Santa Fe daily New Mexican., 1897-11-23

Ian? / only heard of the place for the first
time q month ago and now it turns up
againn'
Its my home, Blake said, painfully
scrawling the date at the top of his sheet
of paper 1.-The castle belongs to me, only
I've never been able to live in it yet. My
people live at the rectory. 1t is TO Mr..
OMalley, the rector that m writing.
And what did you hear about Moyliseal
Ian, the sweetest place on all the earth?'
Why" cried Mrs. Diamond excitedly,
'this is the oldest thing! My cousin,
George Strangways, rented the castle from
some one some years ago-from you it APP
pears-and now he is engaged-married
probably by this time-to one of the rec
tors girls, Ellen O'Malley, a daughter, L
suppose, of this very old gentleman you're
writing to l had the letter just before
met you at Rahmednuggar and had scarce
ly given it thought since, +"
One of the rector's girls
Teddy Blake had seen death glaring at
him from wall of black Afghan faces ;
he had looked fever in the eyes more than
once but he had never known what de-
spar meant till Marcia Diamond told him
her little story of odd condolences, sitting
on the steamship deck, half way through
their homeward voyage. For moment
he repeated the words, "Ellen O'Malley;
there is only one daughter at the rectory, !"
and Mrs. Diamond, whose eyes were on
the silk sock she was knitting, went on
cheerfully; "Oh, then that's the girl! l
did not hear from George Strangways di-
rect; the news came through my brother
But of course it is the same-the young
lady at the rectory. Fancy old George
succumbing to an Irish girls destinations
after going all over the habitable globe
unscathed till now!'
is he good fellow?" Teddy asked.
Something in his voice made Mrs. Dia-
mond give swift glance at her compan-
ion, and in that glance she understood ev-
erything.
HE Is a very good fellow" she an
swered, a little more seriously than she
had hitherto spoken. ANY girl will bo
happy and tenderly treated by him, though
he Is an elderly man-55, l should think
| and a little eccentric and old fashioned
| in his ways. You will find letters telling
you all about it when you reach England,
| you may be sure. Don't you think you
had better let me take that writing board
downstairs again? 1t will be time enough
to write whom there is a chance of posting
| your letter.
He let her lift the writing things away,
only putting out feeble hand to crumplo
up the sheet on which he had begun his
letter. Then he lay back with his eyes
shut, and her tact took her a little apart,
for the struggle which he had to go through
now must be fought out alone. By and
by his servant came and helped him down
stairs, and Mrs. Diamond saw him again
| no more that day.
Poor poor lad! If I could only have
saved him from such a blow!' she kept
saying over and over again to herself.
But those wretchcd condolences are too
strong for us
Moyliscalan woods in September! How
often Teddie Blake had pictured his home
coming through the green glades that
stretched between the castle and the rec
tory. Those sylvan aisles were the rally
ing place OF all his favorite Dreams for
did not Nellie cross them day by day, and
would it not be here that he would bring
her to tell her the secret which he thought
she must have guessed long ago. Rector
! O'Malley would let him speak at last, for
the long waiting had borne its fruit in re-
coupling the Blake Golfers, while Teddie
knew that the Burroo pass affair, of which
he himself thought and spoke so modestly
was not likely to be forgotten when hi.
name came up at the Horse guards.
A thousand times he had gone over all
this in imagination, lingering meanwhile
the little fiat locket that hung at his watch
SI,, pp,l In,
ing back to Moyliscallan like a thief, hay
ing given no word of warning either tc
the rector or to his agent at the castle
creeping home just to see Nellie's face
again once more and then to go away any
where and die. He was still weak and
wan from the fever. Mrs Diamond had
tried hard to persuade him to remain lit
tie time in London for a consultation with
u first rate doctor, but the determination
to see Nellie at Moyliscallan once more
was the only desire that remained to him
in life, and till it was accomplished his
shrewd little friend saw that there was no
good talking of anything else.
So he had hurried over to Ireland and
had reached Thomastown the evening be
fore. Today he had taken a car over to
the village lin the old days it was the
shortest and pleasantest four miles ever
known), and leaving the driver asleep in
the sun at the crossroads had turned into
the wood that is short cut to the two
principal houses in the parish. He had
no very definite idea of the plan to pursue
Now that he had reached his journey :
end it seemed as if all power had left him.
Perhaps somewhere among the trees, cross
ing from the castle grounds to the rectory
side, he should see Nellie passing by, and
he would slip down upon his knees among
the fern and look at her-George Strang
ways wife--and-oh, this faintness! Mer
ciful God, is that Nellie?
''Teddie is it really your"
Teddie was OH the moss, stretched flat
save that Nellie's arm was under his head
Nellie's little, bare, sunburned hand unfas
| tened his collar. He could only look and
smile. The green Moylscallan leaves were
overhead, dancing against the blue. Mel
lies face was very close and he thought
he must be in heaven.
How could you come like this and take
us by surprise and you so i'll, Teddie?
the girl went on reproachfully. "If hadn't
been going across to the castle this morn
ing early and come on you lying here in q
heap
Going across to the CASTLE" Teddie
found tongue to utter, his eyes on Nellie's
left hand. Don't you live at the castls
now altogether
"And'what should I go and live at the
castle for when I've a good home of my
own, intruding on newly married people,
as if didn't know better? Besides, Aunt
Ellen isn't back from her honeymoon yet,
and Uncle George-what, are you able to
sit up? Take care or you'll'-
She could not finish the sentence, fol
Captain Blake was sitting up with venge
ance, and to steady himself ho had got
his arm around her waist.
So you never thought Of Aunt Ellen?''
said Nellie by and by ''Well, you wouldn't