Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-09-07

Il 0kOR Nv VA SICIlu luS evening" I
them.
Miss Harley was Il sweet-faced old
lady, with silvery hair, and finely cut,
aristocratic features. whilst Molly
O'Brien was still in her teens. and had
inherited the dark beauty of her Irish
fathers family.
Her mother has Deer the youngest of
eight children. whilst Miss Harley was
the eldest, a fact which accounted for
the difference i'm age OF the two occu-
pants of Rose Cottage.
Molly was an orphan, and had been
left to the guardianship of her aunt
who had always been devoted to the
child.
Presently she heard a whistle-the
girl generally used to herald her advent
in this fashion, out of a spirit of mis-
chief, for the mistress of Rose Cottage
was brought up In a generation which
looked with horror on any woman who
whistled.
Here am at last, auntie. Shall I
ring for tea? l am SO hungry nave
been all the way to Northampton mar
ket, and you know that, is quite six
miles each way"
MY dear child. whatever did you do
that for? You know how l dislike your
tramptng about by yourself"
Never mind, you old dear. his once
at any rate" answered the girl. as she
flung off her Jacket and sank down on
a stool at her aunt's feet. You must
know, dear, that the other day l was
telling Tom what a good Wake. ] am.
and he said he was quite sure that I
could walk into Northampton
and back, so, as 1t was such a lovely
day, l went there and got him some
sweets that you a only buy in the
market. You don't mind, dear, do
you?" she added anxiously, as h drew
a little shadow on her aunt's face.
NO, my love, I don't this once
should have done the same at your
age; but that reminds me that I want
to tell you q little story after tea. and
Tom. too. If he in"
At that there came a loud
knock at the front door, and Molly flew
to open 1t, for she knew 1t was her
lover.
Tom Marston was a fine specimen OF
a young E~nglishman. fair, blue-eyed,
and with a 1.-THE, well-knit figure. He
was a maj of whom any woman might
we'll be proud.
How are you today, auntie?" he
asked, as he stopped with an old-fash-
Toned grace to kiss the mir hand held
out to him.
There was something about Miss
Harley that made people feel they were
in the presence of ar aristocrat-One of
the kind that TESTED on the steps of
the guillotine in the lays of the French
revolution.
Certainly, Miss Harley grandmother
had been an old French marquise, SO
doubtless her air was inherited from
her.
Very glad to see you, my boy. L
have just been telling Molly that l have
something to say and to show o both
after tea"
Il am dying with curiosity, so hurry
up, auntie, and let us begin"
Directly that sociable meal was end
ed. Molly n o took their places
on the settee which stood close by the
fire, while Miss Harley went over to an
old bureau in the corner of the room,
and, unlocking 1t, opened a drawer,
from which she extracted a small
leather case. !
Now. children. you are the only two
beings l have left to love me, and I am
going to tell you the secret of my life,
II thing that no one else has ever
known. o see this case" here she
opened 1T n disclosed various pieces
OF jewelry to the astonished gaze Of
her hearers.
Every trinket you see here has a
history of it's own. You must know.
dears, that When l was your age 1 was
considered a very lovely grill" Here a
faint flush came on the Die lady's
cheeks, as If in apology for her self
praise.
Il should just think you We're auntie:
you must have been quite exquisite!"
murmured Molly admiringly.
We'll, dear, anyhow that beauty was
my undoing, for l was a sad flirt. /
soon found that I could turn men round
my little finger, and l was thoughtless
-heartless, If you like.
six men proposed to me, only for
me to laugh at them. or in the case OF
two to become engaged to them for a
few months, and then, firing of them,
to give them their congo.
Il am afraid l never thought Of the
pain / gave them. remember CAPTAIN
Fitzgerald rushed out of the room, and
a week later sailed for the Crimea,
where. poor fellow, he was killed. I
was told afterward that 1t was his
utter recklessness which made him
stand in ar exposed spot, and as the
bullets rained upon him, he fell with
the words, Your doing. Dorothy"
Here the old lady stopped to wipe
way a furtive tear.
Lord George Ormond. whose regiment
was quartered at Northampton. 1t was
at a hunt ball that l first saw him, and
l hin We mutually fell in love with
each other. That was forty years ago.
Molly. but I have never forgotten a day
of that three months during which he
vas my accepted lover.
Il had played with love before, but
his time was myself the captive.
Scarce a week passed but what George
brought me some fresh trinket. Look,
lear, at this necklace and the old
ady held out a circlet Of beautifully
tut crystals, with long pear-shaped
drops.
He gave me this the day he took me
up to London for the first time. and
this" she held out a little turquoise
locket. "he sent me in The first love
letter he wrote.
Happy? Yes-you and Tom may