Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-06-26
of Miss Dacres belongings. I

door was locked. she does not trust
us over much" thought /. I then be-
gan to move the furniture to the mid
die of the room. It was tiresome
work, and I pushed and tugged at
the old, heavy pieces, which seemed
as If glued to the floor.
The bureau was the most difficult
of all to handle, but managed to
get it away from the wall. I pulled
one side out into the room, and was
just about to begin to throw my tea
leaves behind it when I saw some
thing on the floor. I stopped and
picked up parcel. 1t seemed to be
a bundle of letters. I laid them
upon the top of the bureau, and
was resuming my duties-but stop!
There was something else. Two lit
tie square things lay upon the floor.
stopped to pick them up, when
there gazed upward at me from each
of the old-fashioned tintypes the
faces of little Amaranthe Darlington
as I had seen her last, on the day
that her father and mother left the
Hall for their trip to Wisconsin.
And then I saw a case half hidden
| under the bureau, and dragging that
out. I opened it. I felt that had
the right, for again Amaranthe
looked forth at me, as she might
have looked year or two after she
had parted from me. To say that
was astounded, overcome, does not
half declare my feeling. Amaranthe!
Amaranthe Darlingtoni here, and in
the possession of Miss Dacres!
I turned towards the package of
letters; 7 heSitated not
Aunt Jane Mary began to thump
with her cane, but for once I was
deaf to her summons. I united the
rusty black ribbon. Yes, yes, they
were family letters, letters addressed
to Eugene Darlington, Esquire, from
his "Affectionate brother David"
Letters from Miss Elizabeth begin
ming, "Much loved and widely-parted
brother" There were letters from
Miss Evelyn, calling him "My dear
boy,'' and there were letters to little
Amaranthe. I read them through,
as many as could, and then looked
at the clock, to see how the time
had flown. I had been there an hour.
Oh dear! If I could but read the
| rest! What was I to think. What
| was I to feel! Could this young
ranthe of my earlier days? Stopi
Could she be little Amaranthe herself?
Would she have remembered me if
| L had not changed my name from
Willoughby to Brathwaite? Where
had she come from? Was she here
to search out her relatives? Of that
L could not be in doubt. It came
upon me suddenly All at once I
70
| ance among us. She had said that
by August. Was she really the little
child whom I had taught? I re-
called little Amaranthe's eyes of
heaven-blue and her light hair. I
should have said that it was much
finer hair than the hair of my board
er, but after all, must not forget
that keeping the hair short makes
it coarse. I took the letters in my
hand, determined that I would get
them again some time and copy
| them, and show them to the ladies
at the Hall. laid the package back
on the floor and the portraits also.
I was not as yet prepared to have
Miss Dacres know that had seen
| them. I pushed the bureau back
against the wall and began my
| sweeping. I worked desperately tc
| get my work done before my boarder
| should return, but it was late after
noon before I saw her again. At
about half after five she came down
the road from the direction of the
country, and ten minutes later Mr..
| Beldon came spinning along from
| the village.
She ran hastily into her room and
closed the door, just giving back
ward glance down the road. Mr..
Beldon came up on to the piazza
and stopped for a moment.
81 took day off to-day" said he.
''My father isn't well, and I had to
go and see him. It's pretty hard to
do ones legitimate work, sit up all
night in a newspaper Office and visit
a sick man in the daytime"
eyes, it must be-" said I, feelingly.
Nursing is hard at the best of
times"
81 shall take a rest until seven,"
he said. Call me, please, at that
time. I won't trouble you for any
tea tonight. I'm going in to the
city again as soon as you call me-"
| When I went to call Miss Dacres to
tea, she said, ''Who swept my room
this morning?"
81 told you that I should,' said I,
| land I did. Isn't it done to your
| satisfaction?''
'Well, not exactly; I'm rather par
| ticular. I've been moving the things
/ to see If it was clean, and I'm sure
you never swept behind the bureau"
NO" I confessed, ''I didn't