Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-05-11

Z vOkIng peace 10 Test upon The head
OF the weeping sinner WHO had thrust
. herself into the place OF the pauitaut
/ Mary. For n moment, 50 exquisite
was the picture That forgot what
menace 10 boded TO my lady'S tran
quiiiity and continued 20 gaze upon
il in rapt ecstasy. Alice Chester, wit
loss and distraught as she was. Nyds al
. that moment the iDviiySt woman il is
possible 10 imagine.
She wore a loose gown OF white.
! fashioned as simply and with as LITTLE
! regard To style and design rs ni...f-
/ robe 1t fell about her iu loose folds.
and was confined AT The waist 10y
cord and taSsvIs Her shining hair IaI
been carefully piaitcI into 81 t1-.
/ thick braid Whicl. was lgfI hgG-.ag
far below her waist, hut her restless
motions and constant movement haI
/ rullIrd all the loose tcuGrils aud short
/ locks. So that they formed a glist.Gu-t
| aurcole about her brow. 81, had 1p-
( parrHtly been cutting roses Iur she
/ had thrust bunch gf tHrrl into her
! girdle and carried aHailns Cl-> ? In
one hand From the GnE Us Of The
other daugIcd pair OF scissors with
which she had probably rescued hcr
! booty The excitement OF her escape
and recovered freedom had brought
brilliant light into her blue eyes ana
painted a lovely flush upon her deli
cate skin.
Oh. who. beholdiuG her thus. the
very incarnation OF gcnticuess girl
ish beauty. rs sweet and innocent to
the eyes as one of the roses She held,
could have suspected how dangerous
! q creature she was shortly To become
rf..t 4.tt-r atsl IA
Law. like a worm in the caIyN of a
Flower. beneath the surface Of her ap-
parent pcrfectiOnt Not not [; nor.
In that preoccupied moment did
David Spencer. bothink himself OF IT,
We were both SO absolutely spell
boundbvthc rare IoycliutsS of the ap-
! paritiou. of which dear Madam in her
| blindness was wholly unconscious,
that we had no thought to spare for
consdera tionS of far greater moment.
| So gentle had been the football ui the
wasted and sadly attcEu1ted form that
| had settled like a lit Of thistle down
in our very midst almost before we
| had had premonitiOn of It's coming,
that il had made no impression even
upou Madnm's unc0mmouly alert hear
! ing: and we might so easily have avert
| cd the catastrophe that followed, but
! for the weak yielding to Our charmed
seusibilities An instant later. how
! bitterly and unavailnely did we both
repcnt our fatal hcsitancy; for III that
instant the girl bounded forward ana
! threw herself at Madam's side
| "Ah-ah, Here you are, dear Mad
am" she cried cXuitingly in Il soft
| little minor key, quite like the sign
! ing of the breeze amid tense wires.
| ..rr ftNtftI
! long for you. But / can't iind h"raiu
! anywhere! Where is hcf'
| The unexpcctedncss of the cncount-
or added to the painful memories
! aroused by the girls speech and tone,
| forced sharp cry from my dear
! ladv's usually guarded lips. Shr
! cIutched DR. Speucer's arm ucrvously,
| meanwhile drawing shrinkingly away
| from the crouching bit Of beautiful,
mindless matter at her feet.
David, Davidr she cried. in sharp,
! ouaverinC accents, who is thar
| And her stately form shook with a
weak submission of mighty forces OF
| emotion which wrung my very soul;
! had so long regarded her as Il strong
| tower of endurance. built s'aunchly
upon bed Of rock.
The witless girl heard the question,
and burst into n strange but not un-
| musical laugh
"Why, Madam" she exclaimed, be
fore we could iuterpose to divert her
and coax her away, Indeed, thntS
an old question now. Who am !, IL
YOU ask? I'll tell you who ] am. I'm
Alice Maybcrry. daughter o! the
housekeeper at The Ivics." She smil
ed and nodded gaily, as if pleased
with her own intelligence; then sud
denly checked herself as u another
recollection had given the lie to her
assertion "No-nor she said EN-
phatically; Il am wrong. Don't you
remember Alice, that girl married
Darracott Chester? That's who am
Mrs. Darracott Chester. q lady Of
rank and position; my mother said !
would be. \ good match for
Who are you, and what right have
YOU to interrupt Mrs. Darlacoit Ches-
ter?" She turned upon me quite
fiercely, with an assumption of dig
nifty that would have been absurd
had it not been so unuttgrably sad. |
| was trying 10 interrupt the low
of her reminiscent eloquence, but,
fearing to arouse that latent rebellion
and ugliness which ever underlics i'm
becility, | was obliged to desist, ana
she ramblcd on.
perhaps you did not know | was
Mrs. Darracottf" she suggested, some |
what more gently. "WclI. you're |
right, you know; I'm not, any more.
I'm Mrs. Gerald. think-I think | |
am-am I not, Ma,lamF' She paused, |
to await reply that did not come.
Madam had buried her face in her
hands, and was shaking like a strong
girl regarded her a moment in evi- |
dent curiosity; then her meaningless
laugh again rang out.
"Do you want to play peep-a-bo?" |
she asked as one would speak to n
little child. well. in a minute. First
I must find out who | am, you know
Alice Mayberry- Mrs. Darracott-Mrs. |
Gerald, Oh. which is it?-can't you
tell, any of you? Well there's one
person llnows-thc girls mother She
says I'm "A lost soul" She smiled,
as If pleased with the title. "A lost
soul Don't you think that's a good |
name for glancing around at
us-"a lost soulr'
There was such terrible pathoS in |
he poor creatures smiling appropria-
ion of that phrase of dire import.
lud her apparent Inconsistencies and
disregard of the immeasurable wrong
She had done the woman she address
ed was so Indicative Of her der2nged !
mentality, that p@"id Spencer. strong
nan and injured lover though he was,
was obliged to turn aside To conceal
his emotion, while | felt my own tears
rolling down my cheeks
Suddenly Madam rose to her feet,
and so abrupt and violent was the
| ..a-e.
on the ground the fragile form that
had sought TO lean upon her lap.
Alice gave a surprised little cry, and
remained as she had fallen, gazing up
At the agitated face of the woman
she had so bitterly injured with eyes
widr-stretched and wondering.
"Oh. this is intolerabie beyond en-
lurance!" Madam cried out "Will no
9ne take her awayF'
had never before realized how
terribly sad is the supplication of
strength in its moment Of weakness.
Madam's despairing plea would have
nervcd me to greater tasks than this,
and while DR.. Spencer, bound help
less and impotent by the same chain
of memories that was strangling Mad
ans soul, stood pale and irrcsOlute
beside the chair from which he had
risen upon AIice's advent, | raised the
poor girl from the floor and searched
my mind for a means of relieving
Madam of her presence. My eyes fell