Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1900-01-19

S.tei sHe Nus JUST passed through makes
all else seem trivial and puny.
II can't. l won't bear it, cries Bella
i'll ii shrill voice at last. as she glarcs at
them like a maniac. and with her sharp
feline eyes detects a smile on the mans
mouth. I'll kill him sooner than that
horrid woman should take him."
Bella walks up and down. claspins and
unclaspins her great bony hands as she
always does while she '.brcws." She is
brewing now Il most ticndish thing, but
there is Il loose hinge somewhere. for she
knits her brow and screws I'M her thin
Fps and then hitcs her neither lip till the
blood starts.
Suddenly she halts in her constitutions
al and opening her door n couple of
inches-listens.
"l'icrrc. do not forget to take Lord En-
%nisford's coffee into his dressing room,"
Lady Ennisford orders.
She is very angry-very hurt at her
husbands utter disregard of her feelings
and of the proprieties, but that is no rea-
son that a little matter of his comfort or
habit. while he dresses for dinner, should
be neglected.
AN! cries Bella. half audibly. with a
sort of relief. lit looks as if it were di-
vine justice and r%etribution! The coffee
is just what l wanted!'
Presently she hears Lady Ennisford's
light step passing up the stairs to the
nursery. and then she peeps once more
and sees Pierre the valet with a silver
salvcr enter his masters dressing room.
But no sooner has his figure disap-
pearcd downstairs than Bella crecps
stealthily across the dark passage and
into the room-crecps just like a cat
clceps just before it springs on it's prey.
Her face is the color of n sheet. but her
eyes burn like a couple of unholy fires.
She glanccs keenly first to the right,
then to the left as she advances toward
Il small tripod that stands near the VIM
dow: then she takes Il small folded paper
out of her pocket, looks mt it with n tiend-
ish' smile, drops its contents into the
coffee. aud stirs it with a steady hand.
1t is not a love philtre. this!-judging
by the look of diabolical malice which she
filings at the old lover through the WIN
dow.
a quarter of an hour afterwards, Lord
Ennisford runs up the stairs, two at a
time. whistling softly. and May, who has
scarcely left him since he arrived. and
who has been watching for him in the
passage. smugglcs herself also into tho
dressing room.
"Bon-bon." whispers the greedy little
mouth right in his ear. and smiling, he
searches i'll every nook and corner of the
drawers. but 10 vestige of any sacclarine
morsel shows itself, so he looks ound Der.
picked in hopes of discovering something
nice
\ lump of sugar CLEANS up on the
round table hard by, and he fctches it.
The little one, who has commenced
very early to banker after the feslpots.
looks eagerly at the cup.
Papa! May thirsty"
Thirsty"
There's nothing but the coffee. so he
brings it.
Papa is not thirsty. luckily for Won.
Miss Greatness. Now then, YOU mustn't
have it all. because it is not good for
YOU! Only one, two, three drops.'
But May is not an ordinary child; she
has Il willful. passionate spirit. just like
his own. She jerks herself away. and
turns up her tiny nose.
May shan't drink it," she says. obsti-
nately. with an :lmperious toss of her tan
slcd curls. Bad papa to try and give
May nasty. Density physic!"' And then.
disappointed at her treat. she sets I'M
uelte IL llttle HOWL. WIN uly OtnpI' child
hc would be angry and impatient. hut
this me he gathers up and soothes and
wipes away the tears of passion as gently
as amy woman might do, and by the time
he has succeeded i'll restoring n smile to
her face, the gong sounds for dinner, and
he runs down the stairs with Nav still
in his arms.
And the cup of coffee so carefully stir
rod IN Rn11n ,niOuiuS on tl,n ,ob)n Ill. -.
and untasted.
Lady .Aylmer comes down with many
opals burning ut her throat, and she has
lilies of the valley-emblems of purity
clustering in her bosom. She looks like
Venus. or Clypso, with her tilmy robes
hillowing round her. and forms a start
ling contrast to the Suzeraine of High
cliffe. as for one accidental moment they
stand side by side.
Lady Ennisford wears black, dull
heavy black, high up to her chin. and
falling in mournful folds to the floor.
weighed down by yard deep Grape. and
unrclicvcd by Il single CLEAN of white.
No jewels glisten on her throat or arms.
only her broad gold wedding ring shines
OH her third finger, Il knocking symbol Of
everlasting love. 1t seems to stare bach
at her in scorn. us her eyes fall by chance
on it.
The gorgeous salon at Highcliffe has
never thrilled with such melody as when
Lady Aylmer sings in her superb con-
tralto u little later on. Even Lady En-
nisford with all her horror of the wom-
an, listens perforce, but suddenly looking
up she catches sight of her husbands
face, and that's enough. Devils shrieking
in her ears would be a more welcome
sound to them.
As the beguiling voice floats past him
and appeals to his senses, Lord Ennisford
just gives himself UP to the spell, aud
makes no concealment of his intense adj
miration Of both singer and song, and
when the last notes, brilliantly given, die
away, Lady Aylmer sinks languidly into
a big velvet bergere, while her inanforato
leans at the window by her side, making
the two Of them a pretty tableau enough.
ensconced in half shadow, with the soft