The Washington herald., 1908-07-28
CHAPTER VI-Continued.

ioid lLlSell mat II ne ldQ spoken out
she would have lost a much-aeeded holi-
day. Thus he salved q conscience already
more sensitive than he would have cared
to admit. For IL was plain 10 him that.
uawittingly. he had obtained her friend
ship under false preteuses. The glance OF
her eye. the pressure Of her hand when
sch b1de him go0d-by. were eloquent OF
something more than gratitude
From the hour she left he missed her
horribly The Forest Of VS. lost It's subtle
IcnrhGntmenJ The very air became heavy
and dank. as II a blight had invaded Il.
An unconQuerable depression attacked
him. Not being Of a temperament which
Iindulges itself with intr0specti0u and self
analysis he was unable to assign a true
reason for this RI OF the blues as he
termed Il. other thNn the indubitabIe fact
that the wind was keenly in the east
Two facts obsessed his intelligence and
perceptive faculties: JOY loved and was
beloved by Esule Burgess. and he had
| pledged himself 20 return 10 Angela,
within a definite time.
A letter from JOY. the first she had
written TO him. did not clear the skies.
I She was in q whirl OF gayetv. dancing.
/ play-golng. dining out. and shopping. she
wrote. as she spoke. with a simple direct
I ness Of phrase which brought her vividly
/ 70 mind. At the end o. the letter she
! mentioned Burgess.
! ''Esme is quite a celebrity. but net a
/ bit spoiled he met me at Waterloo. and
{ he has Cancelled at least half dozen en-
gagements on my account He seems 10
I De much stronger and older. Perhaps /
rather miss the boy"
/ Hugo stared az the letter. frowuinE and
pulling az his mustarhe. Burgess. OF
course must be suffering from an lnevi-
7 tably swelled head Joy wouldn't admit
as much. naturally Perhaps she was
disappointed A moment later he was
amazed az himself for having experienced
a curious sense o. satisfaction. Later. he
OWNED that at this particular moment
lgnJ had been vOuClsafed him. only. IN
/ happily. he shut his eyes 20 lt. Joy he
argued accustomed 20 dominate her
lover. was beginning 20 ind out that Il
was hts turn 10 dominate her. In world
Infinitely larger than Eerushaw Magma.
Burgess had been acclaimed as d superior
pers6u,
For the rest OF the day he tried. Lot
very successfully. 70 purge his mind OF
an ever-lCcreGs1CE envy The twenty
four hours thar followed were humiuar-
ing Burgess forced upon him compari-
sons. which hitherto pc had deliberately
lgnored- Husos Opportunities had been
greater than those of the son Of an Oh
scure journalist At last he saw them
c.early. even as a captain might see the
wreckage OF a gallant ship strewn upon
some trescherous shore, knowing. with
heartrerdirg conviction. that i-reparabIe
disaster might have been avoided so
easily.
To her father Joy wrote et greater
length and with less reserve. George Ven
nable handed the letter 10 Hugo at break
fast
'Esne IS wonderful SIoue. who is
rather hypercritical. says he may be
Prime Minister some day You can i'm
ag11e how feel, because sIways knew
that the right stuff was there. ard now 10
realize That my faith is justified. I have
heard lam speak. The audieace was com
p-eJely carried away found myself Won
derics that Z had ever dared chaf him. I
but afterward. when he was alone with
me. 1 began chatting him again H. is as
Z jhe boy whom we knew so well was
possessed with some extraordinary spirit
when he addresses the public
At the end q the letter Joy mentioned 7
incidentally that she was returning 20
H3errslaw IN tke company of Mrs Giles
Aottlstont. The fact that the lady who Z
had been Nolne Saver1ake might meet .
him and recognize him was not & source .
Of disturbance Huso had made Up his 2
mind 20 speak the whole truth 70 Joy /,
herself
Upon the morning OF the day when joy
was expected. Hugo moved back 10 Jo-- I
dan Cottage Mrs Owbridge met him
waving a telegram. Burgess. Il seemed. /
was accompanying the ladies'. The infer
ance was UnUistakahle- Burgess was re-
turning as Joys aflanced husband Mrs
pworicge EinreG as much, with a sly look l.
Out OF her shrewd eyes al Hugo. wonder
ms how he would taA1 this portenJous
piece OF news. Hugo said calmly
! suppose we shall have a wedding
soon. Mrs Owbridge."
The sooner the better. say I sir after
4 young lady has passed one and twentv
There's not enough meE 10 90 round. and
-he best and pretuest ought 70 take a
usoand when they can get in A single
life IS very DonotolOus-"
Hugo went for a Ions walk in the
'0rest
When he returned Burgess was srnoz-
ng fl the snug sittIng-r0om- Hugo held
1ut his hand with a questioning smile.
The young fellow lookes3 extraordinarily
well and handsome. having gained a /,
more assured bearing and with !t-as
10y had saba look Of maturity
Nevertheless, he burst into an account /.
4 himself and his doings without answer
ng the questioning smile. and without
my reference 10 JOY His star-he had I,
.lways believed in his star-was in the
scendant he had I5,---L hackers: men
With enthusiasm and money.
only men2T
The women. he answered. had been
-ery kind The New Brooms had identi-
led themselves with the women. He
egan 70 speak Of the part women might
lay in a regenerated England This sort
Z talk bored Hugo. but he listened at !
entively. with an ear strained 10 catch
he personal note FlueLtIy as Burgess
slked, the elder man was seasible Of The
pe2Eers nervousness. - a suppressed
assion and excitement Doesn't care
hang for women re.-el 49, Hugo. "but |
e IS in hot pursuit OF one
They 6iIed together Burgess said that
oy had asked him 10 stop at the rectorv.
having mentioned this. he became rather
ilent- as II willing 70 let Hugo draw
ertain deductions But as soon as Mrs. | ,
had cleared away, he plunged :
ltO confession
I've come down here to ask her to !
aarry nae couldn't do II in London :
)idn't have a chance! You look incred-
loCs- Well, perhaps 7 funEed IL Per 7
aps I wanted the right setting. We are
Ding 70 have game OF golf tomorrow"
You're the luckiest man in all the !
-orld-"
I've said that to myself again and /,
gain. I don't want 70 babble. but she =
as as dear ard sweet IN London as
COX here. it really is an idyI. I 1ever4 =,
ared for any other girl and she-veIl. I :,
ont think she ever felt her pulses beat \
1steT for any man. was obliged for 7
our warning-but TisdaleI Poor old Tis- :
ale, a capital fellow Joy always liked I
I'm. and respected him