The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-08-01

Naturally took myself and the dis.
Greet Tigs away a. soon Al ] could
That evening, as the stars were coming
ont. / went and stood beside Elmore at
the lonely old gate under the holly tree.
A whippoorwill was calling in the
woods close by.
"Though can't see any good reason
for it," I began, II feel dreadfully
guilty about disturbing You today"
He turned with an uneasy look around
and softly whispered 'Sh-h-h-h"
Indeed, Gilmore, you need not be 80
uncomfortable. l need hardly say
hope that shall be very careful not to
expose secret l have found out in this
way. I know that you must be mean.
Ing to act for the best. How could you
help 1t with such dear little girl On
guardl"
He looked at me dubiously.
''She Is mighty uneducated, he ad-
vanced tentatively.
''She is one in a million. She has an
exquisite nature and a charming. ra-
tional, observant mind" 'much as
appearances are against her in falling
in love with you" l put in mentally,
land her beauty is delightful
Elmore's pleased surprise overtopped
other feelings for the moment. He had
a great faith in my opinion. Had I not
spent a winter in Nashville, besides
various unguessable experiences in that
dim, unpleasant, but impressive world.
"the north3''
II think she has a fine native intel
lect," he said finally-he always want.
ed to talk to me about intellect. "But
Of course before l can marry her she
will have to be educated some way. and
then my mother would rather see me
dead"
'No doubt. but that is a reflection
that belonged to an earlier stage Of the
game. I am afraid there are sad pos.
sibilities Of consistency in the small
Patsy, and that she will wait for you
indefinitely instead Of throwing you
speedily over, as she should do"
Elmore stared.
''Patsy is 60 clever that I don't doubt
that if you began tutoring her little
yourself you could very soon help her
to the essential thing-an ability 20
speak and write English as well as the
people you'll take her among"
II think that is probably a good sug-
gestion, cousin. I shall consider the
feasibility Of putting it in practice.
1t was now dark, but I could see my
kinsman's melancholy poets profile cut
against the western sky and to look at
1t made me melancholy too. was glad
to leave him and the falling dews and
the disconsolate whippoorwill and 60 in
to the irelighted house, toast my toes
and tell myself that it was not my
affair. saw that Patsy's fate hung on
painfully slender chances, and I was
young enough to credit my impression
of the seriousness of the issue for her.
l resented the way l was disquieting
myself on her account.
That resentment was rather gratui-
tous, for heaven knows ceased to con-
Germ myself about her soon enough.
We came to New York for the winter,
and my own life closed in around me
and in two weeks all the world had
left behind was become like the crea-
ton of a dream.
The next summer we returned south
and went to little embryonic noun.
tain resort where half a dozen old
friends Of my mother. with their sons
and daughters, formed the company.
We had not seen any one from Strath-
boro, and Elmore and Patsy were still
in dreamland to me, when one noon
day, as came out of the dining room
upon the vine shaded gallery, one Of
the servants came to me and said
"Merky's little Ellen say, Miss
Ad'line, dat dere young white gal down
to de kaleebit Spring as is wantin to see
you. I tell Merky be mighty becomin
in dat young white gal to come up
hyah to you, but she say dat she rekest.
ed dat you be tole dat she desire yoh
'sistance. She done tole dat little Ellen
huh name, but law, dat chile. she amt
got no mo- hayd on huh
! got my hat and started for the
chalybeate spring with a misgiving
heart know it was Patsy. Yes, there
she stood, in a copperas dyed cotton
riding skirt, her white. Sunday sun
bonnet fallen back, as she strained her
eyes up the wrong path.
"Patsvr'
(CoNTINUEDl