The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1896-12-24
ne may be needed today, sir. He

ne may be needed To-Day, slr. de-"
"Indeed! Worse than I thought,
Graice," said Leale calmly. "You will
be wise to take cool bath and a nap
then. At all events, see that he does not
leave the barracks this afternoon, SER
geant.''
81 will, sir. Come on, Graice.'
And conscious that he had been in
deed playing with fire. yet raging oyer
the sense of his enforced submission,
the half drunken fellow turned and fol-
lowed his young superior.
Meantime there had been anxiety
and dismay at the Farrars'. Helen had
speedily been restored to consciousness,
only to be overcome by a fit of hyster-
ical weeping, succeeded by nervous at
tack that defied the efforts of her fond
est friends. Mrs. Farrar had, of course,
sent for the doctor, but Helen insisted
that his presence was utterly unneces-
sary. She begged to be left alone. She
declared the attack to be no new thing.
She had suffered just in the same way
before, though not for two or three
years. She seemed eager to rid herself
of all attendants. In truth, her one
longing was to b. allowed to think I'M
interruptedly. Even at night this might
have been difficult. By day, with SYM
pathetic inquirers coming every few
minutes to her door and with her gen.
tie friend sitting at her bee ide, she
found it impossible. If she Closed her
eyes, that leering, half drun.en, swollen,
triumphant face came to torment and
distract her. If she opened them, it was
only to find sweet, anxious features bend
ing over her, full of tenderness, sympathy
and unspoken inquiry. Do what she
could to allay it, Helen Daunton saw
plainly that Marjorie Farrar more than
suspected that there was some exciting
cause for that sudden prostration. In
utter helplessness she lay, striving to
plan, striving to see way out of this
new and most appalling complication.
That the man who had wrecked her life
should return as it were from the grave
was in itself horrible enough, but that
he should reappear in the flesh here, at
Frayne, where his presence was men
ace to the peace of so many who were
dear to her and to the very life perhaps
of the gentle invalid who was nearest of
all, was torment indeed.
For some hours she lay there facing
her fate, shutting out all thought of her
newborn hope and joy thus summarily
blasted, seeing only, thinking only
of the peril that involved her friend.
The short winter day wore on. The
spirits Of the younger members of the
social circle seemed undimmed, for, as
stable call was sounding, she could hear
merry chat and laughter again in the
parlor below stairs. Ellis alone seemed
to share with her mother the anxiety or
uneasiness which followed the events of
the morning She had refused to join
the little party that had gone up, as
they expressed it, "to call on Kitty"
She had refused partly from feeling
of indisposition to any gayety, partly
from sisterly sympathy for Will, who,
she felt well assured, longed for an un-
interrupted half hour with his capri
cious ladylove, and partly because she
shrank from appearing in the colonel's
parlor, thereby possibly giving Ormsby
half reason to think she sought him.
Evidently the young people had had
small mercy on Will. Evidently Kitty
had lent herself not unwillingly to the
fun at his expense, for. after biting
savagely at his finger nail and Juggling
furiously at his mustache, the body had
pitched angrily out of the colonel's
house and come home for comfort, and
thither had they followed him, two or
three happier couples, and, catching
him in the parlor, all unconscious Of
Mrs. Daunton 8 seclusion aloft, were as
bent on coaxing him to return with
them as he, with assumption OF lordly
Indifference, was determined to make it
appear that he had no such desire or in
tention. He carried his point too. He
knew we'll enough that Kits completely
in the plot was for the express purpose
Of teasing him. He couldn't afford to
let them see he was indignant at her or
at them; neither could he afford to let
her see that he was not justly offended
And right in the midst of all the babel
Of protest and laughter the doorber
rang, and at the head Of the stairs, just
as stable call was sounding, listening
ears heard the unctuous, jovial tones of
Corporal Rorke inquiring for Captain
Leale.
Then Willis voice responded, and Will
was very distant and dignifed. "Cap-
tain Leale is not here, corporal. Have
you been to his quarters?'
"Sure, went there furst, sorr, and
they told me he was here if anywhere.
Thin, bedad, he's nowhere.
Hes gone down to the stables al
ready perhaps, " said Farrar, and you'll
find him there. Yonder goes the call
now"
II know, MAST know, sorr, but
the throuble's right here, SORT. Higgins
has been took ill on guard. He was