Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-05-24
CHAPTER II.
A HALT N THE ROAD.

You are an artist, said the man on
the front seat Of the sleigh, turning
about that he might talk moro easily
with the young man who sat beside the
pretty girl on the rear seat. You are
an artist What do You think Of the
workmanship Of this
He had taken from an inner pocket a
small leather case. which no now passed
to his companion When the young man
had brought to light the contents he
held i'll his hand u medallion. set iii IA
jeweled frame--a medallion upon the
convex surface of which was craven the
attractive features of a handsome WON
an The work was 80 delicate. the sitting
SO rich, the effect Of the whole SO eX-
quisite that the artist involuntarily ut
tered a cry Of pleasure.
Why, this is really admirable, La
mar. Who is it? Where did you get it,
The man on the front seat answered
in voice as cold and Unconditional as 3
voice could we'll be-
lnasmuch rs this is the woman
whom | am TO marry, thought tolcr
ably fair counterfeit Of her face would
be Interesting to my friends.
The pretty girl, who had been admir-.
ing the dainty valuable became, as he
spoke, somewhat pale
ooh, " she said in n constrained. con
ventional way, this is Mrs Forsythe?"
Mrs. Forsythe, - aSScnted the man
on the front seat.
She is very pretty said the girl in
the same tone.
AS she spoke she put the medallion
quickly into the hand OF the young man
who sat beside her and aVerted her head.
Another choice, exclaimed the
man on the front seat in a hrisker tone.
CHANGING at fork in the white road
which the feet horses We're rapidly ap-
preaching Shall we take the inland
road direct or go by he roundabout sea
road? We shall sec more life by the first
way but we shall have better slciching
and plenty of cold wind by the second.
Which shall it be-
(Which shall it be, Elem" repeated
the young man to the pretty girl.
at makes no difference to me. ="
Then let us have the sea road and
the sleighing We are in no hurry, and
a little cold won't hurt liz. -
'.Iacta est alea. The ,ed road it shall
be. "
/ The sleighing party was low within
eight miles of the city, the location of
which was marked by vague glow in
/ the wintry sky. Gradually the laughter
/ had ceased and words had become infre-
quent The bells on the horses iingled
nlerrily as ever, and the rapid houf beats
( on the hard crust came to the oar through
the biting air III the same inSpiritina
pulsations, but for all that it was cold
/ riding after shutdown along the sea road,
/ with the bitter breath from the darlien-
/ ing ocean full i'll the face.
Every moment the fences and hedge.
rows We're becoming more indistinct,
! and the drcary white landscape between
the observers and the fading streak in
the horizon, where the sun had lately
been, was rapidly losing all Significance
on intelligibiljty as a prospect Truly
DIR. Eustace Lamar had forgotten the
flight of time in his enjoyment of the en-
! hilarating sport, or he had sadly mscal-
Culated the distance. NOT that there was
anything to ha dreaded in the ordinary
course of events of a ride in the pale
starlight or under the mellow rays of the
moon The road was a good one, and
very soon it would be well lighted. And
if the three pleasure seekers We're a trifio
cold they could console themselves with
the comforting roHection that there wa,
IL, ca -, ;tt, . Il