Hutchinson gazette., 1901-05-02

wv i''l w lnt BIOUHu' lHNOlulllhlll9
Den2ll stopped to pick 1t up, and, as
she held out her hand to repossess her
self Of 1t, he slipped it round her arm
ana fastened 1t there once more, Then,
n reckless feeling coming over him,
and the small white hand he loved
with such hopeless fondness being so
well within his reach, he bent his head,
ana pressed tender, despairlng, lin
gering kiss upon It, after which he
almost flung 1t from him and walked
away,
What sad final farewell II seemed
to him. As for Mildred, she made no
further sign but left the room as
nolselcssly as she had entered IT,
In the hall she encountered Mabel,
radiant and whte-robed, who said
What not yet dressed, Mildred"
And Mildred answered. 81 shall
be down presently" quite calmly, and
then went on to her room,
But when the door was closed, and
securely fastened an awful sense OF
desolation fell upon her For the first
time In her life she felt what 1t was to
be alone, What had she done? What
was II she had thrown away forever
and ever? She sunk upon her knees
by her bed, and, burying her head In
the clothes, cried as If her heart would
break,
When Mildred came downstairs, the
ball was at It's height Den2ll was
there, as calm as ever and apparently
in excellent spirits, at the end Of the
room, conyersng with her mother and
old Blount, He was laughing, but his
mirth was not overstrained, neither
was his manner In any wise different
from what 1t usually was; and, in
deed, only one intimately acquainted
with him would have noticed certain
bright CLEAN and glitter in his eyes
which betokened feyerishness. He did
not look toward the door, or in any
way falter In his conversation when
Mildred entered Lady Caroline saw
her, however,
"Ah, there is Mildred at last" she
said, What a time the child has
taken to dress; and how white she
looks, ! hope she has not been over
exciting herself"
"TableauX are about the most ia
tIguing things know" said Den2ll
quietly, looking, not where Mildred
stood, while somebody was inscriblng
his name upon her card, but straight
into Lady Caroine's eyes,
80 they are" returned her ladyshiT
to Dcn2il, in all good faith; "and Mil
dred Is not too strong, Now that | sec
Mildred" she went on little later
Il began to wonder where Mabel can
be- have not noticed her amongst
the dancers since first she came in,"
Here she elevated her glasses to take
an anxious maternal survey OF the
room, Mabel was nowhere IN sight.
where can she have gone to?" en-
claimed her mother; and just at that
moment her glance fell on the cur
talns that draped the window at the
lower end of the apartment, They
were slightly parted and through the
opening could be seen the balcony be-
yond and on the balcony a glimpse of
a white dress.
"That must be Mabel" decided her
ladyship impatiently How extreme
ly foolish Of her thus to expose her
self in a thin light dress to the win
terry air Who Is with herr"
"My nephew, fancy said old
Blount.
mabel is behaving most imprudent-
ly," observed Lady Caroline with as
much austcrity in her tone as she was
capable of. "She will have half the
county talking of her presently; and
there is old Lady Atherleigh at this
very instant with her spectacles on
peering in their direction, Mr., Younge
will you 90 and tell Mabel that want
to speak to her directly"
"My dear Lady Caroline" returned
Dcnzil, ut goes to my heart to refuse
you anything, even the smallest trlne;
but just consider what you have asked
me to do. Were | to interfere as you
wish me, should call down so many
secret bad wishes and indignant looks
upon my head that | have no doubt in
the world the consequences would be
fatal"
He laughed pleasantly as he spoke;
but old Blount, who had been listening,
did not laugh at all, keeping prema-
turely grave,
my dear madam he said, why in
terfere at all? The lad is a good lad
and a handsome lad, and will come in
for all have when | am gone. Let
them alone"
So Mabel and Roy were let alone to
follow their own devices, and conse-
Quently enjoyed their evening to the
utmost.
Miss Sylverton, having danced seven
times consecutively with Charles Tre-
vanion, was feeling perfectly content
ed and at peace with herself and all
the rest of the world: while Mildred,
pale and beautiful, with disturbed
heart and restless mind danced and
laughed half the night with Lord Lyn-