The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-06-24

friendly footing upon which he was
established at "The Laurels" gave hlm
opportunities for constant association
with Hester which had swept away all
his earlier doubts as to the depth and re-
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 q very disconcerting readjust-
ment of the lines upon which he had
formed his somewhat indefinite plans
for domestic future. Like most other
men, he had painted for his life pos
sible matrimonial background, but 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 ruffled by no rude blasts of passion; a
home which should be small city OF
refuge from the din and turmoil of the
strenuous battle 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 subtle
thread of genius in his work. A hasty
review of the results of his acquaint-
ance with Hester Latimer brought out
with alarming distinctncss 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 inno-
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 gen
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 closet-studcnt; peace
and Guietness, and wcll-selected IL
brary, seemed to comprehend the con-
ditions most necessary to his well-bc
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 Il
closer acquaintance with Hester. The
tirely without precedent in his we'll
ordered life. He had said to himself,
in certain sclf-congratulatory moods,
that he had successfully passed the age
when passion usurps the place of i'm.
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
1icrn col 70 Nf n,,;f;nO1 1,A, -,
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
whelming 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
tho indistinct shadow in the bushes,
Henry's hasty and vindictiye 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 so 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 MS
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 elm.
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
a sneak thief hoping to find the house
unoccupied because there were nc
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
volved 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?
And following closely upon the heels
of the latter question came another: If
he should enter the family, would he
be expected to bear part in any such
irregular warfare? No, that was not
quite the way to state it; say, rather,
could he reasonably hope to hold the re-
spect and affection of his wife upon any
other condition?
The night was cool, and the light air