Evening journal., 1900-02-09

l'I have just come to tell you that
love your
2 rather quaint little body. and-other
things Of which nobody suspected
.,ill. or perhaps this story would new
nave been written
Lut to return TO Stella.
Now she said. III It was Major
lansdowne. l could understand your
championship, whereas the Lascelles
loy-heaily. Cousin Jane, where can
-FOUR eyes be-"
I Almost as she spoke the door opened
and "Major Lansdownen was an
bounced, then Capt. Freke." and a
ew moments later Mr.. Lascelles."
+ Tho last conner was relegated to
iirs. Ogilvie's tender mercies. Appar-
eutly Stella was too much occupied
with her other guests to have n word
20 spare, and the little man sat beside
Mrs. Ogilvie, slipped his ten ana
talked.
/ Presently he rose to go.
This is a long good-by." he said.
very gravely; you know we are or
dered to the front-to-morrow 60
north to see my people, and on Thurs
Gay we sail"
Mrs. Ogilvie saw stella's face grow
deadly pale; she saw, too, that young
Lascelles had noted it. and that he
glanced toward Major Lansdowne.
do believe me-" he said in his quiet
gentle way, that if l can shield him
Tor your sake in any way it shall be
DONE"
An expression Of complete bewilder-
nent on Stella's face. noted by Mrs.
Ogilyie, was quite lost upon young
Lascelles. whose eyes seemed sudden
~ to have grown euriously dim.
/ Across the bare brown veldt n soli-
tary hOrseman made his way. "Rath-
a. a good horse" he had said which
was hardly doing the animal Justice
& was the feetest in the regiment and
lad won many a race before young
Jascelles had bought il.
Inside his coat lay the dispatches.
which. did they ever reach their des-
hnatiOn, would save the lives of hun
dreds of his fellow-soldiers.
lust then an agonizing pain in his
hand, another near his head. where a
bullet grazed his ear and sent the
sick and faint
4 Every moment he seemed more and
more TO lose control over his limbs
out he clutched his horses name with
one hand and guided it with the other
pulled himself together with SUI
preme effort of will, and at last rode
MO ". He tainted as somebody
helped him of his horse, but his work
vas done.
In her pretty drawing-room at Ex-
Minister sat Mrs. Ogilvie and Stella.
The morning papers had just arrived
and they had rushed TO open them.
Stella suddenly laid down the paper
and burst into tears.
Mrs. Ogilvie crossed the room and
put a pair Of very kindly, mOtherly
arms round the soDbing girl.
what is it. child" she whispered
Stella pointed to a name in the list
Of the seriously wounded" II was
hat Of Lieut.. Lascelles, of the Sew
orth Regiment
Mrs. Ogilvie's eyes held a question
which Stella answered. Il love him. -
She said. "and have loved him for
ages and now he viii never know"
Never know That was not Mrs.
Ogilvie's idea at all-and the next pas
senger shin to "the front" carried the
Two ladies on board, bound for a cer-
lain town in South Africa, where a
nero lay wounded, but mercifully not
unto death"
What passed at that first meeting
Who can tell? How Stella went into
bat hospital ward and he. seeing her
oming, could hardly believe the evil
dence Of his own eyes
y II have come" she said simply,
gust to tell you that I love You. that
7 have loved You all along. and that
can't live without you"
The nursing sister is wont to declare
hat It was a mysterious thing the
npidity of Mr.. Lascelles's recovery
dating from that visit. and soon af-
Ter he was invalided home on sick
leave.
During the time he was in England
there came a day when England S
Queen distributed 10 her bravest sol
/ diers some little iron crosses with the
words "For valor' thereon. aud the
one whom she specially singled out
10 speak TO him words no man would
care to forget so long as he lived was
no other than little Lascelles. "tho
buffer of the Regiment London
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