Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-04-15

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except about the bahy. If she had known
that Toms obs,:nacy was being fostcrcd
by Agnes. she would probably have set
very vigorously to work to countcrbal-
ance that aminhlc young lady's influence.
Agnes affected an %unbounded devotion
I" Toms son and heir; perhaps she felt
1t. She ingratiatcd herself with tho
nurse. waylaid her when she walked
abroad. paid constant visits to the nur-
scry at such times as June was likely to
lie out driving. This brought her into fire.
lncnt contact with Sir Thomas. and he
brc'ne quito grateful for her devotion to
ms child and entirely forglve and forgot
the bad turn she had done him in trying
to delay his marriage. She made little
m~n'lcndocs. acccntuatcd by signs or notes
of exclamation. How could June leave
that darling? How could " sur
rounded by such blessings, with such IL
child. such q husband. want to quit them
for IL life such ais people led i'll London
heartlcss. selfish. unsatisfying? Whit
could compensate for home joys. For her
part, it was utterly incomprchcnsiblc to
her. Tom defended his wife-said she
was young and beautiful md fond of
pleasure: what moro natural than that she
should like to go into society? Besides,
it was chiefly his mothers doing, who had
persuaded her. But Agnes words GER
tainly stabbed him in n tender spot,
but for both of you to 90 away and
leave that d%arling!!' cried Agnes, with n
tear i'll her eye. Suppose he should be
seized with commissions, or something were
to happen to him? Servants are never
of any use i'll an emergency"
oh said Tom. not without n sense of
alarm at her words, II shall be here most
of the time"
June will not let you. She will not
stay in London without you. l wonder it
does not occur to her how dreadful it is to
leave that angel to hirclings.!'
June wants to take him with lis. she
is most anxious not to be parted from
him."
But it would be madness to take him
TO London. Here, you know, he has the
purcst milk from your w COWS. md l
have heard that hundreds and thousands
of babies die in London of typhoid fever
from impure milk"
Tom. only too ready to take alarm. VOW
ed tn himself that. whatever happened.
maj precious life should not he c%ndanger-
cd by IL visit to the metropolis.
Ono thing" said Agnes, with fcryor.
II shall go up to the Hall every day to
see the darling, and l don't think nv
thing will escape my rye. suppose"
.hesitating. June will not consider me too
otlicious. will she:'
"Ofticious!" replied Tom. heartily: .sbc
will be tremendously grateful to you"
"And-and when you are in town. shnll
i write YOU about him? l could tell Won
a thousand particulars about your darling
that servants would not think of writing.
And writing is naturally II great cffort tn
them.'
Will you?' cried Tom. THAT will be
nwfully good of YOU"
II sha write to yOu," proceeded Agnes
i'll .; low voice. Il suppose June will NOT
mind. We are cousins. you know"
CHAPTER NV.
June had got her own way in com;r,
to London. but it did not make her very
happy. She felt Il sense of secret irrita.
ton against Tom for not being happy too.
ana she was vcNcd because he had been
so obstinate about the baby. Until now
she had not believed him capable of offer.
ing persistent opposition to any wish of
hers. AM his scruples were absurd! The
mouse was large and airy; it looked OH
green trees: they were near both the
parks. London was healthy. the child
was thoroughly robust; if he were here
Tom would never he able to tear himself
away from the pair of them, and she
would not have the irritation of seeing
Agnes daily bulletins, which frequently
were not bulletins. but epistlcs. If the
nurse. if her aunt had written, she would
have been delighted: but she had TINT i'm.
stinct of dislike and distrust toward hcr
cousin which. after all, was n perfectly
true and correct one just us, in their
Younger days, Agnes had always tried to
appear additionally amiable by the hate
full knack of showing sister and cousin
to disadvantage. SO now June felt TINT nil
this e~ffusivencss over the baby was nut
on to make her seem wanting in a moth
cr's devotion.
Sir Thomas and Lady Nevil had been
in town five days; this evening they were
dining Mt home alone. An unusually
gushing letter had arrived that morning,
WAlCIi uul gwen tilc MOSC evident pleas
ure to Tom and had reused .June's ire.
All day long it had been smoldering; she
had made up her mind to assert herself
that night. She would conquer. Her
mind was master of TOMS. even though
she could no longer quite turn him round
her finger by a frown or n tear as in
oldcn days. She vas not quite sure what
would be the best way to take him, but
~he wocsa certainly begin by cooking, even
though It mad failed once or twice before
when tried on that particular subject.
After dinner. when they went upstairs.
she pushed him gently into u chair, sat
OH his knee, laced her arms round his neck
and laid her cheek against his. He re-
ceivcd her attentions with the complacent
calm of n two-ycar husband who loves his
wife: the complacent calm that is SO emf.
ncntly provoking and unsatisfactory to
wives Of June's temperament.
"Tom." she. says, ceasing to embrace
him. and laying her head against the
back of his chair, while an involuntary
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