Evening star., 1903-08-22

| thing to have achieved indeed. to have
| brought to her little feet about the most
| eligible suitor in all Carstairs the hand
| some. manly. well-to-do John Mercer!
| Not that John had anything like the pas
| sionate alteration with which Nigel re-
! garded her to bestow upon his ladylove.
| 1t was not to be expected of him. His
| admiration. his attention were honors IA
vors which no girl could despise. John
| thought himself, and everybody else
| seemed to think so, too. But the eldest
sons all over the world learn to know their
own value and are generally very apt to
learn the lesson which the glances of the
ladies teach them.
Piety. beauty she was had felt excited
and fattered by the attentions of her new
admirer, and had listened cOmplacently to
Aunt Faiths assurances that she would
marry him and be one of the happeSt rs
we'll as one of the wealthiest wives of her
class In all CarStairS
In the excitement of these newly Sug-
gested prospects poor Nigel Treveddoe and
his humble devotion had faded into the dim
background. Now, however. this meeting
with her faithful old companion, his fierce
words. his wild looks-above all. those pas
sionate. pitful tears, always so tohching
to woman in brave mans eycs-had
woke in Pietys heart a feeling of unrest,
of compassion, of sef-reproach. which
made her sad and thoughtful all the way
home.
She had scarcely reached the farmhouse
door when Aunt Faith came out in a great
futter, her stern, eather-colored features
relaxed and her whole demeanor express
ing triumph and self-gra tulation.
Mr.. MERGERS been here, Piety" were
her first words on meeting her niece. land
he's brought you a ticket for the sports to-
morrow. and he's going to take you there
himself"
Pietys face fell There was an old half
promise existing between her and Nigel
that he should take her to the sports
Shamefacedly, she murmured the fact to
her aunt. But Miss Rede was aghast at
the suggestion.
1.-The less you see of that fellow that
hasn't shilling to bless himself with and
that. more than that. nobody knows any
thing much about the better it'll be for
you, and, for that matter, for him. too!
cried the good woman. sharply. And
there's Mamie Philpot always making
Sleeps eyes at him. it isn't as If he
hadn't anybody to take to the sports, If
he wants to go"
Some further protests Piety made-rathe
family, perhaps; for there was an un-
doubted prestige about such an escort as
that of John Mercer. But her objections
were overruled very sharply; and the
following day. not without some uualns of
conscience Piety started with John for the
field where the sports were to be held.
1t was very grand, of course, to be driven
to the field in smart dogcart, and to be
looked at with envy by all her friends. But
Piety could not get out of her head that
terrible hungry look of Nigels eyes. and
sine kept asking herself why he had not
Deen round early that day 10 REMIND ner
of that half-promise to go with him. She
found herself listening with only half
ear to her companions conversation, which
did. indeed, as Nigel had suggested, turn
chiefly upon himself his trivial sayings and
more trivial doings. If she had confessed
the truth it. would have been that John
Mercer bored her.
He had brought her a bunch of roses
from his mothers garden, and though she
had wished to leave them in the dogcart
he had insisted on her carrying them about
with her-insisted, not with the passionate
note OF pleading which Nigel would have
used even on such an occasion. but with
good -humored, masterful air of authority
She was walking rather listIessly along,
with her eyes cast down, making the mono
syllable comments that were all that John
asked In the way Of conversation, when she
was suddenly brought to bay by hearing a