The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-07-18
FOURTH COUSINS.
BY CHARLES ID. WILLAED.

cheek, SO bright CLEAN in her eye,
and on his face such an utter abandon
of joy, that anyone-even a 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 Montecito
valley into Santa Barbara, and for the
first haIf-hour after the event they met
30 one.
1t was what the inha bitants of the
Channel City call a genuine Santa
Barbara 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 midwinter. The birds sang in
the trees above them, the squirrels
chirped from the 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.
"Whos afraid?"
"You have never seen papa do the
role of the cruel parent" said the girl;
''he can be quite dragon. Asyou are
a kinsman, however,"
"a fifth cousin" cried the young
man, with laugh.
swell, fifth cousins are better than
nothing. aren't they?"
''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 a sud
den stop and turned her clear brown
eyes, half opened under their long
lashes, upon her companion.
..That little scheme" she repeated,
slowly. Il 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
neutrality-suspicious."
''Old Ebenezer Strong!" exclaimed
the girl "How dare you call him fic-
titious, when Fsaw his portrait at my
own grandfathers.
"As your ancestor, my dear one, he
Is an undoubted reality-but as mine,
I regret to say, he is merely figment
Of your worthy fathers imagination.
In short-I would fain break 1t to you
as gently as possible-we are not fifth
cousins at all, but just plain ordi-
nary"
Not fifth cousins!
mo, darling; and II you are going
to faint, please fall on this side, With
your head right here ON my shoulder"
~ won'tl 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!"
II have sweet and gentle DISPOSE.
ton, and when he asked me II was
not descended from Ebenezer Strong,
Of West Brighton Center, and you
looked at me SO appealingly-"
II didn't any such thing!'
why shouldn't l assent? l have
doubtless had several hundred ances.
tors named Strong, and I took the
chances that some one of them rejoiced
In the prenomen of Ebenezer. 1t is
just 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 horsehai,
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 a relative we
should not be riding alone together
He generally disapproves of the east
ern people who spend the winter a
the hotel"
IF you really feel that have beer
young man, drawing his horse ittl,
nearer, suppose we begin all owe
again"
Keep your distance, sir!" exclaimed
the girl, steering to the opposite sid
of the road. "If we are to start afresh
let it be from the very beginning
three weeks ago."
Now, as to your father" resumed
the young man, II think understand
him pretty well, because my one ant
only parent, the governor himself, i
constructed on much the same plan
Wherever he goes he is continually /,
search of the LOST tribes of the Stron,
genealogy. The last letter had from
him in Colorado, where he is spending
the winter, contained the announce
ment that he had unearthed four O
five new cousins-choice specimens,
doubt not, that he will expect me t,
meet and embrace on my way home.
perhaps it was wrong he contin
ued, after a moment Of reflection, 1T,
play upon that little popularity o
your fathers, to get into his goo,
graces, but you must consider the ex
traordinary provocation, dear.
seemed like my only chance-are 70,
sorry took it?"
She looked her answer, but did no
speak 1t, and then, avoiding the han,
extended to seize her own, she strucl
her horse light blow and dashe,