idence, and the legal formalities con-
sumo very little time; but strange to
say, Mrs. Hicks Brown did not find it
easy to pass the time. The first three
or four weeks, in her furried state of
mind, she did not notice-but. after
that, time passed very slowly, indeed.
Strange as it may seem, life apart
from Mr.. Hicks Brown was very,
very dull-and lonely. Yes, she had
been hasty-too hasty-but there was
no turning back now. She had burned
her bridges, and, besides, had ever
Lovedale retraced step once taken?
No! And she held her pretty nose
little higher and tried to look haughtily
don't-care-ish, all the time feeling very
miserable, indeed.
And Mr.. Hicks Brown? He was
working away as though fighting time.
He never gave himself moment, if he
could help it, for thought. Not word
had passed between him and member
of the Lovedale family since the day
his wife had flung herself out of the
house and returned to her parents. He
heard she had gone west for divorce,
and it made him vince, but he shut his
mouth more tightly and went at his
work still harder. There were times
when he had to think, and they were
not pleasant times. There was one in
particular. A few months before he
had begun to build, unknown to his wife,
handsome new house in her favorite
suburb-and the time came for him to
occupy it, and she was not there to en-
JOY it. His younger sister, an orphan,
who had just finished school and had
come to live with him, was delighted
with everything. She ran all over the
house, fairly gushing with pleasure,
and did not know that her brother, sit.
ting amid the confusion of furniture in
the front hall, was thinking of how
much some one else would have be-
pleased. And there were two big tears
nlyc L. l.
himself and arose to superintend the
work of arranging furniture.
Everybody who reads the papers re-
members the Hicks Brown divorce trial
how the defendant paid no attention
to the suit; how the judge, in granting
a decree without alimony, scored the
fair plaintiff for seeking divorce on
such trivial grounds, and assured her
that he allowed decree only because
it was plain to be seen that it was
case of incompatibility; and how, two
days after receiving her decree, the
plaintiff left suddenly, and everybody
said: II told you SOL knew she'd 60
as soon as she got it."
But everybody does not know that
the reason she left SO suddenly was that
she received a telegram announcing her
fathers death, or that when she re ached
home she found that he had died a
bankrupt.
Hicks Brown knew it, and his heart
ached with the longing to go to her aid
and then the Hicks Brown pride
came to the surface, and his heart
hardened with cold snap, and he bent
himself to his work harder than ever.
One morning, as he rode into town,
Henry Hicks-Brown was thinking how
lonely his sister must be, sometimes.
out there in that slow little suburb, and
an idea struck him. "By Jovep he
thought, tits the very thing. There
are lots OF nice girls who would jump
at the chance to be companion to so
jolly a girl as Lottie." And he stopped
at the Sol Office and left WANT ad-
vertisement, which stated that young
lady desired companion who was able
to speak French and possessed sundry
other accomplishments; must furnish
best references; would receive liberal
salary, etc. apply in person at resi-
dence, No. - Grove street."
Mabel Hicks-Brown, discussing wavn
and means with her mother at their
slimly furnished breakfast table next
morning, saw this advertisement. "Its
the very thing, mamma, and Pm going
to see about it to-day. Something must
be done, and I'm the one to do it, So"
But, Mabel, it seems so-so-why,
the idea Of"
There, there's no use saying a word
mamma. We can't be choosers any
more" And SO it was settled
At four o'clock that afternoon Mabel
cks-Brown rang the door of the house
IN Grove street, Indicated in the adver-
tisement, and was admitted by a trim
maid, who seemed to know her errand.
and ushered her into pretty drawing
room on the right
Somehow the room had a familiar
look. At least, there were things in il
that seemed familiar. That picture in
the dark corner-she must have seen it
before. She rose to look at it, and as
she did so, some one came hurriedlv
into the room. Turning, she stood face
to face with Henry Hicks. Rroun