The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-03-17

toy bands but ] have every ason TO
believe the matter will be settled this
'afteruDon.D
DR.. Lester. (" Edna exclaimed as he
halted at the ~post-ofhce, sill We're
you III would not run away from IL
but, perhaps, you have some enticing
place to fly to-"
No. he answered; I" am fortu-
rate enough to have the wide world to
choose from-except this one spot,
and he added, 'sthis is the best and
the worst ON the face of the earth"
surely you Canyon can stay III
you please" she said. BY tacit con-
sent they turned their faces toward
No, Miss Sinclair; things are too
unpromising."
but you will live it down." she
urged. "Suppose the same-the same
misfortune had happened to DR.. An
HE could have borne with it; his
reputation was made. Mine has been
spoiled in the making, as far as Upper
combe is concerned. Honestly, / am
positive that no power on earth could
have saved Strangeway's life. | am
equally positive that l was injudicious
in performing the operation myself ;
SO that, in a way, l was to blame. Any
how, 1t has ruined my practice"
But IL you could only stay your
practice would come back. People
are very tickle. 1t isn't every doctor
who a buy a practice, yet they man
age. How do they do it 2"
He held open a gate for her to pass
through into a meadow as she spoke.
The sun shone brightly and the hedges
were fragrant with wild rose and
honeysuckle.
"Oh, there are various ways" he
explained. "Some take parish work,
but 1 and too unpopular to attempt to
get that, even IL there were an open
ing at the moment. Others receive
resident patients-lunatics, hypochon-
driacs and 80 forth"
Then couldn't you take patients?
Would not that enable you to-to stay
at Uppercombe ?"
"Oh, yes; only first 1 should have to
take a wife, Miss Sinclair"
He turned to look down vt her face,
and at the same moment Edna cameo
across the ditch to pluck a spray OF
hOneysuckle. No sooner had she re-
covered her balance than she began to
pull the blossom to pieces.
"Well, DR.. Lester?" she said, looking
up suddenly.
"Ah that sort OF q thing is over as
far as l am concerned" no answered.
She beat her foot p~etulantly on the
grass. =.
"I-I don't see why, if it would-if
it would really help YOU"
He leaned forward eagerly. She
bent her neck to smell the honey
suckle.
Edna" he muttered, "you are
triAipg with me ~
She shook her head slowly.
but you you said-"
SIS it generous to remind one OF a
mistake ?" she rotorted.
~ am not in u position. Things are
at a very low ebb-"
1.-THE tide will flow again." she said,
"and--and 1 have three hundred q
year of my own"
"What will your brother say ?"
s"Oh," she cried, ~ am not a child.
l am q woman and have q right to
please myself; though to be sure" she
added, you may not think have
played a very womanly part this morn
ing"
She looked very demure, very pretty,
as she TODD dissecting the honey
suckle, and perhaps he would have
been more han human to have re-
sisted.
"We will face it together" he said.
you will be my comrade as we'll as
NY Wllc-Hy USSb UClONcu you huOWu
you have been since the first week l
saw you"
Presently she limited at the desirabi-
lily of returning.
"Ah, yes" he answered, ~ ought
to lose no time in seeing Sinclair"
"Come around after dinner tonight"
she said, and returned home alone, not
without ~trepidation.
That afternoon she took Gertrude
into her confidence.
"Now," she concluded, "you must
tell Alfred. 1t isn't that 1 am afraid,
only [ don't want him to say anything
we should both regret all our lives.
Nothing he can say will make the
slightest difference, so he may as well
yield with good grace"
you know, darling" said Ger
J trude, "you will miss things awfully.'
"Wait for a year." was the answer
You will see by that time. Blythe
by, of the course you must maze an
excuse to DR.. B!enkinsopp."
ooh, of COURSE" said Gertrude. "Tn
fact, between ourselves, have nc r
been quite satisfied. Oh, | do hope
humor ~
AS q matter of fact, he did, and,
without much loss Of time, Gertrude
broke the news. Daring the ensuing
ten minutes she formed the highest
opinion OF Edna's diplomacy. 1t was
quite as we'll that her sister-fn.law
was not present. The strongest man,
however, must bow to the inevitable,
and Alfred possessed sufficient dis
elimination to perceive that he was
powerless to move his obstinate sister.
He raved for some time longer, then
sent for Edna and prophesied all kinds
of evil-a prophecy destined to re-
main unfulflled. Upon my word, " he
concluded, "you're-you're just like a
woman"
And. on the whole, Lester mot with
a more cordial reception Than he anti.
cipated.