The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1899-12-16
MONICA.
y I,oyE STONY 81 mopRar DAx...
CIIA4srER yII5

rms betrays the fact that she has beer
thinking Of him, but he Is far too wise .
young man in his own generation 10 take
count of ii,
es, came. Three days agoI thought
should have been in London now, and
tlen heard Douw We're to be here today,
IN Whatliaye yot, failedp" asks she, alb.
ssuptiy, alinding to his opening sentence.
can't You guess? Have you forgotten the
last cruel Injunction You laid upon met
when next we meet you said, you are to
,ooK straight over my head and pass on.
VIII you believe that twice to-day l obeyed
that mandate?g The third time was the
charm; it conquered me; l broke my sword
IN two n came to yOu..'
Il wish you hadn't says Monica, sincere.
~. Il wish you would go away now, and
promise me never to speak to ME again.
You kno,U 1 am afraid of you,' looking
nervonsly around.
\ don't indeed; / can't conceive such q
situation. You do Inc ii great mi astice. /
think. IScrily believe If I tried my very
hardest l couldn'tinstil terror into the small.
est child in the y~lllage.'
"1eu know what / mean. OF course.n
scornfully, II should never be afraid of a
MAI; 1t Is Aunt Priscilla L am afraid of.
And see, see there!m In an agony, .she is
standing quite close to us, talking to some
body"
III that is your aunt Priscilla, she is safe
for an hour at least. Tho old lady with her
Is Lady Rossmoyne, and she never lets any
one unfortunate enough to get into her
clutches) go free under a generous sixty
minutes. She is great on manures, and
stocks, and turnips, and.s forth. And your
aunt, / hear, is a kindred spirit.''
a ,&SlSrf %1,n,, f1,1,o, e. ~ 49, YD.S.y 49, q .-.IL
Monica. timidly.
i met herso deep in a disgraceful filtration
with the vicar that / felt 1t my duty to look
the other way. Depend upon it, She is not
thinking of YOU" +
But some IL may tell them | have been
talking to YOU"
II always thought l had q proper amount
OF pride until / met You, says Mr.. Desmond.
You have dispelled the belief of years. Is
thy servant a dog, that you should be ostra.
cized for speaking to him? Never mind:
'ubm!t even to that thought ii it gives me
Te minutes more of your sociesy. But
stel, to me. No one can tell tales of us,
because we are both strangers in the land.
NO one knows me from Adam, and Just as
lew know you from-let us say Erc, fol
euphony's sake,
She laughs. Encouraged by her merri.
ment to believe that at least she bears no i'll
will, Brian says, hurriedly,-
Come with me to the rose-garden. 1t is
stupid sitting here alone, and the garden is
beyond praise. Do GOMEZ
aWhyY!' lifting her heavy lashes.
For one thing, we shall be free from OBJ
~servation, and You know you dislike being
heen with me. Foranother-n Hepauses.
"NNell?' rather nervously.
Its Just this, that | must speak to you,'
says the young man, his gay manner chang
Ing to one of extreme earnestness. sYor
vera nnkil,d to me that day we parted. ]
want you to tell me why. l understand
quite that have no right to demand ever
the smallest favor of you, yet lido entrca,
you to come with me-"
For another moment she hesitates, then
YES, i will come with you,, she saws,
raising her soft eyes to his. In her whole
manner, voice, and bearing there is some,
thing so sweet and childish and trusting as
to render Desmond her slave upon tie spot.
The path to tho rose-garden leads away
from Miss Priscilla, so they avoid detection
as they 20.
But they are singularly silent and grave
when the garden is reached they pass be.
tween the rows of growing blossoms mute,
II richsin thought. Atlast, when silence is
becoming too eloquent to be borne, her COM
panion turns to her. AszSs
1T wasn't true what you said to me mat
last day, was. it?" he asks, with fur moro
anxiety than the occasion seems to demand.
Not really, l mean. You said it for fun,
nerhaps-or- 1t has been with me ever
since. can't forget it. You said you dis.
liked sudden friendships. and the way you
said 1t made me think yoa disliked me. Tell
me l thought wrong"
quite wrong" in a low tone. 81
plucking a rose to pieces, and kecpsF
downcast. when i said that, / \
about something !,
aAbout something ! said??'
mo. Nothing you said" HSA8y
Something did, thenw growils more
and more anxious.
"Ye-es.o
'.yyhat was it?'
ut doesn't matter now; not in the leas,
now; and l cannot tell you, Indeed"
But | wish very much you would. Per
haps beins!i in wretchad ignorance, L shall BIZ
so unhappy rs to do it again some day, and
so make you hate me a second time.n'
II didn't hatc you.''
mo? Yet there was a look in your eve.
l wouldn't like to see there again. Do tel
me, lest once more fall into error"
"Oh, no. coloring deeply, as though al
some unpleasant recollection. '.That would
be impossible. 1t could never happen again
| shall take care of that. l shall never ms
long as | live get into a-that isl mean
- Really 1 have forgiven it all now, so lei
us forget it too"
TIlougl, still greatly mystiled, Mr.. Des
mond wisely forbsars to press the point
something in her pretty distressed face and
heightened color forbidding him.
Very good" he says, pleasantly. ''But
there is another thing l have not forgotten.
Have you ever cleared up that mystery
about my uncle and your aunts?"
"Oh! tint, It cannot be cleared, I an
afraid; it is too muddy n tale for any help:
but / have at least found out all about it,
Would 1t be indiscrect if i said l would
give anything to be as wise as you on this
subject? In other words, will you diyulge
the secrct?"
st is a story that doesn't rebound to the
honor and glory of poMr house. says Miss
Beresford, stepping back from him with
gay little laugh, and CHANGING nthim mis-.
%clievously from under her big Patience
hat. "IfI were you / should shrink IRON
hearing it,
81 decline to shrink" with unparalleled
bravery. II prefer to rush upon my fate
Life has no longer any flavor for me until ]
hear what the old reprobate at Coole has
done"
We'll, if you ectD Insist upon the sorry
tale, tits this. Once there lived wicked
knight, who wooed amaiden fair. But when
her heart WAS all his own, his love
grew cold, and, turning from her, he refused
TO fulfill lis pligiltea trotlr and lead her to
the i%iymeneal altar. In fact, eloyed and
he rode away. leaving her rs dismally dis
consulate as the original maid ~forlorn. Thai
wicked knight was your uncle; the maid
foriorn my mn:leI?'
you have been giving me \ summary OF
o fairytale, haven't you?' asks he, i'll an I'm.
believing tone.
mo, indeed; it is all quite true. From
what ! have heard, your uncle must have
treated my mother very badly. Now, aren't
you thoroughly ashamed of yourself ant