, 1897-04-20
WARNED IN VAIN.

Dutch!"
Aunt Jerusha's vis-a-vis at the table
near the window she had so unceremo-
niously flung up was Il handsome young
man-an artist, in fact-who had come
to Scedville to sketch. He took no trou-
Bile to explain himself to its villagers,
but dropped as simply as possible into
the simplicity of its life.
"Mrs. Spearmint," he said mildly.
"if You will close hat window my
buckwhcats and sausage will be much
warmer"
"Oh, but sakcs alivc!' she responded.
"Do look quick and never mind your
buckwhoats. Amt that the cuSioustest
thing you ever did see i'll all your born
days-and there amt the shadder of a
horse to it.
Villas Stansfield grew interested. He
| tore himself from his buckwheats and
| projected his head from the window,
/ staring down tho narrow by street on
which Aunt Jerusha lived with the
true Seedville stare.
Caesars ghost!'
"What! Be it Il ghost?" asked Aunt
.I-iusha, yanking in her head and look.
|fng keenly at him, as if one Or the 9th.
pr of them might be growing crazy.
II might have known that NJ IL but
l{Miss Waterloo would have ventured in.
lSto this region with an automobile til.
bury. That bridge will never hold her. ,
And scizing his hat, he rushed out OF
| the house and down the narrow elm
shaded street after the horseloss carriage.
"Whatever has struck That man.
cried Aunt Jerusha, bringing down the
window with a bang, now that the show
was out of sight. what did he call it!
Waterloo. was it? Wait till l go tell SUI
san Sparrerhawk Two seen n waterloo"
and she hurried next door with this
| Wellingtonian or Napoleonic piece of
news.
h The ncws affected the Sparrerhawks
as it had Aunt Jerusha. They threw up
l}the window and elected their heads,
but with no satisfactory result. Sam
Iicaught up his hat and rushed down the
street after Mr.. Villas Stanfield, who
\ sprang along in the wake of the auto
mobile tilbury at n college acquired gait.
II 1t was Il very choice vehicle, enamel
ed in dark green and upholstered in
russell leather. In the middle of the
seat, dressed i'll dark green and russell,
to match the tilbury, was u very young
woman m~aneuvering the motor as il
her only desire was to keep her turnout
at the top of its speed.
Villas Stanfield could not overtake it.
He called. He flung pebbles at it. HI
whistled. 1t splashed through the pud'
dies and bumped over the inequalities
of the village byroad as if nothing
would be allowed to stop it. In a mo
ment it would be upon q bridge, 9
crumbling bit Of antique architecture
that Scedville had chung to as a foot
way long after they knew it vas unable
to hold even the doctors chaise, Re
cent heavy rains had now all but wash
ed way it's supports. Tho automobile
tilbury was as surely headed for an &C.
cident as any whirring express with {
bowlder Oh the tracks. He turned white
and whistled again, this time the tunt
he and she had sung in duet, as Will
this same horselcss tilbury they hat
rolled along the hard, broad roads il
southwest England.
She still whirled on.
He put his fingers to his lips and in
creased the strength of the whistle.
She stopped, the wheels of hor car
riage on the very edge of the decrepit
bridge-turning white, too, but not be
cause of the danger.
"Mr. Stantield," she said severely n!
he came up, "may 1 ask what thi.
means?'
Certainly" he said, touching hi
hat. You can't cross that bridge. It.
not safe even for foot passengers. I saw
you from my boarding house window,
and / came to tell you"
Every kind, Pm sure" she said
with a little toss of her russell feathers
"but I've no wish to have you save my
life Il second time. We had enough o.
that melodrama at Bude,' and she put
her hands on the motor handles again.
I'm i'll earnest, Miss Waterloo. Yor
must not cross that bridge unless yor
want to be drowned"
I'm in earnest too. l shall cross
that bridge, and l won't have you saw
my life. The obligations of having yor
save me at Bude is enough"
Every we'll, " he replied in q hard,
crisp tone. II won't save it, then. But
here a man whom I know. Sam, >
he called, "show this lady how to gel
across by the other bridge" and, resum'
ing his hat, he walked rapidly back tc
the village.
"It's nonsense" cried Miss Waterloo
as soon as Villas Stanfield was out Of
sight. "Of course I can go over thil
bridge. I have crossed two this morning
that were quite AZ bad"
"To tell the truth, now" said Sam
slowly, "he's about right. I wouldn't
drive our COW over the bridge since the
rnin. Why. it ate the mortar right out
tween the stones. Ill show you the
way round by the other one"
"Ihaven't time, she said, glancing at
the tiny chatelaine watch at her jacket
lapel. 1--WE lost over five minutes now,
and I'm racing and must get back to
Steepletop as fast as I cam" And once
more taking the motor she shot across
the bridge almost to the other side,
when there was u waver, a crush, a col
lapse, and Miss Waterloo and her til
bury automobile disappeared with the
bridge.
"Iswani" exclaimed Sam, IT swami"
And. finktnk 81 As cat, be manaeed