The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-04-04
(Continued.)


are going up to the north tree"
.'Where we were before, added Trask
in explanation. All the trees have
names. There must be several thou
sand on the place, but l have yet to
find one that hasn't been christened.
Mr.. Witherspoon named them"
/ responded that | had not had the
pleasure of seeing that gentleman.
You probably never got him in
good light" said Trask. Otherwise he
is too thin to be visible. He is SO thin
that the wind blows him around the
estate, and you'll always find him on
the leeward side. The winds north to-
day; he'll have drifted down by the
lake"
AS to the invitation to accompany
them it naturally seemed one made to
be declined. and | was surprised to dis
cover that both master and pupil We're
sincere in their wish for my society.
We walked up to the north tree almost
in silence, and when we had sat down
upon the ground in great comfort we
fell into a most Respondent strain OF
conversation. '.Sad stories of the
death of kings" would have seemed
like merry jests in the midst of our
talk
L was again strongly reminded of
some one else when Miss Jones was
speaking She had ways of using
words that appealed vainly to my
memory again and again. But the clew
was nearer to me than it had been be-
fore, and presently the truth flashed
up before me-the girl reminded me
of my father.
Continuing to speak when it seemed
to be my turn but without putting any
thought into what / was saying, l be-
gan to arrange the evidence in my
mind / knew that Miss Jones had
come out of the orchard that morning,
but did that prove that she was the
girl? Certainly not. She was friend
of the girl and had been her guest for
a night.
She had evidently been much in my
fathers company. | had found her
portrait in our house. She was Sibyls
friend, and Sibyl was the girl. My 81
rem of the lake had been Sibyl-surely
not Miss Jones, for she had not the
throat of a singer.
Yet even at this time it was no easier
for me to believe that the girl was
Sibyl than to accept the conclusion that
my fathers ward sat before me there
on the grass. The girl, to me, renal
ed distinct from both of them: her |
personality lowered just beyond
mental grasp. If she were Sibyl, til
some strange transformation had TAX. /
place; some image had effaced my con-
fused recollection of the child substi-
fIyfin0 anH in cIIab form
that / could not recognize the two as
different views of the same individual
Returning to the consideration of
Trask l asked myself why he had al
ways shown such feeling for the girl
why he had sent the lilies to her?
II give him up" said l suddenly,
speaking aloud, to my own surprise
and confusion.
GIVE whom up?" demanded Trask.
sThere was some kind of a biting
bug flying around" said I weakly,
land | had been trying to catch him"
This explanation was received with
credence, yet l felt the need of divert
ing attention.
'"Trask.'' said i, we've fallen into a
great fit of the blues for no especial
reason that L can see, and you're the
worst of the three. Tell me candidly
what seems to you to be the matter
with this world. l speak of general
principles, of course, and not of your
private affairs
''The trouble with life" said he,
frowning, sis that a man is asked to
fight battles after they are done, to
wave his sword upon lost fields and
hor fIa Of
follow him"
'"That sounds to me like some form
of fatalism,'' said I.
1T is a general kick" growled Trask.
81 am not ambitious to give it philo-
sophical title. Destiny has too much
the start of man. He arrives
among prearranged conditions and
looks around, and, 10! he must cross a
lake in boat from which his great
grandfather knocked out the bottom,
and the oars have been made wrong
by some one whom he never saw or
heard of
Don't you care. if he's all right him
SELF said voice. Hell get across
beheld Lucy Ann, who came softly
around the big bush in the shade of
which Trask was sitting.
Trask's countenance frightened re-
markably as he sprang to his feet.
81 thought you couldn't come said
he. "Your aunt was very discourag-
ing
well, here l am" said Lucy Ann
cheerfully. isn't this loveIy?"
She sat down beside Miss Jones upon
the farther side from Trask and famed
herself contentedly with a battered |
palm leaf. Her Quaker suit had been
freshly ironed and looked quite spick |