Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1910-11-30

skirts from the grass that glittered
with the drops of the last shower,
arm in arm the two women walked
down the broad central gravel drive
between ribbon beds of flowers. From
here numerous paths paved with
white stone went wandering under
SNOWFALL trees and wild apple, losing
themselves in shrubbery. But one
made clear turn across the lawn for
the rose-garden, where in the midst a
round pool of water lay like flaming
bit of the sunset day. Among the
bushes, red and rose and white, the
elder woman in her black, the young
er in her gown more glowing, with a
veil over her hair, walked, and, loiter-
ing, looked down into the water, see
ing their faces reflected, and, behind,
the tangled brambles and the crimson
sky. They did not speak, but at last
their companionship was peaceful, was
perfect.
Loud and shrill and shriller and
more piercing, from the west wing
of the house, overhanging the garden,
the sound reached them-an alarm
that set Flora's heart to leaping.
Startled apart, they listened
Would that be-is that for your
81 think it's for me-
The words came from them stimuli
taneously, and almost at the same in
slant Flora had started across the
lawn. The sight of an aproned maid
coming out Oh the veranda and peer
ing down the garden set her running
feetly.
tits a telephone for Miss Gilsey,"
the girl said.
ooh, thank you," Flora painted
She knew so well the voice she had
expected at the other end of the
wire that the husky, boyish note
which reached her, attenuated by dis
taEce, struck her with dismay and
disappointment.
ELLA, oh, yes; yes; Ella" What
was she saying? Ella was using the
telephone as if it were a cabinet for
| secrets.
CLARA told me you were down
there" she was explaining. Il saw
her this morning, yes. WelP'-and
she could hear Ella draw in her
breath-'Tm so relieved! l thought
you'd be, too, TO know. was per-
fectly right She was after him"
Flora faltered, after whom?"
There flashed through her mind more
than ,sne person that, by this time,
Clara might possibly be after.
why, after papa, of counsel" Elias
injured surprise brought her back to
the romance of Judge Butler. Her
voice rose in sheer bewilderment.
"'Weu?"
Elias voice rose triumphantly. Il
got it out of her myself I just came
right out to her at last. She seemed
awfully surprised that I knew; but
she owned up to it, and what do you
think? I bought her off"
Bought her Off" Flora cried. Each
fact that Ella brought forth seemed
to her more preposterous than the
| last.
"Why, yes, it's too ridiculous; what
do you think she wanted?'
At that question Flora's heart
seemed fairly to stand still. That was
the very question she had been ask
ing herself for days, and asking in
vain.
Elias voice was coming to her faint
as a voice from another world. "She
wanted that little, little picture-that
| picture of the man called Farrell
| Wand. Don't you remember, papa
| mentioned it at supper that evening
at the club? Isn't it funny she remem-
bered it all this time? Well, she
wanted it dreadfully, but Harry
wanted it, too, and papa said he had
promised it to Harry; but 1 got it first
and gave it to her" Elias voice end
ed in a high note of triumph.
Flora's, if anything, rose higher in
despair, ooh, Ella!"
Doesn't it seem ridiculous" Ella
argued, that if she really wanted him
she'd give him up for that?"
ooh, no-I mean yes" Flora STAN
mered. Eyes, of course! thank you
Ella, very much-very much" The
| last words were hardly audible. The
receiver fell jangling into its bracket,
and Flora leaned against the wall by
the telephone and closed her eyes.
For moment all she could see was
Clara with that little, little picture.
How we'll she could remember how
Clara had looked that night of the
club supper!
From the moment Judge Butler had
spoken of the picture, how all three of
them had changed, Clara and Kerr
and Harry. Everything that had
seemed so phantasmal then, every
thing she had put down as Pigment
of her own imagination, had meant
just this plain fact. All three of
them mad wanted the picture. For
his own reason, Kerr had turned aside
from the chase, but Harry had stood
with it to the last, and now, when
finally the prize had been assured to
him, Clara had it,
At this moment she had it in her
hand. At this moment she knew what
was the aspect of the figure in the pic
ture, whether it showed face, and,
If q faco whose F1Ora'S hands omen