Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1895-04-06

uS ~ SctHleu quite Important. lie SAID
he was jealous of me. Now Just fancy
that, Flo; jealous of poor little me-"
1T is quite possible; you are pretty
marks coldly, still without raising her
eyes.
"Ah, you flatter me, naughty girl!
Well, silly as it sounds, he actually was
jealous, and really gave me quite q
scolding. 1t brought tears to my eyes,
ii upset me so. So to tell the truth, we
parted rather bad friends; and, to be
revenged on me, | suppose. he rather
neglected me for the remainder of tie
day."
Again Florence is silent, though her
tormentor plainly waits for a lead from
her before going on.
you must have remarked" she con-
tinues presently, show cold and re-
served he was towards me when we
were all together in that dreadful
haunted chamber" Here she really
shudders, i'm spite of herself. The cruel
eyes of Arthur Dynecourt seem TO be
on her again, as they were in mat
ghoStly room.
Il remarked nothing" responds Flor
ence icily.
"No-really? Well, he was. Why, my
dear Florence, you must have seen how
he singled you out to be attentive to
you, just to show me how offended he
was"
"He did not seem offended at n
one, and | thought he was in particu-
lar good spirits" replies Florence
calmly.
Dora turns a delicate PINK.
Dear Adrian is such an excellent
actor" she says sweetly, "and SO proud;
he will disguise his feelings, however
keen they may be, from the knowledge
OF any one, M matter what the effort
may cost him. Well, dearest, and SO
you positively advise me to keep this
appointment with himP"
Il advise nothing. | merely say that
/ see nothing Objectionable in your
walking up and down the lime-walk
with your host"
"How clearly you put it! Well,
adieu, darling, for the present, and
thank you a thousand times for all the
time you have wasted on me. assure
you i am not worth it'-kissing her
hand brightly.
For one she speaks the truth; she is
not indeed worth n moment of the
time Florence has been compelled to
expend upon her; yet, when she has
tripped out of the room, seemingly rs
free from guile as a light-hearted child,
Miss Delmaine's thoughts still follow
her inclination.
She has gone to meet him; no doubt
to interchange tender words and vows
with him; TO forgive, to be forgiven,
about some sweet bit of lovers folly,
the dearer for its very foolishness. She
listens for her footsteps as she returns
! ulnnn tho nAVrt1n,. lr.laAI mn hnttht IN,
her prettiest gown. decked out to make
herself fair in his eyes.
An overwhelming desire to see how
she has robed herself on this particular
occasion induces Florence to go To the
door and look after her as she descends
the stairs. She just catches a glimpse
of Dora as she turns the corner. and
sees, To her surprise, that she is by no
means daintily attired, but has thrown
a plain dark waterproof over her dress.
as though to hide IL. Slightly surprised
at this. Florence ponders over il, and
finally comes TO the bitter conclusion
that Dora is so sure OF his devotion
that she knows it is not necessary for
her To bedeck herself in finery TO please
him. In his eyes of course she is love-
ly in any toilet.
Soon, soon she will be with him.
How will they greet each other? viii
he look into Dcfa's eyes as he used to
look into hers not SO very long ago?
Arthur D%ynecourt read her Alright
when he foresaw that she would be UNI
able TO repress the desire to follow Do
"a. and see for herself the meeting be-
tween her and Sir Adrian.
Hastily putting on a large Rubens
hat, and twisting a soft piece of black
lana rnfttH hnp nnoE Qhn rttno lntyn-
stairs, and, taking a different direction
from that she knows Dora most likely
pursued, she arrives by a side path at
the lime-walk almost as soon a her
cousin.
Afraid TO venture too near. she OBJ
tains a view Of the walk from a high
position framed in by rhododendrons.
Yes, now she can see Dora, and now
she can see too, the man who comes
eagerly to meet her. His face is slight
" turned away from her, but the tall
figure clad in the loose light overcoat is
not to be mistaken. He advances
quickly, and meets Dora with both
draw back a little, and then he seiZes
her hands, and, STOPPING, covers them
with kisses.
A film seems to creep over Florence's
eyes. With a stifed groan, she turns
and flies homeward. Again in the pri-
yacy Of her own room, and having
turned the key securely in the lock to
keep out all intruders, she filings herself
upon her bed and cries as if her heart
would break,
Not until her return to her room does
Dora remember that she did not get
back the false letter from her cousin.
In the heat of the conversation she had
forgotten it, but now, a fear possessing
her lest Florence should show 1t to any
one, she runs upstairs and knocks at
Miss pelmaine's door.
~Coine in" calls Florence slowly.
1t Is three hours since she went for
her unhappy walk to the lime-grove,
and 10Y she is composed again, and Is
waiting for the gong to sound before
descending to the drawing-room,
where she almost breads the thought
that she will be face to face with Sir
Adrian. She Is dressed for dinner, has
indeed taken most particular pains with
her toilet, if only to hide the ravages
that these past three hours Of bitter
face. She looks sad still, but calm and
dignified.
Dora is dressed too, but Is looking
Hurried and flushed.
Il beg your pardon she says; but
my letter-the letter / showed you to-
day-have you ity'
NO." replies Florence simply; Il
thought / gave 1t back to you; but, If
not, it must be here on the table,
lifting a book or two from the gypsy
table near which she had been sitting
when Dora came to her room carly in
the day.
Dora looks for it everywhere, in a
somewhat nervous, frightened manner,
Florence helping her the while; but
nothing comes of their search, and
they are fain to go downstairs without
it, as the gong sounding loudly tells
them they r already late.
"Never mind,' says Dora, afraid Of
having betrayed too much concern.
at Is really OF no consequence. l only
wanted it, because--well, because
with the shipper that drives Florence
nearly mad-'he wrote It,"
II shall tell my maid to look for it,
and, II she finds 1t, you shall have 1t
this evening"" responds Florence, with
Q slight contraction Of her br0ws that
passes ~unnoticed.
To Fl0rence's modification, Arthur
Dynecourt takes her In TO dinner. On
their way across the hall from the
drawing-roOm To the dining-room, he
presses the hand that rests so feluct-
antly upon his arm, and says, with All
.0-1x-k{2~ - ~ A~Au.Axx