Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-12-11

UGTItu CJfOtL
answered: " beg your pardon, Cal
tain Selwyn. Gid not know you WEI
. serious"
"Oh. I'm not" he returned light.
"Tm never serious No man who soil
oqllizes can he taken seriously. Don
you know. Miss Enroll. >that the crOwr
Ing ahsurdity of oil tragedy IL the sc
Iiloquy?'
Her smile became delightfully."- unceT
tain She did not quite understan,
him. though her instinct warned be
that for a second something had meu
aced their understanding
Riding forward with him through
the crisp sunshine OF mid-December
the word tragedy" still sounding II
her ears, her thoughts reverted natural
~ to the only tragedy besides her OWL
which had ever coma very near to he
Ibis own.
Could he have meant that! Did PEG
pie mentou siicb things after they hat
happened? Did they not rather con
cea them. hide them deeper aud deep
er with the mid Of time aad the kindly
years for burial past all recOllec
ton?
| Troubled. uncomfortabiy Intent or
evadjng every thought or train OF
ideas evoked. she put her mount to @
gallop But thought kept pace with
her
She was, of course. aware Of the
situation regarding Sefwyr's domestic
been kept long In ignorance of the
so Nina had told her carefully.
leaving in the young girls mind only
bewildered sympathy for man and
wife whom dreadful and incompre-
hensible catastrophe bad overtaken.
only an impression of something uew
and fearsome which she had hitherto
been una ware Of in the world and
but unhappIy growing list of sad and
incredible things.
Returning from their gallop Miss Er.
roll had very little to say. Selwyn,
too, was silent and absentmipded. She
thought Of her brother, and the old
hurt at his absence on that night
throbbed again. Forgive? Yes. But
how could she forget It?
II wish you knew Gerald WELL" she
said impulsively. "He is such dear
fellow, and think you'd be good for
him-and. BESIDES" she FASTENED to
add, with instructive loyalty lest he
misconstrue: Gerald would be good
for You. We were great deal togeth-
er-at one time"
He nodded, smillngly attentive.
"Of course when he went away to
school it was different" she added
"And then he went to Yale. That was
four more years. you see."
did he row-your brother Gerald"
mo" she said. She did not add that
he had broken training. That was her
own sorrow, to be concealed even from
Gerald. mo; he played polo some
times. He rides beautifully. Captain
Selwyn, and he Is so clever when he
cares TO beat the traps, for example
and-oh-anything. He once swami
oh, dear, forget. Was 1t FIVE or if
teen or fifty miles? Is that too far?
Do people swim those distancesw
"Some of those distances" replied
Selwyn.
swell, then, Gerald swan some Of
those distances, and everybody was
amazed. ] do wish you knew him
WELL"
II mean to-" he said. II must look
him up at his rooms or his club or per-
haps at Neergard & Co.'s"
"Will you do this?" she asked SO ear
nestly that he glanced up surprised.
"Yes," he said, and after moment,
"Pll do 1t today, think-this after
noon. Are you having good time?"
he asked condescendingly, but without
intention.
Heavenly! How can you ask that,
with every day filed and chance to
decline something every day? II you'd
only go to one-just one-of the dances
and teas and dinners you'd be able to
see for yourself what good time am
having. don't know why should be