Show PM I 1 aa 11 IA AAA A ROMA ROMANCE neej 10 H rr arr r tai W d 0 CHAPTER VIII continued shell flushes bushes cri nison the one wish of her girlhood has been to posse a volume v of tennyson all her own yet now that she stands with the tret treasure sulo in her hand a strange perversity makes her feel fed more than halt half inclined to thrust it back upon the donor it Is very kind of you dob and meg she sa sas a in a tone of angry impatience but I 1 cannot think of accepting your present take it homo home and keep it until you are grown gron up then you will be able to understand III don t you like it then queries dols dob looking anxious and distressed pa ila thought you would rather have a book but III tell him to send you a watch instead this threatened alternative sound a BO nary ery alarming that shell hastens to explain to the children her detestation of wat watches clies in general and her un bounded admiration ot of poets what are you making such p r chatter and fuss abs about shell interposes ruby crossing to her sister a side and taking up the volume in dispute oh oa only a copy of 1 lonson I on n son I 1 with a contemptuous curl of her lip at the plain though handsome binding I 1 wonder what induced robert champley to send you that you have not been devoting yourself to his bis children no I 1 should hope not I 1 answers shell with emphasis I 1 neither do I 1 want any present I 1 shall return it IL return it what conceited non sense I 1 scoffs ruby 1 I suppose he thought some slight blight acknowledgment lodgment wai wag due to you for playing with the children occasionally it you want to make matke yourself absurd and conspicuous of course you will return it on the next morning the champley household take their departure for the moor ruby chances to be near the deserted lodge of the wilderness when the contal containing ning the two brothers brotheris the children and the nurse drives by she makes a dainty picture standing in the shade of 0 the chestnut tree in her pale blue morning dress dresa and waving her handkerchief in token ol 01 0 adieu the gentlemen raise their hats and smile the children shout the nurse nure gives a defiant snort and the next they ora are o ra out of 0 eight two montha of freedom thinks robert champley to himself on my return home I 1 must make other arrangements range ments CHAPTER IX mamma there la Is a most moat enticing cottage to be lot let at oakford cries ruby glancing up excitedly from the paper in her hand band listen oakford Oak tord to he be let furnished charming cottage reel residence dence fine rooms large garden every convenience rent moderate air bracing close to moor yes my dear responds mrs wll wit den in mild surprise well what about it do you know of any one wanting a cottage 1 I thought it might suit us 11 replies ruby a little crestfallen it certainly might it if we wanted to go 90 there asserts mrs wilden with a good tempered laugh but as you know ruby I 1 have a great dislike to le eving home but mamma I 1 think you require change of air persists ruby with ith unwonted affection you hane hae been suffering so from neuralgia all spring I 1 jim am sure our nerves want bracing why not take this cottage tor for a month or so change is good for or en CT to mrs biro wilders shakes her head but not after a very determined fashion what do you say VI vit she asks turning to her niece I 1 well I 1 really dont think I 1 care two straws either way ay answers miss hover lazily it somebody will pack my things I 1 am willing to go but I 1 undertake to pack them my self now that just shows how much you need change cries ruby eagerly your whole a stem wants stirring up before we had been a week on the moor you would be as brisk as aa a lee should I 1 IT says violet with a dubious laugh 1 I very much doubt it but I 1 am willing to try the experiment to truth to tell it if violet flower consulted her own feel feelings triP she would tar far rather remain in her present comfortable quarters but ruby having confided to her a scheme for visiting the moor tt if possible she has not to oppose the plan there la Is a fair amount ot of resistance on mrs Wll WIl dens part but her energetic daughter overrules each and every obstacle as it is presented to her ifer her eloquence to is co great in advocating a change that one would wonder to hear bear her talk how they have managed to exist ito BO many simmers through at the wilderness without acquiring all tho maladies to which flesh la III heir shell la Is not present when the discussion takes p are ace but her indignation v when hen the plan la Is unfolded unfold Ad to her I 1 unbounded you don t mean to nay ay ruby that you we axe actually thinking of following the Champ champley leye B to the moor I 1 she saya k ff si sa t vj W albi karl 1 1 A V k 4 in a voice of such infinite laite scorn chaa ruby flushes uneasily what nonsense you talk shell she returns angrily xou w seem to have the champneys Ch Cb ampleys on the brain we are going to the moor because mamma Is in need of bracing air Is there anything eo very nery extraordinary in that thero there Is something extraordinary in your having selected the same vil lage answers shell decidedly it 11 mamma wants bracing air why not take her to the north ot of devon because rooms there would ho be frightfully expensive whereas the cottage on in the moor Is a mere trifle responds riby raly loftily tills this argument la Is unanswerable for no one knows better than shell that their income Is not equal to any great additional strain feeling that any resistance she can offer will be futile shell shrugs tier her shoulders and loaves leaves tha room nothing to bernow her now but to strike out a separate line of action tor for herself she la in fully do de ter mined about one thing wild a lid horses shall not drag her to Ya kford when eiery everything thing Is fully arranged and packing Is at its height shell startles the household it will be N very ery awkard having only three bed rooms VI remarks in a grumbling tone for the mole moie she con templates six weeks spent away from civilization the less lesa she likes the pros hect of course the servants must have one and then we must all cram into the two others not at all door dear ruby hastens to explain mamma and shell can have the big room and you and I 1 a little one each os as for mary she can do quite well wita a chair bedstead in the kitchen 11 I 1 ilow how for maryl mary I 1 laughs S shell bell it is to be hoped she hue has a strong liking for cockro cockroaches and crickets now naw cleme shell dont go settling setting mary against the arrangement 11 so ruby imploringly mamma do ask her not dont don t bo be alarmed answers shell with a curious little laugh 1 I have not the slightest intention of Int In erfer ring with alth any of the arrangements arrango ments at the tha cottage they dont concern me lit in the least since I 1 shant bo be there not be there what do you u mean ot of course you will be therel there I 1 declares ruby looking very much astonished not unless mamma insists upon it and I 1 am sure she bho wont won t laughs shell As you know I 1 have been set against the tha idea from the commencement so I 1 mean to remain here monarch of all I 1 survey and have a right down jolly time of it all to myself 11 what cries ruby impatiently susan la Is going to be put on board wages and she la Is to give the house a thorough cleaning during our absence well I 1 can be put on board wages too and I 1 cei wont prevent susan from cleaning the house I 1 shall be out all day long responds shell mamma please make her go it would seem so odd her not going urges ruby dut mrs wilders to too easy going to oppose actively any of her chil children drea truth to tell she rathel envies shell her coming solitude and even expresses it as her opinion that it Is a pity that dreadful cottage was wa s ever taken this rebellion on her indulgent mothers part Is quickly talked down by ruby whose constant fear florn tho the beginning has haa been that her scheme will ultimately fall through she knovs that her bar mother would rather ra ther stay at home she Is fully aware that violet Is groaning in spirit over what she la Is pleased to term her coming exile so she thinks it wiser on the whole to leave shell to her own devices lest enlarging on the theme should stir up revolt ln in other and more important quartets teis then there cornea comes a triumphing triumph int morning when backed up by a vast amount of unnecessary engg ige ruby carries off on her three victims victia ls tor for mary can truthfully be reckoned in that category to enjoy the bracing air assil scant accommodation ot of shell at ns she stands on the doorstep and waves them a smiling adieu looks looka the impersonation ot of mischievous contentment tent ment be sure to change the library books the moment you get them and don clout t delay a single post in bending them off entreats molet earnestly and any groceries we cant can t get there 5 3 ou cou mu must send by parcels post I 1 adds ruby now how the postman will bless youl laughs shell as she nods noda aleut ase ut and then springing on to fco the tep step of the cat cab she ebe imprints a dozen hasty kisses on her mothers troubled cheek why does she heme heave a sigh notwithstanding the brightness of the morning as aa she turns to reenter re enter the house T CHAPTER X A week haa passed shell has haa grown tired i f her seit belt imposed solitude the big bare echoing rooms have become hateful to hr br h r even the grounds seem changed and unfamiliar the certainty that there Is no DO r hance ot of interruption to her lonely musings nga at a t 1 A t j 1 LM 1 v r first farst so BO delight fat now seems tr fill 11 her usi nally cheerful che erCul spirit with a effle of dc depression until robbed of all com coin r she never guessed what a sociable creature she was happy would she be it if even the mott mot inane and common place caller would come to break the monotony of her endless days dut but it la Is understood in the neighborhood that the family at the wa wilderness Id erness are away so from morn mora tit till 1 night might shell wanders aimlessly about with only the gray cat to bear her company it la Is evening shell is even more d 0 o I 1 ito than her wont susan suaan has asked permission to go into Mu mudford ilford to make a few purchases and already she hats haa bern been absent over three hours it Is now seven 0 clock and the empty house seems to shell a excited imagination like a haunted place she fancies she hears bears but g through the passages A door slams and her heart stands still with alth fear shell however la Is not one to give way to morbid feelings and rousing herself from her book she starts on a tour of inspection through the house shutting all and securely barring all doors on her way then with a renewed sense of security she ehe returns to the drawing room and determines to while away anay the time with music shell Is one of those sensitive folk who never play so well as aa when alone ae ie cannot pour her whole heart e a r t into bl tier her music whon when ale el e has listeners ls t e n ers now with the house to herself hers elfi she soon becomes lost to her surroundings and the room echoes boes to such heart stirring strains as it rarely falls to ones one s lot to hear bear suddenly ezily however her music co cos comes S to an end and her beail throbs with tenor for through the empty hall echoes the sonorous thunder of the big iron knocker shell a first impulse Is to take no BO notice to bide herself or to make her escape by some back window then her natural good sense returns and she ehe laughs in a nervous manner at her fears and with fast beating heart advances into the hall I 1 la Is that you susan she asks but without un fastening the heavy chain there comes no answer save eave a vig clious ring at the bell I 1 who Is there I 1 demands shell this time in a firmer tone and one moro more likely to penetrate the tha thick oak panels A mes messenger enger from mrs wilden answers a voice which Is somehow famil familiar to shell is ears with trembling hands bands she ehe shoots back the heavy bolts and taking down the ebald opens the door thore there she blands pale big eyed and scared looking before robert champley oh what hat a fright you gave mel I 1 la Is her first involuntary exclamation A fright how so what have I 1 done queries her il looking much surprised oh nothing I 1 answers shell whilst the ghost ot of a smile fl ickers round her still colorless lips it was my own foolishness but I 1 was not expecting any one excepting susan and your knock frightened me I 1 suppose I 1 must ie be getting nervous with a self depreciating little laugh I 1 nervous I 1 should think so cries robert wonderingly ile he has taken her hand in greeting and feels it cold and trembling in his warm arni grasp I 1 dut but birely you are not alone in the house I 1 only tor for a short time I 1 am expecting susan back every minute explains shell who feels heartily ashamed of her late weakness iler her visitor looks grave you ought not to be left alone in EL a house like this he says bays very decidedly cid edly liy you are trembling still I 1 ilia words remind shell that ho he still has possess possession loa of her hep hand with a little impatient movement sho she withdraws it to bo be continued |