Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-06-13
CHAPTER XVII.
The soothing art,

Bear to their suffering brethren's side"
When The hour of eleven struck that
Ievening. ty the wish of Lord Vivian the
whole household had retired. II was
the last chance for Ruperts life, and
he was determined that no noise, no
accident. should occur to deprive the
son he loved so dearly of this one
hope.
He was well content that the gentle,
kindly lady who had tended his boy so
sAillfully should remain with him.
Who better suited? He would fam
have remained himself. nut he felt, in
case where such profound silence
was necessary, the fewer persons In
the room the better His lordship
had also suggested that Mrs. Purton
should remain in the ante-room, so
that IL anything were required, she
would be at hand.
/ Again Lady Beatrice overruled him.
Far better not" she said; there
are two bell-ropes in the room; If Mrs.
Rivers requires anything she has
nothing TO do but ring"
Z
objected. she laid her hand upon hts
arm.
Rely upon it." she said, Il am quite
right. II Rupert did fall asleep, and
Mrs. .Purton by any untoward noise
should wake him. you would never
forgive yourself; better a thousand
times trust to Mrs Rivers alone"
He agreed, as of late he had agreed
with all his wife did and said, too sad
/ and sorrowful to resist her influence;
so the arrangement was concluded.
Lord Vivian went. in first to see the
boy. The large, bright eyes were
fixed full upon him.
DO You feel any better tonight,
Rupert?" whispered his father, bending
over him and Kissing the white brow.
II think so. papa. There is a weight
upon my eyelids, as though l should
sleep; and I have been dreaming,
am sure, of my mother. Do people
ever dream awake"
i Sometimes" he replied. Il shall
Y come back to you in an hour or two
sooner If You cannot sleep, and want
me- We are all anxious for you TO
sleep. Rupert; it would make you so
much better"
4 will try" said the boy, family;
my eyes burn SO / can hardly close
them: AID my brain seems hot and
tired. Papa, If could lie only one
minute in my mothers arms l should
sleep like a little child"
A. 81 hn
father with sharpest pain. He remem-
bered how devoted that mother and
child had ever been TO each other.
I Whose fault was it that, when the
suffering boy cried out for his mother,
she was not there? Was it retribu-
ton that. when the son he loved
thousand times better than his life lay
dying. the only one who could have
saved him was not there?
And Lady Beatrice, standing by,
heard all that passed between father
and son-heard it with hot anger,
with bitter hatred, with envious,
I growing jealousy against the suffering
boy and the lost wife. II was she
who went up to Lord Selwyn and said
that he would do Rupert harm If he
remained talking to him, and Rupert
looked up at her with those unnatural
/ ~ large and brilliant eyes.
LADY Beatrice, when | get better,
you will let me kiss little Lancer" he
said.
"Of course / will" she replied, in
soothing tone; then, anxious to divert
attention from his words, she said
I something in low tone to Mrs. Rivers.
You always did kiss little Lance,
and play with him, too. VIXEN you
liked, did you not, Rupert" wins
pered his lordship.
The boy made no reply save by a
melancholy shake of the head, and
then strange suspicion shot through
his fathers heart. Could 1t be pos
sible that Lady Beatrice had not been
kind to this his idolised wife's son?
Could It be that Rupert had been un-
happy. as Violante was before him? A
hundred little Incidents flashed across
his memory. How often he had re-
turned home and found his boy absent.
How often, years ago, he had seen
traces of tears on his face, and when
he had asked what had caused them,
Rupert had laughingly refused to tell.
How dearly HIS son loved Mrs. Rivers
this gentle, patient stranger. Surely,
IL Lady Beatrice had been to him al
that she should be, he would not have
been driven from home to seek some
che % love? ..a
And all this struck him for the first
time. Lady Beatrice standing by his
side. Mrs. Rivers bending over Rupert,
both noted the change in his face.
He kissed the boys forehead again,
and silently left the room.
Lady Beatrice turned to follow him.
Goodnight, Rupert" she said,
stopping down 10 kiss him. II hope
morning dawn will find you better"
As she spoke. her eyes met those