Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1908-07-02

from ner easy Cnalr Dy the nre Sne
carefully scrutinized Esther's every
4 look and movement. Nothing escaped
her notice. Esther felt that her moth
i ers eyes were upon her, and was
4 strictly on her guard.
/ They had never discussed the mat
ter in any way, but she guessed ac-
curately enough what was in her
mothers mind. She wished some
4 times she could as clearly read Mr..
! Grayton's thoughts. She had little, ii
any, OF her mothers pride. Mere ped
igree was nothing in comparison with
/ moral worth. A man was to be meas
! ured by the name his ancestors bore,
and with this simple bit of philosophy
4 dominating her mind she never con
cerned herself in the smallest degree
i about Mr.. Grayton's family. That she
admired the man she admitted with
but slight reserve. Nearly everybody
admired him. He had all the quail
4 ties that won mems respect. He was
not a great preacher, not eloquent in
4 any rhetorical sense, not highly edu-
Gated; but he was genuine, manly,
and sincere.
For some reason she was always
/ little shy in his presence, and her shy
j ness tended to reserve To-day, with
her mothers eyes upon her, she was
more than usually reticent, and
scarcely met his eyes once
Clement did most Of the talking.
The events of the day had interested
him to the point of excitement. He
! felt that life would be worth living
1 if all the days would unfold to him
some plan Of service.
You will be glad to hear he said,
passing on cup OF tea to his mother,
that the missing boat has turned up
safe and sound
ooh, am so glad Esther said,
eagerly.
| They lost their bearings pretty
completely in the fog, and drifted out
to sea- This morning they were al
most out OF sight of land. However,
| this afternoon news arrived that they
had landed at Iffey Cove"
| What a terrible time they must
have had!' Mrs. Mawgan remarked,
/ quietly.
They were all pretty well famsh-
ED and nearly frozen but ii is a re-
4 lief to know they are alive. There are
only eight now unaccounted for
three passengers and five of the
crew.
Il fear these will have to be given
4 up as. LOST Grayton observed; pos
sibly to-morrow's tide will settle the
matter"
Are all of the poor people doing
well?s Mrs. Mawgan questioned.
4 Nearly ali Several of them are
leaving tonight in company with their
4 friends. How is your patient getting
4 on?"
4 Very well, K believe. Esther sees
much more of her than l do. am no
/ good at nursing. | have neither the
strength nor the ability"
4 GRAFTON turned and looked at Els
Their inquiringiy.
.Oh, yes, | think she is doing as
s well as can be expected, Esther an
4 swered. OF course she is terribly
bruised and shaken, and it will be a
day or two before she gets out of bed,
n but nothing serious is to be appre-
u hended.''
81 am glad Your brother tells me
you are very much Interested in her"
Il II am, rather. You will be when
II YOU see her. She is quite out of the
Z common, / can assure you
Have you discovered her friends
yet?'
q 'ssshe never mentions them"
Strange, isn't it,"
1T is, rather. The truth is, / am
getting quite curious"
4 Il don't think she is exactly lady
Il Mrs. Mawgan internesed.
y She may not conform to the con.
y ventional pattern in all respects 2
i Esther replied, with spirit. But am
& sure----' 3
Don't be sure OF anything, Esther
her mother snapped. You cannot
! possibly know, and you must be aware
3 that all the evidence points to what
Y SI say i.
= Mother has her own standards,
Esther said, quietly, $50 we, had bet
ter not discuss the matter and with
! an appealing glance at the curate she
q rang for more hot water.
Meanwhile Marion West was lying
!. quite still. listening In dreamy fashion
Z to the low hum Of voices in the room
below her.
She had scarcely moved for the
day, and she had rarely been more
D than half awake. The pain was grad
ually leasing her. but she had never
! felt SO overwhe lmingly Tired before Ii
( her life. She was too utterly wear,
B TO think.
Y Outside the wind was soughin,
. softly In the trees; that and til,
: voices below were the only sound,
that broke the stiffness. In vagu,
{ Z why she began to wonder what wa
to become Of her. This, alas! was no
\ her journeys end She wished it ha,
besn. NE. sts !,
OH She thou ght Of the previous eyeninl
II and the awful ioments til lat followe,
q the striking Of the vessel. She ough
s- TO feel grateful, she supposed tina
Nh her HE had been saved. but she VA
not st all sure she dId. Tor lit
ii own "a lie ss#l ifes WjfhEIIt home, n,