Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1903-07-15

WAS it David?" she asked. 'Was
it my Uncle David? 1 knew that my
name was Darlington 1t was the
name we had in Madras. After
father died I had to do something.
Father died very poor"
But how was that?' / asked. HE
was a rich man."
| Il don't like to say things against
dear daddy" she laughed-a sad little
laugh-'but to tell you the truth,
Mrs. Brathwaite dear, father was a
confirmed gambler. He died when l
was Is years old, and I have been sup
porting myself ever since"
/ with the great house standing up
there on the HILL" l cried, land
enough and to spare
"Are those my Darlingtons? she
asked in an awe-struck voice. Are
| those my people? l cannot believe
| it. Oh, to be at home at last! Not
to have to work any more, to be taken
care Of" and she burst into hysteri-
| cal tears.
"And why did you never write?'
81 did write after father died, but
| L never received any answer. Then
| the consul wrote, but he was I'M
successful also. l thought that they
| must all have died. Father had told
me that he had taken all that be-
longed to him, and 1 felt that had
| no rights, that perhaps they did not
want me, would not welcome me''
"Why did you change your name %
1 cried-"oh, why?"
ooh, to Dacres? If you had known
my father"
"You forget, my dear, I did know
your father"
Every well, then, you know how he
hated the~idea of one of his family
working for living. He had very
grand ideas, had daddy. He said Of
ten and often that no one of the
Darlington family should disgrace his
name or him by working for a liv-
ing
YES" said I, "those were exactly
Eugene Darlington's ideas. 1 have
heard him express himself in that
way fifty times or more.''
But what was l to do? I had no
friends-no one to take care of me.
/ went first to England with an Eng
lish family as nursery governess
When 1 left them 1 went into an Eng
lish hospital. 1 learned to be a
trained nurse. I took the name of
Dacres. 1t came into my head, 1
don't know how. Father had been
persistent about the honor of his
name, and here 1 am, as Josephine
Dacres, at your service"
II
corrected her.
Eyes, Josephine Amaranthe, but not
Dacres-Darlington at last, thank
| God!"
AS [ lay thinking of it all, after
was in bed, remembered that [ had
| not asked her how she came to have
| a brother. 1 had never heard of any
son having been born to Eugene OAR
lington. 1 must ask her about it in
the morning.
| And now it seemed to me that the
| time had come when l should take the
ladies into my confidence. 1 began a
| series of visits to them.
Each time that [ went TO the Hall
took with me a copy of letter,
the words traced in the hand of Miss
| Elizabeth, Miss Evelyn, or their dead
brother David. How Miss Elizabeth
wept over them, and how sweet Miss
Evelyn sobbed over them, until the
ink in which [ had copied them was
faded and blurred with their remin-
| iscent tears.
And now the summer flowers were
| bursting into bloom. The country
was, [ thought, at it's best Every
thing gave promise of a delightful
season. It was the latter part of
June, about week, perhaps, after
my interview with Miss Dacres, that
there came sudden change from
warm to hot weather. Ny room was
not under the attic, which acted as
an air chamber, and it became so
heated that one would have thought
it was midsummer.
! On the hottest night of all, / lay on
my bed tanning myself and trying to
fall into doze. 1t was useless, and
remembering the cool horsehair of
our old sofa in the parlor, / got up,
opened my door very gently, SO as not
to disturb Aunt Jane Mary, and went
down the stairs. The parlor door
was open, and 1 slipped into the
room. There was enough of glimmer
from the moon to show me my way.
| [ CROPPED past the table to the sofa.
All, how, invitingly cool it wasi i
lay down under the window tanning
myself for a half hour or so, and