The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1903-05-29
MICHAEL. |.

she still held In her hands the great
bouquet of roses-her favorite flower
which had been given her as she left
the platform. She was recalled to her
surroundings by the voice of her maid,
FanchOn.
''There Is a telegram for madame on
the table" she said Denise picked It
up; it was addressed to Mrs. Fielden, -
which was unusual. She was known
to the London world and her friends as
Madame Elena" She opened it sharp
ly. 1t was brief and to the point
81 think it is right to let you know
that the boy is seriously ill.-Michael"
UnconsciOusly she crushed the mess
age in her hand, and her thoughts flew
20 the Lincolnshire village where 1t had
been written. She saw again the fiat
fen-land, the long stretches of empty
wastes, which she had grown to loathe,
almost to fear; all the grayness and bar
renness which were so antagonistic to
her gay, beauty-loving nature. Then the
scent of the roses smote her sharply.
she saw the luxury of her own sur
roundings, the signs Of taste and mon
ely everywhere, and turning to the maid,
she cried:
Bring me an "A. b. c.. and pack n
bag l am going into the country"
Shall l attend madame?"
'No, don't know how long | shall be
away. l will write" Her lips twltched
as she thought OF the fashionable
French maid in the bare manorhouse
with old Hannah for company.
Il wonder If he is really very ill?'
she pondered. as she sat in the train
Il think Michael would scarcely have
sent for me unless he were. The meet
ing will be as awkward and uncomfort-
able for him as for me. Poor little Mich
ael-what a name to give a child!-I
wonder what he is like now? He was
not a pretty or interesting child. l re-
member he was always crying"
There was no one to meet her when
she arrived, but that she did not expect,
though the village fly had been sent to
the station on the chance of her com
ing.
After a drive Of nearly an hour she
recognized familiar gateway; she re-
membered the old cOat-of-arms cut in
the stonework. though ne could not see
1t now, with the motto, Il live! l diev'
Yes, that was all the Fieldens had been
doing for generations. 1t was n decay
ing race, and they had not had the en-
ergy, or perhaps the power, to stop the
ruin that was creeping ON them, and
the man who lived there now had grown
sour and bitter with his baked life.
Master is upstairs" old Hannah said
distantly, in reply to Denise's greeting.
"He hoped you would excuse him COM
ing down, but the child is very restless
tonight, and can't well be left If you
will please to sit down and take some
thing l will tell him you are here" And
she opened the door of a room where a
frugal meal was laid.
II don't want anything, thank you"
Denise said, hastily. Il will go up at
once If l may" and before Hannah
could raise any objection she was half
way up the stairs.
She heard a murmur from the oak
bedroom, where the head Of the house
was always born and where most of
them had died, and tapping lightly ON
the door she went In. No one had heard
her, and for an instant she stood as
though arrested on the threshold. What
a great room 1t was! And how solitary
those two figures looked in 1t!
e. ..
said, getting up as she moved. Il am
afraid you have had a long, firing jour
ney; but 1 thought you ought to know"
you did quite right" she said, thick
ly. What a pltiful, little shrunken form
IT was, looking almost lost In the vast
oak bedstead, Of which 1t was a tradi-
ton that each successive Fielden should
carve a panel, so that it had always
seemed to Denise weird resting-place.
belonging to the dead rather than the
living. She had woke up more than
once on a moonlight night fancying
ghostly fingers had come back to finish
what here and there had been left In
complete.
"Oh, you poor little soulv' she cried
a sob in her voice, and the next mo.
. ment her arms were over the bed, and
the little figure was gathered to her
breast where she crooned over It, call
ing her baby, her little Michael, whom
she had treated so badly. reproachine
herself and showering soft kisses Oh
the wan face in the same breath.
He is very weak; you must not ex
cite him." a warning voice said. Sh,
had forgotten that any one was there