The Holly chieftain., 1901-04-05

The .taF Of that soodly company
i think welought to carr q out
TO tho letter." sxcitedly cried Gladdt
wnen the'resitAtiqn was over. ma taas.
aeafentng applause cause shams.facJd
BODILY to nee for shelter behind 4 suit
OF shining armor.
- dear. wild child, this new daugh-
nf pf mine" blandly said Lady Jane
20 mar dowaSer cropiss, az GLADLY sDsd.
through tie han. to The distant .tsir-
case.
II GLADLY had sAoU Seon the great
American heiress she was, her escap-
ade would have been promptly frowned
down. they knew very well.
Upstairs. il IL f .sisry ii that ran
round the hall. Paul Ansdeil was pac
Ing up and down. with folded arms
and deeply frowning brow.
Tonight meant for. this man other
things than it did for the merry
makers below, The crucial moment
had come when he was about to stake
his all. Either he would be in a po-
sition to. grasp a.fortune. or he would
find himself in prison cell. That
he knew.
As, he paced along the gallery a light
footstep Come behind him. afSo light,
was its patteF, that Paul did not hear
it. ~ x NS ta
"Y6p?" :s
AS he turned he faced little figure
in aleshing silver robes with patches.
OF crtmson here and there--blood-red
berriesTa1yd At her throat dazzle
1t was GLADLY: "a ,tiptoe:
II have come to hiderTto hide!-
er.voice- abruptly died away. for
Paul Ansdsll's eyes held her. Her whole
figure dropped. the joyousness died,
out OF her ,srnsal face, and her eyes
grew large and dilated a. they gaxed
back, almost glued. To- khafe .sf the
scientist. .s ~ l.. ..s.as
Motionless. .immovable, she waited
while he drew nearer to her. There
was for her the fascination of the VIC
tim for the rattlesnake. n.
AAA WuAIC tuo WV AAhbIcE hnu tOUl
came closer and closer. there came
floating up from below the sounds OF
music and revelry and gay laughter.
The dancing had begun again. and
there was flash Of changing color as
the couples whirled round.
In the gallery a strange silence
reigned
One little watcher, hidden close bo-
hind bank of ferns and festoons of
holly berries, could hear her own heart
beats.
1t was Syb. the deformed girl. who
had stolen away from the throng Of
merrymakers an hour since.
Something strange and uncanny had
befallen Syb, some inscrutable infiu
ence held her prisoner. Her will was
chained up, she was powerless to come
and go al she would. .e
But only 30 far was she dominated.
Every other sense she had was alert.
Aud she watched with wonderment the
bride. whom she hated for standing
in the place that should have been
Leila's. droop visibly before the, slowly
waving hands Of Paul Ansdell. the SCI
enlist. The strain not to lose any
thing in the strange scene being en-
acted before her was too much for
Syb even to wonder Why the long,
lean hands went up and down. up and
down, slowly and .methodically.
The gay music from below rose and
fell. and between its bnTsts syb's sharp.
young ears caught the Missed out COM
mand ~ Paul Ansdell bent over the
little crouching figure in silver bro-s'
cade:
eGoi Do my will"
With q faint. almost inarticulate
cry GLADLY Strengthened herself. and,
turning. went slowly along the gallery.
Paul Ansdell's eyes followed her until
she disappeared on the opposite side.
The music below ceased with e.
crash Of chords, the dance was over.
and IN the lull Syb heard sharp
click. r1
So did Paul Ansdell. for he quickly
lifted his head, and q gray pallor crept
over his face.
Then he hurried away In the diree-
ton Of the bachelors wing, where he
had been located on his arrival.
II hate him, tool" irrltably said syb.
In truth. the poor. misshapen GIRL
hated most people.
As II some baieful thing had depart
ed. she rose and shook herself. The
hoiIv had scrafchsd her thin, bare