The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-15

asleep, when he looked out from f1S
door, down the wide. shadowy hall.
So he closed the door again and step
ped out through his bedroom window
on to the veranda.
Just then the Englishman noticed
horse standing, saddled and bridled,
at the door of one of the homestead's
half dozen outhouses. The animal
looked round as he approached, and at
that moment Aileen appeared at the
clubhouse door, holding a ounce
switch in her hand.
"Oh. good morning, Miss O'Malley"
said Carew.
The girl smiled brightly as she pass
ed one slim arm through Darkey's
bride.
Good morning." she replied you
shouldn't call me Miss O'Malley,'
though. No one ever does that"
Il beg your pardon. Aileen is so in
ffnitely prettier that II suppose 1
should have known, but for my Eng
fish ignorance. l wish I could follow
your example in the matter of the
morning ride, but my first experience
makes me rather shy of venturing out
alone"
well, why don't you catch Cold
dust, there, and come with me? You
could take Mr.. Grantham's saddle. He
won't mind"
thought he might risk Mr.. Grantham's
displeasure. Five minutes later he
was cantering along by Darkey's side,
towards the lower slopes of the Wy
dab hills.
That ride by the side of this strange,
beautiful child of the Bush, was the
first, and perhaps to Carew, the pleas
ATTEST of a long series of morning and
evening wanderings about Cootra TO
ri % oil
things. And as the beginning it was
beautiful. The Englishman's compan-
ionship and attentions, she accepted
with perfectly unaffected enjoyment,
as a new and splendid gift from the
great Father of her belief, who gave
her access to the Bush; and to all the
glorious exhileration of Bush riding.
Carew in his inconsequent way had
left no instructions in Sydney for poste
restante letters to be forwarded to him.
And SO, it happened that week after
week slipped by in the uneventful Coo
ira life, without any communication
from the outside world coming to re-
mind the Englishman that he had ties
and responsibilities in a place where
no Bush was.
Then, one hazy summers evening,
when Carew was preparing for ride
with Aileen, came a station-hand from
merry uld With d DdlCn Oh hampshire
and other letters forwarded from
Sydney by the Cootra solicitors. Ca
rev postponed his evening ride, and
sat down with a dawning of serious
ness in his eyes, to open and read his
letters. He read them-his fathers
and his fiancee's-and at every line his
face grew a little more serious, and a
little more foreign to the phase of
nature worship, and lotus-eating in
the Bush, through which he had been
passing.
AS he laid aside the last letter of
the batch, he decided to return to Sgd
ney at the end of that week.
Meantime, Aileen. A new world had
begun from that morning when she
found CareW in the bush And he was
in her new world, sun, moon and stars
land, sea and atmosphere. And now
he had to go away-for a time.
He found himself absolutely incapa-
bic of hurting her feelings or produc-
ing a light of pain in her big eyes, by
telling her that he would not return;
that their parting was to be as final
as their meeting had been accidental
The line of least resistance was em-
bodied in the word, "Aufwiedersehn."
In any case, he told himself, he had
provided for her living always at the
homestead, where she would be taken
care of.
Aileen rode with him to Meryula, and
two bright tears trickled down from
her black eyes when she said Good
bye!" before Carew mounted the coach
Goodbye, little girl! That is-au
revoir, you know. And-No! I shan't
forget. Be as happy as you can till
l come again."
And then the coach numbered off
down the dusty road, and Aileen stood
at Darkey's head shading her eyes
with one little brown hand and gazing
after her new world, till the coach be-
came only distant cloud of dust
That last look of hers was not easy to
forget.
She had lost her new world for a
time, and the old world was forever
cut off. So, far little while she must
sit in the grayness-the no mans land
between the two, till her lover came
back, bringing the world she loved.
No doubt Carew did all that it was
necessary for him to do in Sydney
But he did not spend more time over
it than he could help, and as soon as
was conveniently possible he set sail
in the old Carthage for England, and
the world he had left some five or six
months before.
He landed at Plymouth and went
straight to Hampshire instead of 60
ing round by London. Everyone knows
what happened them. That is the part
of the story known to the men at my
club; and on the strength of which,
regarding it as the whole story, they
dismiss the affair by calling Carew a
beast.
There is no need for me to tell how
Harry Carew pressed for an early date
for his wedding. Queenly little Daisy
was very glad to have her lover back
again, and lost all her capriciousness
in undisguised happiness and in the
enjoyment of her life. Carew had man
aged to arrange his fathers Austria
liam affairs very satisfactorily; and the
two Hampshire households were as
happy as any in England when the
week of Daisys wedding arrived.
On the afternoon before the event,
the bride groom was in London, max
ing certain final arrangements for his
honeymoon tour through Southern Eu-
rope. L think his feelings must have
been a little mixed that day, or he
would have gone home by an early
train. l met him on the steps of Ven
els restaurant at O'Clock and asked
if he meant to stay in town for din
ner. He looked a good deal worried,
and left me rather hurriedly. He said
he would not dine in town, but had
one or two appointments to keep, and
was just going to have some tea with
a friend. l smiled, because one hardly
goes to Vencis and at o'clock for
tea. So l left him. and I remembered
thinking how curiouslv a man was
affected by being in love.
1t does not matter how 1 know the
rest of it. / do know ii, and this is