Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1896-03-12

and mouths full of apologies; but Sir
Frederic cut. their excuses short.
Take your patient back to her apart
ments,' he said; land the next time she
leaves them you lose your places
The attendants were doing their best
to persuade, or force, the unfortunate
creature to quit the room when Carmen
and Hamilton Shore were added to the
company.
What on earth is this all about?" ex-
claimed the girl, in voice of disgust.
When she saw what it was about,
Ruthven expected she would look dis
tressed or compassionate; but not at all.
She colored, it is true, but only with
annoyance, as she attempted to conceal
the presence of the mad woman from
her companion.
Come, let us go into the drawing
room," she said to Hamilton Shore; and
he obeyed her mechanically.
In a few minutes the room was
cleared, and the voice of the poor pa
| tient, raised in expostulation, was. al
ready dying away in the distance.
81 am sorry you should have been
frightened and annoyed, my dear" said
Sir Frederic to Margaret, "but there
really was no danger. That unfortunate
lady, though insane, is harmless. She
| is Carmen'S mother. All! you may We'll
start; but your guardian shall tell you
| the whole story by and by. But L can
not understand how the poor creature
got loose. 1t must have been great care
! 1essness on the part of the dOmestics.'
''Oh, no, siri Indeed, it was my own
fault. I had no right to enter the room;
but Brown left the key in the lock, and
was curious to see who lived there.
How did it happen, Margaret" de-
manded Ruthven, as he stroked her
| flowing hair.
ooh, Ruthven, don't ask me" she
cried, shuddering. "I had hardly en-
tered before a figure jumped up from
| the sofa and called out Florence! sew
eral times; then she rushed at me, and
I ran away, and she followed me down
stairs-and you know the rest
"She called you Florence ?" said Sir
Frederic, musingly, "and I can under
stand it. You are very like my Flor
ence. 1 saw it the first time we met,
and now, with all this golden hair about
your shoulders, you might have sat for
the picture I have of her upstairs"
''Sir Frederic, I do not know if have
any right to tell you the truth" said
Ruthven; "but the parentage of Mar
garet O'Reilly is not known to me-"
"How? What do you mean?" ex-
claimed the baronet hurridly.
ct mean that adopted her years ago,
and that I have no knowledge of her
antecedents, excepting that she was
supposed to be the child of woman
called Nan O'Reilly."
He means, Sir Frederic, that he took
me from a prison to make me what
am" interrupted Margaret, proudly;
land that I owe him more than life
! ITSELF
But Ruthven closed her lips before
she had had time to utter more.
"You agitate me greatly, Mr.. Ruth
ven. The resemblance is so remark
able; and who can tell whether my poor
| child was killed Or not. The woman
said she dropped it in a wood. Suppose
she was correct, and my infant never
died, but was found by some passer-by,
| and
Margaret, you have been terribly
|
I think you had better go up 20 your own
room and lie down until you are more
composed, and I will see you by and
by" said Ruthven, as he conducted the
girl to the door and there dismissed her.
ST think it best that we should not
discuss this subject before Margaret
he continued, returning to Sir Fred
cries side, because it may agitate and
upset her without doing her any good.
| Now we are alone I will give you every
particular l know Of her history
And they sat together for hours, COM
pairing notes, dates, and circumstances,
whilst Margaret, tired out, slept the
| time peacefully away.
CHAPTER XVI
Il FIR E'S n lot