Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-09-08
CHAPTER XIV.
THE OWLS scREEcH.

threw a soft glow upon the plate of
4 silver and gold. used .ly on festivals
such as that they celebrated, on the
1 array of sparkling glass and on the
| deiciouSly odorous hot house flowers.
leaving almost in shadow the room sur
rounding them, with its wainscotting of
I old oak, above which hung ancient
tapestries representing allegorical sub
jects.
Edith. who had been taken into din
ner by Godfrey, sat beside him, her
gown, of some soft lustreless material
the color of dead gold, contrasting
the fairness of her gracefully curved
1 shoulders. A faint pink tint, like the
/ heart of a blush rose, was just visible
! through the transparency of her COM
4 pleNion, and her eyes shone with the
/ mystic light of happiness Her only
4 ornament was string of pearls clasped
i about her beautifully rounded throat.
She was in the strange position of
| sitting at table with three men, each of
whom had asked her to be his wife.
\ They whom she had refused would
4 have been more than human had they
! forgotten their hopes of winning her.
I They glanced from her, with her eN-
/ preston of unrestrained and undis
| guised joNousness, to him whose coun-
tenance showed his triumphant salts
| faction, and felt their blood stirred
| with burning jealousy, With bitter dis
1 quietude.
Il thought your friend, Signor Ven
| etc. most interesting," Lady Bysshe
/ said to Dunstan, being anxious to rouse
! him from the silent mood into which
he had fallen. is he still on the verge
i of great discoveries?"
( She smiled at him with her gracious.
/ affectionate manner and he turned
I toward her responsive to the sympathy
4 he intuitively knew she felt for his.
/ wounded love; and admiring her hand
some, regular features with their eN
preston of Intelligence and humor, and
1 her we'll set, portly figure clad in violet
| velvet, with amethysts clasping her
arms and throat.
"Signor Neneto st;ll believes in the
unknown power of electricity. To him
it is a seni. who If only captured. can
work miracles" he told her.
Like that poor DIR. Zoffani who is
Certain he will one day be able to make
gold from Lead
! Il heard of him when was in Italy,
but never saw him.
"Dreamers," calculated the count.
1T is dreamers who make the worlds
history remarked Dunstan. "'rheir
dreams are suggestions on which others
act.
My dear friend the count replied,
as he turned his vacant eyes toward
him, Il did net use the word disparag-
,ingly. Our dreams. whether by day or
night. are the result of Imagination;
and without it what should we be-?
Mere human machines. Besides, / am
myself a dreamer"
Il What do you dream of, papa 2"
asked Edith.
Strange things" he replied.
Tell us of them,' Lady Bysshe en-
treated.
Fl. THAT would be impossible he said,
,hs handsome face becoming unusually
thoughtful. Our dreams are the
secrets of our souls
Il But have your dreams never become
'actualities?" asked Dunstan.
ooh, yes: some of them have-some
of Them" the count admitted.
Il thought they must
"Why, Why" the count asked, with
abrupt anxiety.
"Oh, simply because it's theory of
mine that ones dreams, or in other
words ones desires, lie persisted in be-
come realities--though not always" he
added, remembering his own disap-
pointment.
The momentary silence that followed
his words was broken by the barrister,
who plunged into witty story regard
ing well-known judge and his singu-
,lar dream, and the conversation went
briskly enough for the remainder of the
meal.
In the drawing room later ON, all
seemed to join in making the last
night of the year merry An expert
ment in thought reading was proposed
by Max, who had lately seen some
wonderful exhibitions of this power,
but 1T was objected to by the count,
who dislilied dabbling in such matters,
and 1T was rejected in favor of music.
the count playing Beethoven and Cho-
PIN and Edith singing some old Eng
lish ballads that seemed ineNpressibly
EIr <. piN
voice.
The applause that followed one of
shese was suddenly broken by the clash
'of distant church bells. All started,
,not knowing 1t was 80 near midnight
They are ringing out the old year."
said Max.
May open one of the windows so
that we may hear them better?"
The rain had ceased, but the sky was
impenetrable and II heavy density hung
above the blurred earth.
They stood round the open window,
within the warm, well-lighted room,
listening to the bells in silence as If.
the peal brought each Il message that
went straight to the heart. Suddenly
in a brief lull, a sound was heard like
a stihed scream. Edith started, and
asked wha, it was
Max laughed boyishly. as If enjoying
her fright. Its only" he explained,
"one of the owls that build in the ivy
covering the wing where we sleep.
They sometimes wake me at night.
and make my blood run cold. Don't
you think they ought to be done away
with?"
NO, no. Edith answered, Il have
always been fond of owls, and l hope
nobody will interfere with them"
Il fear dear, you may catch cold"
said her aunt Let us close the win
dow, and wish each other happy new
year before we dispense"
But we ought not to dispense with
out drinking to the health and lappi-
ness of each other" the count sug-
gested.
"Of course not" responded Edith.
turning to where the servants had all
ready placed wines and whiskey and
syphons on side table; and In a mo-
ment, acting on his fathers hint, Max
had uncorked a bottle of champagne
and filed the glasses which Dunstan
handed round.
Here" the count proposed, as he
rose from his chair. here is peace and
good will to all men,"
Health and happiness to us all"
Geoffrey said.
With sunshine in our lives" added
Lady Bysshe.
The lovers glances met. Max and
Dunstan kept silent and drained their
glasses with downturned lids.
A moment later and Edith and her
aunt had retired. out not before the
latter had whispered to Godfrey that
she would presently return.
She had not been gone ten minutes
before the drawing room door opened
again and she came in saying, You
must forgive my feminine curiosity,
Godfrey. but I'm sure couldn't sleep
until / had seen the. Jewels. Do bring
them down and let us have private
view"