The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-11-19
,tlu DIT will snon be over.

again"
II shan't be forbidden
you'll do yourself very little good bg
defying him.
II shall do myself less by throwing
Duncan over" returned
Audrey raised her eyebrows and twisted
round on the music stool, which gave a
horrid creak, as if it were jeering at me.
Then Lee tapped at the door again.
'Sir Andrews message was for Miss
Sylvia to come directly" and he held the
door open for me to pass. Lee was no
friend of ours He looked almost glad to
have to hurry me to hear my fate.
My uncle was sitting in his big easy
chair with his back to the light, holding
the Times newspaper before him. As he
was small, thin man, he was completely
hidden from me till such time as he should
choose to lay down the paper, which he
could not have been reading very intently.
though he let me wait five minutes by the
clock, pretending not 10 have heard Ice
announcement or my tremolous: "lou
sent for me- Uncle Andrew--here | am.
Presently he emerged from behind the
paper which he had lain down and looked
at me. He had a small, thin, clean
shaven face, with resolutc lines round his
large mouth his eyes were more piercing
than any human eyes [ have ever seen
and their keenness rarely softened, never
entirely gave place to any other expires
sion. | sometimes used to wonder if my
father was or ever would have grown like
his brother The thought crossed now,
as taking off his heavy gold pince-nez and
looking straight at me, he said
"Ah, Audrey mean Sylvia--there
you are. Now, what is all this nonsense?
"What is all what nonsense, uncle r
I'm afraid don't understand.
"Yes, you do, miss don't waste my
time with silly prevarications s"-then |
saw that l might as well put away any
faint lingering hope I had ventured to
bring into the room-"you understand me
perfectly. | repeat What is all this
nOnsense?'
"Perhaps, Uncle Andrew, our ideas of
nonsense are not the same. Perhaps what
you are calling nonsense is not nonsense to
me-" | tried to answer with composure,
but my words rushed out in the most un-
dignifed furry.
"Humph?' ?'' returned my uncle. 81
have no doubt that your ideas of sense are
vague in the extreme, SO are young Fer
guson 's-Fellow w's-what's his name?
suppose you know whom mean, and that
he has been here"-he raised himself
sharply and leaned forward toward me?
"He seems from what he came to say and
the way he said it to be fair specimen of
nincompoop
eyes, | knew Duncan had been here, |
saw him come
Duncan, indeed Why do you cali
him Duncan? | thought his name was
Fletcher, or Fenton, or something else be
ginning with F. Why do you call him
Duncan ?"
"Mr. Ferrar's Christian name is Dun
can. Uncle Andrew, and l speak of him
by that name because because We have
promised-because he has asked me"
Oh if could only have spoken boldly +;
but with those eyes on me, and those thin
lips twitching to interrupt me, could not
keep from stammering.
II can help you Out" he said grimly,
because Mr.. Ferrars--you said Ferrars,
dida't yop?-has already let me into the
secret. According to his version, he, 4
penniless young fellow, who has just fn'
ished walking the hospitals, hopes to make
good thing out of marrying the niece Of
the great contractor, eh ?"
He doesn't hope anything OF the sort
| cried, angrily.
"Ah, indeed then misunderstood [
CLEANED from what he said-in fact he put
it in the plainest terms-that he did wish
to marry you and that you wished to marry
him."
"Yes, that is quite true but he does
not want me because | am your niece, nor
because he hopes to benefit by connec-
ton with you, but because he loves me.
Indeed, that is most disinterested of
him. returned my uncle, with sneer.
"Then his visit to me was merely to see
how should take the news that my penni-
less niece wanted to marry pauper r.
II don't know what you mean by pau
per. Duncan has money enough to buy a
practice, and to furnish small house
"Yery good-for him-but that makes
no difference to the other part of the pro
gramme Tfhe isn't absolutely abeegar~ :
you are
'Im not beggar, Uncle Andrew p [
cried, Indignantly. 1t was too despotic a
fiat to be submitted to.
"Ain't you, Miss Pert2 | think you
had better think matters over before you
give me fiat contradiction
"But you-you-" / began, to much
excited to get on with my answer
II said so, he broke in. "You have
calculated on me you know l am well-to-
do, and your high-hown young sawbones
thinks wealthy contractor would be
very comfortable figure in the background