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Hut what will bend will break you may rarrv the cimie too fur" Oh, are you tired of It already?" v.. i i.i, r ii- hut t 4i,miiii like to make Ihla atlpiilatlnn with ou: Thnl n you nnd I aeem to be pitted tiitaliiHl each other In Ihla Utile rem-tost, rem-tost, wo ahall HkIiI II all out behind Mlna- I'nfa back. I prefer thnt ho khouldn't know whnt a " nnd I hea-ltatod. hea-ltatod. "Oh. give mo a name, won't you?" aho pleaded, niorklnRly. "What a beautiful dorelvor you are!" "Splendid! We wilt aitroo that I am 1 deceiver!" "If It Klvea you plenmre! You are welrnmo lo all the Joy you can get out of It!" "1'lenao don't be bitter! t-ct ua piny fnlr, nnd not atoop to abuno." "I ahould llilnk you would fool contrite con-trite enmiKli nfter Hint iiKly bunlneaa of thla aftoruooiir Yon didn't appear lo bo oven annoyed by that Italian'! effort lo kinnih the launch." She wua allent for an Inktnnt; I heard her hreaih come and Koipilckly; w hen ahe riMi omleil w ith w liul aeemed a forced IlKhtnefa: "You renlly think that wan Inkplred by " alio audileiily appeared at a lokk. "Hy Henry llolhronk, na you know well enoiiKli. And If MIkb I'm ahould bo miinlered throtmli IiIm enmity, don't you aeo thai your position In the mnt' ter would he dllllcult to oxptalu? Murder, Mur-der, niy denr young .womun, la not looked upon complacently, even In thla relume corner of Iho world! "You aeem given lo tho use of lron- lunRiiase, Mr. Donovnn. Let ua drop the railing of niiinea and connlder Juki whrro you put mo." "I don't put you nt all: you have taken your own ntunil. Hut I will any thai I wua aurprlKcd, not to any pained, lo find that you played tho euveadropper tho very hour you raine to Annnmtnlc." A nioment'a alienee; tho water murmured mur-mured In the reeda below; an owl hooted In tho (llenarm wood! n reut-Ickk reut-Ickk bird chirped from Ita perch In a nuiple uvorhead. "(Ill, to ! mire!" alio aald nt lum. "You thought I waa listening while Aunt I'al unfolded the dark history of tho Ifolhrooka." "I knew It, thouch I tried lo be llevo I waa mistaken. Hut when I Haw you there on Tippecanoe creek, meeting your father at the cnnoonia-ker'a cnnoonia-ker'a house, I wua astounded: I did not know thul deprnvitv could go ar fur." "My pour, unhappy, unfortunate fu-tlu fu-tlu r!" ahe mild In u low voire; there wua ulnioHt n moan In It. "I auppose you defend your conduct on the ground of filial duly," I ug gesled. Ilmllllg It dlllicult to be severe. "Why ahr iililn't I ? Who are you lo Judge our affairs? We are tho unhap-I unhap-I lest family thut ever lived; bin I should like you to .know that It was not by my wish thnt you were brought Into our councils. There la mure In ull this than appears!" "There la mulling In It but Mlua Pnt her aecurlty, her pence, her happiness. happi-ness. I urn pledged to her. nnd the rest or you nro mulling lo mo. Hut you may tell your father that I havo been In rnwa before nnd thul I proposa to stund by Iho guns." "1 shall deliver your message. Mr. Donovan; and I give yen my fulher'n thnnka for It," alio mocked. "Your father ralla you Ilosullnd-befuro Ilosullnd-befuro atrungers!" 1 remarked. "Yea. It a a fancy of his." ahe mjr uured, llngerlngly. "SnniHtlmoa Iff Vluln, or I'erdita, but, aa I think of It, "la It a lanjalnr" It'a nftener rtusnllnd I hope you don't object, Mr. Donoian''" "No. I rather l.ke It; It's In keeping with your viulalile ( hnraeter. You seem prone, like Itosullnd, to wood-land wood-land wnnderlng. I dare aay the other people of the cast will appear In due Benson. Ho Tar I have keen only the Kool." "The Fool? Oh. yek; there wan Touchatono, waan'l there?" "I believe It la admitted that there wa." She laughed; I felt thai wo wer.. bound to get on better, now that we understood enrh other. "You are raiher proud of your at-lulnnienta. at-lulnnienta. aren't you? I hare really read the play, Mr. Donovan; 1 have even aeon It acted." "1 did not mean to reflect an your Intelligence, which la acute enough; or on your attainments, which aro sufficient: suf-ficient: or on your experience of llfo, "Well apoken! I really believe thul I am liking you better ull Iho time. Mr. Donovnn." "My heurt la awollon with gratitude. You hoard my talk with your failier at Ills collate last night. And llu n you Mew back lo Mlsn Pat nnd played Iho hypocrite with tho nnlessnesa of Itnsn llnd the real Itosnllnd." "Did I? Then I'm aa clever aa I am wicked. Yon. no doiiht, nro ua w ise as you are good." She folded her nma with a quick movement, iho hetter, I thought, lo express antlafucllon with her own share of tho talk; then her manner I Chanueil nlirmillv Uln, r..ul.,H lier hands on I lie buck of the bench and bent toward me. "My father dealt very generously with you. You were nil intruder. He waa well within Ida rights In cupturing you. And, mote than that, vou drew to our place Home enemies of your own who muy yet do ua grnvo Injury." "They wore no enemlea of mine! Didn't you hear me debating that mutter mut-ter with your fnther? They were Ids enemlea and they pounced on me by mistake. It'a not their fault thul tiny didn't kill me!" "Thal'a a likely atory. Thnt Utile creek la tho (pileteat place In the world." "Mow do you know?" I demanded, heinlliig closer toward her. "Hocuuse my futhor tells me so! That was Ihe reason he chose It." "He wunted a place lo hide when Iho clllea became loo hot for him. I advlso you. Mlsa llolhrook. In view of nil thut luia Imppened, and If you have any aonrn- of decency left, to keep away from there." "And I auggest In you. Mr. Donovan, that your devotion lo my aunt doei not require you to puraun my father You do well lo remember that a siran ger thriiktlng himself Into Iho affairs of n family he lines not know putshliu I aelf In a very bad light." "I nm not nsklng your adnilrutlon Miss llolhrook." "You may nuvo yourself the Iron ble!" she Hashed; uud then luuglu d out merrily. 'i,et us not he so ub Bind! We uro quarreling like I wo achool children over un apple. H' really a ph-usure lo meet you In llil" unconventional fashion, but we must bo utuluhla. Our affalra will not he Betiled hy words 1 nm aure of that. I must beg of you, Iho next time yon coiiiii forth at nlt-ht, to wnir your clouk mid dugger. The Bingo settlni b fair enough; and the players ahould dro their purls becomingly. I am ulreudy named Hoanllnd at night: Aunt Put wo will rail Ihe Duchess In exile; and we were speaking a mo meat ago of the fool. Well, yea, Uiora waa a Kool." "I might take the part myself. II (ICIesple were not already enst for II." "(illlesple?" she aald. wiinderlngly: thru ndded nt once, nn though memory hal prompted her: "To be sure, there Iktllllfsple." There Is certainly (illlckplc. Per li.s you would liefer mil hltn Or hurio?" I ventured. '1-el me aeo," ahe pondered, bending he head; then: "O, thal'a a brave n't' Ho wrltea brave verses, speaks iJSts, '0"l. aweara bravo oatha and Yjl them bravely, qulle traverae. iart the heart of Ida lover: aa a Vsny litter, that spurs hla home but ua one aide, breaks hla ataff like a nobis goose; hut ali a brave that youth mtunta and folly guides.'" 'That la Cella'a apeerh. but well reidi-red. l.cl ua consider that you aie Hoanllnd. (Vila. Viola and Ariel U In one. And I ahall be those tin mortal villains of old tragedy first, lerond and third murthcrcr; or, If It lull you better, let llle be lllgo for honesty; Othello for great nilveniurea; Hamlet for gloom; Hhylock for relent lessness. and llonieo for lovesick Desk." Again she bent her head: then drnw Ing a II" li- awny and clasping her hands, ahe quoted: "'Come, woo me. ano me; for now I urn In a holiday humour and like enough to consent What would you any lo me now, no t were your very, very Itosnllnd?'" I slumiiiereil a moment, dimly re-railing re-railing Orlando's reply In Iho piny. I dhl not know whether ahe were daring dar-ing mo; and Ihla wua certainly nut the clrl'B mood ua we had met nt St. Agu-llm Agu-llm s. My heurt leaped and Ihe blood tingled In my finger Hps us memory ml suddenly I threw at her the Hue: "'How If Ihe kba be denied?'" She ahrugged her shnuldera. "Tho rehearsal has gone far enough. Iel ua come hack to enrtli ugiiln." Hill thla, aomchnw. wua not so easy Kar across the lake a heavy truln rumbled, and Its engine blew a long blast for Anmindnle. I felt at that In Hunt Ihe unreality of the day's eventa. with their culmination In this strange Interview on the height above the lake. Never, I thought, had man par leyed with woman on so extraordinary a business. In the brief silence, while the whistle's echoes rung round the ihore, drew away from the bench I thai bnd aloud like n barricade be 'ween ua uml wulkcd toward lid'. I did not believe in her; she had Haiinied her shameful trickery In my luce; and yet I felt her spell upon me a through Hi- dusk I realized unew or aplendld height, the fiilnl ills closure of her noble hend nnd felt the I 'ory of her durk eyes She did not j dtuw away, bill aloud quietly, with her teud uplifted, a light scurf mucin . iliout her ahoiilders, mid on her head round aullor'a cap. tipped away from her fuce. "You must go Imi k; I niusi aeo you ufely to HI. Agutlia's," I said. She turned, drawing the acarf close under her throat with a quick gesture. though uboul to go. Klie Iniiuhed with more honest glee than I had inown in her before, mid ' forgot her duplicity, forgot the bold game she aa playing, nnd the consequcHcca lo which It must lead; my pulses lionmlid hen a hit of hur scarf touched Holland Ho-lland ua she Hung a louse end over her shoulder. "My dear Mr. Donovuti, you propose die Impossible! We are foes, you must remember, uud I (annul accept juur escort." "Hut 1 have a guatd about the house; you are likely to (et Into trouble tf you try to paaa thruuiib. I must ask I , , ., ou to remember our pledge, that you lire not lo vex Mn I'al uiiiiih cssarlly In tils affair. Tc riiii-e her In the night would onlv n ld lo Iter alarm. She I .is had cnoindi to worry her nl I ready. And I tallier Imagine." I nibl' d. ' bltlerl). "that you don't propose kill- i Ing her with your own hniids " 'No; do glie me credit for Ihat!". she mocked "Hut I shall not disturb vnur gourds, nnd I shall not tllstresk I Aunt Put by making n row In the gar- den trying lo run your picket. I waul ! vou to stay here live minutes -count them honestly until I have had limn! lo get hai k In my own rn-hl.ui la It u hargaln''" She put out her hand nfl she lurneil nwny - her left hand. Aa my fingers closed upon It an Instnut II nicruld ring touched my palm. ' I should llilnk you would not went thul ring.'' I kiidl. deinlnlug her band. "II Is too like hers; It Ik ks though you were plighted to her by It." ' Yes; It Is ltk. her own; she gnv II" She choked and caught her brealh sharply and her hand flew to her face "She gnve II lo my mother, long ngo." she anld, nnd rnn nwny down 1h path lownrd the achool. A hit nt grnvel loosened by her atop slipped utter her lo a new resting place; then alienee and the night closed upon her. I threw myself upon Ihe bench and walled, marveling at her. If I had nol touched her hand: tf I hud nol heard her voice; If, more Ihnn Hit, 1 had not liilked with her of her lather, of Mist Put, of Inilmute things which no nnr else could bine known. I should not have believed thut I had keen Helen HolhnNik fuce to face. CHAPTER IX. Tha Lights on St. Agatha'a Plr. On my wuy home through Hi. Aga I hu's I slopped lo question the two gunrda. They had heurd nothing, had seen nothing. How Hint girl had passed tliem I did not know, I aennned Ihe main building, where ahe and Mlsa Pat had two room, with an Intervening Interven-ing Bitting room, hut all waa dark Mlsa Helen llolhrook waa undeniably a resourceful young woman of charm and wit, and I went on lo tllenarm House with a new respect for bar cleverneBB. I wua abroad early Ihe next morning, morn-ing, retracing niy atepa through Ht. Agathn'a to the atone bench nn tha bluff wllh a vngue notion nf confirming my memory of Iho night by actual con tact with visible, tangible things. The hike twinkled In the sunlight, the aky overhead waa a flawless aweep of blue, and Ihe folluge shone from the deluge of Ihe early night. Hill In the soft mold of Ihe path the prluia of a woman's shoe were unmlatnknlde. I bent down uml examined them; I meaaured ttietn ungrncloiisly, Indefensibly, guiltily with my hnnd, nnd rose convinced thut thoncttt outlines apokoof a modish bootmaker, uud were not apt lo tie explained ex-plained away aa marking the lightly. Unified atep of a fairy or the gold-nnduleit gold-nnduleit tllghl of Dluna. Then I d acetded to SI. Agatha'a and found Mlsa Pat and H'ten loitering tranquilly tranquil-ly In tho garden. They gave me good morning Mlsa Put culm and gmclous, and Helen lo the spirit of Ihe morning liueir, amll Ing, cool, nud arguing .'or peace. De ception, ua a soelul accomplishment, she had undoubtedly carried far; nnd I was bard put to hold up my end of Ihe game. I havo prarllred lying with pustmustera In the art tho buxnr keepera of Cairo, horae dealera In Moscow and rug brokers In Teheran; hut I dipped my colors lo thla amusing girl. "I'm afraid that we are making our-aelvea our-aelvea u nuisance lo you." aald Mlas Pal. "I hem d the watchmen pulrnllng the walks lust night." "Yes; It wns quite feudal!" Helen broke In. "I felt that we were back at least us far aa the eleventh century. cen-tury. The splash of water which you can heur when the hike la rough tn-jst be quite like the lap of water in a iiinal. Hut I did nut heur tho clunk of arms." "No." I observed, dryly. "IJIma wears blue serge and curries a gun thut would shoot (b ur through a cru-suder. cru-suder. The gardener Is a Scotchman, and his dliib i t would kill a horse." Miss Cut puused behind us to do-lllieruie do-lllieruie ii n i ii u new species of hollyhock holly-hock whone nilnarets rose level wllh lo r hind, gentle eyes Something hud hei-ii In my mind, and I took lids opportunity op-portunity lo speuk lo Helen. "Why don't you avert danger and avoid un ugly cuaiistropho by confessing confess-ing lo Miss Put thul your duly and symiuihy lie with your fmher? It would save u lot of trouble In Ilia end." 'Ihe (lame leaped Into Helen a fuco na ahe turned to me. "i don't know what you mean! I huve never been spoken to by any one so ouiriigeoiiHly!" She glanced hur rledly over her shoulder. ".My position Is hurd euough; It Is illfllcult enough, without Ihla. I Ihuughl you wished lo help ua " I sture at her; she waa (lifting cut nf my reckoning, and leading ma into ouekartcd seaa. (TO UK CO.NTI.NULC..) |