Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-07-30
NUMBER 81.

because h. has ventured in a aproposal at
the wrong time What would have &C.
CURED 10 Lambert it is hard 10 tell, but
be saw that something was wrong and
stopped in time.
When General Armour and his party
reached Grcyhope, ii was late in the
evening The girl seemed tired and CON
! fused by the events Of the day and aid
as she was directed indifferently, limp
| ". But when they entered the gates Of
Greyhope and travelled up the long ave-
I nue. Of lines she looked round her some
what eagerly and drew long sigh.
maybe Of relief or pleasure. She pres
| emily stretched out a hand almost caress-
ingly 10 the thick trees and the grass
and said aloud, "Oh, the beautiful trees
and the long graSs'' There was whir
Of birds wings among the branches,
and then presently there rose from q
distance the sweet gurgling whistle Of
the nightingale 4 smile a. of remi-
niscence crossed her face. Then sho said,
rs if % herself: 1T is the same. shall
not die hear the birds wings, and
one i singing 1t is pleasant 10 sleep IN
the long grass VIXEN the nights are sum.
mer and 10 hang your cradle in the
trees -
She had asked for her own blanket,
refusing rug. when they left 81. Als
bans, and IL bad been given 20 her. She
drew il about her now with a feeling Of
comfort and seemed 70 lose the horrible
sense nt strangvuess which had almost
convulscd her when she was put into
the carriage At the railway station. Her
reserve had hidden much Of what she
really felt, but the drive through the
lines had shown General Armour and
his wife that they had 10 % with ma
ture having capacities for sensitive seei-
ing. which, IL Is sometimes thought, Is
only the prerogatiye Of certain well bred
civilizations.
Butitwas impossible that they should
vet, or for many day, feel any enso
oI klnship with this aboriginal girl.
Presently the carriage drew up 10 the
doorway, which was instantly open 10
them \ broad belt Of light streamcd
out upon the stone steps. Far back in
the hall stood Marion, one hand upon
the balustrade Of the staircase, the 9TH
or tightly held at her side, as If 10 nerve
herself for the meeting The eyes Of the
Indian girl pierced the light, and, rs II
by strange instinct, found those of
Marion even before She left the carriage.
Lali felt vaguely that here was her pos
sible enemy. As she stepped out of tho
carriage, General Armour's hand under
her elbow 10 assist her, she drew her
blanket somewhat more closely about
her and 50 proceeded up the steps. The
compOsuro Of the servants was IN the
circumstances remarkable. Ii needed 90
have been, for the courage displayed hy
Lali's two new guardians duripg the
day almost faltcrcd ut the threshold Of
their own home Any sign ot surprise
or amusement On the part Of the domes-
tics would have given them some pain
ful moments subsequently. But all was
perfectly d,corcus. Marion still stcCi
motionlcss, almost dazed. The group
advanced into the hall and there pause,
a. II waiting Tor her
At that moment Richard came cat Of
the study ~ her night hand, took h,r
arm and Sid quict!y: Come along,
Marion. 1t Us be a. brave a. our father
and mother
She gave q hard little gasp and seem
T,.a-., 81.
quickly glided forward ahead Of him,
kissed her mother lrd fath, almost alb
ruptly then turned 10 the young wife
with a scruhuizing eye. Marion, sad
her father, this Is your sister" Ma
rion stood he,itsting, confused.
Marion, dear, repeated hcr mother
cereruoniously, this il your brothers
wife Lal, this is your husbands sis.
ter MariJa
MCKENZIE translated the words swift
ly h. the girl, and her eyes flashed wide.
Then in a low voice >hc said in Eng
lish, "Yos, Marion. how:
1t Is probable shat rcithor Marion nor
any one present knew quite thc meaning
Of "how, " save Richard. and be could
not suppress g smile-it sounded 70 abb
surd and aboriginal. But attais CSclamH-
tion Marion once more came to herself.
She could not possibly 90 so far rs her
mother did at the dock and kiss this
savagc, but with a rather sudden grasp
Of the hand she said little hyst, rlcal-
", for her brain was going round like
a wheel, "Wo.won't You let me take
your blanket" and forthwith laid hold
of il with trcmulous politeness.
The question sounded for the instant
so ludicrous 10 Richard that, in spite Il
the distressing situation, he had to
choke back laugh. Years afterward II
he wished for any momcntary revenge
upon MariOn-and he had a keen sense
of wordy retaliation-hc simply said,
"Wo-won't you let me take your
blanket
OF course the Indian girl did not un-
derstand. but she submitted % the re-
moyal Of this uncommon mantle and
stood forth a less trying sight to Ma
rions eyes, for, as We said before, he
buckskin costume set off softly the goo
outlines of her form.
The Indi.S girls eyes wandered fro"
Marion 70 Richard. They wandec,l
from anxiety, doubt and bitter kind q
reserve TO cordiality. sympathy and =
grave kind Of humGr. Instantly the n
knew that no Lad IN eccentric Richar
Armour frank friend. Unlike as ! -
was 10 his brother, there was still %
their eyes the same friendlineS. ans
humanip-that Is, itwas the same LOO,
that Frank carried when he first came
10 her fathers lodge.
Richard held out his hand with cor
dial little laugh and said: "Ah, al.
yely CAD, very glad! Just III time for
supper Come along How is Frank, eh:
How is Frank Just SO, just so. Plcasa
journey, | suppose" He shook b
hand warmly three or four times, Md
as he held. il placed his left hand oy {:
il and patted it patriarchally, as was
his custom with all the children and
all the old ladies that he knew.
Richard, said his mother in n
stadiously neutral voice, 'you might
see about the wine y
Then Richard appeared to recover
himself and did as he was requested.
but not until his brother s wife had said
10 him in English as they courteously
lrcw her toward the staircase, "Oh, my
5io;her Richard, howl
But the first strain ard suspense wera
now over for the family. aad it is prob
able that never had they felt such relief