The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-08
u N v E IL E D.
BY MARY ANGELA DICKENS.

Z towards the open door OF The drawing
room. Let me look at you, dearest"
His voice, with a little more depth.
I would have been pleasant: IL was winning
. IN tone, but its thinness gave il a certain
! hardness and made IL impossible 10 think
/ Of il as being any expression Of the mans
personality. He was very handsome, with
: straight features. and fair, wavy hair:
{ the nose was particularly good, and If the
Z cain, from a physiOgnOmists point Of
| view. contradicted IL 10 some extent, any
defects OF beauties about the mouth were
hidden by a long. fair moustache. His
eyes were gray. clear. and wsll-Opened
II little cold in shade. and as ne turned
Brenda's face gently toward him they
moved very slightly but necessarily as
( they scanned it.
You are veV pale. Brenda" he said.
She lifted her steady brown eyes quite
suddenly ana rush Of hot color dyed her
checks, her forehead. her very throat,
as they rested on his face She did not let
| them drop, however. indeed she seemed
10 keep them fixed on him with a distinct
effort Of self-control.
Il am quite well, Edmund, indeedr" she
said. Don't let US talk about me. We
have only minute or two. l am-am
so very glad to see you again, dearr'
You are. Brenda2" he said eagerly.
The time seems long TO you too? Tell
me now, tell me at once that we need wait
no longer"
The color was dying out of her face.
slowly and gradually but certainly, and
her eyes as they met his were dark and
rather wide. as though the effort with
which she kept them raised was a pain
ful one. Holding her hands in his he
drew her nearer. but they were still face
TO face and she seemed hardly to notice
the movement.
only one word, Brendaw he said I'VE
must not stay to talk things over now. I
know. Say that you win marry me next
month"
She hardly seemed to hear him. All her
consciousness seemed TO be concentrated
in the great brown eyes which were fas-
tened on his face. She was quite white
now.
Brenda, remember how long we have
waited"
Then, quite suddenly she yielded to his
touch, letting him draw near to her so
that her eyes no longer rested on his face,
and almost clinging to him, as she said
hurriedly, almost passionately. when
you like, Edmund, will marry you when
you like"
1t would have been no surprise to Mr.
Forsyth, as he told them with much 10
cularity as they waited in the drawing
room half an hour later If Edmund Sar-
torys had been late for dinner; but il did
surprise him very much that the dinner
hour should strike and Alan Durant have
failed TO put in an appearance.
Has he come in, do you know" he asked
of his daughter. Nice sort of a day for
a man with no more stamina than-than
a wasp, Mr.. Forsyth was not rejecting
upon his nephew's temper in this compar-
ison. II merely happened that very at
tenuated specimen of the incest tribe in
question caught his eye at the moment
With no more stamina than a wasp,
say to go for long days walk! He must
have started at seven o'clock this morn
ing. Have you seen him to-day, Brenda?"
mo, father"
Il am afraid you are waiting for me-"
said Alan Durant's grave voice from the
open door almost as she spoke, and as
the two men turned towards him, her ia
Their, with an exclamation of pleasure
Brenda rose hurriedly with an instructive
ly underlined expectancy and dread But
beyond the courteous, conventional. Il
am sorry, Brenda" with which he &C
knowledged his unpunctuality Alan took
no notice Of her. nor did he meet her eyes
as he said the words
Now l am thoroughly delighted to in
troduce you two" exclaimed Mr. For
syth, laying a hearty hand on Edmund
sartorys shoulder. Edmund, this is my
nephew, Alan Durant. Alan, my boy,
think you know who this is?"
4here was pause, so slight as TO be
hardly perceptible, but still a pause. and
then the two men bowed Which had
taken the initiative? to which of them
was II owing that they did not shake
hands? 1t was impossible 10 say.
It seemed to Mr.. Fortyth more than
once as dinner progressed that he had
forgotten how difficult it was to keep
conversation going when an engaged
couple We're Of the party DO what he
would 1t seemed to him that one or other
OF the party constantly relapsed into 81
lence. Mr.. Forsyth was not a gentle.
man often at a loss for topics of CONVEX
sation, but towards the end of dinner
he began TO find that he had exhausted
himself.
Pretty country it is about here" he
observed in a general commendatory way.
quite unconscious that he made the same
observation several times before And
this is pretty place, too" Then. to his
great relief, he was struck by a new idea.
"Bye-the-bye, Edmund" he said We've
rather an odd phenomenon TO show YOU
here. take some creGit TO myself for
having discovered 1t; don't mind telling
you You noticed that statue we see from
the drawing-room Window
For a moment as the CHEEKY old man
spoke the words there fell upon the room
an absolute death-like silence and still
ness Then Edmund Sartorys carried to
his lips the glass he had held for that in
slant suspended in his hand, replaced it
on the table. and turning to his host,
said;
Yes. sir"
1T is most remarkable thing, the most
remarkable effect of light ever remem-
her to have heard OF. In certain phases
OF the moon, 1 take ii. that statue dis
appears"
Disappears"
The word came from Edmund Sarto-
rvs. Brenda and Alan neither moved nor
spoke, nor raised their eyes.
''Dis-appearsr repeated Mr.. Forsyth.
with a pictorial effect in his pronuncia-
ton Of the word on which he secretly con-
graduated himself You see no statue.
and what is more. you see no shadow.
| Oh, it's most curious. most curiousi You
shall see ii for yourself my boy Brenda
shall take you for a moonlight stroll be-
tween eleven and twelve-that's the time
when I've always happened to see it my
self"
Edmund Satorys did not turn toward
Brenda on her fathers laugh, he did not
see-nor did her father-the strange ex-
preston in the eyes she suddenly lifted
/ 10 his face and then as suddenly dropped
again She was very pale and her face
| was strangely set.
Alan has seen it," continued Mr.. For
z