Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-12-01
Continued.

one, in room, say, without curtains
to keep away the draught and merry
voices to drive away low spirits?
Many poor creature was in this
plight, but Stella, for one, was not
thinking of the poor in general, but
of one luckless Individual whom she
could picture to herself as sitting not
a mile from where she sat, shivering
In the dusty, draughty, time-eaten
dining-room of Hawthorne.
Now, Stella was not a reserved, Sc
cretive girl; she was open as rose in
June, and all her secrets might have
been laid bare before an inquisition
of chaperones. But, for the first time
in her life-perhaps the second, re-
Numbering the statue-she had kept
her own counsel.
Moved by an indescribable, shy re-
luctance, strangely new to her, she
had told no one of her meeting with
the owner of the hut, and, as that part
of the park was little frequented, no
one had discovered his advent.
The trees around the house were
thick and high, so that if fire were
lighted it could not have been seen
from the road or the village, and
Stella, without any further ground for
her belief, felt assured that the hand
some and somewhat mysterious Louis
FELTON, was seated ON one of the old,
rickety, high-backed chairs, shivering
before an empty hearth and prey to
low spirits.
That being her belief, she was not
at all inclined to gayety, and sat alb
sent-minded, listening, and yet not
listening, to the prattle of the we'll
meaning cousins, and tracing in the
mass of glowing Goals the delicate
features of that same gentleman
She asked herself if she should
communicate her infatuation to her
mamma, who would possibly instruct
a batch of servants to wait upon Mr..
FELTON, and ask him to transfer him
self to the Vale.
She had half risen to do so, but the
feeling of reluctance and the doubt
whether the poor master of ruined
Heavitorne would be welcome guest
at the Vale, kept her undecided and
seated.
Presently with burst of laughter,
the cousins rose to dress.
aren't you coming, Stellar, they
asked. =
do tumi'' implored little maiden.
clinging to her dress and looking up
into her sweet face beseechingly. do
tum, Tousin Tella, and let me tum and
dess in your 'oom."
So she rose, snatched the little one
up with a kiss, and dispelling her
gloom by great effort, ran off as
merrily as the rest.
Dinner arrived. There was huge
fire in the grandly decorated dining
room, with a log on the top for the
qualification of the elderly cousin.
There were irnumerable courses,
entrees and side dishes, and, glory,
of the feasti there was the pudding.
Under its genial influence even Mrs.
Newton melted into something like
pleasantness, and the laughter was
ringing around the room-the shrill
fa1setto of the old mans sounding
cracked and piercingly above the rest
when John Thomas and Mr.. Proud
ley, the butler, arrived with the port
wine and dessert.
Then what toasts the old man pro-
posed, with what warmth they wished
the Queen a long life and a happy
one, how they kindled into something
like enthusiasm over their frigid and
not at all loveable aunt, and, when
the merry girls had Toasted sufficient
ly. how they trooped back into the
drawing room to laNgh their diges-
tions into perfection and to leave the
old gentleman snugiy tackled up on the
sofa covered up with his red pocket
handkerchief and all the available an
timacassarS.
Mrs. Newton retired to her own
room for a nap, with something more
substantial than fiimsy crochet as
covering. and the cousins seated them
selves around the fire, some with their
arms encircling the others waists,
some crouching comfortably within
roasting distance upon the hearth rug,
and the least of them all curled like
kitten in Stella's lap.
They talked as only light-hearted
girls can talk until general gossip and
mirth-provoking "reminiscences were
exhausted.
Then followed pause.
stella, dear, tell us a story said
one, schoolgirl, who possessed an
Unsuitable appetite for stories of every
kind, but love romances in particular.
Stella started, and stroked the lit
tie ones hair with a laugh.
Tell you story-I don't think
"Oh. 'ees, tell us ia tory, Tousin
Tella.. prattled the mite.
And Stella, after staring at the
Goals with half smile for inspiration
commenced:
"There was once
as this a love story or ghost, be-
cause if it's a good ghost story
shall get the creeps, and wed better
all draw a little nearer" said the
school girl solemnly.
Stella laughed.