Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-17
CHAPTER XVII.
The Parting by the Waters.

Some day l may tell Miss Angela-but
never YOU" had Mr.. Blakely said. before
setting forth on his perilous essay to find
Angela's father and with native tenacity
Miss Wren the elder had remembered the
words and nourished her wrath. 1t was
strange. indeed, that Plume. an officer and
a gentleman, should have bethought him of
the 'austere vestaP' as a companion wit
ness to Blakely's supposed iniquity; but,
between these two natures-one strong, one
weak-there had sprung up the strange
sympathy that is born OF common deep
rooted We. ill-defined antipathy-one for
which neither she nor he could yet
give good reason, and of which
each was secretly ashamed Each
for reasons of her or his own, cordially dis
liked the Bugologist. and each could not
but welcome evidence to warrant Such dis
like. 1t is human nature. Janet Wren had
strong convictions that the man was i'm
moral, IL for no other reason than that he
obviously sought Angela and as obviously
avoided her. Janet had believed him capa-
BILE of carrying on a liaison with the dame
who had Tilted him, and had had to see
that theory crushed. Then she would have
II that II not the mistress, he dallied with
the maid, and when 1t began to transpire
that virulent hatred was the only passion
felt for him by that battling and detestable
daughter of Belial, there came actual joy
to the soul of the Scotchwoman that, after
all. her intuition had not been at fault He
was immoral as she would have him, even
more so, for he had taken base advantage
OF the young and presumably innocent She
craved some proof. and Plume knew 1t, and
seeing her there alone in her detection, had
hidden her come and look-with the result
described.
His own feeling toward Blakely is diff
cult to explain. Kind friends had told him
at st. Louis how inseparable had been
Clarice and this very superior young Of
HnA he. had tod h.. Att,
ton" but denied all regard for Blakely,
yet Plume speedily found her moody fitful
and unhappy, and made up his mind that
Blakely was at the bottom of it. Her de-
sire to go to far-away Arizona could have
no other explanation. And though in no
way whatever. by look. word or deed had
Blakely transgressed the strictest rule in
his bearing toward the majors wife, both
major and wife became incensed at him
Plume because he believed the Bugologist
still cherished tender passion for his wife
or she for him. Clarice. 1t must be owned,
because she knew well he did not. Plume
sought to find flaw in his subordinate 9
moral armor to warrant the aversion that
he felt, and was baked at every turn.
II was with joy almost fierce he discov-
cred what he thought to be proof that the
subaltern was no saint. and. never stopping
to give his better nature time to rise and
rebuke him. he had summoned Janet. 1t
was to sting Blakely more than to punish
the girl. he had ordered NatZie to the guard
room. Then. as the hours wore on and he
realized how contemplate had been his
conduct. the sense of shame well nigh
crushed him. and though it CALLED him to
think that some of his own kind, probably
had connived at Natzies escape, he thank
ed God the girl was gone. And now having
convinced herself that here at last she had
positive proof of Mr.. Blakely's depravity,
Aunt Janet had not SCRUBBED to bear it to
Angela, with sharp and surprising result.
A good girl, dutiful girl, was Angela as
We have seen. but she. too. had her share
of fighting Scotch blood and bent for re-
volt that needed only reason. For days
Aunt Janet had hidden her shun the young
man. first naming Mrs Plume and then
Elsie as the cause and correspondent. One
after another Graham had demolished these
possibilities. to the end that even Wren
was ashamed of his unworthy suspicious.
Then 1t was Matte who was the prey OF
Blakely's immortality. and for that Janet
declared. quite as much as for stabbing
the soldier, the girl had been sent to the
cells. 1t was late in the day when she
managed to find Angela away from her
father. who realizing what Natzie had
done and suffered to save his own eve
lamb. was now in keen distress of mind
because powerless to raise a hand to aid
Ter. He wondered that Angela seemed %