The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-11-03
Capt. Blake's Homecoming.

in mind or body was reborn in him 1;
one day he could arrange his own pill
low, the next he could read few
lines Of the paper. A little later he
asked Mrs. Diamond il she could find
him paper and pencil, as he wanted
to write note "home." Life was
worth living again with Moyliscallan
drawing nearer day by day. Mrs.
Diamond was little widow lady, who,
since her husbands death. had been
keeping house for brother in the
civil service. "The Judge" as she
called him, had fallen victim to the
charms of an 1s-year-old schoolgirl,
fresh from England, and Mrs. Dia-
mond's services were required no
longer. Coming down country she
had stumbled upon Teddie Blake,
fever-stricken and virtually alone, and
it was undoubtedly to her care that
he owed his recovery from the re-
lapse, which had been worse than the
original attack. She had deferred her
own plans to the convenience of the
patient, had superintended his trans
fer to the steamship from the Bonn
bay hotel, which she had hardly dared
to hope he would reach alive, and was
n witness of his convalescence on
board ship, as day by day his strength
and spirits returned. SO it was not
wonderful that Teddie turned to her
for paper and pencil on the very first
occasion that he felt he could scrawl
n line, and imperiously demanded that
he he allowed to write "to his peo-
pie"
care you sure you can do it?" Mrs.
Diamond asked, producing her writing
board, but not giving it over to him
Internationally.
"Quite sure-that is, not bit Of it
but I'll try"
Thought you said you had nobody
belonging to you?"
''No more l have--no real relations
but an adopted family that is the
dearest in the world-not mere ac-
cident of birth like other peoples
families. / must write them just Il
few words to say I'm alive and coming
home, and it'll be ready when an OPP.
portunity comes for posting it, though
it can't reach Moyliscallan more than
an hour or two before do myself.
"Moyliscallan, repeated Mrs. Dia-
mond, "what do you know of Muylis-
callan? / only heard of the place for
the first time month ago, and now it
turns up again!'
'It's my home," Blake said, pain
fully scrawling the date at the top of
his sheet of paper. "The castle be-
longs to me, only I've never been
able to live in it. Ny people live at
the rectory-it is to Mr.. O'Malley, the
rector, that I'm writing. And what
did you hear about Moyliscallan, the
sweetest place on all the earth?"
"Why," cried Mrs. Diamond, ex-
citedly, ''this is the oldest thingl My
cousin, George Strangeways, rented
the castle from some one some years
ago-from you it tappears-and now he
is engaged, married probably by this
time, to one of the rector's girls, Ellen
O'Malley, daughter, suppose, of
this very old gentleman you're writ
ing to. l had the letter just before
met you at Rahmednuggar and had
scarcely given it a thought SINCE"
One of the rector's girlsl
Teddie 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 despair meant till Marcia
Diamond told him her little story Of
odd condolences sitting on the steam
ship deck, halfway through their
homeward voyage. For moment he
repeated the words, "Ellen O'Malley;
there is only one daughter at the rec
tory" and Mrs. Diamond, whose eyes
were on the silk sock she was knitting,
went on cheerfully: "Oh, then, that's s
the girl. / did not hear from George
Strangeways direct; the news came
through my brother, but, of course, it
is the same-the young lady at the
rectory. Fancy old George succumb-
ing to an Irish girls destinations after
going all over the habitable world
unscathed till now"
SIS he q good fellow ?" Teddie
asked.
Something in his voice made Mrs.
Diamond give swift glance at her COM
panion, and in that glance she under
stood everything.
''He is very good fellow" she
answered, little more seriously than
she had hitherto spoken; ''any girl
will be happy and tenderly treated by
him, though he is an elderly man
SO, l should think-and little eccen-
trio 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 when there is a
chance of posting your letter."
He let her lift the writing things
away, only putting out a feeble hand
to crumple up the sheet on which he
had begun his letter. Then he lay
back with his eyes shut, and her tact
took her little apart, for the struggle