The Holly chieftain., 1899-11-17

only Lord Umfraville's place"
"oh-and which is the way to Hlga
Lees?"
Right out the other way. miss
rather better n three mile, miss"
Does Mr.. Brandon still live therei"
Eyes. miss; but his house is two mile
good beyond the village. It's long
tramp. miss"
"Oh, am good walker! sup
pose. when get to the village, any
one would direct me to Mr.. Bran
don's?"
"Oh, yes. miss"
"Then will you tell me the nearest
way to the village?''
He gave the necessary direction. and
with bright Thank you," she started
on.
Marguerite walked on In state Of
mind strangely divided between exbil-
aration and fear. The fresh, pure air,
the blue sky. the waving trees. aad,
above all. the sense OF enterprise and
daring, were delightful to her. But
presently. to her astonishment, she
found that the old habitual terror. of
her uncle was creeping over her. She
began to realize that 1t was scarcely
prudent to trust herself alone to the
tender mercies Of the man who had
already adopted such measures to be
rid OF her. She began to think that
she was foolhardy; but. being thus far
on the journey, nothing would have
induced her to turn back. She walk
ed on briskly. secure In the thought
that every step was taking her farther
from Clarisdale, and that there really
was no chance of her being seen. As
to Mr.. Brandon. she did not want to
see him: she wanted to see Cathie; and
her remembrance of the back entrance
to the house was SO vivid that she felt
certain that she could accomplish her
object. Anyhow, she was in for it
the issue must be left to fate.
She felt the longing for certainty
greater than eveI. Come what might,
she must ascertain who and what was
Arthur Phillips. and whether he was
living or dead. A letter from Bernard
lay In her pocket-a letter full OF Lady
Mildred.
This Is such an ideal house." he
wrote. Mine shall be managed Just
the same. You should know Lady
Mildred-in fact, you must know her.
She could teach you 80 much, espe-
cially as regards dress-she UNDER
stands the al t to perfection; and, when
you see her, you must take hints;
though Of course your style and hers
are very different" etc.
The letter hurt Marguerite's feelings,
though of course she owned bitterly to
herself that 1t was true. She was abso-
lutely ignorant of everything which
Bernard, Selwyn's wife should know.
She paused against stile leading into
a cornfleld. and sat down a minute to
rest, for she had walked couple Of
miles at very rapid rate. As she
sat, she heard the galloping of horses
behind her on the road, and the sound
of laughter and voices. Urged by an
impulse she hardly understood, she
climbed over the stile, and paused on
the other side, hidden by the hedge,
to see the riders go by. Just as they
reached that part of the road they
| slackened to foot-pave, and she could
both see and hear distinctly. There
were three young men and two girls.
all well mounted and in high spirits.
They were all looking behind them.
mo sign Of them!" cried one OF the
ladies. tf
my dear Miss Talbot, you won't see
them again this morning; they are of
as usual. Perhaps Lady Mildred is
showing him the short cut to the
Home Farm again!" There was evil
IDENTIFY joke here. They all burst out
laughing.
"Selwyn is awful!y hard hit. isn't
he?" said one of the men.
at will be fine thing for the Um-
fraville estates" remarked another,
and then the voices became indistinct
as the party passed on down the lane.
Marguerite stood still. OF course she
had known it all before, but 1t seemed
notwithstanding to come upon her
with sudden shock. She bowed her
head on the stile. and gave way to her
trouble for time. She d. not know
how long she stood there; she only
knew that what reused her was the
sound Of more horses feet. She START
ed and shivered, but 1t was too late to
move. Holding on by the rough wood
for support, she saw them ride slowly
past-saw. Lady Mildreas pale, proud
face, noted the downward curve of her
expressive mouth, saw Bernard riding