Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-04-13

LET ME GO, MhYRERRY. COM.
MAND Ix'
'Aou ale 8 fcoln' ] eIied NJ the end
Of my foThCaragce. ~ hen. If you wili
have il 50. | shall go myself to Madam,
and ask her permission. | viii not
consent to allow you to trlte with the
life of a fellow-being so nonsensically;
Let me go, MayberTy. I command
it,"
For she had thrown herself in most
m2lodramatic fashion upon my skirts,
and was holding me fast With her
poor thin weak hands.
You must not 2o-you shall not"
she exclaimed. You do not know the
reasons why DR.. Spencer never comes
to this house. do you? | sae by yolT
look you don't. Then let me tell you
that Madam would rather div than
have him enter her doors. Now will
you be satisfied?"
Although at the time | Lad not much
confidence in her statement Vat her ag!-
ration was so great aIHi sincere that !
had not the courage to Insist upon 4
suggestion which carried sHth terror
with 1t
Il wash my hands Of you" ! sa4d.
IF this girl dies | sball hry her deaF1
at your door. You will neither ssnd for
the doctor nor will you let nrB see her
There is some mystery at woT4l here: |
am sure of il: and ! tell you praIs~y
that when Mr.. Chester COMES shall
share my suspicious with Mm. New
| will describe what you are to do for
the maid.
The misery in ncr faceISNs appalling.
Miss Lothrop," she bl1yst lSrrn. With
tears of agony courSihs down her
scanned cheeks, what lsiTe | done TO
you that you SHOULD hunt me like. this?
Haven't l tried to make You gmforsl-
BILE ever since you came to He lNies?
Haven't l waited on you to the best
of my power? Haven't l studied all
your wants and tried te fulfill them?
Have | ever caused you annoyance, or
have | been in any ways disrespect-
full? If have not been all | should Oc
TO you. tell me, and l VIII hranbly beg
your pardon. There must be some
reason why you are bent on persecut-
ing me-
you are talking nonsense" l re-
turned firmly, yet feeling little
shamefaced nevertheless, for it WAS
true that she had rendered me every
attention since l had made one of the
household. 1T is no personal motive
that influences me against the course
of conduct you are pursuing, but an
aversion to secret proceedings iD geh-
eral l feel that my duty to Madam
impels me to discover to her yoa"
strange and incomprchenAle actions"
The dwarfted creature drew herself
up, with look of passionate alteration
upon her face that positively ennobled
it. For a brief moment. she seemed
invested with absolute dignity of bear
ing.
"And l." she responded, in tone as
firm as my own, If less musical, Il
feel that my duty 10 Madam impels
me to sacrifice more than my life itself
to conceal from her the motive for
these actions. More than Slis / cannot
say. But let me warn you. Miss
Lothrop, that If you meddle III matters
of which you. know nothing, you will
some day live to repent it. Now must
go. VIII you be so good as to tell me
what l must 20 Tor my patient!'
Once more she was the servile de-
pendant. / sketched n line of action
for her, and she took lnr departure,
hoarsely murmuring her thanks as she
went.
In the morning | asked Franklin
how his niece was. and as | suspected,
evoked his surprise by my inquiry.
Neither of the women was Ill; why had
l thought that such was the case?
1 evaded his question. In the course
of the morning an event occurred
which, for a time, eclipSed all recOl-
lection of Mayberry's queer proceed
ings,
l was engaged III singing ~ Madam
about eleven O'Clock. We were went
to vary our occupations by a Nae
music, of which she was passinnatelS
fond. She had, in especial, lileing
for old ballads, although she had also
a classical taste, and was well ae-
quainted with the works of modern
composers. l had been singing an
old English song, "She wandered down
the mountain side" and the vibration
of my voice was still echoing through
the room when a knock came upon the
door. | rose, as was my custom. To
answer it. l expected to find either
Franklin or Mayberry standing With
out but, TO my amazemept, my eyes
fell upon the figure of Il stranger! 1t
did not require wonderful htuitiOn TO
tell me who stood before Ine, but nv
first thought was for Madam. l feared
for the effect of this sntYnase; there
fore l acted as il l HID, q right 10
govern his conduct. QufsIE gd6lGiug
and unsuspecting, with ley gaze turn
ed full upon us, and her mind be
meath the spell of the baEad. |
placed warning finger on my lips,
and with my other hand withheld the
stranger from entering the room. |
felt that | must prepare Madam.
| was but an instant thus heSitating,
but in that instant Madam awoke from
her abstraction.
Did | not hear a knock, Dorothy!
she asked. Il thorght you opened the
door, child. | feel that # is still open.
What is it?'
There is certainly u proscicnpe ia
maternal affection. Before the m;sn
had time to obey the impulse which
| saw | could no longer restrain. 80
fearful had been the effect Upon him
of that manifestation of the awful af
Fiction which had come upon lis
mother during her "retched loneliness.
she had cried out his name cried ii
with an intonation that gave Tie liz ~
my conclusion that there WAS no lOVe
for him in her hear. I'm another moan
ent his arms were about her and | was
standing upon the other side of thv
closed door.
The homecoming Of its master nat
urally made con siderable difference
in the simple domestic routine Ci TIe
Ivics. \ more ceremouious manner Of
living always follows upon the install
lation of n male hS9d OF household.
Madam and had ;refclwcd Informal
ity; Darracott Chester. although man
of few requirements, wished those re-
quremcnts propv. ly fulfilled. our
household began to broaden itself Out;
unused rooms we: denuded of their
swathinSs and opened to the light of
day; more elaborate and more numer-