Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-07-28
CHAPTER 7.

CHATTER y.
II was haIf-past six o'clock on n bleak
evening in January A black starless sky
above. frost bound. snow covered earth
Underneath. and film of sleet falling
made the hills and valleys of beautiful
Wrstmoreiand dreary and desolate. Be
tween two ridges of bare and rocky hill n
market cart was jogging slowly along the
whitening road, and the thud of the old
horses hoofs and the rattle of the wheels
We're the only sounds that broke n still
ness which was vault-like in the narrow
valley.
From under the rough canvas hood OF
the little cart peered out two mems faces,
not clearly visible even to each other; as
the cart entered the valley its occupants
had dropped into silence, which was not
broken until light began to twinkle in
the dimness on the road ahead of them.
At sight of the little thread of brightness
across the path one of the men started,
nnd the other laughed good -humoredly.
This is solitary, there's no denying
that" spoke the younger of the two men
In a Deep mellow voice that conveyed q
volume of information, true or false, con
cerning the owners pedigree, disposition
and education: and all In his favor. ''I'm
rs nervous as a cat tonight, and for my
life can't tell why, for I'm Yorkshire
man. and doctor"
''Eh. not from Lon'onv' exclaimed the
old villager, glancing back involuntarily
towards the place where the strangers
Gladstone bag lay in the bottom of the
cart.
Il come from London just now, certain
ly. as my luggage labels attest. But that
doesn't make me a Londoner any more
than the fact of my being on my way to
Scotland makes me a Scotchman. 1t 70
an accident altogether, this going to
Branksome. l made stupid mistake at
Haverholme Junction, where i got into
the wrong train. and found myself pres
emily at Conismere. and, rs there was no
train back to Hayerholme before to-mor-
row morning. made up my mind TO intiict
myself for the night upon an old acquaint-
ance of mine. DIR. Peele, of Branksome-"
. DIR. Peeie! oh, ay, know 'un. There's
been n bit of bother about young part
ner DIR. PeeIe took. who got into little
difficulties with some o I doctors pa
tients, and had to 20 away bit sudden
like in, consequence"
"Difiiculticsi What sort of difficulties2 2"
well. two of t patients under his care
poor men both. n laborer one was, and
eother man as kept small statoners
: shop, we're took i'll wi [ same sort of
symptoms and one died. 1t was so odd
that Il F6t about. nisss People talked"
"And what did they snyf"
"Why. that L young fellow'd got bit
careless like. and was n little too fond Of
the same drug in his prescriptions"
"Aud what drug was thatt"
''Laudanum. | think twas"
"PeopIr said something more than that.
snpp"scT'
"The gossips say this young spark had
had his head turned 10y a Teddy. aud n fine
isddy, too. but who had husband al
ready, and that his head was .runnin' on
her
"A local beauty. then?'
"Sbe lives hcrrat,unts. sir, If that's what
you mean But she's n LOn'On beauty.
too. there isn't an eye, young or old. gentle
folk or village folk, that can look at her
bonny face once and not care to look
twice. She worth walking good mile TO
see, is Lady i<ill"nan."
Lady Eilduuan: oh. she is the wife of
the principal ttnl owner about here"
"Ay."
"Thcy are popular in the district, Lord
and Lady INid0uanE
-''She makes him popular, bless her. He's
always pnrin' over = books, is his lord
ship, hut she's all over t place like sun
beam, on her horse or In her carriage. or
her little sleigh, leavin' pound o tea
here, u can o jelly there, with n word for
every woman, and a smile for every man,
and q kiss for L children. She's a sight
for sore eyes. she is"
'Is she younE?"
"I.ct me see; she was born { year my
girl Janet was married. that's twenty.
four year ago"
"And Lord Nildonan. what sort of an
age is he?"
Well there's matter of thirty years
or more between him and Is wife,
'Snrely she might have found better
mate than an old Scotch bookworml'
We'll, she was bit of madcap, Ms a
lass. and they say old Mr.. Dighton, heI
father, was glad to get her off his hands
and married to an honest man. And sh,
don't fret for him and his books: she has
too much life in her for that" the old ma
added with evident admiration.
He was still speaking when the noise OF
sleighbclls grew louder and louder behind
them. and the dull sound of horses quicl
steps upon the snow; while the bright
notes of a wOman's laughter rang out
clearly In moment more a sleigh had
dashed by, with its twinklinG lights, its
jingling bells; and all that the doctor
could see through the darkness was thai
II contained two people, sitting side by
w
q rush of cold air something, light anC
soft and scented, futtered up like q curlet
white leaf, and fell on the young man,
knees like an unconscious challenge o.
fascinating, warm -blooded coquetry;
lady's handkerchief, filmy and lace-edGed
sweet with n perfume that whispered
through the senses to the Imagination, ant
brought up fancies Of delicate white fin
gers that had held the dainty toy. Tn,
old villager. however, was not troubled
by superiuous poetry; on catching sigh
of the handkerchief, he began to call Ou
Justify:
Hey! Whoa! Stop! You've dropped
summet Your ladyship, hey:'
The sleigh was rapidly approaching
dip in the road where a group of rOugl
stone cottages, one of which was an inl
of the bumblest kind, broke the straigh
line of the roadside, and threw littl
streams of light across the snow through
their latticed windows. At the sound o
the old mans cries both occupants of tn
sleigh turned their heads, and, at last
a. he still shouted, the jingling of the bell
subsided to faint tinkle, the sleigh drew
up Cnst out of the CLEANS of light from tl''
cottage windows, and mans voice called
out impatiently:
What is it?'
The young doctor. holding the handker
chief, had already leapt down from th'
cart, and was running over the snow ~
fast as limbs stiffened by cold and I
cramped position could carry him. Ever
as he ran, and the rapid movement dis
persed the fanciful reveries which move
circum stances aud his new and sifanS'