Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-09-06

friends as Formerly. out, an. 10 tnvre.
She gave him her hand with an ex-
preston of regret which, though ex-
actly suited TO the occasion. betrayed
nothing Of the agony Of her despair.
1--WE shall miss you very much.
she said. gravely.
II was impossible To pretend indif-
ference; II would have gone against her
nature. being in no way coquettish.
even the innocent gayety OF glrlhood
having disappeared forever when her
sister died.
Almost simultaneously they said
Goodbye
4 cold piercing wind was whistling
through the trees. and blew down a
shower Of leaves wet with the rain of
the previous night. One fell against
FLAMES theek. and struck her with A
keen sense of chilliness. 1t seemed
TO her then as though she had been
growing colder and colder all the while.
and that the eliminating point was
reached only then, as Severn turned
abruptly ard strobe away. while she
was left alone. with the hand that
he had dropped clasped tightly in the
other. and his word of farewell sound
ing mournfully in her ears.
Eight or nine months passed with
little or no change in the village OF
LittleSaven. At the Dover House mat
ters were exactly as they had been
befOue Mrs Priolo's Vaccinations
wrought such distressful excitement
Mr.. Bowyer was perhaps little
stronger and not quite so nervous lNce
the folly of his suspicion of Ilain'
had been shown to him so clearly
His ward was more to him than ever
he could scarcely bear her to be out
OF his sight; and his sister-in-law was
relegated to her old place as house
keeper, she never yenturing to remind
him of the connection that she could
also claim
Mrs. Priolo was in real ~ clever
woman. though she herself had begun
to doubt it after the failure of her
schemes.
Secret for secret" she had said to
Elaine that day when her dupllcity
was discovered; but she knew well
that the value of each was not equal.
The confession she had made and
signed would be of no use against her
when once Mr. Bowyer was dead;
while only after that event could she
use her knowledge of the Sydney
tragedy with good effect. either to
satisfy her revenge or sell her silence,
If that should prove the more proiita-
bic course. AT present she was con-
tent and Pore hopeful than might have
been expected.
Mr.. Power had not destroyed his
former will in which she was named
as sol heiress. He meant to do so at
the earliest opportunity; but with the
usual procrastination in such matters,
the n;tural reluctance to admit the
need o. hurry, he had delayed to send
for the lawyer to draw up another.
and in the meantime kept intact the
former one, with what idea he himself
could not have told.
Early in the spring Charles Severn
had come to the Abbey with his tutor
to be coached for his examinations. At
first he felt some shyness in going to
the Dover House. but by and by that
feeling died away as the love that had
prompted 1t also died a natural death.
Elaine was somewhat amused and
somewhat sore to see how. when he
had been at Littlehaven for about
month. he suddenly developed an at
tachment for gentle Mary Feather
stone. the Wears daughter, and after
ward was seldom far away from her
side.
At first he received little or no en-
enlargement. The girl knew Of his for
mer passion, and doubted the depth
Of his feelings, which could so lightly
change; nor was Elaine much inclined
to sympathize when. In boyish fashion,
he came and eonfided his ill.success to
her.
One day he introduced them to each
other. and after that a rapid friend
ship grew up between the girls, at
which the young man felt a little az
grieyed 1t seemed to him that he
was making no progress at all, and
that since these two had known each
other he was left completely in the
cold. One day he betrayed his jealousy
Of her to Elaine and she resolved on
the first opportunity to speak to Mary,
and see II he had any chance
That same afternoon the Wears
daughter came to the Dover House.
The two girls often visited the poor
people in the village: and Elaine. who
was in her bedroom, hastily put on
her hat before descending. thinking
they were to go together then
But this was not he case, as was
hastily explained There was typhoid
fever in the village, and Miss Feather
stone had come to warn Elaine against
going thither until the doctor pro-
nounced II once more safe
Mr. Bowyer was evidently terribly
nervous at the news. and with rather
suspicious eagerness asked Miss Feath-
erstone II she had been in the village
lately.
II have not been for several days;
and thprp was no duuUpr mill vretnr-