Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-08-30

window. followed hurriedly by the
, doctor.
What happened after that nobody
ever knew, for Lady Caroline and
Stubber standing with their backs TO
the bed, and their faces turned to the
chilly suter world, could tell nothing.
When at length they returned to the
bed they found Mildred pale and trem-
bling, the heavy tears coursing each
other GSwn her cheeks in rapid sue
cession, which she hastily brushed
away as they drew nearer her, her
hand tightly clasped in Denzil's. He
had even made an effort to hold her
with the poor injured fingers, and had
brought them SO far that the tips
touched hers.
He was quite sane now. His face,
slightly flushed, was looking upward;
his eyes, glad and happy, were fixed
on hers, while she answered back the
gaze, forgetful of all else but that he
lay before her sick, it might be, unto
death.
! "Denzil, you are exciting yourself"
said Lady Caroline, nervously.
'No, am not" answered Denzil, his
voice clear and distinct, but without
removing his eyes from Mildred's s;
"1eave me for moment"
He waved them back impatiently to
the window, and neither Lady Caroline
nor the doctor could bring themselves
to disobey the command
But Stubber, who was becoming seri-
ously uneasy about his patient, glanc-
ing round at him cautiously and Sur
reptitiously, saw what followed. He
said that when he and Lady Caroline
had again Withdrawn, Denzil looked
at Miss Trevanion, and that then Miss
| Trevanion stopped and kissed him, not
once. but twice.
| This was what Stubber said, but he
also added that it was his firm belief
that she did it out of pure humanity
and nothing more. When two minutes
later, he again approached Younge, he
| found that Mildred had disappeared,
and that Denzil was lying perfectly
composed, his face turned toward the
half-open door, He sighed heavily but
contentedly and then came back to the
realities of life.
Doctor Stubber,'' said he, "do you
know that I am better?"
Time will TELL" answered the little
doctor, sententiously; "and now you
must go to sleep if you wish to keep
| in that much-to-b e-desired condition.
Lady Caroline, 1 trust to you to let
no more young ladies into the room
| this evening""
Denzil laughed quite nationally, and
| changing over to the other side, in a
| few minutes, fell into sound. refresh
| ing slumber.
Not once again during all the re-
mainder of his illness did Miss Trey
anton enter Denzil's room; neither did
he ask for nor allude to her in any
way, although Lady Caroline noticed
the intense look of interest that came
| into his face whenever her name was
casually mentioned.
| After a week or two, the remem-
brance of her visit faded. or came to
him only as shadow from the fevered
past he had gone through, and not I'M
| til the doctor had given him permits
! sion to quit his bed for an hour or so
every day, to lie on a lounge in the
| adjoining apartment, did he venture
| to speak of it and try to discover the
| truth.
1t was one morning, when he was
| feeling considerably stronger, and had
Mabel beside his couch, reading to him
| scraps Of poetry that every now and
then struck her fancy as she glanced
Through the volume in her hand, that
he approached the subject.
"Is your sister away from homer"
he asked, in the middle of a most pa.
thetic passage.
And Mabel answered ':No," REDEEM
ing little.
Then think she might have come
to see me before this" he said. with
all the fretfulness of an invalid.
"Well, you see, she has all the house
keeping to attend to, now mamma is
so much your slave" returned Mabel.
smiling; that keeps her away. She
always asks for you, though, and is SO
glad to hear of your getting on so rap
idly"
This sounded rather lame, and Ma.
bel, feeling it to be SO, tried once more
to resort to her book.
Il suppose it would give her too
much trouble to make her inquiries in
person." he said, bitterly; everyone
else comes to see me except herself.
Surely Lyndon could not object to
that?'
Have you not heard, them asked
Mabel, hesitatingly. Il fancied you
would have known before this Her
engagement with Lord Lyndon is at an
end. He has been abroad for the last
four weeks"
CHAPTER XIX.
Mildred's engagement is at an end
with Lord LYNDON" Denzils pale
haggard face flushed crimson. Ia n1t |