The Democratic advocate., 1897-12-18
VOL. XXXIII.--NO. 8.

at a certainty about that fatal mistake of
his?
Making hasty snatch at his coat he
filings that unoflending garment over the
tell tale shirt with quite an angry air, and
turns once more to Miss Englethorpe.
Now. what can | do for yOu?' says
he, with as unconcerned Il manner as he
can assume at so short a notice, and with
his heart beating to such violent degree
Nothing, thank you,' returns she
Jelly, moving abruptly away, and then, as
if ashamed Of her petulance, or not know
ING positively that she has reason for it,
she looks round at him. well. there is
this, she says with hesitation, glancing
at her wreath; where shall put it p
I'm show you, says he briskly, Il
weight lifted from his heart. After all
she does not know. And what lovely
face it is that now is looking into his, not,
however, without strange suppressed
anxiety, that mi ght be called doubt, visible
in it,
10 combat this doubt he makes the OBJ
ject Of his life for the next half hour, and
has congratulated himself that lie has sue
ceeded, when suddenly Miss Englethorpe
puts hope on that subject to flight
''What o clcck is it?' asks She 50 ner-
vously that it is impossible not to notice
her agitation Dugdale makes Il laudable
effort To conquer the situation. and fumbleS
in the pocket where that contounded watch
should be as thoroughly as though he hon
estly believes it is there to be found.
'Oh. by Jove of course, says he, 81
forgot | hadn't wound it last night, and
that it still lies ON my table. Let me tell
you Il secret, speaking very carefully,
but rather fast. II am one Of those fell
lows. you know, who hate Il watch and
never wear EN-, if they can get out of it. .
No, | don know any Of them, says
Miss Englethorpe slowly. He can feel her
eyes upon his face, and after swift glance
knows that they are full of tears, fright
ened, shamed tears Her whole soul is in
these anxious eyes, and he understands in
stinctly that it is the uncertainty of it all
that is so terribly distressing her. He feels
like Il murderer as he sees the tears, and
he feels, too, with greater justice, that he
is developing into Il most cOnsumate liar
well, now you know one, > says he
with what he tells himself is quite an aw-
ful sprightliness "A watch to Inc is a
bore, hardly to be endured. Just now and
again it is a useful thing, [ daresay, but
as rule should not wonder, for in
stance, if you never saw me with mine
the whole time am here.
"What pity! Isis it a nice watch?'
asks Miss Englethorpe with, what he is
pleased to see, somewhat recovered spirits.
Far from it, promptly. ''Beastly
old thing; silver My father gave it to
me or | shouldn't carry it with me at ali. .
Alas! for the generosity Of that good
father. whose gift had most assuredly been
golden.
But Lillian he has already even at this
early stage of their acquaintance begun to
so designate herr is for the time satisfied,
and what is father in comparison with Il
pretty girl? For the rest Of the evening
everything goes smoothly between her and
Dugdale, and the next day-Christmas
Day-passes without a hitch, and is indeed
remembered by both long afterwards as
having been the happiest they had ever
spent. If at times Miss EnglethOrpe feels
little icy thrills of fear stealing over her as
she thinks of that watch lying perdue be-
meath her laces p-stairs (she had been
afraid to put it in her jewel case, the girls
in the house having quite mania for over
hauling that charming receptacle), she re-
solutely puts such fears behind her, and
with as good courage as she can enjoys the
present. Sooner or later she knows she
will have to stand face to face with her
midnight visitor, and will have to return
that watch, and thereby bring utter con-
fusion upon her head; but until then let
her be happy. Her one devout prayer,
incessantly breathed, is-that whoever it
is that terrible apparition may resolve itself
into, it will not be Dugdale Oh, no, not
Captain Dugdale, any one but him; and
surely, it couldn't be he She has his
own word for it, or nearly so. His watch
that mysterious one he hates so much,
that seemingly no man has ever yet seen
is silver, whilst her Shat is-his-that
is the wretch Sis gold! No; he, Captain
Dugdale, would not wilfully deceive her,
and yet Always an unwelcome doubt
remains behind.
Aid to this doubt is given from the
most unexpected sources. Human spite
has nothing to do with it, as no one can
possibly know anything about the tiasco
save she and-shat other Some impal-
pabe imp must have taken it ii hand and
found its pleasure in tormenting her. The
first shock had come at that memorable
breakfast; the second when she had seer
Dugdale for the first time was it the first
time y in his shirt sleeves in the church !;
the third arose out of the tdJieaUr rirants
that the Travers girls would get up. These
doubts have all to do with Dugdale, bat
besides these she is harassed with specula
tons as to other guests in the house. Dug
dale apparently is not the only one who
does not possess, or can't at all events
produce, watch. The Hon. BERTHE
Hghtwood, near sighted little mortal,
more dead than alive never wears one,
and George Hardup, a stalwart dragon,
says he has left his in town to be repaired.
In the tableaux it so happens that Miss
Englethorpe and Captain Dngdale are cast
for the scene from Tennyson's ''Sleeping
Beauty where the latter is reused from
her sleep of hundred years by a kiss from
the wandering Prince. The other tab
leaux had gone off pretty well. Lady
Battleton indeed as ''Diana Vernon had
scored distinct success, and Oswald Tray
ers with his fancee, gentle little thing,
with intelligent eyes, were very well thought
of as ''Una and the Lion there had
indeed been some difficulty about the get
up of Oswald as that remarkable beast
he was the lion-but when he had been
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