The Caldwell tribune., 1905-12-09
cuApTER 'II1.-(Continued.)

AHa
I,S ns look, and the blood danced In his An
sars as he recalled the warm. clinging |
srassure of her hand at parting.
~ think l must be mad when she is |
,.,r me, for somehow always manage
~ believe in the possibility of her love
~, me when in her presence" he NUT"
.Orod remorsefully. "And, If she did
lave what then? Could throw Ethel
"rsrP My sweet, pure little Ethel, It
sroud break her heartI l must get rid
~ this folly. I'll finish Ethel's letter at
nrcs and send it off by the morning post.
Tll write a long, loving letter to the poor
iittls girl; it will do me as much good to
write it as it will her to receive It."
This time he commenced with "My
Asar Ethel" and then, before proceeding
further, he made a close examination Of
the beautifully executed address and
crest on the paper.
The crest of "Mallyngs"-as the name
was originally spelled-a tigers head and
front paws in repose, with the motto,
"Let the sleeping lie," particularly in
terested him. He had stood for many a
minute during the past week In front
az one, of these emblems Of the family
eircle-ferce, ungovernable-and ponder
al the probable events that had caused
h to be bestowed ON them as their
badge.
II wonder why she never married?
he mused. II wonder If mine IL the true
reason, and there really Is some poor
beegar in the background awaiting her
twenty-ffth birthday I shall have a
chance of finding out If accept her In
vitaton for the partridge shooting in
September, for Lord Summers told me
she would be twenty-five In that month.
Ought l, in justice to Ethel, to place my
self In the way of such temptation
Bosh l must be weak fool indeed If
cannot live in the society of beautiful
woman without making an idiot Of my
self! Besides If l come and see for my
self that she Is really gone on some
lucky fellow, 1t will be the most complete
cure could find for my own folly"
But Jack knew this to be false rea'
soning; nevertheless he would not lister
to conscience, and, with a gloomy brow
and tightly compressed lips, sat glarlnl
moodily at the blank sheet Of paper be
= fore him.
"Wil you take your luncheon in here
slr2 1t will seem less lonely than In tn,
dining room, 1 think"
Jack looked up In surprise at tn
housekeeper.
Il must have been sitting here nearl,
three hours. don't mind where lunch
Mrs Perkins"
brighter and more cheerful than the din
ing room"
Mrs Perkins walked to a sideboar
and ficked away an imaginary speck o
dust
Were you here in Sir Paul's time?
he asked, more because the old lad
wanted to talk than from any interest h
took in the matter.
"Bless you, sir, I've been a servant /
this house for turned fifty years!
began as under housemaid at sixteeI
and here I've been ever since: so II
what you may call an old servant"
"Of course you remember Miss Nal
ing's mother? She must have been
beautiful woman"
Sometimes she was and sometime
she wasn't. She was handsome enoug
naturally; but she had such an awf'
times. I've known her to sulk abo1
the house for a month at time becau:
her brother, the late Sir Paul, had r
fused her some trihing thing. We WEI
quite relieved when she got marie
and went away on the Continent wit
her husband. You see she was maj
years younger than her brothers, 3
Paul and the present baronet, Sir Geo
frey, and was a bit spoiled In cons
quence-though there is an old sayir
In the family that a Malling's daught
Is always a fiend, asking your pard'
Tor the word, sir; 80 it's lucky Mi
Pauline is only a Mailing by adoption
Then you think she has eccaped t
falling usual to the ladies Of the fa1
nyT
Il should not like to give an opini
OF my mistress disposition. It would
very bad taste on my part, sir. Mi
Mailing, during the six years she h
been mistress here, has been eyerythi
one could desire.''
II beg your pardon" he said, polite
did not wish to betray you into d
respect for Miss Mailing. Ny questi
was the natural outcome Of your rema
a. TO Miss Malling's being only Ma
Ing by adoption"
To be sure, sir; and that takes !
pack to what was saying. Miss Pa
mes mother was away on the Contine
with her husband directly after tn
were married, and roamed about
years from one country to another W
nimi she never came home again, pc
oeaF! She died when Miss Pauline "
ntteen years old; and then Sir Paul W
anxious to have the child with him
IngIand, as he had made her his heire
u consequence of the other broth
SeOfrey, having married without
consent. But Major Luton would !
part with his daughter, and refused eV
let her come on a visit; SO we nc
" Us ever saw Miss Pauline until 1
ams here, a grown woman, to take
~aSe as mistress of Mallingford."
suppose you knew her at once
likeness to her motherw
Strange to say, we didn't, sirl To
sure she was very i'll, for her father
Oeen dead six months before she he'
word about being heiress to this pr
srty' and all that time, to keep hers
rom starving, had been teaching In so