St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1901-06-01

quite heart-Whole and fancy-free. H,
made no mention of that girl, so
/ concluded that he had forgotten her
Very soon after his return, however
we all happened to be asked to Sc
down the bay on friends yacht te
see the boat race. There were many
people ON board whom we did not
j know, and just as therace began, my
j brother-in-laW came to me in great
! excitement, whispering: ashe il
i here!''
She? Who2' I asked, and he re-
piled
] 11'he maid Of the mountain, and
ElaEelier than ever-eone!" In des-
perafion I followed him to the other
lend Of the yacht, and saw a very beau
tiful girl, dressed in perfect taste,
whose face seemed familiar.
/ 1T is Mildred Mason said Jack,
s<bht what 4 changel { told You she
needed only proper toggeryI must
huntlp some one to presentme and
/ he was off. j was lost In wonder. Jack
must have made d mistake. / asked
some one the name of the pretty girl
who was talking to my brother-in-
law.
oh, that's MissAshleigh, was the
reply, and / chuckled with delight.
She and Jack remained together the
whole afternoon, and ] hovered near
and wondered. They were quite
| obliylous Of my existence, however,
and Ieould not help oyerhearing their
talk. After a pause, she said:
{" suppose, Mr. Hathaway, You are
wondering where you and I have met
before. ] should not be surprised if
You had forgotten all about it, for
you must have often been out fish
ing in the mountains, but it was my
first and only adventure and I shall
never forget it. I should have en-
joyed the sensation if had not been.
50 worried about mamma.
Jack and | both listened spell
bound.
gu see, she sprained her ankle,
besides inhaling a great deal Of
smoke, and was suffering from shock,
and { thought my father would never
come. More than a day and night
we passed in those woods alone with
the Masons.'
Jacks interest in her words eWas
entirely unfeigned. / could see that
he was longing for more light on the
matter, and / admired his tact when
he asked:
s.HoW didit happen?s
"A defective due, I believe, said
she, taking his question in restricted
sense. Mrs. Mason was lighting the
kitchen fire, and did not know any,
thing was the matter until the flames
were beyond control. Mamma and [
were awakened just in time to rush
out, and we lost all our clothing. I
had not even hairpin The people
at the Corners came to our rescue.
but mamma could not get further
down the mountain than that
Wretched cabin where youfound rs. T
was dreadfully afraid you would pho
tograph me in that old lilac gown
that some one had lent me-
She laughed gleefully;; Jack joined
in and then asked:
Had you been living there long?''
{ Yes, all summer, and every sum
ner for years. It was charming
spot and such a picturesque old house.
had painted number Of views and |
were just thinking Of going home
to the city, when we were burnt out. |
My father arrived on the second day |
with our clothes and our doctor. Do
youknoW, Mr.. Hathaway my mother
md / were 50 glad you stayed there
hat night, though we could not cul-
.iVate your acquaintance Mamma
will be delighted to hear i havetmet
Fou. What is that? A photograph
If me in that lilac gown. How did
Fou manage to take it?
1T was two years ago to-day, he
aid, earnestly, sand the picture has
lever left me- His next words were
poken so low that I did not catch
hem. Just then there was a sudden
excitement around us. The race was
'ver, but am sure that neither Of
hose two knew or cared which side
lad won.
The next day Jack Hathaway had
he effrontery to tell me that I had
cen an idiot to suppose for an in
tant that Miss Mildred Ashleigh ]
as anything but lady born and
red, just because she wore a ragged
oWnhe with his superior power. !
f diseernment, had taken in the sit
alton at a glance.
Look Yourself Over