The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-02-14

LtttU HtF JfOU ttt Uocfottp.
existence till but now they had ignored,
and their dancing, by the way, though
trifle more energetic than is fashiona-
BILE, was not bad.
For q time all went swimmingly,
though the demoralizing features of So
cial democracy grew upon Harry when
he asked Charley to dance with him,
only to be told that she had already
promised moro dances than she expect
ed to perform.
A new quadrille was just forming
when something happened-in fact, a
good deal happened all at once. or so
near it that the effect was tho same. and
now sympathize with Carlyle in his
despairing sense Of the inadequacy Of
narration, which must proceed by Sc
quences, to the task of portraying his
tory, where things are always happening
simultaneously. 1t is like trying to
draw house with one line
Mrs. Peytee was standing up to dance
with the bridegroom and was near the
open door. As the nevitablepreliminary
squeaks issued from the fiddle a man,
in her own phrase, "lunged" through
the door, threw an arm violently around
her waist and--was knocked down by
the bridegroom. Mrs. Peytee was not
the woman to throw away any cards fate
in tho course Of the game put into her
hands. Sho flew into the arms of the
colonel, who had risen precipitately from
his seat by the fire, crying piteously up
ON him, her Cousin Charles, for protec-
tion. One of the young Harkinses, not too
sober himself, alas! recognized in the in
toxicated intruder his long lost brother
lin the Texas penitentiary he had been
when last heard of--and, suddenly fired
by that ardor Of blood relationship al
ways so easily awakened by those intrud-
ers known as "kin bys marriage, he
fell upon the bridegroom with blows.
The brother rose and proceeded to take
his own part as well, and in seven sec
onds from his entrance all the men in
the place were in one wild melee, and
the women were huddled together as far
off as they could get, some screaming,
some fainting, @hile Mrs. Harkins and
Dade, stirred by a different spirit, loud
ly called upon Art and Bill and "you,"
Hank, to be ashamed of themselves, and
to stop their "scandalous' behavior, in
terspersipg their adjurations with severe
comments on the male sex generally and
individually and with some very sound
abuse Of the whisky, which was indeed
at the bottom of the trouble. There was
something comforting to the other wo-
men in their accustomed air through all
this, but even their wrathful equanimity
broke down when tho sound of pistol
shot rang out. 1t was fired by the youn-
ger Harkins boy, who only aimed at the
wall and was merely carrying out his
youthful ideas of what was fitting.
A few minutes before the row began
Charley had stepped out of doors with
the other young man To look at the
moon. She was SO tired of him that she
had then invented an errand to get rid
of him for Eve minutes and had sent
him to look in the buggy for a suppositi-
tiou5 fan. Just as the shot was fired she
appeared, white faced, in the doorway,
much nearer the indistinguishablo COM
batants and peacemalsers than any of tho
OAIOI NO4Atu.
go back, Miss Charleyl For Gods
sake, 60 awayr Harry cried out, his
voice saying deal moro than his words,
but Charley didn't go back. She only
dropped on her knees and screamed
Harry, Harryl" and Harry let go tho
Harlins he was holding and sprang TO.
ward her and lifted her away from that
doorstep, and with that they both dis
appeared.
IL is 20 be supposed that Charley had
not noticed that her father was in quite
as much danger as her lover. To tell the
truth, of course both she and Harry had
each whipped up tho sense Of tho 9TH
er's danger for their owa dramatic pur-
poses have no doubt but the colonel
objected to Charley being shot. bat he
only snatchod the pistol from the Har-
kins boys hand and did not feel con-
strained TO abandon the business in hand
for her sake
BY the time she and Harry were seat.
ed ON the wood pile--and il was very
short time--poace was restored and the
Improbable prodigal sent of to pri.
vate apartment in charge Of his mis-
guided brother. but Mrs Peytee's agi.