The Red Cloud chief., 1906-11-02
6he PILLAR
OF LIGHT
By LOUIS TRACY,
Author Of The Wings Of the Morning.
Copyright, 1904, by Edward ]. Clode
Continued from Page Three.)

let me help you. 1t Is a woman's
privilege"
She stopped toward the tiny mites.
"You dear little babes" she said
softly. IL can take mothers place for
q time"
They knew her quite well, Of course,
and she seemed to be so much kinder
and nicer now i'm her smart clothes
than she was in the crowded disorder
Of the bedroom.
Mamie looked at Elsie, and the self
reliant Elsie said v%allantly:
mamie an nell be glad If Mr.. Pyne
comes too"
Mr.. Trail, who had never before
found a ready excuse for her womanly
sympathy.
ut seems to me-" he said genially,
tive are all of one mind. Come this
way, Eta. And mind you stick close
to us, Charlie, or the hall porter will
throw you out If you attempt to enter
the hotel in that costume"
He ratified on cheerfully, telling them
how clothiers and milllners and all the
storekeepers in the town, If they were
needed, would wait on them at the
hotel.
I'm a couple Of hours" he said, you
both can obtain sufficient things to
render you presentable for a day or
two. Don't forget we dine at 8. We
ought to be Il jolly party. l have asked
Stanhope and his mother and those
two girls to join U.S."
'Oh!" cried Mrs. Vansittart family.
"You must excuse me. T.
"Now, Eta, my dear, you will not
desert us tonight. Why, 1t seemed to
me to be the only way In which we
could all come together at once. l am
only too sorry that Mr.. Brand cannot
be present. Surely he might have been
spared from further duty at the light
house after what he has endured"
They offered to relieve him at once
but he declined" said Pyne.
He looked out Of the window Of the
carriage in which they were driving t.
the hotel. Constance had told him OF
the dinner arrangement, but he wished
to ascertain If the definite absence o.
the lighthouse keeper would tend t
reassure Mrs. Vansittart.
He was not mistaken. She did no
reply at once. When she spoke, it wa
with a sigh of relief. 2
II will not be very entertaining,
fear, but the young people will have
plenty to tell you"
For goodness sake, Eta, don
class yourself among the old fogies!
cried Mr.. Trail. Look at me-ffty
five and lively as a grasshopper."
please, Is Mamie an me 'vited
too?" whispered Elsie to Pyne.
"You two chicks will be curled VI
among the feathers at s o'clock" h,
told her. Don't you go and worr.
bout any dinner parties. The soone
you 60 to sleep the quicker you'll wax
up in the morning, and then we're go
ing out to hunt-for what do yor
thinkT'
Candles" said Mamie.
Toys" cried Elsie, going n better
Were just going to find two Of tn
loveliest and frilliest and pinkies
checked dolls you eve saw. They'
have blue eyes as big as yours, Elsie
and their lips will be as red and roun
as yours, Mamie. They'll talk and sa
and say all sorts of things when 70
pinch their little waists. SO you tw
} hurry up after you've had your supper
say your prayers and close your eyes
and when you open them you'll be abb
to yell for me to find that doll stor
. mighty sharp"
Say, Charlie" cried his uncle, "
: never heard you reel off Il screw lik
; that before. Now, If | didn't kno,
: you were n confirmed young bachelc
2 / would begin to have suspicious. An.
how here's the hotel"
Two hours later, when uncle an
nephew met in the private sitting room
where busy walters were making pre-
arations for dinner, Trail drew til
r younger nan to the privacy Of a viii
dow recess.
Charlie" he confded, affairs are
a tangle. DO you realize that my ma
y rlage was fixed for today?"
n "That's So" was the laconic answe
"Of course the wedding was pos
poned by fate, and, to add to my pc
pleXities, there Is q new attitude G
l. Mrs. Vansittart's part. 1t puzzles m
We have been friends for some year
a as you know. 1t seemed to be a pc
A. fectly natural outcome of our mutu'
liking for each other that we shoul
o agree to pass our declining years t
1t gether. She is a very beautiful an
accomplished woman, but she max,
no secret Of her age, and the mate
was a suitable n in every respect"
r "YOu can see as far through n stoI