Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1908-05-14
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CUAnl'ER NY.

led the way upstairs and showed Kat
70 her room. If the furniture of the din
ing room had been Spartan in its simple
ity. this was even more so, for there wa
nothing in it save Il small iron bedstead
much rusted from want of use, and a higI
wooden box on which stood the simples
toilet requisites In spite of the povert.
uf the apartment Kate had never beer
uore glad to enter her luxurious chambe
al home. The little carpetless room wa
q haven of rest where she would be left
for one night at least. to her owl
thoughts. As she lay in bed, however. sh
could hear far away the subdued murmu
Of Girdlestone'S voice and the shrill tone
nf the old woman. They were in deel
und animated converse. Though they were
too far distant for her to distinguish {
word. something told her that their tall
Was about herself, and the same instinct
assured her that it hoded her little good.
When Kate awOke in the morning il
VAS some little time before she could re-
alize where she was, or recall the events
which had made such sudden change iT
her life. The small window of her apart
mcnt was covered by dirty muslin blind
She rose. aud, drawing it aside, looked
eagerly out. From what she had seen
the night before she had hoped that this
prison to which she had been conveyed
might make amends for its loneliness by
some degree of natural beauty. The scene
which now met her eyes soon dispelled
any expectations of the sort. The avenue
with its trees lay on the other side of the
house. From her window nothing was
visible but a dreary eXpanse of bogland
and mudbanks, stretching down to the sea.
At high tide this enormous waste of
drearineSs and filth was covered by the
water, but at present it lay before her in
all its naked hideousnesss, the very type
of dullness and of desolation. Here and
there a few scattered reeds. or an un-
healthy greenish scum upon the mud, gave
a touch of color to the scene but for the
most part the great plain was all of the
same somber mud tint, with its monot-
ony broken only by the white fecks where
tn. swarms of gulls and kittiewakes had
settled in the hope of picking up what
ever had been left by the receding tide
Away across the broad surface line of
sparkling foam marked the fringe of the
ocean. which stretched away to the hori-
z1n.
A mile or two to the eastward Of her
Kate saw some sign of houses and a blue
smoke which fickered up into the air.
This she guessed to be the fishing village
OF Lea Ciaxton, which the driver had
mentioned the night before She felt
as she gazed at the little hamlet. and the
masts of the boats in front of it, that she
was not alone in the world, and that even
in this strange and desoate place there
were honest hearts to whom as a last re-
source she could appeal.
She vas still standing at the window
when there came a knocking at the door,
and she heard the voice of the old woman
asking if she were awake. "Breakfast
is ready" she said, land the master is a
wondering why you bean't down.
On this summons Kate hastened her
toilet and made her way down the old
winding stair to the room in which they
had supped the night before. Surely Cir
d!estone must have had a heart of flint
not to be melted by the sight of that fair,
fresh face. His features set as hard as
q iamant as she entered the room, and he
looked at her with eyes which were puck
cred and angry.
You are late" he said coldly You
must remember that you are not in Eccle
ston square You are here to be disc-
ulined. and disciplined you shall be-
II am sorry" she answered. Il think
I must have been tired by our journey"
The vast room looked even more com
fortress and bleak than on the preceding
ey ening On the table was a plate of ham
a nd eggs. John Girdlestone served out
portion, and pushed it in her direction.
She sat down on one of the rough wooden
chairs and ale listlessly. wondering how
oil this was going to end.
After breakfast Girdlestone ordered the
old woman out of the room. and, standing
ia front of the fire with his long legs
apart and his hands behind his back he
told her in harsh concise language what
His intentions were.
Il had long determined" he said, that
ff you ran counter to my wishes, and per-
sisted in your infatuated affection for that
| should remove you to some
secluded spot where you might reconsider
YOUR conduct and form better resolutions
foe the future This country house an
swered the purpose admirably, and as an
old servant OF mine, Mrs JorrOcks. chanc-
ell to reside in the neighborhood, | had
warned her that at any time | might come
down and should expect to find things
ready. Your rash and heartless conduct
has. however, precipitated matters. and
we have arrived before her preparations
we're complete. Our future arrangements
will therefore be less primitive than they
are at present. Here you shall remain.
young lady. until you show signs of re
pentance. and of willingness to undo
the harm you have done"
"If you mean until | consent TO marry
your son, then / shall live and die here"
the girl said bravely.
That rests with yourself As / said
before. you are under discipline here, and
YOU may not find existence such a bed of
-oses a. it was in Eccleston square"
Can have my msid;" Kate asked Il
.an hardly stay here with no one but the
,id woman in the house"
"Rebecca is coming down. / had tele-
rran from Ezra to that effect, and be will