Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-24

when the woman turning to speak to her
companion, caught sight of his face and
shoulders above the hedge. To his sur
prise and CONSERVATION, he saw the color
drop out of her fresh cheeks; her round
eyes fix in their sockets, and with de-
apalring shrek, she turned and fed toward
the house. The man turned at his COM
pahions cry, gave the Mortified
glance at Dicks face, uttered hoarse
also.
Amazed. indignant, and for the first time
IN ms HE Inundated, Dick gazed speech
lessIy after them. The man, of course
was a sneaking coward-but the girl was a
rather pretty one. 1t had not been Dicks
experience to have women run from him,
Shouid ne follow them, knock the silly fell
10" mead against tree and demand an
explanation? Alas! he knew not the lam
guage! They had already reached the
house and disappeared in enc of the Offices
Well, Let them go-for a mean. unciyil
pair of country bumpkins-he wanted no
favors from them,
He turned back angrily into the forest to
seek his unlucky beast. The gurgle of
alter fell on his ear; hard by was n sprinp
where, at least, he could water the mus
tang. He stopped to examine it; there was
yet light enough in the sunset sky to
throw back from that little mirror the re-
hection of his thin oval face his long curl
Ing hair and his pointed beard and MUS
teche. Yes, this his face-the face
that many women in Paris had agreed was
romantic and distingue. Had these wretch
ed greenhorns never seen a real man be-
fore? Were they idiots or insane? sud-
den recollection of the silence and the Sc
clusion of the building suggested certainly
an asylum, but where were the keepers,
But II was getting dark in the wood: he
made haste to recover his horse to drag il
10 the spring, and even battle its shoulder
IN the water mixed with whisky taken from
ms mask His saddle bag contained enough
fread and meat for his own supper; he
would camp out for the night where he
was and with the first light of dawn make
his way back through the wood whence he
came AS the light slowly faded from the
wood he rolled himself in his saddle blanket
and lay down.
But not to sleep! His strange position.
the accident to his horse, singular irri-
tation over the incident Of the frightened
servants-trivial as 1t might have been to
any other man-and above all an increas-
Ing childish curiosity kept him awake and
restless. Presently he could also that
II was growing lighter beyond the edge of
the wood. and that the rays of a young
crescent moon, while it plunged the forest
into darkness and impossible shadow evil
IDENTIFY was Illuminating the hollow below
He threw aside his blanket, and made his
way to the hedge again. He was right:
he could see the quaint formal lines of he
old garden more distinctly-the broad ter
race-the queer-towered bulk of the house
with lights now cleaning from a few of its
open windows. Before one of these WIN
dows opening on the terrace was a small
Vbfte-draped table with fruits, cups and
glasses and two or three chairs As he
gaZed curiously at these new signs of life
and occupation. he became aware of a
regular and monotonous tap upon the stone
nags OF the terrace. Suddenly he saw
three figures slowly turn from the corner
OF the terrace at the further end of the
building. and walk toward the table The
central figure was that of an elderly wo-
man, yet tall and stately of carriage, walk
ing with a stick. whose regular tap he had
heard, supported on the one side by an
elderly cure in black soutaine, and on the
other by tall and slender girl in white
They walked leisurely to the other end of
the terrace, as If performing a regular ex-
ercise and returned, stopping before the
oren French window, where after remain
ing In conversation a few moments The
elderly lady and her ecclesiastical COM
panion entered. The young girl sauntered
slowly to the steps of the terrace and lean
ing against huge vase as she looked over
the garden, seemed lost in contemplation
Her face was turned toward the wood but
in another direction from where he stood
There was something SO gentle, refined
and graceful in her figure, yet dominated
by girlish youthfulness of movement and
gesture, that Alkali Dick was singularly in
terested. He had probably never seen an
ingenue before; he had certainly never come
in contact with a girl of that cas- ste and Sc
clusion in his brief Partisan experience. He
was sorely tempted to leave his hedge and
try to obtain a nearer view Of her There
was a fringe of lilac bushes running from
tHc SdIucu Tic eiOpc, IL ne COulQ gam
their shadows, he could descend into the
garden. What he should do after his ar
rival he had no thought; but he had one
idea-he knew not why-that If he ventured
to speak to her he would not be met with
the abrupt rustic terror he had experienced
at the hands of the servants. She was not
Of that kind! He crept through the hedge,
reached the Hlacs and began the descent
softly and securely In the shadow. But at
the same moment she arose, called in q
youthful voice toward the open window,
and began to descend the steps; a half ex-
laung reply came from the window
but the young girl answered 1t in the laugh
ing capricious confidence Of a spoiled child
and continued her way into me garden.
Here she parsed mqment and hung over