Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1900-04-28

sured me mat there was a conveyance
here"
The man nodded.
so there was" he assented: "but K
was one he had ordered for himself"
Are you sure?" l asked.
Certain" he replied. HE lives five
mile or so from here, does DR.. Spencer
ana he always has carriage from the
Banks House to meet him when he
comes back from "Trip to New York"
nevertheless" I said, with faith in
the chivalry of the man who had Of
Tered to assist n friendless stranger. 81
think L shall find that carriage still
waiting. L will look" And 1 suited
the action to the word.
AS l turned the corner of the build
Ing L confess my heart beat rather
quickly, for it would mean much to me
II my hopes were disappointed. Be
sides, fear 1 had a girls natural curl
oSity as to the extent of the impression
L had made upon this casual acouaint-
ance. My vanity was in arms to dis
cover whether it had been of sufficient
degree to prevail over that regard for
his own creature comforts which
weighs heavily against the inherent
lnsuncts of courtesy in man. 1t was
with sigh Of relief and q thrill of
gratihed self-conSciousness that / per-
ceived the vehicle still standing at its
post.
Still, its rightful claimant might have
ensconced himself within it. thinking
that we could both share its capacious
bosom, for it was a veritable ark,
cumbersome end antiquated, but a wei.
come place of refuge all the same.
OF course, IL such should prove the
fact, should be in as bad case as ever,
for it was not likely that 1 would con-
sent to make journey in the dark.
shut up In carriage with an un-
known, however chiyalrous man.
The driver was standing patiently. or
rather doggedly, by his horse, and him
1 accosted.
care you waiting for anyone IN par
ticular?" 1 asked.
he moved forward and regarded me
inquiringly.
doctor said there was a lady" he
began.
Eyes; am she. But the doctor had
already engaged you, had he not?'
ayes. But doctor said that warn't no
matter; he'd walk"
81 am sorry TO have incommoded
him." said mendaciously, for 1 should
have felt far more regret to have been
obliged to accommodate him. "Can
you take me to The Ivies? 2"
An expression of surprise, similar to
that 1 had seen upon the station
masters face, enlivened the driyer.s
Stolid countenance.
"The Ivies~ he calculated. 'Is Mad
am expecting your
This repetition of the others question
was so significant Of the fact that
visitors Were rarely entertained in the
house which / had already come TO
look upon as my future home that I
began to feel that purposed invading
q place of isolation and exile. 1 took
refuge from a cold reaction that was
beginning to settle about the region of
my heart in sharp rebuke.
"That Is not what / asked your I
said; NOR can l see that IL in any way
concerns you. All require of you is
to take me and my trunk thither. Can
you do SOP"
The man nodded, trife suriily.
Guess lean" he answered. "Wbere's
the trstnk? III fetchit if you'll get in"
view moments later he returned,
bearing the trunk upon his shoulder
and accompanied by the station-master.
w hlAC NhC MdS bCiIG SlrHODeU
upon the rack behind me, 1 could hear
the two men conversinS in low tones.
] could catch occasional words which
they uttered, but the full dialogue was
indistingulshable. l cleaned enough.
however, to satisfy me that my appear
ance and destination formed the topic
under discussion, and the tone of both
voices was one OF wonder and surprise.
l~,xBefore we started the station-master
presented himself at the door, peeriug
with unmistakable curiosity into the
carriage.
slope you won't think meant any
offence, miss, just now" he said. II
have too high respect for Madam to
be disrespectful to any Of her friends"
felt that the apology was largely
tentative, and declined rising to the
lure couched in the word friends"
Not by disclosing the fact that l had
no personal acquaintance with this
Madam" or by asserting in what ca
pacity hoped TO become an inmate of
The Ivies. would l lay the spirit of
inQuisitiveness that had inadvertenI-
ly aroused In the man.
every WELL" I returned, and drew to
the door. A minute later we had start
ed on our way.