The Red Cloud chief., 1896-08-07
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J . tlrr'nco,t Col
"l'm ....' of yur 'lr. Eir"l rand"
sh" u.d, co.. Do. came uy th. steps: ",oa
don't Gc>,r', 'o lc u,lu,I. I...suaicd
Hester 'o stay 'p ., .ua j.,I 90 oil ar-
ranged that you ".ro to scr Her ga-clg
home; and .u3 ial to po and spoil =
alt by stay .ug '~uy. Where in the
world ha'u '.u lcpu9"
81 am very sorry ia hay" failed YOU.
| took ID i.ag walk and went farther
than I iuiuuI'd Ia. / hoyr Miss Lati.
MGR did rot have "a 70 'url. uluuc?"
Iiiughruud's voice was grave. and his
ton" wa sniuiissi,cly apologize.
"N"' Tom went up with hnr. replied
Mrs. Ludlow. going before i,lu in,u the
dininp-room and lighting Tire iump.
Inn afraid you won't get much ior sup
per- ah" added, sitting down to pour
his tea.
Nor" than ! nccd-or deserve" hc
said. making Il brave effort to simulate
an appetite for the bclatcd meal.
Mrs. Ludlow, sitting opposite. no
t""d that he ate next To nothing: and
.h" saw that something was troubling
Kim. They were old friends. and had
been well acquainted in the days when
k~Ingbrand was Il struggling apprentice
in the literary workshop and Ludlow a
small-salaricd clerk in an engineering
office. What is il, Ilugh?" she asked.
with kindly sympathy; lis il anything
about UrStcr?"
mo; that is, it is nothing that she
has said or done"
won't YOU tell me about it? Per-
haps I could help you"
81 can't tell you now" he replied.
pushing his CHAIR back at the sound of
ludioW's step on the Ncrauda. II don't
!rcl cquai 'u talking tonight. and |
hope YOU VIII excuse me ii | 90 to my
room; I Auuw its uugrucious. bur I'm
in deeper ,,uublc than YOU imagine.
Perhaps I can tcil YOU all about it. some
day"
She gave him permission. and stepped
before him with delicate tact to enable
linn 10 go upstairs without meeting her
husband. When Ire reached his room
Ia" dropped YEARLY into Il chair and
lighted Il cigar: when il was burned out
he went mcthodically to work packing
his %raliSes. ITS the only thing there i
TO do he unused, 'and it's Il proper
sequel To the thing. anyhow. don't
see why ] couldn't have been born with
n little blood i'm my veins. instead Of |
weak tea n ditch water: but | wasn't.
and ! suppose that's the end of it. Py |
,jovc, ! believe I'd he willing To change
Identities with the most ignorant of my
forcfuthcrS. dirt. peat smoke. bad
whisky, bare legs and all. if could
only have Il dash of the brute courage
along with the rest. Bah, il makes me
sick To think of il; and just as | VAS In. .,
to believe there might he "A
for me-"
When the packing was finished he sat
down tn write II letter 10 Hester: be-
them all up. ''1hat would he
only half the man." he said. Il
write her Il line from New York, |
thanking her for her hospitality and re-
GREETING that ! could not see her again.
nav" no reason 10 suppose that she
cares, yet. and she need never know
what 1t costs me to leave her.
Having completed his preparations,
he was anxious to he gone: but. as there
was no train until noon of the next day,
he was obliged to wait with what pa
'iencc he could summon. and he went
to sleep thinking that he would spend
forenoon with Ludlow, telling hira
of his intended departure and giving
him the facts of his discoveries i'm the
abandoned mine.