The Globe-republican., 1903-01-01
CHAPTER Vi.

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Tho weeks flew by. the season sub.
sided into Lent, and after It there was
another cav spell; then came the
spring, and people began to make
Their summer plans. The Stages were
to- 20 to their house at Beverly, as
usual, and Eleanor openly expressed
|her pleasure at the prospect Of return
linz to the seaside. There had been
lno further developments in the court.
|ship-or more properly, no culmina-
Ition Of 1t, for Mr.. Pages devotion was
not a whit less marked. Indeed, its
persistency was a constant source Of
encouragement To Mrs. Stage, whose
yisilant scrutiny had failed to detect
any signs Of filtration on his part.
| He continued to send to Eleanor,
from time to time, beautiful flowers,
he rode with her in the park, he
walked with her on Sunday after
Moons. and what was even more sig.
nidcant, he had ceased to pay SINH
liar attention to other girls. Still, he
| had not proposed. But, as Emma
sagely reflected, II ever an impatient
thought seized her, presumably be
was Of the deliberate kind, and In 10
serious q matter as matrlmcny, pre-
ferred to move circumspectly. Nor
need their departure from town prove
an interruption, inasmuch as he had
declared his intention Of frequenting
the Beverly shore with his yacht,
ostensibly for racing purposes, but
there could be little doubt as to what
magnet really attracted him thither.
A more haunting uncertainty IN
Emma's mind at this time was as to
her niece's feelings, regarding which,
strangely enough, In her own estlma-
ton, she was considerably In the
dark; 10 much so that she was begin
ming to deem II her duty to have a
definite talk with Eleanor on the sub
ject. And yet she realized the danger
of an ill.considered interference. 1t
might well be that the child was
shyly in love, in which case an inop,
perfume or meddlesome word might
freeze her into secretive GOODNESS
toward her lover and induce deplor-
able consequences. She had believed
1t wiser thus far to invite confidence
by indirect illusions rather than to
demand 1t, but her forbearance had
borne no fruit in the way Of discovery.
Could 1t possibly be that Eleanor was
unaware that Owen Page was seri-
ously devoted to her? That was the
deduction Emma sometimes drew
from her placid, unconcerned way of
accepting his attentions. Eleanor
seemed to enjoy being with him, and
always admired his roses, and was
ready to accent bis courtesies, but her
enjoyment and readiness we're Of such
a rational, unembarrassed kind that
Emma could not help feeling uneasy,
Could any one in love appear so I'M
conscious, 10 free from coyness and
couuetry? Not unless she were ex.
ceptiopally deep, surely, which seem.
ed very unlikely in this instance.
Moreover, Emma could not help re-
1ecting that the inuendoes she mad
made use Of from time to time WIN
delicacy, and yet suggestively as 1t
appeared to her, ought to have set the
child thinking, to say the least Moth
Ing had been left unsald which could
present Mr., Page In a favorable llsnt
or accentuate the good fortune OF any
girl to whose society he was partial.
Ought she to 60 further than this anu
point out the fact that he was evl-
IDENTIFY fascinated by her, and that IL
she were not suitably encouraging she
might lose the best opportunity Oh
making q brilliant match that sne
would ever have in all PROBABILITY!
The necessary words had several
times trembled on her lips, and yet
she had RETAINED from uttering them
One day, some weeks after they had
moved to Beverly, while Emma was
still in the throes Of this dilemma,
Harold Stage telegraphed that he was
bringing Professor Phineas Baldwin
home to pass Sunday. This was an
elder and only brother OF Eleanor's
father, a geologist, who had Just been
called to an important educational
position connected with his specially,
In New York. He was a bachelor, and
had lived nomadic kind Of life in the
interest Of science, residing in vari'
GUS portions Of the West, and, though
he was intimate with his brother,