Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-10-26

- 49,
looking at her till tho last CLEAN OF
consciousness faded away. After that
-.for he did not actually die for some
hours-she sat beside Mrs. Jardine,
watching him till the end. And after
the end. Roderick remembered she
had taken his mother out of the room
and comforted her, staying a little
while longer, and then leaving, no one
thinking or saying much about her.
either at the line or afterward.
Now. recollecting his fathers look,
and hers. too, the whole story, or pos
slble story, presented itself to the i'm
aginativc young mar in colors vivid as
life. ana tender US death alone can
mako them. And when, carelessly
opening another letter, he found it was
from the lawyer of this same Miss
Jardine, stating that she had left him
frederick Horny .]ardine. her sec
ond cousin once rcmoved"-the whole
OF her small property, as also a dia.
mond ring, (which his father gave me
many years ago." he was deeply
touched.
u wish 1 had known her. I wish I
had had u chance of being good to her
poor Cousin Silence.." thought he.
And as he sat watching tho light of
the dying day" which died SO peace
fully. SO gloriously over the western
hills. he. with his life lust begun. pom
do ed over the two lives now ended,
the mystery of which he guessed at,
but never could know. except that thcv
wore safely ended.
When the sun set, going down like a
ball of fire which dyed the river all
crimson, and the sud zen gray chill of
an October twilight came, Roderick
started up, a little ashamed of himself,
and still ashamed when he found
nc had en1ircly neglected to ask the
time OF the return train to Richerdcn.
Just like me, mother will say and,
half laughing, but veXed. for it always
veNcd him to veN his mother. he tore
along a. fast as his long legs could
carry him. to the railway station. The
tram was Jlust going. and it was at the
FISK OF his llie-to say nothing of u
penalty of forty shillings-tnat this
foolish young fell NV contrived to leap
into it; breathless. exhausted, having
nearly killed himself in his endcayor
to do his duty"
So he represented to himself, at
least, and felt u most tremendous mar
tyr all tho way to hichcrden. 1t did
MOI occur to him that simply looking
ut his watch and the timetable would
have saved all. but at his age we are
apt to overlook the little things on
which. like the coral islands of the
South Sea ocean. our lives arc built.
How far We build them ourselves, or
Fate builds for us. cd only knows.
Tearing up in n cab to his own door
Tor rather his mothcr's-he already be-
gan slightly to feel the difference,
ringing as if he thought the house was
on fire, andibcing met by the imperturb-
abe butler with the information,
Yes, sir, dinner is served: Mrs. Jar
dine waited half an hour, AMI then
asked Mr.. Thomson to take the foot of
the table'-all this did not contribute
to Roderick' S placidity of spirit. When
he at last walked into that blaze of
gas-light-that dazzle of crystal and
plate-that strong aroma of dainty
dishes Il excellent wines, and clatter
OF conversation, which makes up q
Richerden dinner-party, he was not in
the best frame of mind to enjOy the
same.
His mother was so busy talking. and
the sllver-gtlt epergne was such an eff
fectnal barrier between the upper and
wv Cluo VI VIC Uiplc. UuuU she never
noticed that her son-in- aw-elect
quilted his place and her son slipped
into it, till the decd was done. Then
Roderick might have received Il good
hearty scolding, not u~ndcscrved. had
not something in him-was it his
fathers look::-repressed the ebulli-
ton. She merely said: "Oh. my son
is there, | see. Better late than
NEVER And the dinner wont on.
When. the ladies having retired, he
still had To keep his place and pass
the bottlc'-which he loathedlto
elderly gentlemen. ay, and young mes,
too, who evidently did not loathe it
listening meanwhile to talk in which.
whether it was his own fault or not,
he could not get up the smallest in
terest. this young Cantab-who for
three years had lived in what was a
little better atmosphere than that of
Enthusiastically, us we'll as physi-
cally-was a good deal to be pitied.
So was his mother. too, when, hay
ing succeeded in Turing the guests up
stairs. he-her only son-went and hid
himself in the d~rawing-room and
'sulked.' as he overheard her say, la
menting over him as a black sheep. in
the loudcst of whispers, to q lady he
particularly disliked.
But it was not sulking. for he had
his fathers sweet temper. Itwas only
the utter WEAKNESS of spirit. which, in
uncongenial circumstances ONE over
the young rs we'll as the old.
And then, with the habit he had of
passing Owe things at the time and re-
curing to them afterward, there came
into his mind Il sentence in the letter
from Miss .Iardine $ lawyer, explaining
that in making her willshe had said to
him that her only other kindred were
some distant cousins. living, she be-
lieved in Switzerland, whom, if they
were POOR, she left to Roderick's kind.
ness.
capital idea. I'll go straight to
Switzerland and find them. 1t would
ut least be something to do"
And the mere notion of this bright
ened up the young fellows spirit and
warmed his heart-he was, l fear. bat
a foolish young Quixote after all; so
that when hi, mother called him to do
civility to the departing guests, he
came forward with an air of cheerful
ness, such as he had not worn all the
evening. Ay, eve when he had to
escort the most honorcd quest to the