Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-11-19
CHAPTER ~.

While Nora had sat dreaming AT tnAt
favorite window of hers on the western
side of the house, Mark Poynz, smiling
a little over her sudden illness, walked
down the old avenue-so silent and snad-
| owy in the April twilight-and out into
the road which skirted the bog. Perhaps
he was thinkinglof the drive and emulat-
ing Borak's pace, for, though he walked
without pause or looking back, his step
was slow and leisurely. And there was
another similarity, too, for when ne
reached the cottage on the roadside at
which Borak had stopped, he stopped,
too. a woman stood in the open door,
way. and he began to talk 20 her in the
coolest and easiest and most natural way
possible; and when, two or three minutes
afterward, he was sitting on her hearth,
with her and her invalid son, it ali seem
ed the most ordinary thing in the world.
He sat just opposite little sketch Of an
English house; and what more natural
than for him to speak of it and to adj
mire its pretty frame Of bog oak? And
then, what more natural than fer the
English woman-who through all her
early womanhood had lived among the
English gentry, and recognized one of
them by instinct-to tell the story Of that
house so far as she knew it? And Mr..
Poynz sat and listened, looking now into
the low turf fire, and now up at the pref
ty little sketch, but without a shade of
| WEAKNESS, and never without a pleasant
look of interest on his frelit face.
Beautiful! You may well say so, sir.
1t was the most beautiful house l ever
saw, and Miss Kate painted it just like.
Notice that one wide, low window be-
tween the two towers, will you, sir? That
was the young masters room. The win
dow opens like two doors, on those wide
steps; and then that path leads straight
to the lake, and the park slopes down to
it all round. Notice that, please, before
l go on with my story. The young mas
ter-the master he was by all rights,
though we always called him Mr.. Arthur
lived a good deal of his life in this
room, for he'd always something in hand,
an invention, or an improvement, or a
discovery; and instead of riding after the
hounds, and shooting and farming, like
other gentlemen, he would shut himself
up there; and sometimes there'd be
smell of chemists things, and sometimes
there'd be the steam of engines, and some
times there'd be great filters. Miss Kate
went into his room but rarely, for she
was always with the old lady-by the
old lady, sir, l mean Mr.. Arthur's great
aunt, who owned the money that was to
free all the land, which for years had
been getting smaller and smaller, until
| poor Mr.. Arthur owned little beyond the
park. The very house, they used to say.
was pawned like over his head. But old
Mrs. Say had more money than would
buy back all the big estate that went
with the title coming to Mr.. Arthur; and
old Mrs. Say YVES dying slowly now, in
this very house. What sort of old lady,
sir? Why, about the very worst sort Of
old lady anybody could possibly know!
From morning to night, and from night
to morning, she woke only to eat and
scold, and make Miss Hates life a long,
miserable slavery. Why she came to
stay with Mr.. Arthur through that whole
year of fault-fnding we never could
make out-we always thought it danger
ous-but that she should have brought
poor Miss Kate, to show how she could
martyr a patient, pretty young girl, we
thought more dangerous still. Miss Kate
was some sort of a relation of the rich
only wonder to US was that their pa
thence held out so long, especially Mr..
Arthur's; for l don't think he ever came
near her bed-she lay in bed that whole
year-without having spiteful words said
to him about his want of money, and the
misery of that great house with so few
servants in it.
II needn't make the tale very long.
One night the doctor haviD~ } go out
himself, sent his young assistant up to
the Hall with little vial, and he was
himself to explain the contents to Miss
Kate. She was to pour just six >t-ops
into water, and give it to the sick lady
if she could not rest or sleep-not more
on any account Mr. Arthur was res
ent and listened as well as Miss kase
| so well remember my last visit into
the sick room that night. The old lady
fretting and complaining, even in her
sleep; Miss Kate sat by the bed, close to
tie little table which held the medicines,
and great WEAKNESS in her attitude. Mr..
Arthur sat before the fire, looking thor
oughly worn and respondent. In the
outer room the nurse sat sleeping in an
easy chair. l had begged Miss Kate to
let me sit up this one night, but she
wouldn't hear of it.
(To be continuedl