The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-10-30

IaUdnted to EnoW if he made loUe to her.
that your luggage is sent to you and
will meet you at the station tomorrow
afternoon if ] do not see you before"
ooh, but Mr.. Talois," Mrs. Wallis
cried, putting her head out of the win
dow, ''you must come up and dine with
us tonight"
with pleasure, madame" And the
carriage drove on.
Mrs. Wallis leaned back i'll the cush-
ions. "Well, you are a lucky grill Did
there ever live another man as thought
ful?"
There had been something lowering
on my tongue for a day or two. l didn't
mean it for anything but the most teas
ing remark, and 1 didn't believe it in
the least, but / said it: Indeed, I
hardly think it is 1 who happen to be
the lucky one. 1t seems to me he pays
you a great deal the most attention"
Mrs. Wallis is 40, but extremely
stylish and a fully equipped woman of
the world in most things, but to my ut
ter surprise she met my little sally with
an embarrassed laugh and a vivid, burn
ing blush. In my establishment l could
not take my eyes from her face. She
was turned away from me-, looking out
of the window.
ooh, no, my dear madamel" I
thought. SIS it thus the wind blows?"
1t would be a fine finish to her life TO
die amarquise. 1t was necessary to look
to my ~laurels. l, Jean Medlicott, find
ing a rival in Mrs. Wallis! Oh, it was
too absurd to think about. Nh. Valois
came around to dinner that evening,
and I put on my prettiest dress. 1t was
a pale green thin thing, and l thought
I looked unusually we'll until / saw
Mrs. Wallis in all of her war paint.
She was positively regal in a dark red
velvet and black lace. Her beautiful
hair was piled high, and there was a
diamond here and there. After dinner
Mr.. Valois took us to the theater to see
Mary Anderson. I shall never forget
that evening. My dreams seemed to be
all broken up. My castles were coming
down like cards. Mrs. Wallis was ev;
IDENTIFY in love with Mr.. Valois, although
he was fully ten years her junior. l
must have heen blind not to have seen
it before. And he? He was charmingly
courteous to me, but that grand defer
ence was as certainly paid to Mrs.
Wallis.
We all went up to London the next
day. All the way Mr.. Valois spoke of
the sights to be seen in the great
metropolis, but begged US to make a
short stay there at first, going over to
4Ia ao.kSo,t eD, oxrh;1a opI fho~ aox,
ing back. He said-very justly-that
coming at once into a country where
our own language was spoken we would
begin to draw comparisons with
America and belittle the magnificence
of England. But while we were here
there were a few places that we must
see. Mr.. Valois, who evidently knew
London like a book, suggested that in
stead of the Langham we should go to
a small hotel. almost like a private
house, and Enthusiastically English,
where the maids brought the hot water
up in jugs and pots of flowers bloomed
on our parlor window stills. From here
we made excursions into the old world
about us, and it was here that we had
afternoon tea and dinner by the soft
. light of wax candles. Mr.. Valois was
. constantly with us. My air castles were
up agai.a. ! began to see differently
Mr.. Valnis treated Mrs. Wallis as l.,
would have treated my mother, and lie
D seemed perfectly unconscious of her
infatuation for him.
l But for the first time since we had
known each other there was q little
GOODNESS between Mrs. Wallis and my
self. 1t was nothing defined, just one
of those uncomfortable, constrained
) states that seem to come sometimes be-
tween friends like the breath of a north
Z wind.
y One day we had been drinking tea
= and were standing about with the cups
= in our hands when there was a commo-
, ton in the street. There had been q
collision between a carriage and q cart.
The occupant of the carriage was just
: alighting as we looked out. He was a
small, wien faced creature in the most
correct afternoon costume, and he SEEM
ed to be in a terrible rage
Nh. Valois looked and then started.
! "What!' he cried excitedly. "That
a is the Prince Gortchoff. / will go to
|, him."
I But just then the old man stepped
into the carriage again and was driven
a off. A maid had just come in after the
r tea things.
' Mr.. Valois took a card from his peck,
4 ct, wrote something on it and, putting
+ it into an envelope. bade the maid run
q down and send the missiys after the
old gentleman's carriage. 1t was all
I done in a second, but Mrs. Wallis and
+ looked at each other. We had seen thai
4 the card was not like the one Mr.. Va,
lois had sent Us. There was a title after
the name.
The next day Mr.. Valois didn't com
+ until evening. Mrs. Wallis was our
/. first, evidently waiting for Linn. AS
opened my room door to go into the
parlor l saw that they were in earnest
conversation, and ! could hardly hell
8 overhearing a little of it, and / die
want to know if he made love to her
He didn't