The Red Cloud chief., 1906-02-23
(CONTfNUED.)

1t may be not untimciy to remark
also of these five redoubtablc bcaux
that during the evening it occurred to
every one Of them to he glad that Graf
ley Gray was betrothed to tanchon
Bnreaud, and that he was down on the
NOuen river with a canoe, a rod and u
tent. Nay, without more words. to de-
clare he truth in regard to Crailcy,
they felt greater security in his alb
sence from the field than in his be-
trOthal. AS Mr.. Chenoweth, Il youth as
open AZ out of doors both In counte-
nance and mind, observed plalntively
to Ta%ppingham Marsh in u corner,
while they watched Miss Betty's laven-
der flowers miraculously swirling
through a quadrille, "Crailey, you
~know-well, Crailey's been engaged be-
fore!' 1t was not Mr.. C~henoweth's
habit to disguise his apprehensions,
and Crailey Gray would not fish for
bass forever.
The same Chenoweth was he who,
maddened by the generals triumphant
ly familiar way of toying with Miss
Betty's fan between two dances, at
tempted to propose to her during the
sunrise waltz. Having sung "Oh, be-
lieve me.' In her ear as loudly as he
could, he expressed the wish, quite as
loudly, that this waltz might last for
always!"
That was the seventh time it had
been said to Betty during the night,
and, though Mr.. Chenoweth's predeces-
sors had revealed their desires in a
guise lacking this prodigious artless-
ness, she already possessed no novel ac-
qu%aintance with the exclamation, but
she made no comment. Her partners
style was not a stimulant to repartee.
-'It would be heaven" he amplifed
earnestly; ut would be heaven to dance
with you forever-on a desert isle
where the others couldn't comet" he
finished with sudden acerbity as his eye
caught the generals.
He proceeded, and only the cessation
of the music aided Miss Carewe in stop
ping the declaration before it was al
together out, and at that point Franks
own father came to her rescue, though
in a fashion little saving Of her con-
fusion. The elder Chenoweth was one
OF the gallant and kindly southern col
ony that made 1t natural for Rouen al
ways to speak of Miss Carewe as Miss
Betty. He was q handsome old fellow,
whose hair, long mustache and impe-
rial were as white as he was proud Of
them, a ylrginian with the admirable
southern fearlessness Of being thought
....a Aa,ptipr An chain with
complete dignity, he proposed the health
of his young hostess. He made a
speech Of some length, ~pronouncing
himself quite as hopelessly in love with
his old friends daughter as all could
see his own son was, and wishing her
long life and prosperity, with many
illusions to fragrant bowers and the
muses..
1t made Miss Betty happy, but it was
rather trying, too, for she could only
stand with downcast eyes before them
all, trembling a little, and receiving n
mixed impression of Mr.. Chenoweth's
remarks, catching fragments here and
there. AS the old gentleman finished,
Fanchon Bareaud, kissing her hand to
Betty. began to sing, and they all join
ed in, lifting their glasses to the blush
ing and happy girl clinging to her ia
theirs arm:
-'Thou wouldst still be adored as this mo-
ment thou art,
Let thy loVclinesS fade as IL Will,
And around the dear ruin each wish OF
my heart
Would intwine itself %verdantly still"
They were happy people who had not
learned to be self conscious enough tC
fear doing n pretty thing openly with
out mocking themselves for 1t, and Il
was a brave circle they made G0out
Betty Carewe, the charming faces Of
the women and their fine furbelows
handsome men and tall, all so gay, 81
cheerily smiling and yet so earnest II
their welcome to her. No one wa
afraid to "let out" his voice; their sons
went full and strong over the waking
town, and when II was finished the bal
was over too.
The veranda and the path to the gait
became like tropic gardens, the fai
colors of the women's dresses, balloon
ing in the early breeze, making thu
place seem strewn with giant bios
SONS. They all went away at the sam'
time, those In carriages calling fare
wells to each other and to the littl
professions departing on foot in dif
ferent directions to homes near by
The sound Of the voices and laughte
drew away, slowly died out altogether
and the silence Of the street wa
strange and unfamiliar to Betty. Sh
went to the hedge and watched til