The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-06-07

preston and w~ays-timid to the verge
of b~ashfuiness, utterly unaffected and
yet sincere, tender and thoughtful In
each and every utterance, a beautiful
Hover grown to perfection among the
rocks OF this seldom visited island, un-
trained by conventionality and unsul-
He'd by h worldl II wonder how she
would act IL suddenly dropped into the
Nasons' home, or what would Alice
think OF her" Then, as he noted the
sad little droop OF her exquisite lips,
and as she, wondering at his silence,
turned her pleading eyes toward him,
there came into his heart I'm an instant
q feeling that, despite her umidity and
her lack OF worldly wisdom, he would
value her love and confidence far
above any woman's he had ever met.
Miss Terry" he said gently, ''do you
know 1 fancy that living here, as you
have all your life, within sound Of the
sad sea waves, has woven n little of
their melancholy into your nature and
a little of their pathos into your eyes.
1 thought so the first time I saw you.
and the more I see OF you the more 1
think It IS So"
THE ocean does sound sad to me-"
Ia said, land at times 1t makes me
feel blue. Then / am so much alone
and have no II In whom to confide
my feelings. Mother would not un-
derstand me, and If father thought /
wasn't happy 1t would make hin mis-
cradle" Then, turning her pathetic
eyes full upon her questloner, she add
ed: odd you ever think, Mr.. Page, that
the sound Of the waves might be the
voices Of drowned people trying to be
heard2 I believe every human being
has a soul, and for all we know IL. they
have gone down into the ocean their
souls may be In the water end possibly
are trying to speak to u.s."
"Oh. no, no.. Miss Terry. That ia all
imagination on your part and due to
your being too much alone with your
own thoughts. The ocean of course has
Il sad sound to us all if we stop to
think about 1t, but It's best not to.
What you need is the compaplonship
of some cheerful girl about your own
age" Then he added thoughtfully: II
wish you could visit Alice for n few
months. She would drive the megrIms
out of your mind"
~ should be glad TO have her come
and visit me. 1 am sur I should love
her."
II wish she could" he answered,
but she is a schoolteacher, and that
duty keeps her occupied most of the
time. 1 shall bring her down here
next summer" Then, feeling it Tin,
fair to conceal the fact that he knew
her history any longer, he said: II beg
your pardon, Miss Terry. but 1 know
what Is at the bottom of your melan-
choly moods, and I knew 1t the second
night 1 was here last summer. Your
father told me your history then"
HE did, You knew my unfortunate
history that night?"
II did, every word of It," he answer
ed tenderly, land / should have told
you l did if l had not been afraid 1t
would hurt YOU to know 1 knew 1t
then"
Her eyes fell, and a look of pain came
into her face.
please Danish this mood from now
on md never let 1t return" he said
hastily. IL have come to tell you that
in the near future the mystery Of your
life may be solved and, what is better,
that n legacy awaits your claiming.
The matter has been In the hands Of an
unprincipled lawyer for some months,
rs no doubt Mr.. Terry has told you,
but now he Is dead, and 1 have taken
hold of II and shall not rest until you
have your rights. We shall know what
your heritage is and ali about our an,
cestors in a few months" Then he
added tenderly, Would 1t pain you to
hear moro about 1t, or would you rnth-
or notI"
| know he has kept most of the trouble
to himself. It's his way. Since he
came back from Boston he has acted
like his old self, and no words can tell
how glad / am. AS for the money, it
must and shall go to him, ever penny
Of it, and all the comfort l can give
him as long rs he lives as we'll"
Il thank you for what YOU have
said,' said Albert quickly, FOR now l
shall dare to tell you another story be-
fore l go back. Not tonight" he add
cd, smiling, rs she looked ut him curl
ously, but you shall hear it In due
'iih' VII ut IL NONt, IltS Dt, IL tollOT-
row afternoon Is pleasant. l, too, am
supcrstitious In some ways"
Perhaps to keep Telly from guessing
what his story was he talked upon ev-
cry subject hat might interest her,
avoiding the II nearest his heart. Ii
came with a surprise when the little
clock chimcd IL, and he at once arose
and begged her pardon for the possible
trespass "p0n conventional hours. You
Will go up to the owe with mef" he
asked as he paused n moment at the
foot of the stairs.
81 shall enjoy 1t very much, and 1
have II favor I want Il ask of you,
which is to let me make sketch of you
just where you sat the time your boat
drlfted away"
When he retired 1t was long after he
heard the clock downstairs strike the
midnight hour, and in his dreams he
saw Telly's face smiling in the fire.
light.
CHAPTER XXXy.