Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-01-29
7THE SOLITARY GIRL.
BY AORHIE

nrSL ~ DAYS or the ArCauld p9'o@NO
across the Atlantic reckOned that the
"Soiitary Girl" had found a man. One
OF them even averred that she had seen
the process Of self-lntrOduction take
place, that "Steely Eyes" had inquired
whether the SOLITARY Girl" minded to-
i baccO smoke, after carefully placing
Shimself In a position where, owing TO
THE strong westerly breeze, 1t was i'm
possible that she should inhale 10. She
had answered I'm the negative, "you bet
your sweet life" and the ice thus
Broken they had drifted into converse
ltion.
Thatsh should have earned so soon
after leaving Queenstown HarbOr the
title Of the SOLITARY Girl" argued no
very surprising gift Of observation or
ingenuity on the part Of the young
ladies returning TO their beloved States,
who had criticised her In her loneliness.
They had assigned her a nick name as
thew had 70 the nan beside her, and she
Twas As unconscious Of il and OF the in
terest they took in her as she had been
of the clear gray GEES which had Ici-
lowed her at intervals since she had
first appeared on deck until the owner
Of them addressed her.
He had been so perfectly respectfully
his name had been so absolutely in
different whether she spoke TO him or
not when he occasionally made a trivial
remark as ne sat near her, that she felt
no need TO retreat as she had done
hitherto when others, either men or
women, had shown signSOf desiring her
acquaintance, and an hour later when
some one claimed the deck chair on
which she was sitting and he had offered
> TO lend her u OF his, she accepted IL
with a friendly smile.
II have not got One," she explained,
1--we started 10 such a hurry"
"Then you are not travelling alone?'
lie asked.
'No, my father Is on board, but he is
too bad a sailor to appear yet"
He walked of hardly waiting for her
to finish her reply, brought the chair,
and arranged it with the one no had
occupied.
81 was expecting 3 friend on board at
Queenstown, and had brought one for
him." he remarked, ''but mis- train was
detained and he missed the boat.
cts a bad train that does nobody any
GOOD" she answered with another
tSAile, sinking back reStfully as II not
afraid Of being disturbed again, ind be-
fore they parted az dinner time he tied
a label to it with her name upon it In
pencil.
'How did you know my name was
Hamilton" she asked.
THE purser told me-" he said. 81
think he mas moved me to your table. 1
asked him to do so. My name is
Fletcher-JOhn Fletcher"
And that same evening, instead OF sit
ting solitary next TO the empty seat
which her father should have occupied,
Ass Hamilton talked almost cheerfully
TO Mr.. Fletcher. and a man who had
vainly tried 20 find a topic to Interest
her the evening before found a friend
with a knowledge Of hides equal TO his
own at another table.
s'He's an elegant man" said Miss LO-
rama Luck Of New York, ''what can be
find % like in her? That's what beats
me"
AndNIiss Geraldine van Hooten an
swered, NDollars," founding her theory
on the fact THAI Miss HamiltOn's fath>r
was occupying the best 'staterOom" IN
khe ship alone, and that be had not yet
Sondescended TO appear on deck and
hrx with his fellow travellers. 'Or per-
haps he's noble" said she speculatively.
And Miss van Hooten Endorsed her
friends opinion that Mr.. Fletcher was
"elegant."
As they had applied the term indis-
criminately to the big rollers the Arcadia
had encountered outside Queenstown
Harbor, to the furniture Of'the saloon,
and TO a shoal Of ~porpOises, there was
nothing startling in their applying it to
4 tall angular young man, with a de-
lermined jaw and q black mUstahce d.
Viding his face with a line as straight as
ruler over what seemed 70 be a pair OF
rather thin pair Of lips. An elegant
man in the ordinary plain British ac-
ceptatiOn Of the term he certainly was
not, whatever Miss Lolie LUCK may
have said and Miss Hamilton may have
thought, and Miss Hamilton's eyes
showed she thought well Of him.
''She's mean to keep him TO herself
like that" said Miss Luck one after
@ ''she looks at him when be comes
on deck till he turns and she catches bis
eve, and If he does not cOme and plant
himself down by her right away, she'll
look at him until he does, and when he
sits down she has nothing to say"
There may have been some truth in
Miss Luck's remarks. She had a quick
eve, and possibly Mr.. Fletcher was him
self feeling that he was himself not ex-
tracing much amusement from Miss
HamiltOn's conversation. He was lean
ing back in his chair looking at her
from under his half-C'0Sed eyelids.
$50 your father Is going 30 leave the
old country and settle In America" be
said slowly; mot leaving his country
for his cOuntry'S good, l hOpe?" he
added with a half laugh.
II was the fourth time that afternoon
that he had mentioned her fathers
(name; three times she had turned the
conversation TO other subjects, and now
she was sitting looking seward, silent
and with her cheeks crimson. he must
have been a Quickwitted man, though,
TO notice the effect OF his speech and
lump to the conclusion which he did.
ssForgive me-" he said, bending for
ward and speaking earnestly, forgive
me. Miss Hamilton, il l have said any
thing TO hurt you; you know me very
slightly, but well enough, l hope, 10
know l would not have done so will
ingly."
Many a true word is spoken
IN lest, she said, half to
herself, moving as If she would
Hse from her chair; but he touched her
arm and she sat down again.
II must have your forgiveness for
what I said" he insisted, ''yOu know I
would not betray any confidence, why
should /? Who am ] that 1 should do