Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-04-22

chintz that she shared with her sister,
before her quick heart could take
twenty beats. Then she paused and
she spread open the note that she
held. Let her read it once more
carefully-and make no mistake. Yes,
Mrs. Aspinwall said distinctly that she
could not be at the hunt ball that
night owing to dear Eddie's Group.
But she would send the carriage and
sweet Elinor must be sure to go, all
the same, as Mrs. Demayn and the
other patronesses had been apprised
of her coming and no other introduce
tion would be necessary.
There upon the bed lay the gown,
soft fluff of yellow, cloud of chiffon
and ribbons, which Elinor was to have
worn, and Elinor was several miles
away by this time, hurrying with
poor, bewildered Mrs. Voss to the
bedside of old Miss Voss, her aunt
and godmother, who had dotted on the
girls dark, cameo-like beauty all her
life, petted and bullied her in turn
and announced her intention of leav-
ing her at her death all that she
owned. And she was dying now.
The telegram had come almost stimuli
taneously with Mrs. Aspinwall's note.
There had been an hour of untold con-
fusion, drenched with tears of terrible
sappointment-wh not acknowledge
it?-from the eyes of Elinor, that the
idea of the hunt ball-the hunt ball
which was to have introduced the
beautiful but obscure Miss Voss at
last to "society"-had been relin-
quished, and Elinor and her mother
had driven in the dilapidated one-r
horse Voss buggy to the station, leav-
ing Jane in sole possession of the old
house.
And now Jane-who was the young
est and had always been called plain
and turbulent, and who had ever been
an irritating enigma to her weak, vain
mother and her lovely sister, the
beauty of the family-stood in the
gathering dusk of the dingy country
house with thoughts flaming and un-
ways had eyerything-everything
She had the loveliness and accomplish
ments and such pretty clothes as could
be afforded. and the friendship re-
Gently of society people who would
"lauuch" her and lead in time to a
brilliant marriage for her. And what
had Jane? Nothing! Why, indeed,
should any effort have been made for
her? For her, with her touzled name
of ungovernable tawny hair, her green
eyes, her mouth that was too large,
her nose that was too short? She had
grown up almost in isolation, and
happiness was not for her.
She knew that. And yet, how would
it taste once-just onee-to be like
Elinor? To be pretty and admired
and loved of men?
Oh, loved of menl Jane was nine
teen, and no man save the country
doctor and the country clergyman had
ever crossed her path.
The hunt ball had fallen on a night
of full moon, and one whose breath
was unprecedently, unaccountably
balmy, and warm as that of night in
May.
AS the cotillon went on, figure after
figure, the long windows had been
opened, and, couples, straying from
the dance, wandered under the Chinese
lanterns, and amid the plants of the
encircling piazzas.
Asketh leaned in doorway and
looked at the maze within and breathed
heavily. Impossible Impossible
And yet he could have sworn that that
which had Lot happened for years had
happened to him tonight. That
which had not happened for years
BAIL Nothing like this had ever hap
pened before in his life; a life of
thirty-tive years. He could have be.
lieved that he had been drugged; had
drank philter. In his veins was an
ardor that was that of wild boy, but
in his brain and heart we're voices that
no boys heart or brain could have
harbored. That absurd thing that
people still persisted in writing and
talking about, the flash of divine fire,
exalting and consuming at once, ha6
struck him tonight, or else he was
going mad or some fever was upon
him, and tomorrow he should be in
his bed with n trained nurse ut his
pillow.
He laughed at these things inwardly
to cheat himself, even while his eyes
followed ceaselessy the girlish figure
in the yellow gown-followed the girl
with the mass of tawny heir and the
green-gray eyes.
He caught a few chance phrases
about her now aud then.
Some man had asked her name oi
Mrs. Demayn.
"Oh, n great protege of Mrs. Aspin-
! wall. She was to have chaperoned