The Lamar register., 1892-04-02

ihuen with berries and blossoms.
A isw minutes after and Marie. the
maid, appeared, bearing the Same at
her young mistress's door. "From
Nj. lie Captalne,' observed the abigail.
arlly (tor messieurs les captaines there
IS always n soft spot in French eiePs
Iancyl, "ior the hair of mademoiseIle.
lie begs that mademoiselle will do him
the homer to wear the posie," eyeing
the massive bunch with the disgust
OF an artist; sit is 90 large; it is TOO
heavie Tor the hair, this great bush.
But contrive, / arrange, bu. it
need not that use it all, " more cheer
i1lly.
"Permettezmoi, mademoiselle; one
leetle piece will do all that is required.
Mademoiselle will, Of course, wear
what monsieur has sent?" demureIy,
as with an afterthought.
Mademolselle bowed her head.
The same evening a year later.
81 never could make it out" OBJ
served Charlie Hooper, the gossip OF
the fort, TO a select circle of listeners.
81 was altogether out in my reckon
lngs in that quarter. l thought old
Mark had dropped into n good thing.
and knew it. BY Jove, though Edith
Darlington is no beauty, she is a very
nice girl; and old Mark is not every
body's bargain himself, by Jove. We
all thought It was n done thing.
MARK went for her like blazes. He
was never away from The Hatch. The
widow seemed agreeable. and the girl,
| hear, has broken her heart since it
all came to nothing. What stopped
It no one knows. Poofl In the twink
ling OF an eye it bust up. Mark was
of; the Carringtons held their tongues,
and not n soul could find out the
rights OF the story"
Il II find out, however" decided ons
OF the group, as the prattler ceased;
and presently the person who thus
meditnted slipped away from the rest,
and he and Mark Brett were seen
strolling OF across the fields away
from the fort,
Afternoon was giving place to even
ing; It was almost tine same witching
hour as that in which we first beheld
Edith Carrington's lover.
Hold hardw exclaimed Captain
Brett's companion. Look out, there.
How dark it growsi You almost ran
me into that hrbutus tree"
"Arbutus tree?" That's not an ar
butus tree" said Mark gruffiy. Don't
you know an Rrhutus tree when you
see it?'
Rather. And when don't seeit. In
darkness or IN light, this is an arbut-
tuz."
Rot, It is nothing OF the kind. It
now don't bother, for | tell you it is
not. continued Brett, sharpness of
accent increasing as memory woke
more and more, And l ought to
know. Confound you, then, if you will
have it, tell you all my happiness in
the world once turned upon an ar
butus tree. Yes. it did you may stare
IL YOU please. know what am talk
ing about: I-I-it-but for it-never
mind tim a fool, IL you like, only
don't tell me that don't know ar
butus berries again when see them"
'.Arhutus berries2 Oh, well. we all
know the berries. There are none, as
it happens. on this tree" said the
younger man. perring about. How
ever. IL you only knew an arbutus by
its berries, laughing with his nose in
the air.
Perhaps I might not know the tree
for certain without them" conceded
Mark. reluctantly. Neither would
you. One shrub is very like another"
But there are the blossoms"
"Blossoms2"
Now that noodle OF a Mark had
never observed that the arbutus has
such thing as blossom. He was
not a gardener, and the only time he
had ever noticed the shrub at all had
been in the waning December dusk.
when the wealth OF crimson fruit had
caught his eye. The hanging blossoms,
which as every one knows, or ought
to know, come out at the same time
as the berries ripen, had been entirely
overlooked by him.
In few moments the veil had fallen
from his eyes; he saw 1t all; the mis-
take into which ignorance had led
him; the pitfall into which dItiidence
had eutrapped HIM.
OF course, Edith-his Edith, that
should have been-haG worn a spray
OF green. with white bells pendant
thereirum, on the fateful evening when
he had iancied her lost to him for
ever.
One glance had doomed him in his
own eyes. He had not seen his arbu-
tuS berries WFestlneN III LIlC tltiI n loShH
for which he had designed them, and
he had sat thereafter with dumb lips
and dead weight on his heart-and
then, then had followed the maidenly
modesty which he had mistaken for
the reticence which had
prevented explanation, his own proud
resolve to make neither complaint
nor comment, and finally his retire
ment in full marching order from the
scene. He had told himself that he
was a man who knew when he was
beaten.
As he had ridden away that night
he had mentally bidden farewell to all
the bright prospects which had danced
before his eyes during the past
months; had told himself he had been
deluded and mistaken; and quietly
set about to retrace his steps.
So well had he trusted them that he
had bafiled even his comrades in
arms, and it was only now, only
when u kindly lad had the luck to
stumble upon the keynote OF the
affair at the outset, pressed home
query upon query that he was pre-
vailed upon to disclose the events oil
4 he mast