Iron County register., 1916-10-19

rence's actions" she answered coldly.
Believe me or not, as you choose.
The whole village knows it. But !
know more-you think your heroic Mr..
Laurence is an honest American now?
Bah What is he, what is he doing
here? Who knows anything about
Laurence? l tell you, he and Gran
mer's daughter are pretty pair!"
doctor Elliottl Take care of your
words! You dare not slander Lydia ~
"Oh she's honest enough, no doubt
but-there's bound to be war with
England-and soon. Suppose you
were English, wouldn't you do what
you could for your country? There's
our forts and this frontier that the
English would like to have, remem-
ber."
II will not listen to thisl You can
ot mean what you are saying"
"If you are loyal American you
will listen"
Il will hear nothing more from you
about Lydia and Mr.. Laurence. And
now let me go. 1 should not have let
you say what you have. Forgive me-
let us both forget it."
She turned away and Elliott has
| tened to repair his hasty speech.
Il have said nothing of this to any
one and 1 have only told you, Toinette,
because love you so. / don't want
you to be misled by appearances. l
shall say nothing more about this
but time will show you 1 am right.
You are not angry with me, Toinette !?
would die rather than displease
you'll"
The girl was evidently aroused, and
only Elliott's good sense in dropping
the subject saved the walk homeward
from embarrassing silence. With ready
tact he began to speak of other things,
and before they had reached the village
had succeeded in drawing a smile
from his companion. He told her
good night as if nothing untoward had
happened.
Returning to the tavern he sat
while in his room in moody silence
and then began gloomily to pound
some drugs with mortar and pestle.
"The fat nearly fell in the fire that
time" he muttered, and cursed him
self under his breath. You're too
devilish hasty," he told himself. "Slow
and careful is the word. She loves
him But I'll spoil his fine game vet.
The girls rich-rich, why, that wiz
ened old father of hers must be worth
a fortune And he can't live forever"
He fell to grinding his drugs as though
the simple remedies were poisons that
should encompass O'Bannon's death.
He had been right in one respect,
David had spent more than one pleas
ant evening at the Cranmers'. Under
his friendliness the girl glowed into
a rosy reincarnation of the audacious-
ly sympathetic Lydia of their first
meeting. 1t was sweet to hear the
broad vowels of Nottinghamshire on
her lips and to hear the names of
places that struck a pang of memory
that David thought would never stir
again. Toinette, running over to see
Lydia on the evening after Elliott's
call on herself, found him and Lydia
there alone in what seemed a most
animated conversation. acknowledged
his presence with the coolest of bows
and invented an excuse to withdraw
Immediately. She took pains to avoid
any repetition Of the encounter; and
Lydia, with the field clear, was as
inwardly self-satisfed as hen that
had driven another hen from the barn
yard.
David devoured Lydia's easy good
humor hungrlly. They talked for
hours of the old scenes they both
knew so well:
did you ever climb Standard hill,
Lydia, and go on till you saw Sher-
wood forest? Going around Robin
Hoods barn, we used to call it."
do you remember the three great
oaks by the roadside? Father and
used to lie there and watch the dro-
vers go by with their funny sheep and
the silly little lambs"
"Ay, I've seen 'em come into mar
ket by thousands, like. Or did YOU
ever see the Papist Holes, the caves
in the red sandstone banks of the
Lene?"
"By the Castle road?"
"Ay, we boys used to play at hunt
the-Captain in 'em-fair places to hide
in, they were."
II went a-Maying once to the Hem
lock stone on Bramcote hill. It's near
Mayday now. David. It's q
long mile between Corydon and Not
tln'ham, beant itf l remem-
Der we could see Colwick hall and
Holme Pierrepont from the hill that
DAY.
They both fell silent in the April
dusk, their eyes seeing in fancy the |
old Fairgrounds on the sunburnt turf |
of Hunger hills or in the green groves
of Clifton. The dusk deepened into |
night and still they sat lost in dreams
of old friends, old childhood haunts. |
The brown-breasted bird finished its |
song in the trees overhead; and at |
last Cranmer came home, stumbling
uncertainty along the lane that led |
from the tavern.
David, having hidden Lydia friend
ly good night, almost indeed ran into
her unsteady parent. Stepping aside
just in time to prevent collision In
the darkness, he caught glimpse of
a second figure-a man from whom
Cranmer was just parting. "If you're
sober enough the second man was
saying, wen have another talk In
the new courthouse tomorrow night,
-" David did not catch the name
TINT fOllOWedl twill ha m hond thn,, ),