The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-10

10 Ilc OlIlCly llOIIiiS CNCly blNlG wall
and forestallinf it if possible. He was
kind to her also in his bluff, boisterous
fashion, and on the whole they seem
ed to be d happy couple. And yet she
had some secret SORROW this woman
She would often be lost in deel
thought, with the saddest look uron
her face. More than once | haVe sur
ri+AL her in tears. [ have thuIEui
sometimes that it was the disposition
of her child which weighed upon hel
mind, for | have never met so utterly
spoilt and so ill-natured a little crea-
ture He is small for his ATe, with
a head which is quite disproportion-
ately large. His whole life appears
to be spent in an alienation between
savage fits of passion and gloomy in
tervals of sulking. Giving pain tC
any creature weaker than himself
seems to be in his one idea of amuse-
ment, and he shows quite remarkable
talent in planning the capture of mice
little birds. and insects. But L would
rather not talk about the creature, Mr.
Holmes and, indeed he has little tC
do with my story
II am glad of all details" remarked
my friend, whether they seem to9y you
to be relevant or not"
Il shall try not to miss anything
of importance. The one unpleasant
thing about the house, which struck
me at once, was the appearance and
conduct of the servants. There are
only two, a man and his wife. Toller
for that is his name. is a rough, un-
couth man, with grizzled hair and
whiskers, and a perpetual smell OF
drink. Twice since / have been with
them he has been quite drunk, and
yet Mr.. RuCaStle seemed to take no
notice of it. His wife is a very tall
and strong woman with a sour face
as silent as Mrs. Rucastle, and much
less amiablc. They are a most un-
pleasant couple but fortunately
and my own room, which are mkt to
each other in one corner of the build
ing.
For two days after my arrival al
the Copper Beeches my life was very
quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle
came down just after breakfast AMI
whispered something to her husband,
"'Oh yes said he, turning to me;
we are very much obliged to you
Miss Hunter, for falling in with our
Whims SO far as to cut your hair.
assure you that it has not detracted in
the tiniest iota from your appearance.
We shall now see how the electric
blue dress will became you. You will
find it laid out upon the bed in your
room, and if you would be SO good as
to put it on we should both be eX-
tremely obliged
1.-The dress which / found waiting
for me was of a peculiar shade of
blue. 1t was of excellent material, a
sort Of beige, but it bCNn unmistakable
signs of having been worn before. 1t
could not have been a better fit if |
had been measured for it. Both MI.
and Mrs. Rucastle expressed delight
at the look of it, which seemed quite
exaggerated in its vehemence. They
were waiting for me in the drawing
room, which is a very large room,
along the entire front of the
house, with three long windows reach
ing down to the floor. a chair had
been placed close to the central win
dow, with it's back turned towards it.
In this | was asked to sit, and then
Mr. Rucastlc, walking up and down
on the other side of the room, began
to tell me a series of the funniest
stories that | have ever listened To.
You cannot imagine how comical he
was. and | laughed until | was quite
weary. Mrs. Rucastle, however, who
has evidently no sense of humor,
never so much as smiled, but sat with
her hands in her lap, and a sad, anxi-
Gus look upon her face. After an hour
ed that ii was time to commence the
duties of the day. and that l might
change my dress and go to little Ed
ward in the nursery.
1.-TWO days later this same perform
ance was gone through under exactly
similar circumstances. Again | chang
ed my dress, again | sat in the win
dow, and again l laughed very hearth
ly at the funny stories of which my
tot,
and which he told inimita bly,. Then
he handed me a yelIow-backed novel,
and, moving my chair little sideways.
that my own shadow might not fall
upon the page, he begged me to read
aloud to him. / read for about ten
minutes, beginning in the heart of I
chapter and then suddenly, in the
middle of a sentence, he ordered me
to cease and to change my dress.
You can easily imagine, Mr..
Holmes. how curious | became as to
what the meaning of this extraordi-
nary performance could possibly be.
They are always very careful, | OBJ
served, to turn my face away from
the window, so that / became con-
sumed with the desire to see what was
going sn behind my back. At first it
Seemed to be impossible, but | soon
devised a means. My hand mirror
had been broken, SO happy thought
seized me, and | concealed a piece of
the glass in my handkerchief. On the
next occasion, in the midst of my
laughter, / put my handkerchief up
to my eyes, and was able with a little
to see all that there was
behind me. l confess that l was dis
appointed. There was nothing. At
least that was my first impression. AT
the second glance. however, | per-
ceived that there was a man standing
in the Southampton Road. small
bearded man in gray suit. who SEEM
ed to be looking in my direction. Thu
road is an important highway, and
there are usually people there. This
man, however, was leaning against
the ratings which bordered our field,
and was looking earnestly UP. | low
cred my handkerchief and glanced at
Mrs. Rucastlc, to find her eyes fixed
upon me with a most searching gaze.
She said nothing, but | am convinced
that she had OWNED that l had a mir
ror in my hand, and had seen what
was behind me. She rose at once