Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-12-08
CHAPTER ".

solid black silk, upon her pale smooth
hair, where never a tress had been known
to wander forth from its appointed place,
and upon the regular, passionless fea-
lures that told of an upright and thor
oughly well-regulated disposition
And they do say, ma am" said Han
nah Dawson, who stood with yard meas
ure and huge scissors in front of her
mistress, ready to begin operations upon
the creamy fabric; "they do say that
poor misguided girl was running wild
over the fields with this fine city gentle
man, for three whole days and the best
part of three nights, when they were
seen in the moonlight by half the men
and boys out of the village"
Poor girl, it is very sad; we must re-
member that she has no mother, and that
her father is worse than nothing" said
Miss Grantley.
Far worse, ma'am, with his poor
cracked head always a running upon
them horrible beetles and flies! As to
the mother, poor thing, she was nothing
10 regret-a village girl, SO to speak, not
a lady, by any means"
"A doctors daughter, was she not,
Hannah?"
Yes, ma'am, but what's a village doc
tor? You can't expect much from that
poor child"
mo we must remember to be charita-
BILE, Hannah" said her mistress gravely.
All l hope is" interrupted Hannah,
that Mr.. Roy may not get tangled up
there. I'm sure master would break his
heart, and it amt in no way a suitable
thing for young gentleman like him."
A slight frOwn contracted Margaret
Grantley's smooth brow.
There, that will do, Hanah," she
said quickly; ''fifty-six yards, did you
say? How many shirts will that cut
into! l think you may take it all away
and measure it out for me; l have some
letters | ought to write now"
She dismissed the old servant whose
tongue was, perhaps, too free at times.
The pale yellow heap at her feet was
carried away, and the oak-paneled room
was shade more somber after it had
vanished
But when she was left alone Mss
Grantley did not betake herself to her
writing table, she sat quite still with her
cheek upon her hand and with a cloud
upon her brow.
Margaret Grantley had been the mis-
tress of her fathers house ever since he
had been left a widower, many years
ago. She was the eldest of once large
family whom death had mown down one
after the other, until only two were left
the eldest and the youngest Mar
garet was "a and Roy was 20. The diff.
ference of age between them did but in
crease the alteration, which was more
that of a mother than a sister, with
which she regarded her young brother.
The boy was her idol-her whole heart
was fixed upon him, every hope and am
bition of her life was entered in him.
1t was impossible for her idolized boy,
the heir to old Frierly Hall and its i'm
poverished revenues, and to his fathers
old name, which somehow must be raised
from poverty and not dragged further
down by an imprudent match; impossi-
BILE that he could be allowed to marry
half-trained, half-educated child who
had no name but the reflex of her faith
er's talent, and no fortune save the very
problematcal savings of his life of hard
brain labor. Roy must marry for wealth
and for position; he could not and should
not marry Kitten Laybourne.
Whilst she was pondering over these
things. a shadow darkened the window.
and Roy came in from the garden with
out. His face looked gloomy, he flung
himself down irritably into an armchair,
and his pleasant, boyish face looked
cross and disappointed.
"Where have you been, Roy?" queried
Margaret, gently.
ION wild goose chase" he answered,
fiercely.
"You have been to see Miss Lay
bourne?'
81 have"
And you have not seen her?"
II have not"
The answers seemed to be wrung from
him, they were so savagely growled
forth. The ghost of smile played about
Miss Grantley's thin lips, she forebore to
raise her eyes from some trifling object
she had taken from the table at her
elbow.
"The young lady, my poor boy, has
found other friends since you have been
away"
"Other friends? What friends"
he started forward exctedly, with a
flushed face and angry eyes; "she has no
friend but me-"
'You poor, silly Roy Young ladies
are never constant. Your village-beauty
has been seen about all day in the woods
for days with a stranger-a handsome
man, l am told. The poor child knows
no better, of course"
"Who dares say so" thundered the
boy furiously. at is not like you, Mar
garet, to repeat a wicked slander against
fellow woman; l would not have be-
lieved it of you, that you could be so
cruel, 80 uncharitable"
And Margaret, in her stiff prim silk
gown, covered and trembled before him
like a shriveled leaf; to hear such words
uttered by the voice one loves best on
earth is almost worse than deathblow
TO woman.
II have not deserved this from you."