The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1896-05-28

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dure the ordeal of formal lcave-tak-
ing. Ludlow went downstairs, trying
TO think of some way of te ling his wife
without rejecting too severely upon his
friends lack. of courage, eS
a'You said Ringbrand went up with
the colonel yesterday didn't your he
asked, hoping to gain time.
"Why, yes; they drove off together
about three o'clock"
q 'Well, The Didn't come back. Perhaps
the Iatimers kept him."
Mrs, Ludlow looked puzzled II hard
ly thought he would stay. Irather cx-
pected him back to tea, last evening.
1t isn't like him to stay away without
saying something or sending wordp
She seated herself behind the coffee
urn and touched the, bell for Aunt
Nina. Tu g. ,rf si'h. et''A39Spt
d. 'fOh, L don't know about that, re-
piled her husband carelessly, taking his
place opposite. "a mans liable to do
anything when he's badly hipped as
Hugh is"
"Please, Tom, tell Inc all about it.
won't you? / can't get word out of
Hester, and Hugh goes about looking
like man who had lost all his friends
in single night"
II don't know anything to tell, except
what is evident enough to man up
moderately tall tree. Hugh has
about as pronounced case as / ever
saw develop in SO short time, and it'll
] go hard with him ifhe doesn't win. If
Hester should refuse him, I shouldn't
be surprised to have him leave us
without a word; it would be very much
like him." So much good-natured Tom
Ludlow ventured on the chance that
Ringbrand had carried out his threat.
"Why should Hester refuse hiln?"
"Bless my soul! how should | know
Pm not in the young woman's conf
dence; and, besides. | don't know that
she has"
Ludlow hurried through his break
fast, and breathed freely again when he
was well out of ear-shot of his home
''l'm a lucky mani" he chuckled; alive
minutes more, and she'd have had the
whole story out of me, and really
mustn't tell her that-not yet awhile;
it d be cruelty to animals. I'd like tc
know if that Anticipated rascal has
actually taken French leave. l must
try and find out from the colonel if hi
comes down to-day"
The colonel did come down, but Lud
low learned nothing more than that
Ringbrand had left 1.-The Laurels" quite
early in the evening, that he had in
sisted upon walking, and that he hat
\ taken the north road instead ofturnin9
toward Tregarthen.| Ludlow guarded
his inquiries carefully, but the colonies
hospitality took the alarm at once.
"Do I understand that youth frient
didn't come home las night?' he asked
Ludlow admitted it, and FASTENED t.
( add that Ringbrand was sometime
rather erratic in his movements.
/ II reckon it would be something
little mo- than erratic if he camped GU
on the mountain all night; thah's NJ
house this side of Squire Craven's, ar
that's good ten mile"
(, Perhaps he went on down the roa
/ to Dunbar," suggested Ludlow; She
good for long tramp if he felt like il
He'll turn up all right"
The colonel looked thoughtful. q
hope so; indeed, do. He's a might
fine young gentleman, and we-all thin
4 heap of him up on the mountain. II
told me yeste'day that he was goin
back to New York befo' long"
Ludlow took this as confession @
his suspicion, and answered, accord
I ingly: Yes; he's quite anxious to &c
back to his work" q,
Here the matter rested, and the tire
people who knew of Ringbrand's dis
appearance held widely different view
as to it's motive. Mrs. Ludlow, findin
the packed valises in the guests room
reluctantly gave place to the carefully
insinuated suggestion of her husbau
+ that the young man had fed becaus
Hester had refused him; Ludlow, som'
! what better informed, was quite SUI
that the uncercmonious departure We
due to Ringbrand's failure to win in tt
battle with his weakness; while I'll
colonel went home with a slightly-col
fused idea of the unaccountability {
authors and story writer's, who's
vagaries led them to refuse the hosp
talities of a comfortable mansion fc
the sake of spending the night in wal
dering about on the mountain. Impair
ing his convictions to Hester, togeth,
with the information that Ringbrar
had not returned to Tregarthen,
awakened an emotion in the heart ,
that ingenious young woman whit
had slept quite peacefully through IL
unobtrusive wooing of her lover; al
her quicl, intuition. finding bett'
. trajectory than the logic Of the other
went nearer the mark, filing her wit
vague approximations for Ringbrand
safety. She immediately recalled Il
conversation of the previous evenin
remembering his abstraction and Il
abrupt lcave-talsing. Then she recc
lccted that Henry had been the last OF
who had seen him, and she quickly o
tanned all the information that could
CLEANED from that source. 1t contain'
grain of comfort in the assurance tn
he was not unartned but she could n
help thinking that the mere possessi'
of the revolver promised little for b
safety, .sel yt44is f.fit rsf.