Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-06-13

4 pectlnS TO De taken up stalrs began
1 gather up my wraps, but Miss Knolly
f again surprised me by saying that m
4 room was not yet ready; that they ha
r not been able to complete all their ar
rangements, and would | make mysel
3 at home where was till evening
t AS this was asking "A good deal of
| woman of my years. fresh from a rail
r road journey and with natural habit
of great neatness and order, felt some
| what disconnected, but hiding it for tn
, reasons before given laid down m
bundles again and endeavored to max
. the best of the somewhat trying situa
t ton.
Launching at once into conversation,
began, as with her sister, to talk abou
her mother. | had never known, save il
the vaguest way, why Mrs. Knollys ha'
taken that journey abroad which hat
, ended in her death and burial in for
eign land | had heard she had gon'
abroad for her health, which had begun
to fail after the birth of Lucetta, but a
she had gone unaccompanied by he
husband or children there was mucl
UudG IL WOulu D5 lulCIcstllR lOI no u
know concerning these events which
felt that these girls might be willing t.
tell me, but Miss Knollys, Intentionally
or unintentionally, assumed an air ST
cold at these well meant questions OIL
my part that | desisted from pressing
her and began to talk about myself i'll q
way which l hoped would establish
really friendly relations between US and
make it possible for her to tell me later
if not at the present moment, what II
was that weighed SO heavily upon the
household that no one could enter into
it without feeling the shadow Of the
secret terror that developed it
But Miss knollys, while more atten
tive to my remarks than her sister had
been, showed still by certain unmistak
able signs that her heart and interest
! were anywhere but i'll that room, and
while l could not regard this as throw
ing any djscredlt upon my powers OF
pleasing - which have rarely failed
when l have exerted them to their ut
most--I still could not but experience
the dampening effect of her manner. ]
went on chatting, but in a desultory
way, noting all that was odd in her I'M
accountable reception Of me, but giving
as | firmly believe, no evidence of my
concern and rapidly increasing curiosity.
The peculiarities observable in this
my first interview with these interest
ing hat by no means easily to be under
stood sisters continued all day. When
one sister came in, the other stepped
out, and when dinner time came and
was ushered down the bare and dismal
hall into an equally bare and unattract-
i've dining room it was to find the seats
laid for four and Lucetta only seated at
the head Of the board.
"Where is Loreen:" l asked wonder
ingly, as l took the seat she pointed out
to me with one Of her faint and quick
ly vanishing smiles.
"She-she cannot come at present." 4
my young hostess stammered with the /
least glance of distress at the large, /
hearty looking woman who had sum
moned me to the dining room.
"Ah." l murmured, thinking that I
possibly Loreen had found it necessary |
to assist in the preparation Of the meal, I
land your brother"
1t was the first time he had been .
mentioned by any of u.s. l had shrunk .
from the venture out Of motive of I
pure compassion. think, and they had
not seen fit to introduce his name into 4
any of our conversations. Consequently
/ waited her response with some anx-
iety, having q secret premonition that
in some way he was at the bottom of
my strange reception.
Her hasty answer, given, however,
without any increase of embarrassment,
dispelled this supposition.
"Oh, he will be in presently, " said
she. William is never very punctual. "
But when he did come in | could not
but see that her manner instantly
and became almost painfully
anxious. Though it was my first meet
ing with the real head of the house she
waited for an interchange of looks with
him before giving me the necessary in
and when, this duty passed,
be took his seat at the table her
thoughts and attention remained so fix
ed upon him that she well nigh forgot
the ordinary civilities of hostess. Had
it not been for the woman | have spo-
Ken of, who in her spod natured atten-
lion to my wants amply made up for
he abstraction of her mistress should
ave Jared i'll at this meal, good and
,mple as it was, considering the re
sources of those who provided it.
She seemed to dread to have him
peak, almost to have him move. She
watched him with her lips half open,
'eady, as it appeared, to stop any mad
,ertent expression he might utter in
lis efforts to be agreeable She even
Kept her left hand disengaged with the
,vident intention of stretching it out in {
lis direction if in his numbering stu
,idity he should utter sentence calcu-
ated to open my eyes to what she SC
desired to have kept secret
saw it all as plainly as / saw his :
leavy indifference to her anxiety, and l
moving from experience that it is in I
ust such stolid louts as these that the {
worst passions are often hidden l took 7
he advantage of my years and forced '
in which | hoped some
ash of his real self would appear de- s
pite her wary watch upon him. :
Not liking to renew the topic of the
ane itself, / asked with a very natural '
how of interest how near was their s