The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-03-21
CONTINUED.

CONTINUED.
She bowed slightly, with a smile on
her lips but an inscrutable look IN her
eyes, and left the room, while Stanley
eazed after her, his heart beating wild
" and her words ringing, like strange
mue:c, in his ears.
"Clarence!" said the voice of Polly
Hamilton close beside him, but in
tones so low and timid the sound did
not reach him. As Dolores left the
room, Polly rose quickly and hurried
toward her lover; and when he did not
turn to her, even in answer to that
tinid but impassioned utterance OF his
name, she went still closer to him, and
laying her hand upon his arm, she said
again: "Clarencel'
Stanley turned and said sharply:
"Ah! Polly-is it you?''
"Yes, dear. Are you angry with
me?"
"Angry? For what?' And then,
with an effort, he brought his thoughts
back to Polly Hamilton; and, remem-
bering, he understood her.
"Why should I be angry with you,
Polly?" he said with assumed gentle
ness.
sYou seem annoyed that Rita
should know about-about-"
"About what?'' said Stanley, cruel
", seeing that she hesitated and she
did not know how to put her thought
in words. -.
"About our engagement" said
Polly, blushing furiously, and with a
terrible sense of being forced to ap-
pear forward and almost indelicate,
and yet with feeling that she must
understand this man, who seemed de
termined to trife with her, even II II
killed her with shame to force the
truth from him.
'Oh-our engagement 's2ld STAN
ley, softly; and thinking as be said so:
"Of course, she considers it an en-"
gagement. Why shouldn't she? And
I dare not offend her, for papa Ham
ilton could be rough customer If he
chose. Besides, I cannot afford to
thrown over pretty Polly just yet"
All this passed through the mind oi
Clarence Stanley in the brief instant
that served to show him Mary Hamil-
toms tremulous, quivering lips and
tear-wet eyes imploringly raised to
hin; and with an instantaneous
change of manner, he caught her IN
his arms and drew her close to his
heart.
Darling Polly! Forgive me!'' he
exclaimed. ''I was for the moment
quite absent minded and carried away
by the thought of that extraordinary
girl and the strange story she had
just read to US. Of course, 7 am moi
angry. How could any one ever be
angry with you, Polly? But, since
you speak OF it, perhaps it will be
better to say nothing of our-our en-
gagement-for the present, neither to
Dolores nor to any one else. Al
least, until I have spoken to your
father. Perhaps, when he knows
what shocking bad ancestry I have,
he may not he willing to give his little
girl into my keeping"
Mary laughed softly and rested her
head on his shoulder.
"And you, Polly-don't you feel
afraid to trust yourself to the descen-
dant of Pedro Mendoza? How if ]
should be the the re-incarnation o.
that wicked traitor?"
"Clarencer' said Polly, in voice
sweet with indignant reproach.
"Well," thought Clarence, s'i1
other things fail, old Hamilton is
worth I know not how many millions,
and Polly is really very charming
little girl"
He drew her closer within his arms,
and, as he stopped over her, he kissed
her several times, and didn't even try
to cheat himself into the belief that ii
was accidental, for there was now O
settled purpose in his love-making.