Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-15
CHAPTER XII.
The Night Of Flame.

CHAPTER XII.
The Night Of Flame.
| Another day and Mrs. HazIett. summoned
| by wire had arrived at Groveton and Joined
| her husband. who had need of her. 1t
seems that objection had been made to
| Capt. Hazletts visiting at Clifton Hall.
and Miss Hoyt was not yet well enough to
come forth. Indeed, Miss Hoyt had had a
relapse; was decidedly worse: had been al
most Frustrated, like Miss Fame. when the
news of this new calamity was. with pos
| sibly Intentional abruptness. made known
\ to her. And 1t was In this strange manner
and under these sad and solemn circum-
stances that Fane's gentle friend of Arr
IONA days came again into the orbit Of
| his life, and saw with her own eyes and
| heard with her own ears the four women
OF whom he had said 80 much when the
year, now SO near its closing. was still
young and filled with hope and pride and
rejoicing. All. how many hours had he
spent in telling her OF the lady mother and
handsome Clare and helpful. home-lovins.
level-headed Jane! How many hours, later,
| had he spent in telling OF Ethel Hoyt. his
heroine. his fervent admiration! Do the best
sister quite as charming as he pictured
| her? Do they ever find his sweetheart
sweet as he had painted? Looking back
upon the social blunders OF some three
| once said: "If you want your wife to like
your kindred or your kin to like your wife.
don't let either party know 1t.
A wise little woman was Mrs. Haxlett.
prepared In no small degree for disenchant-
ment. Otherwise she would have found it
difficult to recognize in the complaining.
qCerulous. elderly valetudinarian the stately
leader Of garrison society as Roland had
described his mother. Clare came nearer
to the mark set by her brother, for Clare
was blooming In the sunshine Of the young
rector's devotions, and revealing In the Joy
of being envfed by so many mafdens of the
parish. Even the calamity that had be-
fallen the family in Ronalds arrest. and
the chain Of circumstantial evidence against
him. had not served to cast her down. If
Tremaine, in his secret heart, shared the
generally expressed belief in Ronalds guilt
he had the sacerdotal wit to hide 1t. Clare,
in her exuberant personality, lowered, de-
faint of public opinion. 1t was in plain.
pragmatical Jane that Mrs. Hazlett found
her deepest disappointment and her mex
plicable mystery. Jane, who by all Rom
AIDS accounts should have been the brave,
helpful, resourceful daughter and sister
Jane, who should have been his dauntless
championships, whom she looked to find
stanch. strong and true-Jane proved to be
the pessimist and the despairing. Jane,
said Mrs. HaZfett to her own sacred self.
as we found long afterward-Jane seemed
to have made up her mind that nothing
on earth could save Ronald, and that 1t
was her duty to prepare him, his mother
and his friends to face the inevitable. It
is ofttimes our own kindred who are most
ready to believe the worst. But then. who
on earth had seen as much as Jane had
seen? Who began to know what Jane
knew?
1t was straight from a doleful hour with
these. his next of kin. that Mrs. Hazlett
went in search of the girl whom Ronald
Fame had fairly owned he loved, and yet
had ceased to WOO. Perhaps it was be-
cause she had found his kindred so despon-
dent and inert that the little army-bred
woman was taken by surprise in the in
terview that followed. Hazlett. persona
ingrata to the president and certain of his
following in the faculty, could without Of
Tense be declined as a visitor to an in
mate of Clifton Hall, but even the presi-
dent could see way to deny the cap
tain's wife. Beerbohm, 1t is true, sug
gested that either the matron or mayhap
the Amazonian Miss Hinton should be pres
ent at the meeting, but the matron prompt
ly begged to be excused, Miss Hinton
as promptly placed herself at the service
of the college, and Miss Hoyt as prompt
ly declined. She had asked to see Capt.
mined to receive Mrs. Hazlett personally.
If this was contrary to college tenets and
traditions, said Miss Hoyt, she rendered her
resignation on the spot and Just as soon
as her physician would permit-forty- EIGHT
hours at the most-she would move to other
quarters From reserved, reticent. al
| most silent young woman Miss Hoyt had
developed suddenly into maid of-war,
| possessed of feverish energy and deter
mined purpose. The president, in the in
terests of the college. and belief that Miss
Hoyt knew much that she had not told.
| in the company of the matron and Miss
Hinton had called upon her as she reclined
| upon sofa In the matron's own parlor.
1t was contrary to the physicians wishes,
but. when the president had manifest
duty to perform. what were physicians In
| functions to him? College tradition had it
| that he once broke In upon family prayers
| at the deans and called that venerable
- -
| to the Throne of Grace, to tell him the
| trustees had turned down a desired appro-
priation. and that he must be up and at
| them without an hours delay. then left
without apology to either the Almighty or
| the interrupted. The president desired Miss
| Hoyt to examine the tethered scroll picked
| up by Duggan underneath her window, and
| to tell him the name of the writer. Miss
Hoyt examined as desired. and declined.
The president then required her to say
whether or no she did not know it was writ
| ten by Mr.-er-Capt. Fame. albeit in dis
| guised hand, and Miss Hoyt, to his per-
| plexity. had replied forthwith and with I'M
| looked-for spirit that that question at least,
despite its offensive character. she could
and would answer. and then daringiy add
ed, purely out of regard for Capt. Fame.
Her answer was that she knew he was not
| the writer. The president was staggered at
! such unfeminne contumacy, but that an
/ swer, and that alone. had to suffice. Miss
| Hoyt declined further conference. The
| president left the hall with more infor-
nation than when he came. and yet left 1t
no little wiser.
| Miss Hoyt's color, temper and tempera-
| ture were, all three. some degrees above
| normal when Mrs. Hazlett was announced,
| and, though these individual weather in
dications were all for storm, the matron
! urged postponement of the interview to I'M
needing ears. Miss Hoyt would see Mrs.
HaZlett at once. and would see her-alone.
Mrs. Hazett. thinking to meet semi
| camphorated invalid. found a Tuning young
woman, with flaming cheeks and blazing
| eyes. up and pacing the Persian rug like
| Gagged and tainted tigress. Mrs. Hazlett
was fairly startled at her vehemence, and
| at her beauty. But the girl came straight
forward with frankly outstretched and
| burning hands you are the one woman
need to see," the matron heard her say. as
she retired and closed the door and left
| them to an interview that was destined to
be momentous
| Not fifteen minutes did Mrs. Hazlett re-
| main. From the public parlor across the
hallway the matron saw her come forth;
saw her turn; step once more across the
1 threshold; take Ethel Hoyt In her arms and
| kiss her twice, thrice: then. with brimming
! eyes come tripping In to say a word CT
| thanks before going. Even In her manifest