The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-10-02
f't The Aou5e on lhs Narsh." etc.
Copyright. 1885, by Robert Eonners Sonsl

well peep at the mysterious beauty as
his companions.
This time they were fortunate. When
they had gone past the inn, they
caught sight of the pretty figure whom
they all had in their thoughts, and
they all pretended to view it with in
difference. Willie was the first to break
down in this assumption.
"There she is"' he said, in quite a
tremulous voice. Its no use pre-
tending we don't see her. Do you
think she'll run away if we get over
the fence:"
Clifford had already made the expert
ment.
To the great relief of the whole
party, Nell turned slowly and waited
for their approach without a smile,
with, indeed, sort Of quiet defiance.
II suppose" she said to Clifford, as
soon as he came up, you have come
to say good-by, you and your friends,
before you go back to town"
She had remembered the date he had
| given her for that event, then. This
was a ray of consolation, but she
gave him no other. She was cold, re-
served, almost hard. He felt so an
cry with her for her contemptuous dis
regard of his feelings that he thought
for the moment that his passion was
eXtinguiShed by it. However, she un-
bent so far as to invite them all In to
tea, and the three young men were
much puzzled as to which of them it
was who had procured them this fav-
or. Conybeare seemed to be, on the
whole, the one to whom she talked
the most; Clifford was, without any
doubt, the one of whom she took the
least notice.
The meal, on the whole, was a
pleasant one, although Claris himself
was more taciturn than he had been
on that unlucky day when he and Nell
and Clifford had spent such a merry
hour in the little sitting-room.
Now the weather had changed; the
autumn winds were whistling about
the little inn, and the blue sea had
become dark gray line, fecked with
white crests. There was fire in the
little crate, and it was when Otto
Conybeare moved quickly forward to
poke it for Nell that the incident oc-
Cured which was to throw shadow
over the meeting.
In passing a side-table upon which
stood a wicker work-basket, Otto
dragged the cloth off, and brought the
basket and all the rest of the things
on the table with crash to the floor.
Willie who was near him, went down
on his knees with apologies for Ottos
clumsiness.
"He thinks it's manly, you know, to
show a contemptuous Indifference to
| such feminine trif1es. A sure sign Of
| genius, you know, Miss Claris, and
you must excuse it. as it's the only
sign he's got. Oh, and just look at
the pretty things he's been trampling
under his great intellectual feet3'
And Willie held up to the astonished
gaze of the rest glittering jewel
which sparkled in the freight.
For a moment there was an oppres-
sive silence. Then Nell, pale and agi-
tated, snatched it from him with fin.
gers so unsteady that the trinket fell
to the floor again. 1t was Clifford who
picked it up this time and gave it tc
the girl without a word. Nell would
have put it back into her basket, but
George Claris, on whom the appalled,
silence of the young men had not been
lost, told his niece in a rough tone
to give it to him.
"What is the thing?" he asked,
sharply.
"Only one of a pair of old-fashioned
earrings, uncle" answered Nell with
emotion. which no efforts on her part
could hide.
Earrings! I didn't know you had
any! Where did you get them? Who
gave them to you!'
For one moment the girl fenced with
him, trying to treat the matter lightly,
as she got upon chair and placed the
work-basket at the top of the high
cupboard by the fireplace. But George
Claris was not q man to be trifed with.
Seizing the girl by the shoulder so
roughly that he almost dragged her
to the ground, he tore the work basket
out Of her hands, flung back the lid.
and turned out the contents upon the
table, the chairs, anywhere, until he
had found both the earrings
Then he held them up to the light
critically; then he looked at Nell with
puzzled frown.
"Who gave 'em to youw he asked
sharply.
The young men, trying to hide their
interest in her answer by talking
among themselves, yet listened eager
ly. She blushed, stammered, then
turned white as she said:
"The colonel gave them to me
Colonel Bostal. At least. he and Miss
Theodore"
| George Claris rubbed one of the ear,
rings on his sleeve, and then rather
quickly thrust them both out of sight
under little pile Of old papers and
magazines which had been replaced
upon the side.table.
We'll, don't know what folks want
spending moaey on jew'lry for, when
you can get Just as good to look at for
next to nothing. And next to nothing
must be the vally cf anything as Miss
Theodore gives away" he added, with
a rather forced attempt at jocularity.
Clifford, who was much pcrturbed