The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-10-31
CHAPTER III.
A BREAK Inv A cIRcLE.

~ DIAEIFAn IAN ~ NlIhSlICs "..
My acquaintance with the Tremaines,
In the weeks that followed. grew by
imperceptible degrees into an inti-
macy which was one of the most pleas
ant of my life. OF Cecily l have al
ready attempted to give some idea, al
though / realize how cold and mad
equate 1t is. AS l began to know her
better, / came to wonder more and
more at her completely, her simplicity,
her swift change Of mood, her utter
ignorance of social convention. An
other thing 1 saw. and that was her
absolute worship of Tremaine. / ques-
ton IL he fully understood its strength;
he a grown, in a way, accustomed to
1t; but to a stranger, an outsider, II
was s~tartlingly apparent. I say start
lingly, because one was vaguely con-
scious Of unsounded. threatening
depths beneath that sweet exterior.
which promised I know not what Of
passion and tragedy. should they be
rudely stirred.
AS for Tremaine, ] hesitate to say
how utterly I fell under his spell. Yet
this was not In the least to be won
dered at. My life had been, on the
whole, so narrow, and his had been so
broad; my experience OF the world had
been cast in the usual grooves, while
his had so evidently overleaped them,
had struck out a path for itself into
all sorts of unexpected places. Why
he so exerted himself to- charm and
conquer me / do not yet fully under
stand-perhaps 1t was the mere delight
in power, in the exercise Of his dazzling
faculties; or perhaps 1t was hat he
had leisure, that his mind was not yet
e~ngrossed in the game on which he
staked so much. .
1 have said that his life had been
cast in many curious places. Mar
~a-,r 49, .A-l,r AIA la-N - NA2-A 49,
most recent, and l gathered that the
business which brought him to New
York was the forming of a syndicate
to build q railroad through the island.
Through Is the right word, for 1t was
evident that, owing to the islands pc
culiar formation, there would have to
be much tunnelling. But he waved
all such practical difficulties aside and
discoursed of the great future before
such a road with an enthusiasm that
was absolutely convincing.
l remember n evening he got fair
ly started upon his hobby Of his and
talked uninterruptedly for at least an
hour-facts, details, descriptions at his
finger-ends. Cecily, chin in hands, lis
tened intent to every word, and ], with
the remembrance OF that evening still
fresh upon me, a understand how
he won the ear of even Wall streets
suspicious denizens. And, indeed, II
was a wonderful prospectus which he
p~ainted-broad sugar plantations with
no market, the whole traffic of the is
land carried upon the heads of women
the great sand heaps OF the east coast
80 per cent. pure steel, waiting only for
development, but worthless now be-
cause no ship al approach them-and
I know not what beside, but all of
which, I have no doubt, was substan-
TALLY true.
Perhaps I am lingering unduly
over this portrait OF Tremaine. but
daring. for audacity, for per-
sonal magnetism. In the days that
followed, / was to see less and less
Of him. but the memory OF those first
evenings is a living and vivid one.
I can see him sitting there yet be-
fore me with his wonderful eyes. his
expressive face, his 1.-THE, graceful
form and his slim, white nervou hand
holding his cigaret. / found myself
specializing sometimes as to his ma
tionallty. French ne seemed nques
tionably by temperament, and yet he
spoke English with a facility and care
lessness unusual i'm a foreigner. 1 was
often tempted to ask him. straight
out, but a feeling of hesitation al
ways held me back. I came at last to
the conclusion hat he was OF French
parentage, but had lived in England or
America probably from his youth.
l had just come in from dinner one
evening and was settling down TO a
perusal of "L'Affaire Lerouge," when
there came a knock at the door and
Tremaine entered. He was in evening
dress and was seemingly much per-
turbed. .-r s.
my dear Lester" he began abrupt
ly. in that quick. way OF his,
Pm in the deuce OF a box, and I'm
going to ask you to help me out. /
promised Cecily TO take her tonight
to see the extravaganza at the New
York and ave the seats here, but at
the last moment / find 1 can't get
away I've a business engagement that
1 can't afford to break, but Cecily will
never forgive me IL ! disappoint her.
Have you anything on for tonight %
NO" ! answered, looking at him in
some a~stonishment, for 1t was evident
what . coming.