Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-11-18
THE FARM IN THE HILLS.
A TALE OF MISTER \ .
Bv FLORENCE WARDEN.

in the same defiant. wholly surly tone.
'Therc's illness in the house and no
time for waiting on strangers with my
daughter. my poor girl. lying at deaths
door"
AS he uttered these words the eX-
preston of his face underwent n sud-
den change. and 4 look of unutterable
anguish shone in his black eyes.
"Ill?" said Mason. Your daughter
i'll? Perhaps can be Of some use
then. I'm doctor"
The man. who had turned away as
If to hide his own distress. sprang up
on him with wild look of joy in his
sensitive face. He seized Mason by
the arm with the nervous grip Of a
small. strong hand and, holding him
tight, stared up into his face as If he
would force out some truth which the
other wished to conceal from him.
"You-a doctor? No. no." he said
hoarsely. stammering in his excite
ment. You say so-you say that to
get the nights shelter you have been
asking for! No. no. you're not a doc
tor. It's too much-too much to hope
for-too much, too much"
LET me 60" said Mason good hui
moredly. II can soon prove it to you.
| think. Let me get at my pockets"
But already the man was convinced.
| MaSSon'S attitude. his readiness to give
his credentials. had been enough for
the eager father.
At the first plunge into his pockets
Mason brought out a small case of
surgical instruments which he always
carried about him. and the moment he
drew it out the little Welshman seized
him again and began to drag him up.
ward toward his dwelling.
"Come in. come in" said he in bro
ken whisper Come in. sir, and don't
ear me malice for treating you 50
shabbily at first. I'm nigh beside my
self. that | am, sir, and now-now-oh.
thank God. thank God!'
And the excitable little fellow burst
into loud sobbing and climbed up the
slope toward the gray ruin above. still
holding Mason in firm grip with
one hand and hiding his contorted face
with the other.
From the size OF the ruined build
ing which had been converted into a
farmhouse md from the appearance OF
such OF the old walls as were left
Mason decided without difficulty that
! the remains were monaStic. although
the situation was higher than was usu
ally the case with such peaceful insti.
tutionS.
The position was. however, sheltered
and pleasant, protected on the north
side by mountain of great steepneSs
and so hemmed In by lesser hills on
| the east and west sides as to leave II
open only to the milder south.
AS MaSSon allowed himself to he led
forward he noticed that the ruins on
the left and the fragments of an east
| window were the remains Of church
Of small size. and he conjcctured that
the portion of the ruin which had been
made habitable waS what waS left Of
the monastery itself.
In the darkn, SS. however. with the
! SHOW still falling and his companion
hurrying him forward, he had little
leisure to take accurate note of his sur
roundingS. | he ground. moreover. was
uneven and rough, being incumbered
by STONES and 10y fragments of over
grown ruin. They came upon the door
quite suddenly. us they got round the
base of Il massive pillar. which, no
longer supporting anything, stood by
itself like sentinel before the incon-
gruous pile OF old and new. mean
things and stately. which formed the
farmers home.
| They dashed into the dwelling quick
ly, and the farmer. drawing his COM
panion in, shut the door and paused
for breath.
Reginald looked round him with as
tonislmcnt and interest.
The room In which he found himself
had evidently been tine rrfrctory OF the
monastery, for the stone pulpit i'll the
I
during the dinner hour was still to be
seen. though broken and imperfect. on
the south side of the room.
\ rough partition wall OF lath ana
plaster had been erected just beyond
this pulpit, and in this partition were
two doors leading to the other apart
mcntS of the farmhouse.
On the right, opposite to the pulpit
in the wall. was 4 huge open fireplace
partly filled in with bricks. in which a
fire of logs was burning.
On the left wall. which WAS roughly
whitcwashcd the outlines of the low
er part of Il row of beautiful early
English windows. divided by clusters
of slender pillars, were plainly to be
seen. Small latticcd windows and
more bricks and mortar filled up the
spaces where the lights had been.
The huge beams of rough wood over
head. dark and dusty. showed that the
farmhouse had stood in its present
condition for Il length of years. The
floor was red tiled. clean and bright;
the oak scttccS and presses. the pots
and pans on the white dresser. the
neat hearth. the fresh white walls. all
testified To the care of Il houScwifcly
hand.
But the only creature In the room
was a withcrcd and bent old woman.
wearing Il large apron of check print
,ln NIL. Il & "
drawn tightly round her shoulders AMI
a clean white cap. who sat in Il r'cH'
ing chair almost over the fire. with
crossed legs, short pipe between her
liI,S nnl nl1. nNnS liNnl OIL lllr rlrl