The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1903-06-26

| Eleanor.
Eleanor suggested that they go in,
doors, the clouds looked lowering and it
was evidently going to rain. She rose,
and Cope, who had finished smoking,
after lingering long enough to toss the
remnant of cigar over the railing, pre-.
pared to follow her.
As they entered the large square hall,
Eleanor had tripped on rug that lay
before the entrance, and Cope, fastening
his steps, had reached out Il protecting
arm and touched her sleeve. What
prompted him he could not have told,
hut yielding To a swift Impulse he Sraspcd
her hand, and pressing his lips to it. i'm
printcd warm kiss upon the white
fl sh. Taken 10y surpris. as she was, she
managed to struggled away from him,
and now stood with her hands behind
her back, laughing up into his face. He
had never seen her in Il mood so charm
ing, so graceful; such tender audacty
cleaning i'll her eyes; he tried to clasp her
t. him, but with lips slightly apart, and
painting for breath she sought to elude
him. and would have gained the stairs,
had she not turned to look back. In
another moment she was in his arms.
She soon had torn hcrselfawav and was
Standing at the top Of the stairs, lonkir z
Clio ,,1,,aI
finger on her lip to induce silence. 50 er
uncle should not be disturbed after his
hour for retiring, which was usually
nine O'Clock, and said, Goodnight" as
she disappeared with a swish of her gar
ments around the landing.
He laughed aloud at his summary dis
missal, and then, having no redress, and
knowing that Eleanor had gone for the
night, took his hat and left the house,
whstling softly to himself something
which he thought was popular air, but
which he whistled So badly as to render
impossible.
A full week had passed without Copc's
having made disappearance at the Cars
tons. Eleanor, who expected him the
next day, was amazed when he did not
come, and said to herself he was i'll; but
when day after day went by and still no
sign from him, she did not know what to
think He could not be ill or he would
have written; the conviction forced itself
upon her that he was staying away pur-
posely.
She had often heard him sav-though
not recently-that bachelors life was
the happier one, and that he did not
want to marry; it occurred to her that
having gone further than he intended,
and knowing that he could not return
except as lover, he was gloomily max
ing up his mind to make the best of it.
She did not doubt, even if that were the
case, his ultimate decision; he was too
honorable man to let such a mattergo
by default, but that he should entertain
such ideas was horrible to her, that he
imagined that she would want to hold
him to an unspoken avowal was too
much for her pride; and her discovering
how deeply she loved him in these days
did not Ike the edge from the bitterness
of her humiliation and grief
Slowly she came to the conclusion that
the only way to release him with dignity
was to put it out of her power to marry
him; she knew that when he did come to
her he would not accept any release from
her hands, for she had shown him that
she cared for him; but she would consent
to marry Atmore, and from the moment
Cope heard it, his mouth would be closed
forever on the subject. And she would
thus free him from responsibility in the
past or future.
SO she sat down in the library to write
two letters; she had written one to At
more and had directed and was sealing
the envelope when she heard mans
voice in the lower hall. Dropping her pen
in some agitation, she sank back into her
chair, and awaited him with beating
heart.
Cope strobe boldly into the room.
"What did you suppose had become of
me-" he blurted out, with a fine disre-
gard of the fact that one should lead
gently up to point, and not stun ones
hearers with abstrusc questions. He
had taken both her hands and was hold
ing them So tight that she cried out with
pain: she made an effort to release her
self, but he did not yield the point. She
was surprised and annoyed to see that he
did not look at all worried but smiled
frankly at her in an honest, healthy way.
This struck her as impertinent; what
right had he to look we'll and be so cheer
full when she had been suffering from his
neglect. She was not in a mood, if he
had known it, to make things easy for
him.
II never attempt to answer conun-
drums" she replied, Jelly.
He looked at her inquiringly and in
some astonishmcnt. She thawcd a little
when Cope explained to her i'll a buug-
ling manner that he had been called to
Newport by telegram stating that his
father had had IL stroke ofparalysis. He
had left town the next day after he had
seen her in such hurry that he was I'M
able to bid her good bye; his father had
been extremely i'll, but was better now,
and as soon as he had got over his fright
about him he had returned. Would she
overlook the delay? Ilclovcd her; would
she be his wife?
Eleanor sat as if absorbed in thought
and at first vouchsafed no reply. Pre-.
sently she asked calmly if anything had
! happened to the United States mail: