The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-04-08
LADY ATHLYNE
Copyright, 1908, by BRAM STOKER Entered at Stationer's Hall-AH rights reserved


| l
 is yours just as it is SalIy's or Joys
 Suddenly she smiled, her eyes still
 gleaming with recent tears:
 T am asking favour now-by way
 Of a change. Lucius on my honour and l know no greater oath with you than that-this has been a perfectly
 harmless piece of fun. It arose from
 a remark of that nice Irish stewardess on the Cryptic that no one was good
 enough to marry Joy except one man:
 the young nobleman whom she had
 nursed. And she really came to be-
 lieve that it would come off. She says
 she has some sort of foreknow owledge of
 things The Colonel smiled:
 it you want me to do?'
 'To do nothing!" she answered | quickly. Then she went with some hesitation:
 'Lucius you are so determined when you take up an idea, and I know you
 are not pleased with this little joke. | honour that you fight about and if | you go on, it may cause pain to us 1 all- We are only a pack of women, | after all, and you mustn't be hard on | uS.''
 Judy. my dear. am never hard on ] a woman, am I %
 ''No! Indeed. you're not,'' she avow- l ed heartily. You're the very incarna- | tion of sweetness. and gentleness, and tenderness. and chivalry with them. =. But then you take 1T out of the | men that cross you!
 That's a gentleman should be, ! take it,' he said. ref1ectively. uncon- | sciously stroking his white moustache. Then he said briskly:
 | "Now Judy seriously tell me what you wish me to do or not to do. must have some kind of a clue to your wishes you know.' As she silent | for a moment he went on sravely. 'fI think understand, my dear. Be quite content. I take it all for a joke and hatwoPn I must speak to Joy about it. There are some things which if used as sub jects for jokes lead to misunderstand- ings. Be quite easy in your mind. You know I love my daughter too well to give her a moments pain that I can spare her. Thank you Judy for speak ing to me. I might have misunder- stood and gone perhaps too far. But you know how senSitive-'tOuchy' Joy calls it-about my name and my fam fly I am; and I hope you will always bear that in mind. And besides my dear. there is the other gentleman to be considered. He too, may have word to say. As he is a nobleman he ought to be additionally scrupulous course should have to resent any inn plication made by him against any member of my family!"
 Good Lord"' said Judy to herself, usual courtly bow. What family to deal with. This. poor little joke is as apt to end in bloodshed as not. The Colonel is on the war-path already; I can see that by his stateliness!"
 Colonel Ogilvie thought over the matter for a whole day before he spoke 10 Joy; he was always very grave and serious regarding subjects involving honour and duty.
 Joy knew that he had something on his mind from his abstraction. and rather kept out of his way. This was not on her own account for she had rn ho In inv cd in ho matter. but simply because it was her habit to symDathize with him and to think of and for him. She was just a little surprised when the next after l noon he said to her as they stood to- | gether at the back of the wheel-house i over the screw. the quietest place on the ship for a talk: |
 "Joy. dear. I want you to listen to me a minute"
 ''Yes. Daddyp' u About that joke you had on the Cryptic"
 furious1y; she understood now.
 My dear. I don't object to your having any little harmless romance of that kind. I don't suppose it would | make any difference if I did. A young dependent of her old daddy. Isn't it i so. little girl?''
 T suppose so, dear Daddy. since you say it.'' She nestled up close to him
 
 nicer talk than she expected.
 'But there is one thing you must be careful about: There must be no namesw
 How do you mean. Daddy?''
 "I gather that there has been a joke amongst some of you as to calling you the Countess or Lady Athlyne, or some of that kind of foolishness. My dear the Countess. nor Lady Athlyne. nor Lady anything. A name my dear when it is an honorable one is a very prec- ious possession. A woman must cher ish the name she does possess as a part of her honour"
 'I am proud of my name. Father, very proud of it: and I always shell ber' She hads drawn herself upright and had something of her fathers splendid personal pride. The very use of the word Father instead of Daddy showed that she was conscious of the formality.
 Quite right. little girl. That is your name now: and will in a way always be. But you may marry you know; and then your husbands name will be your name, and you will on your side be the guardian of his honour. We must never trifle with a name. dear. Those people who go under an alias are to my mind the worst of crimin- als.''
 Isn't that rather strong, Daddy, when murder and burglary and theft and wife beating and cheating at cards are dDOuC! Sno IelC IHdC Slle was | through the narrow place now and could go back to her raillery. But her father was quite grave, He walked up and down a few paces as though ar ranging his thoughts and words. When he spoke he did so carefully and de- liberately:
 Not so, little girl. These, however bad they may be, are individual of lenses and are punished by law. But a falSe name-even in jest, my dear is an offense against society generally, and hurts and offends every one. And in addition it is every one of the sins you have named; and all the others in the calendar as we'll"
 "HOw on earth do yOu make thatt