The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-05-29
"Disagreeably surprised?" I asked.

"Disagreeably surprised ?" 1 asked.
h first went on with her work,
and hen replied "a little sadly. as I
thought:
mol"
I was ready enough to AXE advan-
tage of my opportunities this time;
but she oontrived with perfect polite
ness to stop me. She seemed to
remember with shame. poor soul, the
circumstances under which / had last
seen her.
How do you come to be at Dusky-
dale?" she inquired, abruptly changing
the subject. And how did you find us
out here?"
While I was giving her the necessary
explanations her father came in. I
looked at him with considerable curi-
osity.
A tall stout gentleman with impress
sive responsibility oozing out of him at
every pore-with a swelling outline of
black-waistcoated stomach, with a lofty
forehead, with a smooth double chin
resting pu1pily on a white cravat
Everything in harmony about him exc
cept his eyes, and these were so sharp,
bright and resolute that they seemd to
contradict the bland conventionality
WUlCH ONGISIJIedu dill the rest OI inc
man. Eyes with wonderful intelligence
and self-dependence in them: perhaps,
also, with something a little false In
them. which 1 might have discovered
Immediately under ordinary circum-
stances; but I looked at the doctor
through the medium of his daughter
and saw nothing of him at the first
glance but his merits.
HNVa arc hntb very rntIpb ndahfad Tn
you, sir, for your politeness in calling"
he said, with excessive civility of man
ner. But our stay at this place has
drawn to an end. I only came here for
the establishment of my daughters
health. She has benefited greatly by
the change of air. and we lave ar
ranged to return home tomorrow. 9th
erwise, we should have gladly profited
by your kind offer of tickets for the
ball."
OF course, I had one eye on the young
lady while he was speaking. She was
looking at her father, m a sudden
sadness was stealing over her face.
What did it mean? Disappointment at
missing the ball? No, it was a much
deeper feeling than that. My interest
was excited. 1 addressed a compliment
tary entreaty to the doctor not to take
his daughter away from us. I asked
him to reflect on the irreparable eclipse
that he would be casting over the
Duskydale ballroom. To my amaze
ment, she only cooked down gloomily on
her work while 1 spoke; her father
laughed contemptuously.
1--WE are too completely strangers
here" he said, "for our loss to- be felt
by anyone. From all that 1 can gather,
society in D~uskydale will be glad 70
hear of our departure. / beg your par
don. Alicia, ought to have said my
departure.
Her name was Alicia! I declare it
was a luxury to me to hear 1.-THE name
was so appropriate, so suggestive of the
grace and dignity of her beauty.
I turned toward her when the doctor
had done. She looked more gloomily
than before. I protested against the
doctors account of himself. He laughed
again, with a quick distrustful look,
this time, at his daughter.
"If you were to mention my name
among your respectable inhabitants"
he went on, with a strong, sneering
emphasis on the word respectable.
they would most likely purse up their
lips n look grave at it. Since l gave
up practise as a physician 1 have en-
gagged in chemical Investigations on a
large scale, destined, / hope, to lead
to some important public results. Un-
til l arrive at these l I'm necessarily
obliged, in my own interests, to keep
my experiments secret, n to impose
similar discretion on the workmen
whom l employ. This unavoidable APP
pearance of mystery, and the strictly
retired life which my studies compel
me to lead, offend the narrow-minded
people in my part of the county, close
to Birmingham, and the uLpopularity of
my pursuits has followed me here. The
general opinion, 1 believe, is, that l am
seeking by unholy arts for the philoso-
piers stone. Plain man, as you see
me, l find myself getting quite the
reputation of a Doctor Faustus in the
popular mind. Even educated people
in this very place shake their heads
and pity my daughter there for living
with an alchemical parent, within easy
smelling distance of an explosive
laboratory. Excessively absurd, is it
not?"
1t might have been excessively alb
surd, but the lovely Alicia sat with her
eyes on her work, looking as if it were
excessively sad, and not giving her
1atner the IalnIeSL answering Sml0
when he glanced toward her and
laughed, as he said his last words. I
could not at all tell what to make of
it. The doctor talked of the social con-
sequences of his chemical inquiries as
if he were living in the middle ages.
However, 1 was far too anxious to seq
the charming brown eyes again to ask
questions which would be sure to keep
them cast down. So / ans the
topic TO chemistry in general, and, to
the doctors evident establishment and
pleasure, told him of my own early
studies in the science.
IN M con4inund mon.nrrazN