The Irish standard., 1896-02-15
The, brothers smoked in silence for q
~ /. hnT1 fners u I, III is1.

While they talked the stars came out.
one by one and the shadows deepeneu
!. in the, cove until they lay black and
/. brooling over the .thickets on the sides
OF tho. mountain. With the drawing
: Of the curtain of darkness the noises
of the night began---the drone OF ilc
Jar, fly passing with the fading light.
into tiie9clairping of the cricket and the
s1riH song OF. the trec-toads. Thread
ing the irregular voices Of nature with
the measured pulse of human effort,
the rhythmic beat of the blowing en-
ssines at the Tregarthen furnace vi
brated upon the still air; and at inter
walls a dull red glare appearing above
the shoulder Of the mountain an
nounced the feeding time of the fiery
monster of the valley.
The brothers talked on in low tones,
pausing only once, when a. shadow
passed the door yard and glided toward
the forest. .4 e.. s ""
who's that?" quericd JEFF, reering
intently into the darkness.
Hits only Jed, rc;!:on," was thc
reply.
fflldE . SOI1 OiAio pllAC "
night??"
Il dunno; goin' to soak his haid in
the creek. maybe. more n half believe,
sometimes, that he's gettin' foolish
bout the Latimer gal; he new did have
much sense, nohow. But, as l was
a-sayin'--' And the talk dropped
back into the channel from which Jed's
appearance had diverted it.
The two men sat on a log behind the
barn, facing the cliff at the head Of the
cove. Had they been gifted with the
visual powers of the owl which hooted
dismally from the top of blasted oak
standing in the adjacent corn-ield,
they might have discerned, half an hour
later, black speck zigzagging up the
bace Of the apparently inaccessible
cliff. It was Jed, and when he reached
the summit just under the shadow Of
the tree that years before had borne
such ghastly fruit, he turned his face
southwark and walked rapidly toward
''The Laurels.' 4. .,u. ..s
do you know, Mr.. Ringbrand, that
I've always had persistent and haunt
ing impression that we've met some
where before?"
Ringbrand was spending the even
ing at the Lati1ners as usual, and they
were all sitting in the starlight On the
veranda of THE Laurels." ....
''You mean before I came to Tregar-
then, Miss Hester?" ... ..,.+
Eyes, it might have been ages ago"
Ringbrand smiled under cover Of
the darkness. "Perhaps it was. Do
you believe in transmigration?"
Il think not" she answered doubt
fully. 81 believe in the creed"
''May [ ask what creed?"
I'D think you'd be ashamed to.
when there is only one-or. at most,
two"
II stand corrected. Would it be her.
esy if / asked where might find the
one-or two?"
''Of course not; they're in the prayer
book; supposed everyone knew that. -
"Going back to your impression
again, do yo1 know that I have an ex-
actly. similar one? ] am almost posi-
tive that you are right. Can't you help
me solve the mystery"
whats that you-all are talking
about?' inquired the colonel, knocking
the ashes from his long-stenmed pipe
and crushing a dry tobacco leaf in the
palm of his hand for fresh charge.
''Miss Hester was just saying she
thought we'd seen each other some
where before came to Tregarthen, and
I'm almost sure she's right We were
trying to locate the time and place"
''Oh,. reckon it's just imagination"
replied the colonel, packing the tobacco
dust into the bowl of his pipe. "Thati is,
without you've been visitin' the young
ladies' schools in Vi'ginia."
mo, l haven't been doing that" said
Ringbrand, laughing, though it would
doubtless be delightful experience
''That would depend entirely upon
your errand," interrupted Hester. Il
think most of the visitors used to leave
Miss Pelton's with tingling ears; they
should have, if there's any truth in the
old saying"
AS Ringbrand was about to reply, he
saw shadow moving in the bushes a
lew yards distant. whats that down
there by the laurels?" he asked, rising
to get 1better view. .t. n..-
At equestion Harry Latimer sprang
from his chair and ran into the house,
appearing a moment later with his rifle.
AS he came out, the shadow darled from
the bushes and glided among the trees
on the lawn. Henry saw it, and would
have fired if his father had not wrested
the gun from his hands. Seems like
you get less sense every day, Henry
gasped the colonel lbreathlessly. sHow
do you know who YOU were going to
shoot at?"
81 know we'll enough, and so do you,"
replied the young man, nonchalantly,
going back to his chair and religlating
:" his cigar. ''They-all will get you some
day, if you don't get them first. -.
.ls,as, ! 45s ". a.ts..a
"A VANISHING PoIsr OF VIEW.
When Ringbrand left the hospitable
mansion on the mountain and began his
two-mile walk to Tregarthen, he was
distracted by more different kinds OF
perplexity than usually. fall to the lot
of man of his temperament. The
friendly footing upon which he was
established at 1.-The ,Lanrcls' gave il,ni
opportunities for constant association
with Hester which had swept away all
his earlier doubts as to the depth and re-
atty ofhis attachment for the girl; but,
<,ec,,,n;ro ~ tJ,a 4 1,a co,,1d win hnr-an1 he