The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-06-15

w "'at AoA VIC announcement or din
her. Ihere was very little said, they
seemed constrained, and I was, per.
maps, shy. l had opportunity to OBJ
serve how monStrously gorgeous was
the furniture Of the long, low-pitchel
room. The walls were covered with
gut Slrandoles and oil paintings Of all
sizes, with heavy gilt frames; the floor
was covered with a Brussels Garnet
OF rich, hoWery pattern, upon which
lay mere and there tleecy rugs, whose
raw reds and blues seemed to have
peen recently impaired in the chemical
Vats OF the village.
no one seemed to think Of trying to
set me at my ease. Mr. Steinha "dt sat
watching the clock, and at intervals
throwing questions over his sh uldcr to
ms wife. Zone question / noted was.
is jim coming at all?"-to which she
answered: Jim said he might look
IN after dinner and smoke a pipe
and l wondered who jim was) Frank
occasionally glanced at me as if he
would like to speak, but he continued
MS examination of the gimctaeks on
the table by which he sat, as If he had
never seen them before / was wishing
L nad not accepted this invitation for
my hrst evening in Timperley, when
the young lady edged her chair a little
nearer TO me, and said with the sweet
est OF smiles and the most musical Of
tones.
You come from the south-from
London yes"
Her accent was that most delightful
OF an 1orelgn accents-the acc c1nt Of an
educated IrenchWoman. / answered
that 1 had come from London, though
was not native there"
II. also.' said she, come from the
south; from London last but from
Paris before"
Here was common ground for pleas
ant reminiscence, and we became
friends at once,
While we We're talking happened to
glance across in Mr.. Stcnhardt's direc-
ton; he was looking straight at me for
the first time. He rose and angrily
rang the bell. Presently we went in
to dinner. l, Of course, sat next to
him on his right, and noticed with
some curiosity as he carved that his
hands seemed encased in very fine
lemoncolored gloves: a second look
assured me that they were merely
stained. His sons hands were similar.
but of deeper hue. For the first time
it occurred to me that my host was the
lord Of the Chemical Dye works
They are your works. suppose,
Mr.. Stcinhardt," l said, chat | passed
after entering the yillage?'
| was alone on my side Of the table
and had to speak to him or be silent
Yes said he rather abruptly. Then
after pause: You came BY that road
them
So | related how | had lost nv way.
and how | had been struck Il did not
say, ''disagreeably' with the impress
sion Of ferocious energy my first view
Of the valley gave me.
!" 'Ferocious energy" he repeated
with a smile, looking at me as if he
liked the phrase and thought the bet
ter of me for having uttered it. sIt is
n great place for industry, and it will
be a greater yet"
| asked him how it happened that a
large mill was unused and falling in
runs
That is mine," he answered ct is
unlucky. 1t was a spinning mill; once
one Of the floors fell through. killing
many people. and twice it was burned,
all in ten years-yes, all in ten years.
And to-day it seems to have added
to its work OF killing" He looked at
me. You have not heard, perhaps |
said"
WHAT
I related what had seen and heard
Have you heard of this?" glancing
from one to another.
No: none Of them had heard
II must see to it, he said. and
stirred as il he would set out at once;
but ne added, after dinner
And after dinner he set out: and |
thought better Of him than | had at
first been disposed to do because Of his
kindly feeling, though it Were only for
pigs.
In the drawing room, however, [ was
struck with the altered manners Of the
family in the temporary absence Of its
head Mrs. SteinEardt was gossipy and
kind-even motherly: Frank threw off
his awkwardness and shyness, and de-
while Mademoiselle Lacroix was very
bright and winsome. Yet, now con-
yersing with her and now observing
her (when, for instance, she sat near
Frank at the piano., could not but
remark that look Of sadness over
spread her sweet face-of sadness, and
as OF anxiously waiting for something
or some one-wheneyer she was left to
her own thought. This expression |
was able to account for satisfactorily
very soon.
we had been some time in the draw
INC room when the door bell sounded a
loud peal, and at once | saw that sub
dued expression Of patient waiting on
Miss Lacroixs face flash up into one OF
eager expectancy. For q moment she
looked at the door, with her pale face
paler. and listened with quick ear, till
She heard the voice Of the visitor, when
~. "A cor hone collansed and sank into