Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-22

t ZsT-.se 81
With intense caution I drew nearer.
There was no difficulty whatever, for her
face was turned toward me. I strembled
as | bent down: the fragrance of her
breath was In my face; and then SO
It was just a touch, and nothing more.
But 1t sent a tremor through her frame
as from q shock. For a GREATNESS mo-
ment I stood still behind her chair, and
then I saw the madness, the utter folly,
OF what l had DONE. I had vague thought
Of police. and turned cold with fear.
But she did mot wake, and I passed out
K q shadow. Some instinct impelled
me to close hat awful album as I turned
away. In another three seconds, it SEEM
ed, I had climbed the waiting ladder,
drawn 1t up after me and placed it in Its
first position. / was back in Aunt Es-
theirs garden, tremuolus with mingled
dread and triumph. 81
Good heavens!" 1 said to myself, chat
Wastthe maddest thing a man ever did
I walked twice around the garde ta1te
qulet my nerves, and then went indoors.
with the relief of my sudden panic came
the desire to know more about ffay
sleeping Beauty. The romance had. be-
gun we'll. and now it should move for
ward. I had some twelve lays in witch
to work it out. 81
Naturally I had forgotten all about'4he
thunderstorm: but now I found that it
had passed over without breaking. The l
skies were clearer, and my aunt Had
gone to the Kitchen to make arrange
ments for luncheon. AS soon as she came !
back I opened the subject.
Aunt Esther" I said, whose is the
garden next to yours? When 1 looked |
over the wall I saw a young woman sit
ting IN a little summer house, fast
asleep"
MY aunt seemed surprised. "Asleep?"
she said. 'That is strange. But it must
have been Mrs. Portingda1e.'
Mrs. Portingdale?" l gasped. MRS.
Yes" said Aunt Esther, quietly. "She |
IS the person I was about to tell you this |
morning. When there is thunder about
she dare not stay in, the house, because |
there are 50 many steel articles in it. She
goes to that ridiculous little summer
house until the storm is over. But she |
could hardly have gone to sleep there:
she would be too nervous" |
] fell ia horrible sensation of bewilder-
| lnent.
"But-but,' 7 cried helpless.y.. "this
was quite q young girl. She was not
twenty
Mrs. Portingda1e." said my aunt, nod
ding. lis just twenty. She a married
six months ago. There is no other young
woman there" #g|
These measured words struck me. with
dunbness. Aurt Esther looked at my
facce with increasing surprise, and SEEM
ed Just about to ask a question when a
noisy interruption took place. The front
door bell was rung with an, alarming
clang, clang, clang, eloquent Of haste
and urgency. We heard the housemaid
running to the door. and then there was
a u Of voices. We listened and waited,
my mt in surprise, myself in growing
guilt and fear.
In a moment the housemaid knocked.
and entered. IF you please ma a H." she |
said excitedly. !"Mr. Po%rtingdale's com
pI.meNts. and can you run over to see
Mrs. Po~rtingdale? She has had a fright
in the garden and fainted!"
My aunt rose in agitation. but she was
not the n TO delay a kindness for the /
sake of asking questions, n 1,
Dear me! dear mel" she said in dis.
tress. 1T must have been the thunder. !.
Ask the girl to wait, Mary, and .IllF go \
back with her, - Ara y, -..5 {45s~ T.
- The messenger vas taken to the kitr |,
chen. to tell her story at greater length,
whlle Aunt Esther hurried upstairs FOR |
her bonnet III mantle. Five minutes /
later she came down again. and left the /
house with the girl. AS soon as she had I
disappeared I wentto find the housemaid. L
MARY" I said hastily, what did rthe +
girl tell you? What is wrong with Mrs. /
Portingdale? "t T.
And Mary told me, pleased to find an
interested listener. The first part of the
story was exactly as I expected to find it.
Mrs. .P~ort.ngdale had gone to the sum-
mer house because OF the thunderstorm,
and had taken a couple Of books with her.
The heaviness Of the air had given her a ]
headache. and she had closed her eyes
for a while to rest them. Presently a
slight sound had diturbed her, and. look
ing up, she had seen a most terrifying
sight. ~ |
1T was a 1%unatic, SIR" said Mary, "sit-
ting on the wall, and booking round the ]
garden so eager and fiercelike. 1t made the !
poor lady's blood run cold to see him. She !
knew at once that he must have escaped {
from the Bessing Asylum, because he was {
a strange face. and such things is hap =.
penlng continually. So she shut her eyes s.
fast, knowing as her only chance was to :
pretend to be asleep. Then he got down :
off the wall, and came and stared at her ,
for ever SO long. she almost dying of fear. :
1t must have been awful! Then she !
peeped again between her eyelashes, and :
there was the madman grinning, sillylike. :
over her books. After that he was still !
80 long that she expected every second
that he would spring at her, but ne didn't. /,
What do o think he did. sir?" {
Who nows? / gasped, falsely and 3
painfully. (.
We'll, sir. he-.kissed her!" Mary :
blushed at that point. ever In her excite !
ment. Fancy being kissed by a lunatlc! 3
1t sent the cold shivers all through the
poor woman. and Indeed it must have I
been a horrible feeling, but she didn't stir Il
a finger. Then there was quiet so long I
that she made bold to peep again, and, t
10. and behold! he was clean gone. Then t
she tainted right away, and didn't come t
to until her husband found her. and after 4
she had told them all about it she had an ]
other faint. So. Ma. P%ortingdale sent e
round for our mistress to go there at once. c
And that's all I know about it. sir" 4 2
1t was quite sufficient. 1 dismissed I
and sat down IN a sta To- NJ w:ca a
which 1t is impossible to describe. A .
married woman! I onder il hastih.