Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1896-07-02

When Ringbrand left the hospitablc
mansion on the mountain and began his
two-mle walk to Tregarthen, he was
distracted by more different kinds of
pcrplexity than usually fall to the lot
of man of his temperament. The
friendly footing upon which he was
established at 1.-THE Laurels" gave him
opportunities for constant association
with Hester which had swept away all
his earlier doubts as to the depth andre
ality of his attachment for the girl; but,
assuming that he could win her-and he
was by no means sure that it was so
written in the book of possibilities-'she
was different enough from his ideal to
demand a very disconcerting readjust-
mcnt OF the lines upon which he had
formed his somewhat indefinite plans
for domestic future. Like most other
men, ne had painted for his life pos
sible matrimonial back ground, hut in
this picture the colors harmonized
artistically with the neutral tints Of his
own studious habits. There was to be
a quiet home, with books and works OF
art, and an atmosphere of thoughtful
refinement whose peaceful calm should
be ruftled by no rude blasts OF passion;
home which should be a small city OF
refuge from the din and turmoil of the
strenuous bnttle for existence. The
central figure in this ideal retreat had
never been quite clearly defined, but
she was to be intellectual and endowed
with quick sympathy, and she was to
embody the artists ideal of the other
half OF himself which should divine
with sensitive intuition the subtitle
thread of genius in his work. A hasty
review of the results Of his acquaint-
ancc with Hester Latimer brought out
with alarming distinctness the fact
that she possessed none of the attributes
Of this ideal, save that. perhaps. her
charming individuality made it i'm
possible to say that she was not intel
lectual. She was positive and Juno
Gently self-assertive; and she had al
ready given him shock by avery frank
and ingenious criticism of one of his
stories which had appeared in a recent
number Of one of the magazines. She
was essentially of her own day and gem
Grafton; and she apparently knew little
and cared less about the subtler dis
tinctions Of motives and Of character
which so torment and perplex the
student Of his kind. Without in the
least suspecting it, and being, on the
contrary, quite fully resolved to keep
in touch with bristling activity of
modern life, Hugh Ringbrand was
already beginning to acquire the intro
spective habit of n closet-student; peace
and quietness, and a well-selected Ii
brary, seemed to comprehend the con-
ditions most necessary to his well-be
ing; and such an environment with the
breezy personality of Hester Latimer
for the central figure appeared almost
laughably incongruous.
TO do him full justice, Ringbrand
tried very earnestly to reason his way
out of the emotional tangle in which he
found himself-the more insistently,
perhaps, because he felt his powers OF
resistance slipping away from him in a
closer acquaintance with Hester. The
experience of those few weeks was Ell
tirely without precedent in his we'll
ordered life. He had said to himself,
in certain self-congratulatorym moods,
that he had successfully passed the age
when passion usurps the place of inl-
partial judgment; that an artist must
be so far removed from the emotional
side of life in his own experience as to
be able to look upon it with the cool and
dispassionate eye Of n critical student;
and up to that unlucky moment when
he had seen Hester Latimer trip across
the platform at Chilwanee Junction he
found little difficulty in conforming to
the artistic requirement. Now, how
ever, the point of view seemed to have
veered so suddenly that it left him crop
ing in mist of uncertainties, in which
he was sure of nothing but an over
~lielming desire to possess Hester; n
desire which cOntemptuously pushed
aside the arguments of reason as Of no
weight and quite unworthy of the
smallest consideration.
And then the incident Of the evening
the indistinct shadow in the bushes,
Henry's hasty and vindictive intention,
the colonel's interference, and Hester
sitting unmoved through it all. What
was the meaning of this warlike episode?
We're such things of 80 little moment
in the daily life of the south that they
could be passed over without comment?
1t would appear SO, since his hosts had
Immediately ignored the incident rs
though it had never been. Even Hester
had been able to take up the thread Of
inconsequent conversation again with
no visible sign of perturbation or en-
barrassment. What was the reason for
Henry's sudden and savage wrath?
Could the intruder have been common
marauder of chicken-coops, or was he
sneak thief hoping to find the house
unoccupied because there were no
lights?
The sinister meaning in Henry's care
less reply answered these questions be-
fore they had taken shape. Could it
be possible that the Latimers were in
yolved in one of the cruel vendettas
about which he had heard and read?--
was that what Hester meant when she
said her own family had not escaped?