The Minneapolis journal., 1903-09-18

mistress and the heir two centuries ago.
Nevertheless, 1t was in the north wing
where young Mr.. Dupont obstinately In
sisted that his eccentric relative should
be lodged. The lady's bedchamber must
also be there, as she would not wish to
pc too far away from the invalid at night;
pu; she might have a tbordoir OF her own
IN a more cheerful situation. Then she
could go and come as she chose. And
there must also be room somewhere in
the house where Mr.. Dupont himself could
sieep When he came down from town to 8
Visit his relatives as he intended to do
sometimes.
All the Truros' objections to making the i
use OF the rooms In the north wing were
met with counter arguments. Yes, it was
true that the windows and floors must be
repaired. But, If money were forthcom-
ing, could not Mr.. Truro himself do the
work necessary to make the place habit 4
able by the end of fortnight? AS for +
the ghost stories, Mr.. Dupont shrugged
1ncredulous shoulders He was singu-
larly determined young man, with pas
stonate way of talking when he was in
earnest, which Thomas Truro supposed to
be characteristic of foreigners; therefore,
he had his own way, and rooms were made
lhabitable in the wing, with windows cur
| tained on the outside with ivy which the
Truros had been especially requested not
| to remove.
| Into these rooms the cloaked figure OF
the old man vanished at the moment Of his
arrival in the house; and never was he
| seen to come out, tho the brother and
! sister whispered into each others ears
| theory that he walked at night.
1 When Miss Truro wished to make one
tof the rooms tidy, her mysterious fodger
was invariably in the one adjoining, the
| door closed between. This was also the
case when she served a meal in the small.
waiscotted sitting room where father and
4 daughter ate together; and there was no
waiting upon the table. All the courses
intended to grace meal were carried in
/ at once on large trays, and dishes were
kept hot before the big open fireplace in
/ winter, or, In warm weather, by means
lof foreign looking contrivance" in the
/ way of a spirit lamp, which the lodgers
had brought with them. They had also,
a curious arrangement for making tea,
1 which Miss Dupont called a "samovar";
and 1t was strange tea that they made
in 1t, to be drunk with lemon instead Of
! cream.
If the recluse who had contrived to re-
main invisible for SO many months repre-
sented an incarnation of mystery to the
Truros, there was nothing secretive about
the ways of the young lady, SO far as
:. her manners inside the house were con-
cerned She was foreign too, Of course;
: but tho she had a pretty, odd little roll Of
pronunciation of certain words, she knew
English as well as If she had been born
and brought up in England She had
learnt to talk when a baby with an Eng
! llsh governess, she informed Miss Truro,
but she did not volunteer any details re-
garding the past; indeed, the farmer and
Z his sister did not know what country
claimed their dodgers for its own, and
they never presumed to ask questions.
Only, when people weren't English, it.
was the simplest thing to take it for
granted that they were French. Besides.
Mr.. Truro was of opinion that the name
: of Dupont was more French than any
2 thing else, anyhow
Miss Dupont was the most beautiful
young lady whom the Truros had ever
y seen or expected to see, and spinster
Elizabeth grew very fond of her before
weeks.
Once in a while the girl helped her
landlady in the work of the house, which
appeared to amuse her in some moods; at
other times she was very quiet and appar-
emily sad, reading from morning to night,
except during the hours she spent with
her father. And never had she been
known to go outside the limits Of the
farm lands except on an eventful day
when Thomas Truro was hastily requested
by young Mr.. Dupont (returning from
the mOor) to fetch home in his cart a
man who had hurt himself by fall from
"Satan's Thumb" which he was said to
!, have climbed.
Thomas and Elizabeth had wondered
much that, after all the warnings towards
caution they had received, Miss Dupont
and her cousin should suddenly be will
ing to admit stranger to the house
. But, them perhaps he was not stranger
+ to them; and at all events 1t was not the
: business of landlord or landlady, so long
t as payment for another room, more food
S and more trouble was promised.
e Exactly how the young man had beer
J. injured was not known to the brother and
f sister, for tho Elizabeth helped in the
e nursing, it was Mr.. Michael Dupont, the
surgeon, who cared for the patients l1ur
i from the first. The latter was very hand.
e some and the spinster who had not quite
o outgrown all the romance latent in every
e woman was quick to EfOrsee interesting
developments between the injured here
t and the lovely, sad young lady, who lee
i, so strange and lonely an existence. The
S very air tingled with romance during {
o few days Of apparent uneventfulnes.
v which followed the strangers advent
n There was the handsome lover, the beau
a tiful maiden, and the jealous cousin (fol
q Miss Truro had sharp eyes), and thu
g nothing happened which could be marked
n as a milestone in the romance, Elizabeth
5, waited in hope.
It Then, on the third day after the new
B conner had been installed as an inmate
! Of New-Take Farmhouse, old woman
!. who looked like a gypsy, appeared in th'
q farmyard, where Elizabeth Truro wa.
d feeding calf.
J. Lady, will you give tired wanderer
d drink Of milk" she asked, and hav'
your fortune told in payment?'
a (To be continued to-morrow.)