The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1898-04-02
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CHAPTER XIV.

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Were expected, and Sir Oswald had deter
mined to do them nil honor. The state
apartments, which had not been used during
his tenure, were all thrown open; tLe superb
ballroom, once the pride Ut the county, was
re:deccrated; the long, cripty corridors and
suites of apartments reserved for visitOrs,
were once more fulrof life. Miss Hastings
was the presiding genius; Pauline Darrell
took. far less interest In the preparations.
II am glad" she said one morning, .'that
I am to see your world Sir 0 ,Watd. You
despise mine; l shall be anxious to see what
yours is like
The BARNET answered her testify:
II do not quite understand your remarks
about worlds Surely we live under the
same conditions
Not in the same world OF people," she op
POSED; and l am anxious TO see what your
Is like.n
What do you expect to find in what you
are pleased to call my world, Pauline?" he
asked, angrily.
Little truth, and plenty of affectation; lit
tie honor, and plentyof polish; little honesty,
and very high, sounding words little sinceri-
", and plenty of deceit"
"By what right do you sit in judgmentp''
be demanded.
None at all" replied Pauline; "but rs
people are always speaking i'll of the dear,
honest world in which Ilave lived, I may
surely be permitted to ~criticisc the world that
Is outside 1t"
Sir Oswald turned away angrily; and Miss
Hastings sighed over the girls willfulness.
why do you talk to Sir Oswald in a fash
ion that always ~irritates hilm?!' she re;non-
strated.
~LL taNVn 1ivo In a Franl oc,,,,{r,, n nj h. va ooo1,
OF us freedom Of speech"
II am afraid the day will come when you
will pay a sad price for yours"
But Pauline Darrell only laughed. Such
fears never affected her; she would sooner
have expected to see the heavens fall at her
feet than that Sir Oswald should not leave
Darrell Court to her-hls niece, q Darrell.
with the Darrell face and tho Darrell figure,
the true, proud features of the race. He
would never dare to do otherwise, she
thought, and she would not condescend to
change either her thought or speech to please
him.
The Darrells do not know fear" she
would say; there never yet was an example
OF a Darrell being frightened into a%nytliing.'
So the breach between the uncle and the
niece grew wider every day. He could not
understand her; the grand, unframed. undis-
ciplined, poetical nature was beyond him
he could neither reach 1t heights. nor fathom
It's depths. There were tilnas when he thought
That, despite her outward GOODNESS and pride,
there was within n soul of fire, when he dim
~ understood the magniticelce of the charac-t
ter he could not read, when he suspected
there might be some souls that could not be
narrowed or forced into a common groove.
Nevertheless he feared her; lie was afraid to
trtsz, not the honor, but the fame Of his race
to her.
She Is capable of anything" he would re-
peat to himself again and again. 'She would
nlng the Darrell revenues to the wind; she
would transform Darrell Court into one huge
observatory, IT astronomy pleased her-into
one huge laboratory. II she gave herself to
chemistry. One thing is perfectly clear to
me-she can never be my heiress until she is
safely married."
And, after great deliberation-after listen
ing to all his hearts pleading in favor of her
grace, her beauty, her royal generosity of
character, the Calm OF her name and her
truth, he CANT to the decision that ii she
would marry Captain Langton, whom he
loved perhaps better than any one else in tile
world, he would ut once make his will, adopt
her, and leave her llciress of all that he had
In the world.
One morning the captain conlided in him,
telling him how dearly he loved his beauti-
full niece, and then Sir Oswald revealed his
intentions.
you understand, Aubrey" he said-"the
girl is masnifcently beautiful-she is a true
Darrell; but l am frightened about her. She
Is not like other girls; sheis wanting in tact,
in knowledge of the world, and both are es-
sential. L hope you will win her. l shall
die onten If leave Darrell Court in your
hands, and if.you arc her husband. Icould
not pass her over to make her my heir; but
If you can persuade her to marry you, you
can take the name Of Darrells and you can
guido and direct her. What do you say,
Aubrey"
What do l say?9' stammered the captain.
Il say this-that l love her SO dearly that I
would marry her If she had not a farthing. I
love her SO that language cannot express the
depth of my affection for her"
The captain was for o few minutes quito
overcome-he had been solong dunned for
money, so hardly pressed, 20 desperate, that
the chance of twenty Eozsasd Ayear and
Darrell Court was almost e much for him
His brow grew damp, aaaEssAips pAln AL
this might be his own II ~ coAeItash hut win
the consent Of this girl. Yet exed her;
the proud, noble face, the grand, datk eyes
rose before him, and seemed to rebuke him
for his %presulnptuous hope. How was he to
win her? Flattery, sweet, soft words would
neverdo II. One scornful look from her sent
his ideas flying right and left.
"lf she were only like other girls" he
thought, II could mako her my wife in q few
weeks.n
Then he took heart of grace. Had he not
been celebrated for his good fortune among
the fair sexp He'd he not always found his
handsome person, his low, tender voice, his
pleasing manner ilresistiblep WHO was this
proud, dark.eycd girl that she should meas
nre tho depths OF his heart and soul, and find
them wanting? Surely lie mist be superior
to the artists i'll shabby coats by whom she
had been surrounded. And yet he feared as
much as he hoped.
sShe has such a way OF making me feel
small" he said to himself; ''andl il that kind
| OF feeling com s over me when | am making
her all offer, it will b. o. no use to plead my
suit"
But what q prospect-master of Darrell
Court and twenty thousand per anDuln! He
would endure almost any humiliation to OBJ
tain that position.
'tShe must have me-" he said to himself
s.she shall have mel / will force her TO be
my wife"
Why, If he could but announce his engage.
ment to Miss Darrell, he could borrow as
much money rs would clear off all his liabili-
ttesl And how much he needed money no
one knew better than himself. He had paid
this visit to the Court because there were two
writs out against him in London, and, unless
he could come to some settlement OF them,
lie knew what awaited him.
And all-fortunc, happiness, wealth. free
dom, prosperity-depended on one word
from the proud lips that had hardly ever
spoken kindly to him. He loved her, too
loved her with q fierce, desperate love that at
times frightened himself.
II should like YOU" said Sir Oswald, at
the conclusion of their interview, "to have
the matter settled as soon as you can; be-
cause, I tell you, frankly, ii my niece does
not consent to marry you, l shall marry my
self. All my friends are eagerly solicltous
for me to do So; they do net like the prospect
OF seeing q grand old inheritance like this
fall Into the hands Of a willful, caprieious
Gil. But I tell you In confidence, Aubrey, !
I IN M uySz - III ..-- n q I