Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-12-19

lrjed. She thinks of nothing but max
ing me costly presents and giving M
the whole Of her tiresome society"
II understand" said Gladys, softly
Il was obliged to marry for money,
he urged, apologetically; "and certain
~ my wife is all that any man couIt
desire, except that she is great dea
too affectionate; but Well,
must not complain; no man can have
everything. Life at home bores me
Gladys, you will take compassion or
me; you viii l,1 me come and see yoU
sometimes ."
Yes; but you must not come toe
often, Vance. Ny aunt will not like
it."
Il wish your aunt were at Timbuc
too" he said, hastily.
''In that case I should probably be
with her, SO that you would not gain
much" she replied, with a forced
smile
"But, Gladys, you will be kind to
me-you will let me spend some Of my
time with you? I know l must not
come here too often; but there are
many other places where we can
meet"
"But, Vance" she said, sadly, chow
will it end? You know it is useless;
you know that | must not learn to
care for you more than | do. 1t will
make me only the more unhappy.
How will it end?"
Neither she nor he had the faintest
idea.
Never mind the end, Gladys; we
are far enough from that, | hope. Be
kind and generous to me. You know
that the only real pleasure I have in
the world is being with you; ana why
should we deprive ourselves Of what
is a great pleasure to both? Remem-
Der our compact of friendship was
made for life"
yes, friendship" she repeated, hes
itatingly.
NO one has ever defined the limits
Of friendship yet" he said. cot course
know we must be prudent, careful,
and l should be sorry to do anything
which would draw public attention to
us; but we can have many a pleasant
half hour together if you will con-
sent"
"It is always pleasure to me to
see you Vance,-yOu know that; but
we must
She did not complete the sentence,
for the music of a fascinating waltz
reached them.
you will give this waltz to me?" he
said.
Il could not refuse" she replied.
And the next moment Lady Laura
Wynyard, crossing the ballroom to
speak to her hostess, saw, to her
great surprise, her husband Waiting
with Gladys Rane.
Gladys Rane and Captain Wynyard
were old friends who had danced tO-|
gether hundred times before, and
would in all probability dance to-
gether a hundred times again; there
was nothing surprising in it. But
any one who saw Lady Laura Wynn
yard when her eyes first fell on the
pair would have thought that some
thing terrible had occurred. Her face
grew perfectly white, the color died
even from her lips, and her eyes
cleaned even with a strange light. |
She stood watching them in silence
for a few seconds, and then passed
on. There was nothing unusual in
their manner; but it seemed to her as
though she had received some deadly
wound. Then she tried to laugh her
self out of her unpleasant thoughts
There was nothing in it; her husband
was merely dancing with an old
friend. Yet, at that moment Lady
Laura's martyrdom began.
The ball was a most brilliant one
Angela seemed to enjoy it thoroughly,
and she and her mother were sur
rounded with admirers. Lady Laura
looked radiantly beautiful; but,
though she laughed and chatted gai1y,
her blue eyes were restless, and wan
dered continually in search of her
husband. She did not quite recover
her color, and there was something in
her smile that to a close observer
would have suggested tears. And for
what? When she asked herself that
question, she was ashamed
A time came when she found her
self near Angela, and she fastened to
her daughter.
Angel she asked, where is the
captain? l cannot see him. Is he in
the ball-room?"
Angela looked round with innocent,
eyes.
Il do not see him, mamma. All
yes, there he is-near the conserya-
tory door, with Miss Rane"