The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-05-06

vas chair under the Branch Bank ver-
nnda one warm, Australian night
full moonlight playing upon and spir-
ttualizing her delicate beauty, and
making u silver halo round the outer
edges of her fragrant and massy
golden hair; while Reginald Clcaver,
the new cashier, lool<eds down upon
that radiant vision Of dainty and per-
fumcd womanhood with a great deal
more of warmth and enthusiasm than
perhaps Mr.. Agar, the staid bank
manager and husband of the beauty,
might have cared to encourage had he
observed it. But at the moment he
was engaged elsewhere the young man
could be as daring as lie. well pleased
to be, SO long as the object of his pres
ent enthusiasm did not object.
They had known each other for four
had been appointed to his post; and as
his duties were pretty light in this up
country branch established the weeks
had been spent, with only the neces-
sary daily breaks. almost entirely in
the young lady's charming society. So
that being Australian born and bred
Mrs Agar had grown very familiar
with her gentlemanly lodger. and
spoke to him as if she had known him
from the days of his early childhood;
that is to say, they had long ago dis
pensed with all starchy formalities in
each other by their Christian names of
'-Reginald'' and ''Lavina'' which sound
cd much freer and heartier than Mr..
Cleaver and Mrs. Algar.
When John A1gar was present it was
Reginald, or Lavina; but tcte. a-tetc, as
they were on this night, he called her
by the pet name she had given herself,
which was Nina, she called him
Volto. SO that they might have some
thing different to what the rest of the
world knew them by. 1t was foolish,
no doubt, yet innocent enough as far as
it went--as was her habit of calling
her husband Bruno behind his back
common enough also with young la
dies who haven't much to occupy their
minds in their intercourse with young
gentlemen friends.
John Algar, the bank manager, was
an angular, loud-voiced, consequential
man of about fifty-gray-haired and
bearded, with small, keen, gray eyes
that generally impressed people with
his business acumcn. lie hadn't q very
agreeable rnanner-theses strident, bonn
bastic and argumcntative men sell
dom have-and for that reason Gus
toners trusted him all the more, and
considered him the right man for the
place. 1t is astonishing how much
these socially uncomfortable men i'm
press the world with their honesty.
''Reginald or 'Volto" Cleaver was
one of those carefully-groomed young
men who look we'll under any circum-
stances, with prettily-trained mus
tache, slender white hands and modu-
lated voice; one Of the young gentle
men who arc turned out wholesale
from natures modern jerry workshop,
who look as harmless about a drawing
room tame cats, and are as neces-
sary to the idle fair sex as three-vol-
umed romance OF fashionable life.
Mrs. Lav1na was twenty-three, tn at
&c fyya anf 1,n-
husband, and the most accomplished and
lady-ike female in the township. She
always had her costumes direct from
London, and as up to date possible;
she was very slender, very fair, and
took great care of her complexion, SO
that Volto almost forgot when he saw
her first that he was six weeks distance
from home; and since she had exhibit
cd those colonial arts and graces, so
much less formal than tire home airs,
he had lost all desire ever to again in
hale the yellow fogs and felt that Aus
tralia was quite good enough for him.
In fact, for the first time in his young
life, he felt tn at existence along with
Nina would be delightful anywhere,
and found himself SO much engrossed
about himself
This was the state of affairs on this
moonlight night. with that green ex-
panse of bush and ocean stretching in
front OF them, over which her limpid,
gray-green eyes looked dreamily, while
he stood. his face in the shadow, watch
ing her intently. He had come out to
smoke a cigar after dinner, and she
had como to keep him company while
Bruno was, as usual, in the Office at
tending to business; all according to
natures laws-youth in the moonlight
and middle age at the Golfer.
''What is wrong with you tonight.
Volto? You are very silent. and have
not lit your cigar yet observed the
lady, as she turned her large eyes from
the landscape to that shadow face,
speaking in the soft, tender tones which
seem to mean SO much more than is
uttered.
II was thinking, Nina" replied the
young man, with a heavy sigh.
about what?'
''The moonlight and-you.''
"Yes!' murmured the lady. echoing
his sigh. ''It is lovely, is it not?-the
moonlight, mean"
"And you?''
''Hush! or Bruno may hear you"
"Then let us go into the garden,
Nina, for have a lot to say to you.''
Mrs Algar took up a little lace shawl
from the ground where she had thrown
it, and drawing it over her slender
shoulders she raised herself with n
graceful movement, and taking his arm
she went with him down the veranda
steps and into the shadows of the trces
beyond. As they did so, John Agar