The Southern herald., 1901-06-07

quite heart-Wh0le and faney-tTee. lie
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 60
down the bay on a friends yacht to
see the boat race. There were many
people on board whom We did not
know, and just as the race began, my
brother-in-law came to me in great
excitement, whispering: "She is
herep
"She? Who?" Iasked, and he re-
piled:
"The maid Of the mountain, and
loveher than ever-come~ In des-
peration l followed him to the other
end of the yacht, and saw avery beau
tiful girl, dressed in perfect taste,
whose face seemed familiar,
"It is Mildred Mason" said Jack,
''but what a change! told you she
needed only proper toggery-I must
hunt up some one to presentme," " and
he was off. Twas lost in wonder, Jack
must have made a mistake, l asked
some one the name of the pretty girl
who was talking to my brother-in-
law.
"0h, that's Miss Ashleigh," (" was the
reply, and l chuckled with delight.
She and Jack remained together the
whole afternoon, and / hovered near
and wondered. They were quite
oblivious of my existence, however,
and could not help overhearing their
talk, After pause, she said;
81 suppose, Mr.. Hathaway, you are
wondering where you and | have met
before. l 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 l shall
never forget it. l should have en-
| joyed the sensation if had not been
so worried about mamma"
Jack and | both listened SPELL
bound.
"You 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 a night
we passed in those woods alone with
the Masons."
jacks interest in her words was
entirely unfeigned. / could see that
he was longing for more light on the
matter, and | admired his tact when
he asked:
"How did it happen?"
"a defective fue, / 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. |
had not even a hairpin. The people
at the Corners came to our rescue,
but mamma could not get further
down the mountain than that
wretched cabin where you found us
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?"
dyes, all summer, and every sum-
mer for years. 1t was a charming
spot and such picturesque old house.
| had painted a 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
you know, Mr.. Hathaway, my mother
and | were so glad you stayed there
that night, though we could not cul-
tivate your acquaintance. Mamma
will be delighted to hear l haveimet
you. What is that? A photograph
Of me in that lilac gown! How did
you manage to take itf"
at was two years ago to-day" he
said, earnestly, "and the picture has
never left me-" His next words were
spoken so low that | did not catch
them. just then there was a sudden
excitement around us. The race was
over, but I am sure that neither Of
those two knew or cared which side
had won.
The next day Jack Hathaway had
the effrontery to tell me that 1 had
been an idiot to suppose for an in.
slant that Miss Mildred Ashleigh
was anything but a lady born and
bred, just because she wore a ragged
gown-he with his superior power
of discernment, had taken in the sit.
uation at a glance.
Look Yourself Over.