The Ravalli Republican., 1898-08-10

that Mrs. S1lntoll received the cares:
Of her youthful lcvcr, but at tina
moment she waS Il prey to the dis
Iuicting thought that all her valued
cleve1'l!e&s ami cyperiencc had moi
enabled hcs' to hit OF 50 promising &
scheme a; this which her far from
clever swain had flashed out With
nul moments thought and but lit
lie appreciation.
81 dare say shall think Of some
thing, dear" she observed sweer]y
for it would not DO to let him think
her brain was not equal to any
emergency, She believed that she
held him half at least by his belief
in her superior clcvorness
How it exactly happened will nev-
cl he known, for Mrs. Sainton was
essentially an opportunist. not prone
to reveal her plans and ready tc
grasp all that was III her favor as
the direct result Of her own farsight-
ed methods One thing is quite Ger
tain--that Mr.. Combermerc was an
old friend and ad)nirer of hers, one
who was fnr too clever to allow her
to marry him fol his money, and
yet had q confused kind Of sympathy
and pity for her which made him
ready to do her q good turn when
she appealed to him; also that Mrs
s5ainton had 10 scruples about ask
ing for q favor If sllc thought that
that was the srrest way to obtain it..
Moreover, MI. Combermere was
quite above any dog in the manger-
ish form Of petty jealousy and Ger
tain]y did not grulgo Lord Fawn-
ton tie prize which lie had purpose
ly abstaincu from himself There
fore when he invited the lady to tho
luncheon party which he gave in
the city on Lord May yol's day to see
tho procession and did not request
the further pleasure Of the company
Of hei liancc it may be assumed that
he WAS acting strictly III accordance
with Mrs. Snintun S wishes.
What actually happened was this
Lord HARDWOOD, who had known Nh
Comb"rlnore for years and was Il
regular guest at this entertainment,
found himself planted Lotween two
ladies, one Of whom was 4 typical
stout do"ager, while the other wa:
Il good looking, youngiSh woman Of
decidedly smart and attractive ap-
pearaLce. Lord HARDWOOD had been
4 gay dog in his youth, and he re-
tanned 4 good deal Of the Lothario
il his Wi,!oWerhood. pcrhups that
WAS why he did not marry again
He event Gor'' the ycunger lady.
lie found out that his ant1cipa-
tions We're not bllkci. The stranger
w>s lively, animated and disposed!
to be both entertained and enter
tainin@. MThereupon the Old gentle
man Iristlod up al his feathers,
thought himself quite young again
and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
OF course, however, tic inevitable
self introduction followed.
"oh, dear, cried the lady, with a
clever little moue of pretended dis
may TO think that you should be
Lord HARDWOOD! Why, I am Mrs
Sainton'
Lord HARDWOOD in turn was evi-
dontly aturtled.
'"Ihe lady whom my young cub
"Yes-Whom you''-
TAore WAS 4 moments silence.
How unlucky - nurmured Mis-.
Sain1on quito pathctically And |
Wa: just going to ask you to call. -
"Confound the young cub!" said
the father testify Il was just about
to ask your permission. "
There was another brief silence.
M nst it be war to the knife?' in
qujreyl Mrs. S;linton in her softest
and most appealing tones, with that
upward glance through her eye
lashca which she regarded as her
most effective weapon. Cant you
come and see mo as Il friend? I
couldn't marry your son without
your consent--now and you might
find me different from what you ex-
pected. =
Il find you charming as friend, "
said Lord HARDWOOD slowly and de.
hbeIately 'As friend | could not
wish to find you different in any
way. | can quito understand my
sons infatuation. What | cannot
understand pardon me--how yol
can throw yourself away on q cul
like that. y
You mustn't say that, =" replied
tho lady, with reproying eyes. Ther
she turned these olbs to the ground
and, with q little sigh, continued
And SO | suppose we can't be
friends. -
Unlike Mrs. Dombey, Lord Hart
wood could make an effort.
Let us swear a truce for SIX
months, > he said. II will suspend
my decision. You will delay you1
marriage. Meanwhile we will bt
friends, and who knows Only
when ! come to see you my cub:
mean 4,tOn-must not be there.
"Asreed." replied Mrs <Sainton