The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-11-06

LII is getJ1nB late, is IL nOGI MIS-.
Page inquired for countenance sake
Belinda's expressive shoulder moved in
a disdainful shrug as clock in the dis
lance chimed family. Indeed, !" she
continued, Eve had better go in. .
She moved from the piazza, and all
three entered the house. The hallway
was unlighted. A flicker from an open
door lighted the farther end Passing
from the starlight of the gallery the
gloom of the hallway seemed intense.
Furman reached forth his hand, and in
the dark encountered that Of some one
else What impulse moved him he could
not say, but putting his face forward he
pressed his lips softly to the cheek Of
the owner of the hand
In his own room Furman dropped on
a seat and loosened his necktie with q
thrust of his thumb. Through the open
window came moist heaviness subtle
as the atmosphere of a seraglio.
81 must go tomorrow" he told him.
self and tried to map out his departure
in his mind. From across the hall faint
footsteps reached his ear. He heard a
whispering voice A door closed, and
from somewhere In the great house the
subdued striking Of clock was heard 1t
was midnight, he knew. Slowly he I'M
tied the latchet Of shoe and sat gazing
through the open window In his I'M
hearing ears the hum Of myriads of in
sects sounded, and to his unheeding eyes
the stars still danced their saraband
The river seemed to call and the night
to wait
Cutting his meditations suddenly
short, he produced match and lighted
his lamp. He could not go to bed, and
he would write to Mrs. Page. though
what he would say to this matter Of fact
divinity he did not know. After he had
produced pen and paper he sat for long
time wondering how he should address
her. Dear Mrs Page, that would not
do for such an epistle as he intended his
to be, and he did not even know her
Christian name Finally he let the sub
ject of the name rest and began the body
of the letter.
Last night-it seems a year ago.
There are people whom we meet, peo-
Pile who disturb us with suggestions
that have gone before When saw you
and heard your voice last evening, there
came to me "reminiscences of earlier and
forgotten days. 1t was not of the present
| thought, but of past / remembered l
had dreamed. Il was like tangled
skein One after another the threads
Embossed, and as they separated from
each parting knot memory returned.
You were not stranger. You were a
friend I had lost. I could have sat with
you, and from yesterday could have
led you back from one horizon to the
other until that posting house was
reached where our destinies changed
their course and our hands were first
unclasped.
Much more followed in the same
strain, and when he had completed a
bulky letter he found that it but half
expressed his thoughts, or expressed
them at all as he had wished, SO tearing
the sheets into fragments he thrust out
the light and threw himself on the bed.
When he awoke, the room was filed
with sunlight, and ON palmlike cot
tonwood Furman caught glimpse OF
Belinda's pet monkey chattering and
scratching his knee. At breakfast none
of the family was visible, and Furman
took his roll and chocolate in the piaz-
"a, waited on by an ebony boy whose
features seemed never to relax from an
expansive smile.
Ode ladies were up too long ago to
talk bout, and de major was done gone
out toe de canefel's, but would be home
a. ter while .
Furman idled out into the grounds.
A field Of fruit that he had not previous
ly explored attracted him, and he wan
dered thither. Dragon flies and honey
bees swarmed over the peaches, burst
ing with their richness under the sun s
ardent kiss, and sointillant green June
bugs filed the air with the sibilant
whir Of their gauzy wings.
Furman initiated the example of the
gluttonous insects and Toasted on the
fruit picked ready to his hand
IOL1 bu0 bCLScu VI uB OLbnOS
Miss Lieth appeared. A large hat part
ly shaded her face, and in her hands
was basket filed with the finest of
the yellow figs Her eyes smiled when
she saw Furman, and faint carmine
tinged the olive of her cheek
''Father came home early this morn
ing" she volunteered. Her voice had in
it note of shyness, but her eyes rested
intently on his.
tIndeed?' Furman selected a pie
thoric fig and thought of Mrs. Page.
Eyes. He is over in the young cane
beyond the cottonwood. Her eyes still
dwelt ON his face, and they were, he
imagined, more suggestive of inward
smoldering than ever.
II shall not seek him unless, indeed,
you wish to be rid of me- "
She shrugged her shoulders
They strolled leisurely through the
fruit plantation and again entered the
flower garden by another path. 1t was
not yet the luncheon hour, but the ma
jor was seated on the piazza He was
scrupulously neat in what seemed to be
a freshly Numbered suit of white linen,
but his face was as indifferently COM
posed and his eyes as alphabetically dor
mant as ever Belinda passed into the
hallway, leaving the two men together.
Furman found a seat in the chair he
liked best and lighted a cigar. The
major cleared his throat and looked at
Furman expeotantly, but there was no
consciousness In the calm insoucianoe of
the young man.
HIM." the major began hesitat-
ingly. Belinda tells me that you have
.er-that is, that she loves You, and
that you have arrived at an understand
ing"
The blank amazement of Furman's
face cut short the majors speech, and
be sat staring at him inQuiringly II
beg your pardon, Major Leith," Fur
man began; there has been a mistake
I cannot explain, +" he stammered in dis
tressed establishment
But | insist on an explanation.
The majors eyes were as dormant as
before, but there was new tone In his
voice that Furman had never heard be-
fore my daughter loves you-she has
confessed 1t to me-and she believes you
love her In return. 1t is an injury for
which you must make reparation. .
Furman sat staring at the major stu
pidly, and gradually the situation
dawned on him. The hand that he had
pressed and the cheek that he had kissed
In the gloom of the hallway were not
those of Mrs. Page. the majors bride
elect. but those Of Belinda Leith, the
MAJORS daughter.
Belinda had inferred his regard from
this overt act of foolishness, but how
could he explain this to the girls IA
therY He felt Inundated and ashamed
Of what the major would consider an
breach of the laws Of hos
,o.,1l IA - ,....-. 49, -