Middletown transcript., 1898-01-29

&T
Ahl God never created any creature
more cruel than a beautiful coqnette
without heartl Do not deny It'll You
have used every charm you posses to
make me love you, ,and have succeeded !.
You shall listen to me now. love
you'll I love you'll I love you'll Nay,
do not speak. l will not take your
final answer to day. Tomorrow will
come for it. Ahl if it is Yes l
swear that you shall never regret it. Ii
it is No. then you will send one more
man to 'helll'" and without another
word Jack Armstrong turned on his
heel and left abruptly. Hilda Phare
looked after his rstreating figure with
vague sense of shame. She had won
the love of the "woman hater," but
the victory was leaving sting in even
her hardened coquette conscience,
though she tried to feel herself lfaggriev-
ed at his outburst.
Gas if l can help men falling in love
with me. / cannot marry them all. l
certainly do like Captain Armstrong,
but don't like matrinoDy. I want
to keep my freedom little longer first.
A pretty girl can at any time easily get
engaged, but it requires an ugly girl to
easily get disengaged, so that even
beauty has its drawbacks" she con-
cluded, with little soft laugh. Then,
with the unconfessed desire to drive
the recent interview from her mind,
she took up society paper and soon.
forgot all the crumpled rose leaves Of
her happy, careless life in the pleasure
of reading description of the dress
the "beautifnl Miss Phare wore at the
Queens ball, where, as the belle of the
season, she was the eynosure Of all
eyes"
: '. ."My dear Hilda, have you heard the
dreadful newsP" The girl look up
from the comfortable wicker chair
where she was reclining Iazily under
tile shade-of the old oak on the lawn.
.'No, what newsp" she asked, indif-
ferently, for her portly aunt's face
looked more important than horrifed,
as she stood by her niece's side, hold.
ing large white and green lined SUM-
shade over her bare head.
"Mrs. Chester shot her husband and
that pretty Miss Dene yesterday after
noon, and then killed herself"
ooh, how dreadful What made
her do itP" exclaimed Hilda, thorough
ly reused now, as she sat bolt upright
in her chair.
swell, it appears that she caught
him kissing this Miss Dene, to whom
he had been engaged before he married
his wife for her money. Fancy shoot
ing both of them like thatl"
"What wicked, cruel woman, Mrs.
Chester must have been. It was only
yesterday morning rode over to Hill
Hall to see her new Paris dress. 1t is
quite horrible to think that I have
touched the hand of murderess, and
the girl gave shudder.
"Yes, it is, indeedl 1 am 60 very
sorry for their poor little daughter, but,
of course, can never allow Jessie and
Pussie to play with her again. must
go now, for l want to write and tell
your Aunt Mary all about it. She will
be SO interested-shocked, 1 mean,"
and she returned to the house with
that feeling of pleasurable Importance
we all experience when we are the first
to tell the news of some calamity that
has befallen our friends.
Left to herself Hilda sank back in the
wicker chair and tried by reading to
distract her thoughts once more, but
this time from thinking of the tragedy
at Hill Hall. The heat, however, made
her drowsy, and the paper soon dropped
on the grass from the nerveless fingers,
and the lids soon dropped over the
beautiful eyes.
Suddenly checking sensation caught
the sleeper's throat. She tried to move,
but could not. Was she dying-dying
out there alone on the lawn? She felt
her breath coming quicker and quicker,
her strength ebbing faster and faster.
Then she seemed to lose all conscious