Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-07-05
THE NARROW WORLD


something hOu nanpclcu'
There was such IL rosy flush on her check,
so bright CLEAN in her eye, and on his
face such an utter abandon Of joy, that
any one. even n man, could have guessed
the truth.
Fortunately they had chosen the hill
road. the least Travelled of all the ways
that lead down from the Momccito valley
into Santa Barbara, and for the first half
hour after the event they met no one.
1t was what the inhabitants Of the
Channel City call n genuine Santa Bar
bara day" The sun shone warm and
bright and soft perfumed breeze came
out of the west There was June in the
air although the calendar was set for mid
winter The birds sang in the trees above
them, the squirrels chirped from the hill
side and their horses wandering at times
from the road, sank to the knee in way
ing sea of flowers.
First of all, " she said, breaking the ST
lencc of Il whole minute, "yOu must tell
my father. ="
"Ccrtainly," 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 "A dragon. As you are a kins-
man, however -
"A fifth cousin " cried the young man,
with laugh.
well fifth cousins are better than moth
ing, aren't they
Truly; how else should we be here to-
day." Then the young man added with
peculiar and significant emphasis, Il am
inclined to pride myself on that little
scheme -
The girl brought her horse to a sudden
stop and turned her clear brown eyes, half
opened under their long lashes, upon her
companion
That little scheme" she repeated slow
ly. ~ don't understand. -
The young man laughed uneasily.
why, Catherine" said he "you don't
mean that you have believed in the enter
tanning fiction about our great -grcat-et-
cetera- grandfathcr:"
"Old Ebcnczcr Strong?' exclaimed the
girl How dare you call him fictitious,
when saw his portrait at my own grand
fathers"
"As your ancestor, my dear one, he is
an undoubted reality, but as mine, l re-
greet to say, he Is merely Pigment of your
worthy fathers Imagination In shOrt-1
would fain break it to you ms gently as
possible-we are not fifth cousins at all,
but just plain ordinary
Not fifth cousins!'
no, darling and if you are going to
faint please fall on this side, with your
head right here on my shoulder.
% | WON'T Wretched boy, how could you
deceive poor papa SOP
" / didn't deceive him. He deceived him
self From the very beginning of our ac
quaintance he seemed determined to locate
me somewhere on the Weston family tree,
and you aided and Allotted him in the at
tempt.
Richard Strong how can you"
1 have sweet and gentle disposition,
and when he asked me if | was not de-
scended from Ebenelcr Strong of West
Brighton Center, and you looked at me so
appealingly
Il didn't any such thing!'
Why shouldn't | assent? have doubt
less had several hundred ancestors named
Strong, and | took the chances that some
one of them rcjoiccd IN the prenomen of
Ebenezer 1t is just the sort Of name
that my forbears were given to putting
upon themselves, as an effective and con
tinuous modification Of the flesh. A horse
hair 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 Il relative we should not be
riding alone together. He generally diSap-
proves of the eastern people who spend the
winter at the hotel.
IF you really feel that have been guilty
of false pretenses," said the young man,
drawing his horse little nearer suppose
we begin all over again.
keep your distance, sir" exclaimed
the girl, steering TO the opposite side of
the road If we are to start afresh let it
he from TIE very beginning three weeks
ago "
Now as to your father" resumed the
young man, - think l understand him
pretty well, because my one and only par
cnt, the governor himself, is constructed
on much the same plan Wherever he goes
he is continually in search of the lost tribes
of the Strong genealogy The last letter l
had from him in Colorado, where he is
spending the winter, contained the AN
nouncemont that he had unearthed four or
five new cousins-choice specimens, l
doubt not, that he will expect me to meet
and embrace or my way home.
Perhaps it was wrong" he continued
after moment of reflection, Ito play upon
that little popularity Of your fathers, to
get into his good graccs but you must
consider the extraordinary proyocation,
dear !, seemed like my only chance-are
you sorry took it,
She looked her answer, but did not speak
it, and then, avoiding the hand extended
TO seize her own she struck her horse a
light blow and dashed down the road
ahead
A long oven canter in silence followed
and they were well into town before the
conversation began again. Then fearful
of observation, they spoke in common
places
They turned into State street and stop
ped at the postoflice, the mornings mail
having constituted the chief cause for the
trip to town Richard Strong dismounted