Warren sheaf., 1901-07-18

theme that pleased her. The at
tendant saw how gratefully the ac-
count came upon the ears of her
mistress, and she closed the recital
with some opinion of her own
wherein Ruric Newell was held up as
pattern after which all men who
wished to win the love of woman
should be made. -. T..
But before any answer could be
made by Rosalind the door of the
apartment was opened, and the duke
entered. He smiled very kindly as
he bowed to his ward, and then,
with wave of his hand, he motion
ed for Zenobie to withdraw, and aft
er the attendant was gone he took
seat close by his fair charge. The
maiden looked up into his face, and,
though there was no serious look
there as yet, still she could plainly
see that he had something of more
than usual Importance on his mind.
She shuddered as she gazed upon
him, for she could not help it.
There was something in the look of
the mana sort of hidden intent,
which came out in his tone and
glance; deep meaning, something
which he had never spoken, but
which was yet manifest-that NOV
ed her thus. What it. was she could
not tell. It was the prompting Of
that instinct of the. human soul
which may repel an object while
yet the working mind detects no
harm. ee .&1~ssa>' 20
But she was not to remain in the
dark much longer. The evil one
was loose, and his bonds Of restraint
were cast off. He had marked his
prey, and the meshes were gather
'nn ABOUT i: F|Rosaiind," the duke
SAID IN tone winch he meant
should have been easy and frank,
but which nevertheless was marked
strongly with effort, 'there is some
talk among the surgeons now that
Conrad Damonoff may recover
"Oh, I am glad of that!" the fair
girl uttered earnestly. AZ.
eyes, l suppose so,'' resumed Oh
ga, eying her sharply. 'tBut you
have no particular care for him, I
presume?'
r f'For-for the count?" Wv
AYE; it was of him I was speak
ing"
<tNo, sir. Icare only for him as I
care for all who need to become bet
ter ere they die.'' II"
s**Aha, yes?' said the duke, biting
his lip, for in his own mind he had
the frankness to acknowledge that
he was about as needy of virtue as
was the count. '"But," he resumed,
with a faint smile, 'tyou never loved
the man ?" r.
mo, sir" the maiden answered,
gazing up into her guardians face,
with an inquisitive look.
$50 I thought, so I thought" AS
Olga thus spoke he smiled again and
moved his chair nearer to Rosalind.
F'1 am we'll aware, he resumed,
'that your affections have not as
yet been set upon any one who is
capable of making a proper COM
panion for you through all the ups
and downs Of life"
Rosalind's eyes dropped beneath
the steady gaze Of the speaker, and
her frame trembled. But ere she
could make any reply the duke went
on:
FFMy dear Rosalind, I have come
now upon business which I may
justly call the most important Of
my life. have not approached this
subject lightly nor with overzeal,
but I have come to it through
careful consideration and anxious
study"
Here the duke stopped and gazed
into Rosalind's face. She met his
gaze, and her eyes dropped again.
She trembled more than before, and
a dim, dreadful fear worked it's way
to her mind.
'sRosalind," the nobleman contin-
ued, "when I was but 10 years Of
age, I was married with girl whom
I loved. She lived with me four
short, happy years. In that time
we were blessed with two children,
but they lived not long to cheer US.
And then my beautiful wife died,
and the world was all dark and drear
to me. I thought l should never
love again. Time passed on, and
you were placed in my charge.
When you first came, I loved you,
and I wondered if you were to take
the place of the children I had lost.
But you grew quickly up. Your
mind was expanded, and your heart