Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-02-05
Ct Woman' S F ace
FLORENCE WARDEN

me had a finer stone in it than any III
! that celebrated tia-a of hers. Now
/ what do you think of that? The
moneys nothing, and, for the matter
of that. the diamonds nothing, for |
| could buy plenty of others as large in
! Bond street tomorrow; but it's the
| feeling that here, in a house where
you are on intimate terms with the
/ people, and do expect to be treated
with some consideration, you should
| be as unprotected as if you were sleep
| ing in a barn, and liable to be robbed
and-who knows ?-pe1hap murdered,
by any thief in the neighborhood who
/ takes il into his head, from your ap-
/ pearance or your manner, that you
are person worth plundering.''
"But surely you can't blame Lord
and Lady Kildonan? They would be
awfully vexed if they heard Of it."
HE would, but Lady Kildonan
/ doesn't care. She was told about it,
and she only said'-here his face be-
gan to quicker up almost as if he were
| going to cry-''that the little laddie
must have been dreaming! What do
you think of that? l call it shame
| full. When it appears too, that some
) unknown person really did get into
the house not very long ago, for marks
of feet that had been covered with
clay were found in one of the galleries
in the morning. The maid who dis
| covered them told me so. She said it
was hushed up for fear of alarming
her ladyship, but | say it oughtnt to
| be hushed up, and the sooner a detec-
tive is sent for to watch for this thief
| who gets in and robs people, the bet
ter it will be for the reputation of the
place And I say Lord Kildonan ought
to be told and must be told, Dr. Anna
| thWaite, and l am sure you Will agree
with me-
But ArmathWaite was in no hurry to
do so. He did, indeed evidently take
a most deep interest in the matter;
but it was interest which expressed
itself by almost tragic silence, and by
look Of anger and fear in his blue
eyes which puzzled Sydney by it's
intensity
Don't you agree with me- repeated
the latter in a fainter tone, that Lord
Kildonan ought to be told?"
Armathwaite looked at the little
fellow as if he were something so
small, go insignificant, as scarcely to
be seen.
NO." he said, in a very low, hoarse
voice; 81 do not think Lord Kildonan
ought 10 be tOId-yet."
With the last words he raised his
head sharply and fixed his eyes very
| di, ectly, not at the lad but at Cros-
mont. who had, he was sure, heard, if
not every word, at least the purport
of the conversation. Lord Kildonan,
who always retired to his study afte"
| dinner, was rising and telling the rest
| that they had the drawing-room and
the bllliardroom to choose from. In
the al move which followed. Ar
mathWaite, whose brain seemed to be
beating in his head like a steam-ham-
mer, found himself side by side with
! Crosmont as they went along the gal
lery. The agent looked up into his
| face with a sullenly aggressive ex-
preston
"I-ool- here he said, in a savage
and logged tone, which struck Anna
thwaite with a sudden and horrible
sense Of what it's effect must be on the
fragile and sensitive Alma, you think
yourself an uncommonly clever fellow,
and you have taken it into your head
that by playing the private detective
as you have been trying to do ever
since you came here in one way or
anothe.-you may find some picllings
which may not be beneath your notice.
! Now, l tell you, it won't do. There
may be little disagreements in the
! families about here, just as there are
in othe' places. But we like to keep
! them t. ourselves; and we don't want
any interfering stranger to come and
take our linen abroad to be washed in
spite of us. l heard of your sneaking
/ visit to my wife yesterday, a thing
which any gentleman would be
ashamed of. I'm not jealous hus-
! band; | chose my wife carefully, and
| can tUst her; but I'll allow no more
visits, you understand. There's nothing
the matter with her that you can
cure. If you come near my house
| again-and if you do l shall hear of
| it. promise you-oc if 1 find you
meddling in any way with matters
which don't concern you, l shall go
straight to Lord Kildonan and de-
nounce you without more words as a
prowler after other mems wives"
Armathwaite listened to this dis
! course, which was Kissed into his ear
with great virulence, in attentive
silence; and when Crosmo1i ended
and glared up at him in defiant eX-
pectation of an angry protest, he only
said, in a perfectly calm voice:
will you come into the tennis
court at the end? We can talk Better
! there
The agent. taken by surprise, looked
as if he would have liked to refuse.
! But, for all Eis bravadO, he felt
! enough anxiety as 20 the doctors at
titude to be forced to give a reluctant
and ung. acious assent to the proposal.
| They walked in silence the short dis
lance along the cloister which lay be-
tween the drawing-room door and the
tennis-court, which, dimly lighted by
oil-lamps, cold and silent. Anna
thwaite took out his cigarette-case,
offered it to Crosmont, who CURLY re-
fused and choosing cigarette for