Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-01-02


still more gravely, though silently, of
this singular companionship and was
somewhat anxious to confront his friend
with his new acquaintance. He had
not long TO wait. The sun was Just dip
ping behind the hill when the yacht
glided into the lonely loch. A boat was
put off, and in few moments Robert
Grey was climbing the little path from
the loch.
Had the consul expected any embar
rassment or loverlike consciousness on
the face of Mr.. Grey at their unexpect-
ed meeting he would have been disap-
pointed Nor was the young man s
greeting of father and daughter, whom
he addressed as Mr.. and Miss Calender,
marked by any tenderness or hesitation.
On the contrary, certain seriousness
and quiet reticence, unlike Grey, which
might have been borrowed from his new
friends. characterized his speech and de-
meanor Beyond this freemasonry of
sad repression there was no significance
of look or word passed between these
two young people. The girls voice re
tanned its even pathos Grey's grave po-
likeness was equally divided between
her and her father. He corroborated
what Calender had said of his previous
visits without affectation or demonstra-
ton; he spoke of the possibilities of
his fitting up the yacht for the fishing
season with practical detail and econ
omy that left the consul's raillery inef
fective. Even when, after dinner, the
consul purposely walked out in the gar
den with the father, Grey and Ailsa
presently followed them, without hnger-
ing or undue precipitation, and with no
change of voice or manner. The consul
was perplexed. Had the girl already
told Grey of her lover across the sea,
and was this singular restraint their
joint acceptance of their fate or was
he mistaken i'll supposing that their re-
lations We're anything more than the
simple friendship of patron and pro-
tegee? Grey was rich enough TO indulge
in such a fancy, and the father and
daughter We're too proud to ever allow
it to influence their own independence.
In any event the consul's right to di-
yulge the secret he was accidentally
possessed Of seemed more questionable
than ever. Nor did there appear to be
any opportunity for confidential talk
with Grey, since it was proposed that
the whole party should return to the
yacht for supper, after which the consul
should be dropped at the pierhead, dis
tant only few minutes from his hotel,
and his horse sent to him the next day.
A faint moon was shimmering the
surface of Loeb Dour with icy little
ripples when they pulled out from the
shadows of the hillside BY the acct
dent of position, Grey, who was steer
ing, sat beside Ailsa III the stern, while
the consul and Mr.. Calender were far
Their away, although within hearing.
The faces of the young people were
turned toward each other, yet in the
cold moonlight the consul fancied they
looked as impasSive and Unconditional as
statues The few distant, far spaced
lights that trembled ON the fading shore,
the lonely glitter of the water, the
blackness of the pineclad ravines, seemed
to be part of the repression, until the
vast melancholy of the lake appeared to
meet and overflow them like an adj
vancing tide. Added to this there came
from time to time the faint sound and
smell of the distant, desolate sea.
The consul, struggling manfully to
keep up spasmodic discussion on
Scotch diminutives in names, found
himself mechanically saying:
''And James you call Jamie?"
faye. but We would say, to be pure
Scotch, Hamish, = said Mr. Calender
precisely. The girl, however, had not
spoken. But Grey turned to her with
something of his old gayety:
And | suppose you would call me
Robbie?'
"Ah, no''
"What, then?''
robin. -
Her voice was low, yet distinct, but
she had thrown into the two syllables
such infinite tenderness that the consul
was for an instant struck with an en-
barrassment akin to that he had felt in
the cabin of the Skyscraper and half
expected the father to utter shocked
protest. And to save what he thought
might be an appalling silence he said,
with quiet laugh:
That's the fellow who made the as
sembly shine, in the song, isn't it?'
THAT was Robin Adair, . said Grey
quietly; unfortunately would only
be Robin Grey, and that's quite an
other song. =
Aud Robin Grey, sir; deestinctly, |
'auld in the song, interrupted Mr..
Calender, with stern precision, land |
I'm thinkin he was not so very unfor- |
tunate either -
The discussion of Scotch diminHtives |
hating here, the boat sped on silently |
20 the yacht. But although Robert Grey,
as host, recovered some of his Hsaal |
light heartedness the consHl failed to
discover anything in his manner to in
dictate the lover, nor did Miss Ailsa,
after her single lapse of tender acoent,
exhibit the least consciousness. It was |
true that their occasional frank ALA /