Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1895-08-08
FOURTH COUSINS.
sY CHARLES d. WILLARD.

and on his face such an inter oh, ~
VI Joy that anyone even a man
could have guessed the truth.
fortunately they had chosen the hin
road' the least Travelled of all the WAYS
that lead down from the Monticello
valley into Santa Barbara, and for the
nrst half-hour after the event they met
no one.
~ was what the inhabitants of the
Ohanncl City call genuine Santa
barbara day. The sun shone warm
and bright, and soft pcrfumcd breeze
came out OF the west There was June
In the air, although the calendar was
nct Tor midwinter The birds eane In
the trees above them, the squirrels
chirped from tho hillside, and their
horses, wandering at times from the
road' sank to the knee in a waving sea
of flowers.
First OF all, she said, breaking the
silence OF whole minute, '.you must
tell my father"
Certainly" said the young man.
who's afraid?"
You have never seen papa do the
role OF the cruel parent" said the girl;
he can be quite dragon. Asyou are
kinsman, however"
"A fifth cousin" cried the young
man, with laugh.
"Well, fifth cousins are better than
nothing. aren't thcy?"
"Trnly; how else should we be here
to-day?" Then the young man added
with peculiar and significant emphasis:
II am inclined to pride myself on that
little scheme"
The girl brought her horse to sud-
den stop and turned her clear brown
eyes, half opened under their long
lashcs, upon her companion.
THAT little scheme" she repeated,
slowly. II don't understand"
The young man laughed uneasily.
"Why, Catherine" said he, you don't
mean that you have believed in the en-
Pertaining fiction about our great
great-et-cctera-grandfatber2"
"Old Ebcnezer Strongl" exclaimed
the girl "How dare you call him fc-
titious, when saw his portrait at my
own grandfather's"
"As your ancestor, my dear one, he
is an undoubted reality-but os mine,
regret to say, he is merely Pigment
of your worthy fathers imagination.
In short-I would fain break it to you
rs gently as possible-we are not fifth
cousins at oil, but just plain ordi-
nary"
mot fifth cousins"
mo, darling; and II you are going
to faint, please fall on this side, With
your head right here ON my shoulder. "
II won't! .Wretched boy, how could
you deceive poor papa SOP"
II didn't deceive him. He deceived
himself. From the very beginning OF
our acquaintance he seemed deter
mined to locate me somewhere on the
Weston family tree, and you aided and
abetted him in the attempt"
Richard Strong, how can you'll"
II have sweet and gentle DISPOSE.
ton, and when he asked me If was
not descended from Ebcnezer Strong,
of West Brighton Center, and you
looked at me SO appealingly-"
II didn't any such thing"
"Why shouldn't l ASSENT i have
doubtless had several hundred ances-
tors named Strong, and ! took the
chances that some one of them rejoiced
in the prenomen of Ebenezer. 1t is
lust the sort of name that my for
bears were given to putting upon them
selves, as an effective and continuous
modification of the flesh. A horsehaii
shirt, now, would be nothing to It,"
"You may laugh, If it pleases you,'
said the girl, severely, but If papa
had known you were not relative we
should not be riding alone together
He generally disapproves OF the east
ern people who spend the winter al
the hotel"
"If YOU really feel that l have beer
guilty of false pretenses," said the
Young man, drawing his horse a little
nearer, suppose we begin all ove'
again"
"Keep your distance, sir" exclaimed
the girl. steering to the opposite side
of the road IF we are to start afresh
let 1t be from the very beginning
three weeks ago."
"Now, as to your father" resumed
the Young man, 81 think understand
him pretty we'll, because my one nnt
only parent, the governor himself Il
constructed on much the same plan
Wherever he goes he is continually II
search of the lost tribes of the Strong
ranealogv. The last letter had from
Rim in Colorado, where he is spending
the winter, contained the announce
ment that he had unearthed four o.
Eve new cousins-choice specimens,
Doubt not, that he will expect me t.
meet and embrace on my way home.
nperhaps it was wrong" he contin
nod. after moment OF reflection, IL
NAV upon that little peculiarity o
i,o.r fathers, to get into his goot
traces, but you must consider the ex
traordinary provocation, dear. l
seemed like my only chance-are yo'
sorry l took it9"
She looked her answer, but did no
sncaL n. and then, avoiding the hant
srtended to seize her own, she strucl
ber horse g light blow and DASHED
down the road ahead.
A long, even canter In silence fol
,om.d and they were again well int
.own before the conversation bega'
aeain Then, fearful OF observation
tsey spoke in commonplaces'
....nred at the post Office, the morn
;no.s mail having constituted the chic
na S for the trip to town. Richar'
cause a;,roounted and presently up