Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-07-09

,
trous sometimes, l.-.
You should know bette. t..-a l.
She laughed lightly.
Nothing but good was said of you"
she went on. Aunt dwelt upon your
success with her, and your regular at
tendance upon the old man who ives
over there" She pointed to the knoll,
with which we were almost abreast,
being distant from 1t hardly 100 yards.
"She told him what hermit exist
ence Mr.-Mr Lamar-that is his name,
isn't it?-seems to prefer"
WAS he interested?"
"Shall tell you the plain truth? 1t
may spoil the story"
The truth always" said I.
at first be was interested, but very
soon he delicately managed to change
the subject"
Il don't blame him." 1 muttered,
with a glance at the house showing
above the scrubby trees. Her glance
followed mine.
"Dr Norris" she asked, after
pause, as that Mr.. Lamar deaf? When
tried to rouse somebody in his house
the other day, the place was as unre-
sponsive as a tomb"
The comparison is excellent" said
! avoiding a direct answer to her
query, as most men with an aversion
TO unnecessary falschoods would have
avoided it. The servant is deaf, and
her master is sometimes so self-ab-
sorbed that he is even worse off than
she"
What wretched existence. Is his
health altogether gomez"
HE is moro comfortable now than
when he came here"
l knew that she was studying my
face, but I kept my eyes averted.
1T Is strange that in this gossip
loving village so little Is known of
him." she went on. ''One hears that he
is a retired brewer from the south; but
that seems to be the limit of knowledge
of his antecedents."
1T is the accepted version" said l.
Really, l know little of his history be-
fore he retained me-"
Our craft was nearing the mouth of
the tidal stream, and a few more vig-
orous strokes shot IL out upon the
smooth waters of the bay, hardly rip
pied by the gentle breeze. To the
north were two sloops crawling along
on their way TO the village. To the
south and east curved the long tongue
of land which formed the boundary of
the bay on two sides and sheltered it
from the ocean swell Not more than
half n mile from where we were, cat
boat lay at anchor, with solitary fig
ure lolling over her side. The whole
scene was full Of the restfulness of the
summer afternoon, and the spell of II
stole upon us, as if we left behind with
the land its anXieties, sorrows and
fears. For a time the boat drifted on,
propelled more by current of the
bay than by the occasional strokes of
the oar. The girl was half reclining,
trailing one of her hands in the water
and with the other toying with the
handle of her parasol. the shaft of
which rested on her shoulder. We
were both day-dreaming, when hail
came to rouse us from our reyeries.
Looking up, found that we were close
TO the anchored craft. md that john
son, it's occupant, had given us warning
none too soon. In a moment we were
alongside the cntboat, and his hand had
caught the gunwale of the skitf
"HaIloo, Johnsonl" said I, what
sort of fishing are you doing herep
Business or fun?"
Fun mostly, sir" he answered,
pointing to a hand-line hanging over
the side. Nothing of bigness to be,
caught here. How does the lady like
the boat?'
Very much indeed. said Miss Gray.
You'll find she works easy. ma'am,"
said he.
1--WE discovered lot of dried mud on
the thwarts." :" said ]. You can see some
of 1t yet"
The boat was as clean as a whistle
Yesterday Somebody must have been
out in her tween then and now"
"I believe she was in use this morn
ing" l admitted.
"Well, whoever it was" johnson de-
clared, after survey of the sldff, 'he
must have landed somewhere on the
flats, where there was mud, and
tracked it in when he came aboard
agin. Here's another of his marks,
And he sent long arm into the bow
of our little vessel and picked up the
stump of n cigarette from the plank
ing. As he held 1t out for inspection
the paper unrolled, showing the dark
grains of the tobacco.
I've seen that sorter cigarette be-
fore, Doc, and guess you have, too, but
not round these parts" he said. "Da-
goes fancy EN-"
aAnd YOU don't, Ell? Well, I'm of
your way of thinking, but the gentle
man who was out in tire boat this morn
ing wasn't. Come up to the house to-
morrow, will you, and give Miss Gray
sailing lesson?"
"Ay. ay, sir" said johnson. "Thc.
boats very clever under sail. I'll be.
glad to show her any little p'ints she,
needs 10 pick up"
Your colonel can't be called very
tidy mariner, no matter what his other
virtues may be-" said l, as we rccntered
the inlet
"Why do you call him my colonel?'.
the girl asked, and it seemed to NE that
L FJeCltu Slight lllCittiSoN III AiOA No'cA'
HE is friend of my aunt's, hardly of,
mine, though I've always found him.
very agreeable"
"And attentiye?" L hdzarded, under
the spur of revived jealousy.
Scarcely that" she said, quietly,
though he was always most kind TO
me"
The spur went deeper.
"Oh, Of course" said /, rashly; and
he must have had such delightful op-
portunities-"
HE is u charming man. she an
sweled, with smile which filed me
with misery. l dare say she read me
easily, and was quite prepared to pro
long the teasing had the chance been
given her. But, looking over my shoul-
der, my glance fell upon Lamar's
somber abode. The sight of it made
me silent, and, sullenly settling down TO
the oars, l sent the light craft swift
" on toward it's mooring- place.
rTo BE Continued
r------=
His Choice.
oh. yes-ths bicycles all right:
But in summer time. dear Sue,
The thing IN which most delight
Is a hammock built for two.