Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1910-03-05

certainly not a pleasant ibing 10 look
back upon She might have been iy-
ing a bruised. inert mass Al the fooi
Of the castle II II had not been for the
young fellow who even as he req.
cued her had looked NJ her 50 super
ciliously.
Il hate him." she thought, and she
stamped her little foot viciOnsly. Il
hope ! VIII never lay eyes on him
again" But when she entered the
steam tram for Cork she found the
only other occupant OF the tram was
the Englishman. BE hooked al her
with a smile as she entered. but she
studiously avoided his glance. and
after that ne paid no attention TO her.
he was a handsome fellow, with
broad shoulders and a strong, earnest
face. Gertrude could not help but
look at him. and before they reached
Cork she had wished more than once
that he would talk to her. Apparently.
however. nothing was further from his
Intentions, and when they reached
Cork ne aIighted without ever looking
nj her.
A few days after Gertrude started
out to make a tour OF the Killarney
lakes. When At Ross castle she was
assisted into a boat for a fifteen mile
tour OF the lakes. To her astonish-
ment and disgust she found that her
vis-a-vis was Harcourt. He acknowl-
edged her presence with n nod and
then. apparently forgetting she was
there. applied himself with diligence
TO looking Mt the wild and mountain
Gus scenery along the shores OF the
celebrated lakes. Very soon the
treacherous Irish skies began TO weep.
and II was a bedrRggled lot OF passen-
gers that dlsembarked preparatory to
the horseback "trip through the Gap o
Dunloe. Gertrnde's mount was a great
rnwboned animal, and she looked at
II with dismay. How on earth would
she ever scale its slippery sides TO the
saddle. Harcourt, watching her out
of the tail Of his eye. stepped forward
TO assist her. but she turned her back
on him, led her horse over 10 a fence
and from that position OF vantage
mounted. After that she lost sight Of
the Englishman. In fact. II would
have been difficult for her TO keep
anything In sight, for she had all she
could do TO remain Oh her horse The
beast stumbled and f1oundered In the
mud Of the gap. and finally when the
shrill notes OF bDgle split the air the
horse ignominiously slipped and fell
throwing Gertrude prone into the mud.
But that was not the worst Of II. for
the horse IN struggling TO regain ITS
- - - -a--fn- h. -frrf.r
ened girl with its hoofs Once again
she felt herself set fairly on her feet
and once again she saw her preserver
was the Englishman.
This time he laughed. 81 see we are
fated TO meet, Miss Clinton he said.
his eyes rwinkling with merriment.
but Gertrude did not see the funny
side. and when her horse was righted
again she mounted II In silence and
disgust
u am going TO lead this horse of
yours. Miss Clinton" said Harcourt
u have noticed all the way that II is
not at all safe" And. suiting the &c
tion TO the word, he took the bride
with that OF his own animal and
staIked on toward Kate Kearney's cot
tage.
Humiliated and ashamed. the girl
watched him. admiring the set OF his
broad shoulders and the poise OF his
well shaped head. but she conld not
and would not accept his services.
II cannot allow you to walk in this
mud" she said PLEASE give me the
bride really must insist that you
ride"
MY dear Miss Clinton" was the re-
ply, given somewhat with an air of
amusement which grated on Gertrude
sorely. Il shall certainly see you safe
ly through this gap. / am sorry II my
company disturbs you. will not talk
TO you, but ] win lead your horse"
And lead 1t he did until Kate Rear.
ney's cottage was reached.
But during the coach ride back TO
Killarney village Gertrude WIS Rsham-
ed Of her sulkiness- She and HRr-
court sat sids by side and became very
chummy before the ride was over.
HRrcourt was cheerful and chatty, and
Gertrude made up her mind that he
was not 20 odious as she had first
thought him. BE was communicative
and she discovered that he was a man
OF leisure, travelling about for pleasure
He, In his turn. found that Gertrude
WINS making her first trip abroad and
was a teacher in q New York city
school. He had never cared much for
self supporting women. They had. In
fact, not been common In his expert
ence. He Ind always felt that they
must be strong minded and obnoxious
But how pretty this girl was. What
lovely brown eyes and hair and what
a graceful figure! HArcourt- who
thought himself a connoisseur in wo-
men, acknowledged that he was pleRs-
ed with Gertrude.
They saw each other often in the
next few weeks. for both were max |
ing the same tour Of Ireland. and
both were 10 go through the lake I
country or Scotland. They were soon
numbered with a good sized touring
party and were surrounded by a gay
OF friends, who admired the |
stalwart young fellow and the lovely |
girl who was so often by his side. |
Their relations from being friendly |
grew TO a warmth which ought to |
have opened their eyes wide TO the d. |
rect1on In which they were travelling |
but both were blissfuIly unconscious. |