Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-12-17
aLOYEROf The Day.
Continued.
CHAPTER VI.

IIe0Iy, 10 nor SuepIatnef one morning d.
breakfast, looking up as she spoke
from a page or two Of note paper which
she had just received from ShoI,o.
Those young sparks at the war OF
fee have a nice time of z. Good fell
low, though, to stay with his aunt.
like to see a young man cons derate to
his elders. Confound that girl! Where
mas she put my specs and the advertise
ment sheet? Patrice, you must tell
them in the kitchen, once for all
will not have the advertisement sheet
taken away"
It's under your arm, dad, dear; and
your spectacles are in your saucer"
ITO be sure, so they are; they're
quite sticky. You must have split the
tea in passing it over to me. If there
IS one thing | dislike more than an
other it's sticky spectacles I mean.
having tea split into my saucer. The
appearance of everything connected
with eating and drinking ought to be
fastidiously neat an clean. | have al
ways endeaYored to impress that fact
upon you, Patrice, yet here my cup is
sailing about N an ocean of tea in the
saucer"
Eyes, dear father, l know. l saw
you stirring it out over the br-im of the
the cup just now. Now listen, we were
talking about Sholto staying away
another week on account of his aunt.
he says, but [ feel sure he is not well.
He writes quite despondently about
his official life and his press prospects,
says he's sure he will never make
enough either at the war office or as a
Journalist to enable him to become
even a E10 householder. I'm sure he
can't be wellr'
He's disconnected, that's what's the
matter with him. He's no worse off
and his prospects are as good as when
he asked you to marry him a few
weeks ago" Capt Kelly put down the
Times and his spectacles and was IN
command of the ship at once, as he
thought
IF Sholto Graham brings sadness to
my child's eyes and sorrow into her
heart through his discomfort and in
stability, he will find that the old MAJ
has some fight in him still and knows
how to resent insult or injury Offered
TO 9 woman as we'll as ever he did
What a fool I am to coniure up such a
ghost The fellows a good, honest
young fellow or my girl wouldn't love
Linn as she does
He spoke this last esentence aloud
urconsciously, and was only called to
{. sense Of the incautious verbal blunder
he had made by the look of blank
amazoment on Patrice's face, and her
startled exclamation Of
Dear dad, are you raving?'
Il must be; | certainly I certaj~ ~
must be, my der. I was THINKING Of
something, by Jove! l hardly know
what | was thinking about, and got
confused and spoke my thought, like
the old duffer l am, instead of keep
ing il TO myself he said, hurriedly
and alphabetically, as he proceeded to
.disaTange and hopelessly mix up his
letters and papers, in order to create
a diversion by asking Patrice to aid
him in bringing order out of chaos.
But Patrice had been touched on a
point ON which she was peculiarly sen
sitiye, and she would not be put off,
No, no, papa, you were thinking OF
Sholto when you said you We're a foo
10 cOnjure up a ghOsl. What was the
ghost like? Tell me. Was ii dist ust
of Sholto7 l won't let even you doubt
him for a moment. Exercise that hor-
rible ghost at once and be my own
dear, unsuspiciOus dad again"
She rose up as she spoke and went
over behind his chair, put her arms
around his neck and kissed him. The
action was prompted as much by her
desire to hide some tears which had
gathered in her eyes from his loving
scrutiny as by affection. But he was
not blinded, for hot tear fell on his
forehead as she stopped over him.
The chivairous delicacy of his true
old heart enabled him to stif1e the eX-
clamation OF rage and jealousy pro-
tecting love for her which had nearly
escaped his lips, and to subdue all
signs of having observed her emotion
But he did this with such mighty eff
fort that the veins in his head and face
swelled up, and Patrice, who appre-
ciated his heroic self-rule, feared that
1t would bring on an apoplectic fit.
Dear papa, she said, with a little
gulping sob. Eve wont try to make
believe TO each other. l am disap-
pointed, miserably disappointed, that
Sholto is staying away of his own free
will, and you are angry with him fol
disappointing me. I'm not a foolish
Iy acting girl, and | would never have
let myself feel hurt if he had said he
was sorry too. But he seems indif,
ferent about seeing me again, anc
thinks of no one but his sister"
indifferent about you! Thinks o.
no one but his sister! Curse him!
cried the old sailor. furiously, but the
next moment he repented him of this
outburst and appealed to Patrice WITT
loving humility to collect his seattle &c
correspondence and help him convey
1t into his own den. When she haC
done this and was leaving his room
with the brave determination to g1 anC
do her household duties as efficiently a.
ever though her thought of Sholtt
were disturbing to the last degree, his
self-restraint broke down again, bu
this time it was a wave of tender, no
of wrathful. feeling which swept owe
his soul.
Il vowed to your dear mother whel
she was dying that I'd guard you from
everything hurtful as I would m,
honor, and no-you're not happy AM