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diff --git a/40620.txt b/40620.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8f659bc..0000000 --- a/40620.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7364 +0,0 @@ - HILDA'S MASCOT - - - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Title: Hilda's Mascot - A Tale of "Maryland, My Maryland" - -Author: Mary E. Ireland - -Release Date: August 29, 2012 [EBook #40620] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HILDA'S MASCOT *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - - - - - - HILDA'S MASCOT - - - A Tale of "Maryland, My Maryland" - - - - - BY - - - Mary E. Ireland - - - Halftones by Donald Gardner - - - - - The Saalfield Publishing Co. - Chicago AKRON, OHIO New York - - - - - Copyright, 1902 - - BY THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - - - - - To - Her Dear Young Friend, - - MARY LOUISE GRAHAM, - - This story of "Hilda's Mascot," - companion to "Timothy and His Friends," - is affectionately dedicated by - - The Author. - - Washington, D. C. - - - - -Contents - - - CHAPTER I--THE EBONY BOX - CHAPTER II--HILDA'S AUNT ASHLEY - CHAPTER III--"MY LADY'S MANOR" AND ITS MYSTERY - CHAPTER IV--A VISIT TO FRIEDENHEIM - CHAPTER V--HILDA'S NEW CARE-TAKER - CHAPTER VI--HILDA A LITERAL FOLLOWER OF BUNYAN - CHAPTER VII--HILDA'S WELCOME TO MY LADY'S MANOR - CHAPTER VIII--LETTERS WHICH BRING A TRIAL TO HILDA - CHAPTER IX--AT THE GYPSY ENCAMPMENT - CHAPTER X--AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE - CHAPTER XI--HILDA'S LETTERS TO HER OLD HOME - CHAPTER XII--JERUSHA FLINT AND HILDA - CHAPTER XIII--HILDA BY THE MERRYMAN FIRESIDE - CHAPTER XIV--ARCHIE FINDS A PACKAGE - CHAPTER XV--HILDA'S HOME - - - - -CHAPTER I--THE EBONY BOX - - -One evening many years ago a man, accompanied by a girl and a boy, was -passing slowly along one of the streets of Baltimore that led to an -orphan asylum. - -He was above medium height, and although past thirty, was youthful, -almost boyish in appearance, with his fair complexion, blonde hair and -slight moustache; a handsome man save for the pallor and attenuation of -his clear-cut features and the look of hopeless grief in his fine eyes. - -His left hand, white and shapely, held that of the little boy who was -chatting merrily, and in his right was a package--of which, though -bulky, he appeared as oblivious as though his hand were empty. - -Beside him walked the girl, whose watchful interest in the package -betokened ownership, though intrusted for a time to another's care, but -for the safety of which she was responsible. - -She had the clear olive complexion, black hair and the brilliant black -eyes of the boy, but unlike him, was thin and almost as pallid as the -man. But there was no lassitude in her movements; instead they were full -of energy, and her meagre face, while intelligent and attractive, lacked -repose and the promise of patient endurance of life's trials and -disappointments. - -"We never were on this street before," she commented, after walking -several squares in silence. "Where are we going; tell me?" - -There was no response, and she continued, "Does mamma know that you are -taking Horace and me away from her? Why don't you talk?" - -A sigh, almost a groan, escaped the lips of the man, and he whispered -some words which the children did not understand. - -An angry flush arose to the girl's face, and her eyes sparkled with the -tears that filled them. - -"I won't go one step further unless you tell me where we are going," she -said, halting and stamping her foot impatiently. - -The man seemed to rouse from his abstraction with effort, and in a voice -scarcely audible to the eager listener, replied, "We are going where you -will see many children, where you will have enough to eat, a comfortable -bed and good clothes; you will have a much better home than the one you -are leaving." - -"But I have good clothes now and pretty ones," and she looked with an -air of satisfaction upon the package. "Will mamma come?" - -The man trembled with suppressed emotion, which was noticed by the boy, -who looked up into his face and waited for the answer. - -"Your mother will be given a home where she will suffer no more sorrow -nor distress of body or mind," he answered, and again relapsed into -silence until they reached the asylum, were admitted and stood in the -presence of the matron. - -"Have you brought these children for admission?" she asked. - -The man nodded; he could not summon voice to speak. - -"Where is your permit?" - -For answer he turned as quickly as his weakness would allow, placed the -package upon a chair and left the building. - -"Well, this is a strange proceeding, I must say," commented the matron, -looking from the window at the retreating figure passing down the walk -with uncertain steps. "Is that man your father?" - -Something in the tone and manner aroused the quick temper of the girl -and she refused to answer, and silenced the boy by a look when appeal -was made to him. - -"What is your name?" continued the matron, turning again to her. - -"Jerusha Flint." - -"How old are you?" - -"Ten last June." - -"Is the boy your brother?" - -"Yes." - -"What is his name and age?" - -"Horace Flint, and six years." - -"Where is your mother?" was next asked. - -"At home, sick." - -"Who sent you here?" - -"Nobody; we came to have a good home and plenty to eat. I have pretty -clothes in there; I helped mamma make them," and she nodded complacently -toward the package on the chair. - -"You helped indeed," smiled the matron, glancing down at the diminutive -creature before her. - -"I did help! I can sew!" cried Jerusha, trembling with anger and -weakness; "mamma taught me, and says I sew well for a child. See, here -is my thimble," and she took it from her pocket and placed it upon her -thin finger. - -"Yes, for a child; we do not expect much from a girl of ten. Let me see -your clothes." - -This request brought a gratified smile to the grave lips of the little -girl; she untied the package with deft fingers and took from it a pink -cashmere gown, soft and fine in texture, made in the latest style and -with artistic skill. - -"Who gave you this lovely dress, child?" - -"Mamma, I told you. We made it out of one she wore at boarding-school, -and this, and this," and she took up one of dark blue cashmere, and one -of crimson, both of the finest grade. - -"But, child, these beautiful dresses will be of no use here." - -"They _will_ be of use," cried Jerusha excitedly. "I heard mamma say -that if my grandfather would take me to his home I would wear pretty -clothes like these every day." - -"But you are not at your grandfather's; you are in an orphan asylum, and -must wear that uniform." - -"What is an asylum, and what is a uniform?" was asked wonderingly. - -"Come to the school-room and I will show you," and leading the way, she -opened the door into a large room where a number of children were -studying their lessons for the next day. - -"Now you see the way the girls dress here, and you will dress the same -if you stay." - -"But I will not dress that way, and I will wear my pretty dresses or I -will not stay." - -"We will see first whether you can stay," commented the matron coldly. -"In the meantime you will remain in this room and listen to the children -during the half hour they study, then you can go with them to the -playground," and she signalled to one of the teachers to give the -newcomer a place. - -That place was beside Diana Strong, an orphan a few years older than -Jerusha, and tall for her age. She had flaxen hair, pale blue eyes, a -sallow complexion and a long upper lip, which, however, did not conceal -the large front teeth. But withal, there was an expression in her plain -face of such genuine kindness and sympathy for everybody and everything -that all felt comfortable in her presence. - -The matron had in the meantime returned to the reception-room and -conducted Horace to the boys' department of the institution where, in a -short time, he was as much at home as if he had known no other. - -Investigations made the next day by the managers gave, after strict -research, confirmation that Jerusha Flint and her brother were really -objects of charity. The mother had died a few days after the little -family of four had taken possession of a miserable home, the children -had been taken away by someone, and the place was tenantless. That was -all the neighbors knew of the matter, so nothing was left to do, even if -otherwise desired, but to keep them in the asylum. - -A few evenings after this conclusion was reached, the matron, in her -quiet, comfortable room, was about to enjoy her evening meal after the -labors of the day. - -The children of all ages and sizes were in their white-robed beds after -their simple supper of bread and milk, and were sleeping perhaps more -sweetly than if in more luxurious homes. - -A tap upon the door was followed by the entrance of an old friend, a -trained nurse from one of the city hospitals, who was cordially invited -to break bread with the hostess. - -"I will," she assented, "but first I must tell you of this," and she -took from its wrappings an ebony box of curious workmanship, inlaid with -pearl, beautiful in design and finish. - -"Where did you get it?" asked the matron, taking it in her hand. - -"It was put in my care by a patient at the hospital who said he had -brought a girl here named Jerusha Flint, and her brother Horace. He -asked me to bring it to you to keep safely and give it to Jerusha when -she is sixteen. He said she had often been shown by her mother how to -open it, and would remember how it is done; you see it has no key." - -"Did he say that he is the father of these children?" - -"No. I have told you all that he said; for he became delirious, and -although he talked to himself in a low tone or a whisper, there was -nothing connected enough to let us know who he is. All I can say is that -with his blonde hair, deep blue eyes and tinge of color in his face, now -that he has fever, he is as handsome as a picture." - -"I wonder how long he will remain in the hospital?" - -"Until he is carried out, if I am not greatly mistaken. He has brain -fever, his system is completely run down and the doctors say that he has -suffered a severe nervous shock. There is no hope whatever of his -recovery." - -"Has he no friends, I wonder?" - -"No one has called to see him. The doctor found a letter in his pocket, -addressed and sealed, but not stamped. He asked me to write to the -gentleman whose name and address was upon it, and inform him that a man -who had taken two children named Flint to an orphan asylum was lying at -the hospital dangerously ill. I did so, enclosing the letter, but there -was no reply to either." - -"In his delirious talk does he say nothing of his past life?" - -"Yes, he rambles on about an elopement, and of disobedience to parents, -and of the regret and misery which was its punishment, and of his -bringing someone to poverty, and of a long, weary walk, and of a -terrible fright, and of a key, which is, I suppose the one we found in -his pocket; but he whispers most of the time, and we cannot understand -him." - -The matron unlocked a drawer in her desk, placed the box within, locked -it, and then the two sat down to the tea, toast and other edibles which -the maid placed upon the table. - -"Do these Flint children fret much for their parents?" asked the guest, -as she sipped her tea. - -"The boy is a cheery little soul, and has never shed a tear; and I do -not believe that the girl grieves for them, although she has long spells -of crying in some corner away from the other children. Once Diana Strong -put her arm around her and asked why she wept, and received a slap in -the face, and an angry request to attend to her own affairs." - -"Is Diana the girl who is intending to be a trained nurse?" - -"Yes, and if ever one was born to that calling Diana is that one. She is -gentle, patient, quiet, watchful, can do with little sleep and is never -happier than when in the sick-room of the asylum waiting upon someone -that is ailing." - -"When will she begin her training?" - -"When she is fourteen. As you know, the children here do nearly all the -work of the institution, and in this way, beside getting a good common -education, they learn housework, cooking and sewing. If the girls and -boys show aptitude for any special trade or occupation, they can leave -the asylum at the age of fourteen to learn it; the boys returning here -as their home until they are eighteen, and the girls until they are -twenty. That little Jerusha will, I am sure, wish to learn dressmaking." - -"Is she fond of sewing?" - -"Yes, and I never saw a child so adept with the needle. The sewing -teacher says she is a wonder. She is fond of dress and has several -beautiful gowns which she says were made over for her by her mother. Why -she made three for a growing girl is more than I can understand; it was -a waste of beautiful material; one at a time would have been sufficient. -They fit her to perfection; but the clothes of the boy, while -beautifully made, are ill-fitting and of coarse material." - -"Was Jerusha willing to wear the uniform?" - -"No; she refused to put it on and acted so about it that she was not -allowed to go out with the other children upon their daily walk. -Moreover, some of the older ones have told her that only poor children -are here and she is ashamed of being with them, but I earnestly hope she -will outgrow the feeling." - -In this she was mistaken. Jerusha did not outgrow it; instead, the -thought grew more intolerable with every passing year. She shrank from -the sight of visitors, and refused to act as guide through the great -building, a duty which most of the orphans considered a privilege and -pleasure. - -She formed an attachment for no one under the roof, and saw Diana Strong -depart for three years' training in the hospital without one word or -sign of regret--Diana who had always stood her friend, when through her -violent temper and insubordination she was in difficulty with the matron -or her assistants. - -Jerusha had inherited the haughty, imperious disposition of her mother, -her mother's father, and her mother's grandfather, who, owing to an -ebullition of temper, was forced to flee from his native country and -seek refuge in America. - -She, like her maternal ancestors, was impetuous and irritable, resentful -and unforgiving; therefore it was a foregone conclusion that in her -journey through the world she would be held aloof by those who might -have been her friends, and her coldness, want of affection and above -all, her pride, kept her aloof from those with whom she was compelled to -mingle. "Love thy neighbor as thyself," was a creed which she did not -assimilate. - -Horace was as different as if of another race. He had inherited the -easy-going nature of his father, who had been the petted and only son in -a luxurious home. Therefore the asylum and everything connected with it -was, in his opinion, all that was required to keep one happy and -contented. - -He considered it so superior to the home they had left that he wondered -at Jerusha's dissatisfaction, while she in turn was angry at his want of -pride and ambition. The large playground in fair weather and the -basement playroom when it stormed were the dearest spots on earth to -him. He had plenty of playfellows, something never before enjoyed, for -his mother refused emphatically to allow him to play with any children -in the poor neighborhoods where they were compelled to live; all he knew -of them was what he could see from a window. - -Years passed, and Jerusha looked forward with impatience to the time -when she could be self-supporting and thus leave the asylum, and on the -day that she was fourteen she engaged herself as apprentice to a -fashionable modiste. - -Her employer was more than pleased with her skill, for even at that -early age she could be trusted to work without oversight, and resented -any that was not strictly necessary. - -She was glad when Horace was at last old enough to leave the asylum to -learn the trade of carpenter and locksmith, and they never met during -his apprenticeship that she did not urge him to be diligent in learning -all that was possible that he, too, might be self-supporting and they -could have a home together. - -There were two subjects which all who were acquainted with Jerusha found -it wise not to touch upon if not wishing to have a scathing retort from -her satirical tongue. - -One of these subjects was her early home and parentage, and the other -the asylum which had fostered her helpless childhood, the home of which -she grew more and more ashamed as time passed on. She never spoke of it -of her own free will, and dreaded Saturday evening when she must go -there to remain until Monday morning. - -It was during one of these visits that her sixteenth birthday dawned, -and the matron gave her the little ebony work-box. - -Jerusha received it without betraying the least surprise and restrained -her impatience to open it until she could be alone, and the matron was -never rewarded for her care of it by being told what it contained. She -did see, however, in the increased haughtiness and arrogance of Jerusha -the influence exercised by its contents and wondered again and again -what it held, which induced her to keep herself more than ever aloof -from her and from every inmate of the asylum. - -To Jerusha's deep chagrin the ebony box held no money or valuables as -she had hoped and expected from the moment it was put in her hands. It -held neither more nor less than three letters, one of them written by -Mrs. Flint to her father, and returned to her enclosed in his reply. The -third letter was addressed to Jerusha, and was written by Mrs. Flint, -telling her "poor, motherless little daughter, Jerusha," of her ancestry -on both sides of the house. - -In this letter Jerusha was instructed to forward the other two letters -to her grandfather at the address given, providing the time ever came -that she desired to do so. - -Dating from the perusal of these epistles, Jerusha refused to remain -with the dressmaker, but making of necessity a home of the asylum, she -commenced business for herself, finding no difficulty in obtaining -patrons, some of them being the best customers of her former employer. - -These ladies, appreciating her skill, solicited her oversight of their -toilets, and she went from one aristocratic home to another, where her -word was law in regard to costumes. - -Being recommended by these patrons to suburban friends, she drifted to -the village of Dorton, a few miles out of Baltimore. - -Thus while her city employers were at the seashore and the mountains, -Jerusha was summering with four families in that picturesque part of -Maryland, plying her art with untiring fidelity. - -Her favorite place of the four was "My Lady's Manor," the handsome villa -of Mrs. Farnsworth, widow of Joshua Farnsworth. The next best was -"Friedenheim," the country-seat of the Courtneys; then in order came -"Fair Meadow," the fine farm of the Merryman family, and lastly the -colonial mansion of Dr. Lattinger, in the village of Dorton. - -Jerusha was industrious, capable, prompt and energetic, but she was -lacking in enthusiasm in regard to her art. Many persons with but half -her ability had become originators of designs for costumes, and in time -owned large establishments which gave employment to many helpers. - -Jerusha craved no prominence in that line. It was only the force of -necessity that made her willing to be self-supporting through the only -work she could do well. She was too impatient and irritable to teach her -craft to others. She could not direct, nor could she endure to have -about her, helpers for whose mistakes she would be responsible. She had -felt herself alone all her life and expected to remain so. - -During these years Diana Strong had finished her training as a -professional nurse and was recommended by the hospital physicians as one -of the best. - -More than once she had charge of an invalid in a wealthy home where -Jerusha happened to be employed; they took their meals at the same -table, but the subject of former acquaintance was a tabooed theme with -Jerusha, and Diana was too amiable to go counter to her wishes. - -Every season that Jerusha went to Dorton she grew more anxious to abide -there, and her gaze rested frequently upon a deserted brown frame -dwelling of four rooms about a mile out of the village. It had not been -tenanted for years, and was fast going to decay, but Jerusha saw that a -few dollars spent upon it would convert it into a home, and a home was -the greatest longing of her heart. - -She mentioned the subject to Horace several times during his -apprenticeship, but he evinced no enthusiasm upon the subject. He was -well satisfied with Baltimore and his asylum acquaintances there, and -saw no need of change. - -But, as was the rule where Jerusha was concerned, she had her way, and -after Horace was free to go and she had secured employment for him -through her patrons at Dorton, they took up their residence in the -little brown house. - -Jerusha had bargained that they should have it rent free for three years -providing they made all necessary repairs. To this the owner agreed, and -also to allow them for a nominal rent the large plot of ground back of -it for a garden. At all leisure times the saw and hammer of Horace could -be heard, paint and lime were not spared, and flowers sprang up at the -touch of Jerusha, who at last had a home of her own. - -The short distance from it to the railway station, and the few miles of -car ride to the city enabled them to have employment at both ends of the -line, and if there was ever a moment in Jerusha's life when she could -consider herself contented, it was when after each day's absence she -came in sight of the brown dwelling. - -Seasons had come and gone, and Jerusha, who never before had known -attachment to person or place, was one evening sitting with Horace on -the moon-lighted porch, after a busy day in the city. She was discussing -further improvements, the only subject which was of interest to both, -but to which Horace that evening lent but an absent-minded attention. - -"Jerusha," he said, as he arose to retire, "I am to be married to-morrow -to one who was in the orphan asylum with us. Her name, as you will -remember, is now Jennie Strong, and she is the widow of Diana Strong's -brother. I shall bring her here." - -He closed the door and Jerusha was alone with her astonishment and her -anger. - - - - -CHAPTER II--HILDA'S AUNT ASHLEY - - -Miss Jerusha Flint was not the only one who appreciated the home of Dr. -and Mrs. Lattinger, in Dorton. Not only the villagers, but people of the -surrounding neighborhood had a warm feeling for the genial and -hospitable residents of the old colonial mansion, which had been for -generations in the family of Mrs. Lattinger, and where she had lived all -her life. The Lattingers had also frequent visitors from Baltimore, -where the doctor had spent the early years of his practice, some of them -being former patients who came out for the day for change of air and -scene. - -One pleasant morning in June, Dr. Lattinger had the unexpected pleasure -of a visit from a former college chum, a lawyer who had a short time -before bought one of the pretty suburban homes, and, as was the doctor's -custom, he took him upon his round among his patients. - -"Yes, doctor," commented the visitor, when about noon they were -returning to the village, on the same drive upon which they had set out, -but in an opposite direction, "you are correct in your opinion of this -region of country; it is prosperous and beautiful. There are so many -picturesque spots. For instance that cottage nearly covered with ivy, -which we are about to pass, is a picture in itself." - -"Yes, it is the home of an artist, Norman Ashley, who, with his wife, -came here from Baltimore that he might have natural scenery for his -pictures. They are handsome young people and live an ideal life." - -"That lovely little girl amid the roses on the lawn is, I suppose, their -daughter." - -"No, she is Hilda Brinsfield, the orphan niece of Mr. Ashley." - -"Hilda Brinsfield!" echoed the gentleman in surprise. "My wife and I -were wondering only yesterday what became of that sweet child after the -death of her lovely young mother." - -"Then you are acquainted with her parents?" said Dr. Lattinger with -interest. - -"Only for the little time I have lived in my present home. Her father, -Rev. Freeman Brinsfield, was pastor of our village church, his first -charge. I heard incidentally that his means had been exhausted in his -college and theological course, and he was very grateful for the call. -My friend also added that he came of a long line of ministers, one or -more of them being pioneer missionaries. Little Hilda is a child of -prayer and has the promise of being cared for." - -"She certainly has a happy home with the Ashleys, who come as near -idolizing her as Christian people will allow themselves to worship -anything earthly. The three pass most of this beautiful June weather in -the open, Mr. Ashley taking his artist equipments, Mrs. Ashley a book -and a basket of luncheon, and Hilda her doll and toys, and in the shady -woods or blossoming orchard they encamp." - -"Truly an ideal life; and now tell me who lives in that handsome villa -just above it, but on the opposite side of the road?" - -"That is the residence of Miss Anna Ashburton, and is called 'My Lady's -Manor,' for as you probably know, most country homes in 'Maryland, My -Maryland' have names, generally pretty well adapted to their appearance. -It was left to her by a widow--Mrs. Joshua Farnsworth--who died a few -months ago. They were not the least related, but loved each other as -mother and daughter." - -"Had Mrs. Joshua Farnsworth no relatives to whom she could leave her -property, or who would contend for it?" - -"No, her only near relative--her sister--the widow of the late Judge -Lacy, of Springfield, Ohio, is wealthy, has no children, and has no need -of what Mrs. Farnsworth gave to her foster daughter." - -"Miss Anna is elderly, I presume?" - -"No, scarcely eighteen, is amiable and attractive, finely educated, a -musician and artist; an orphan without a relative in the world, so far -as is known." - -"But she does not live alone in that great mansion?" - -"Yes, with the exception of a middle-aged woman--Miss Jerusha Flint--who -lived with her brother, Horace, and his family in the brown cottage we -passed this morning, about a mile beyond the other end of the village, -and who was more than gratified when Miss Anna invited her to make her -home at 'My Lady's Manor.'" - -"They must live a lonely life there." - -"Not at all. Miss Anna is much beloved, and has many visitors, not only -from the neighborhood, but from Baltimore. Moreover, the servants, who -have known and loved her from babyhood, have their comfortable quarters -back of the mansion, and as Miss Anna's library and sleeping-room -windows look directly down upon the doors of their cabins, Lois, Phebe -and Judy are at all hours of the day and night within call." - -"It is not likely that Miss Anna, being young and attractive, will -remain long unmarried." - -"If the opinion of the neighborhood be correct, she will in the near -future bestow her hand and heart upon Mr. Valentine Courtney--the -brother-in-law of our good pastor Rev. Carl Courtney, of 'Friedenheim,' -the old homestead of the Courtneys. He is a lawyer, has his office in -Baltimore, but makes his home at 'Friedenheim.' He is one of the most -useful and liberal members of his brother-in-law's church, and is in -every respect an estimable young man." - -"You say 'brother-in-law'--and yet the Rev. Carl is a Courtney." - -"Yes, he is a distant relative of his wife, and of her brother, -Valentine, and his home from childhood has been at 'Friedenheim,' which -was inherited by Mrs. Courtney." - -"That walk upon the roof of Miss Anna's villa must give a fine view of -the surrounding country." - -"Fine indeed, and it has a history, and a mystery. About twenty-five -years ago, Mr. Joshua Farnsworth died there, it is believed, by an -unknown hand." - -"In what manner?" asked his visitor, full of interest. - -"As I was informed by my wife and others of the residents of the -neighborhood, Mr. Farnsworth, who was in his usual excellent health the -evening of his death, had gone to the village postoffice, and while -perusing a letter just received, a hand was laid upon his shoulder by a -stranger, who said in a low tone, 'Joshua!' - -"Mr. Farnsworth turned very pale, the two went out, and walked to 'My -Lady's Manor,' talking earnestly. Later in the evening they were seen -upon the roof, seated upon the bench that lines the ironwork balustrade, -still engaged in earnest conversation, and a few hours after, the -villagers were shocked to hear that Mr. Farnsworth was found there, -dead, and the stranger gone, no one knew when nor where." - -"But was there no investigation as to the cause of his death?" - -"Yes, and the verdict at the inquest was death from heart failure; but -those who witnessed the meeting at the postoffice, and the villagers who -saw them on the walk upon the roof believe that the stranger took his -life." - -"And you say that no one knew how and when the stranger left the place?" - -"No. Judge and Mrs. Lacy were visiting there at the time. They and Mrs. -Farnsworth had retired, as had the servants, all the doors and windows -were locked for the night and the shutters closed; and thus they were -found when about midnight search was made for Mr. Farnsworth. Not a -footfall had been heard, or sound of any kind giving token of the -departure of the stranger. It was, and has remained a mystery." - -An elegant suburban home indeed was "My Lady's Manor"--a three-storied -granite building, light gray in color, with sea-green cornice and -shutters and partly screened by maple trees from the road leading to -Dorton. - -From the walk upon the roof could be had a charming view of woodlands, -meadows, farmhouses, country-seats, mill properties, the creek that -flowed past them, and villages; among them Dorton, with its one church -spire. - -In the distance Baltimore's monuments were clearly discernible, the -harbor with its forest of masts, the Patapsco flecked with sails, -Federal Hill and Fort McHenry; all uniting in a varied and attractive -landscape. - -Yes, "My Lady's Manor" was one of the choice places of the neighborhood, -and Jerusha Flint felt it a pleasant change to be the respected -companion of its young lady owner, and, having given up her despised -occupation, was blooming into youth and beauty in the sunlight of a -happy home. - -Among Anna's many acquaintances there was no one whose friendship she -prized more than that of Mrs. Ashley. They were congenial in every way, -save that Mrs. Ashley, though but a few months older, cared but little -for society, where she would have been such an ornament with her fine -presence, deep blue eyes, wealth of auburn hair and a complexion of -matchless fairness. The company of her husband, Hilda and Anna was all -she solicited, and had but a speaking acquaintance with the people of -Dorton and its neighborhood, making no calls except to "My Lady's Manor" -and "Friedenheim." - -The Civil War was darkening the land, and Norman Ashley laid aside -palette and brush to join in the struggle between the blue and the gray. - -He was not willing to leave his wife and Hilda in the cottage without a -caretaker, and as Providence willed it, Diana Strong was indulging in a -respite from hospital work in the home of Mrs. Horace Flint and was -willing to assume the light duty of housekeeper at the Ashley cottage. - -Jerusha Flint was the negotiator in the affair, and as she generally -carried to a successful issue whatever she undertook, Diana was duly -installed and Mr. Ashley went to join his regiment with the comforting -thought that his little family was in good hands. - -This separation was a terrible trial to the young husband and wife, and -Anna Ashburton was Mrs. Ashley's faithful friend and comforter. She had -also great affection for Hilda and would have her for hours at a time at -the villa, to the secret displeasure of Jerusha, who had no love for any -child, much less for one connected in any way with Mrs. Ashley, looked -upon by Miss Flint as proud, cold and self-sufficient. - -Moreover, that grim tyrant, jealousy, had taken possession of Jerusha, -assuring her that it was a blessed relief to the cultivated intellect of -Anna Ashburton to exchange for a time her dull companionship for that of -the cultured and accomplished Mrs. Ashley. - -The first time that Anna made an engagement with Mrs. Ashley to gather -wood flowers, she invited Miss Flint to accompany them, but her courtesy -was rewarded by a haughty refusal and a scornful flash of the black -eyes. - -Anna knew that this was not intended for her, but for the waiting Mrs. -Ashley down at the cottage, who knew nothing of Jerusha's feeling in -regard to her, nor did Anna think it kindness to enlighten her. - -On her part, Jerusha considered that in view of the information -contained in her mother's letter in the ebony box, she had a better -right to be proud than had Mrs. Ashley, and therefore would not take a -step out of her way to be in her company. - -"Where did you first meet Mr. Ashley?" Anna asked one summer afternoon -while they were arranging flowers under the shade of an oak tree, while -Hilda, who always accompanied them, was busy gathering more. - -"In a hail-storm in Ohio. Shall I tell you of it?" she asked. - -"Yes," replied Anna gleefully, "the beginning being so romantic, it -cannot fail in interest." - -"Yes, a little romance and a great trial; for it has partly estranged me -from my sister and her husband--Dr. Cyril Warfield--with whom I made my -home after the death of our parents. - -"The estrangement is more my fault than theirs. I should not have -treated them with coldness and reserve in return for their lightly -expressed opposition to my marriage," and her beautiful eyes filled with -tears. - -"I should not have mentioned the subject; please do not continue it if -it distresses you," pleaded Anna, her eyes filling in sympathy. - -"I am glad you mentioned it. I have wished to tell you of myself, but -never felt sufficiently acquainted until this summer, and you cannot -realize what your companionship has been to me since my husband left for -the battlefield. - -"While our parents lived, they, with their three children--Sarah, -Herbert and I--resided in our old homestead in Ohio, near the village of -Woodmont, a few miles from Springfield. - -"Papa had intrusted the property for his children to the hands of -friends in whom he had confidence; but through their failure we lost -heavily, and when the estate was closed there was but a remnant left of -what he intended for us. - -"When Sarah, who is ten years older than I, married Cyril, she went with -him to the Warfield homestead which adjoined our place, and there they -have lived happily. But Cyril is in feeble health and Sarah is very -anxious, fearing he will never be better. - -"Herbert, with his share, bought the store of a merchant in Woodmont and -Sarah and Cyril took me to their home where I was treated as tenderly as -are their two boys, Paul and Fred. - -"One afternoon in June I had driven to the village postoffice and was -returning as quickly as possible, for the appearance of the clouds -betokened a storm. I had passed a turn in the road when rain came down -in torrents, then hail fell fast, the wind blowing it in my face, -stunning and nearly blinding me. - -"The terrified pony ran. Then as the hail storm increased in violence, -she crouched down and I was about to spring from the carriage when a -hand restrained me. - -"'You are safer there,' said Mr. Ashley, for it was he who spread the -carriage robe over the pony and encouraged her to rise; then he stepped -into the carriage, took the lines from my trembling hands, and, turning -about, drove to the shelter of a large tree. It was all the work of a -moment, and he had scarcely glanced at me until I spoke, thanking him -for his assistance. - -"'The storm will soon be over,' he remarked in response. 'Will you allow -me to see you safely home? My name is Norman Ashley and my home is in a -village near Baltimore with my widowed sister, Mrs. Brinsfield. I am an -artist and, with several of my fellow-artists, am traveling upon a -sketching tour. They have gone further west, I remaining in Woodmont, -having found some picturesque views for sketching and putting later upon -canvas.' - -"'I do not wish to keep you so long in damp clothing,' I said. - -"'Oh, we tramps do not mind such trifles,' he replied lightly, and as -soon as the hail ceased falling we sped home. - -"My sister and brother-in-law had been terribly anxious and were -rejoiced to see me unhurt. They welcomed Mr. Ashley cordially, invited -him to dine with us the following day, and then Cyril's farmer, Ben -Duvall, took him in the phaeton to Woodmont." - -"He came next day, I am sure," smiled Anna. - -"Yes, and the next and the next; and Dr. Warfield and every member of -the family enjoyed his genial society. He brought his sketch book, and -every day that Cyril had leisure he took him to the prettiest spots in -the neighborhood, and at other times Paul, Fred and I accompanied him in -woodland rambles and watched in surprise the quickness and accuracy with -which the scenes were sketched. - -"His companions returned from their tour and his stay in Woodmont was -ended; and the morning he called to say good-bye he presented sister -Sarah with a fine oil painting from one of the sketches she had admired. - -"He asked to correspond with me and letters passed between us for more -than a year. Through the meeting in Springfield of a former classmate, a -resident of Baltimore, Cyril learned that Mr. Ashley was a consistent -church member, a Sabbath school teacher and in every way an estimable -young man. Therefore the only objection that he and sister Sarah made to -our marriage lay in what Mr. Ashley had considered it his duty to tell -them, and me, that his only means of maintenance was in the sale of his -paintings, and they feared that it was an uncertain dependence. - -"The following autumn we were married and he brought me to his sister's -home near Baltimore. She was the widow of a young minister and the -mother of our loved Hilda. She was in frail health, but lingered until -spring, and oh, Anna, during that winter I learned how a Christian can -meet death. She had not reached her twenty-fifth year and her callers -from the city were principally her former classmates, her church, -Sabbath school, music and art associates, and not one, I am sure, -visited her without being impressed and benefited by the sweet serenity -of her manner and the almost angelic expression upon her lovely -features. She was an embodiment of gratitude to God who had answered her -prayers, that her life might be spared until her brother married, and -that his wife would be one who would be willing to take her only child, -her beloved Hilda, and one to whom she would intrust her. She blessed me -with tears of joy that I proved to be that one. She gave Hilda to me and -I accepted the charge, promising to do the same by her that I would were -she my own child. - -"One sweet morning in May she was called to come up higher, and a week -or so later we left the city and came to the cottage." - -"Thank you for telling me of yourself and those near to you," said Anna. -"I feel that you and Hilda are dearer to me than ever, and I have -interest in your sister, Mrs. Warfield, and her family. Does she -resemble you?" - -"Yes, the description of one would answer for both so far as appearance -is concerned, but Sarah is more practical than I; a noble, energetic, -useful woman; one to depend upon in every circumstance in life and at -the same time a loving wife, mother and sister." - -"There comes Mr. Merryman's errand boy, Perry," said Anna, as the boy -came whistling across the field on his way to "Fair Meadow" from Dorton. -"He has a letter; perhaps it is for one of us, as he has come a little -out of his way," and both arose as he came near. - -"The postmaster gave me a letter for you, Mrs. Ashley," he said. "It has -a black border and he thought it might be one that you should have as -quickly as possible. I called at your house but you were not in and I -left it with Miss Diana Strong. Was that right?" - -"Perfectly right, Perry, and I thank you for your kindness," and the boy -passed on with the mail for the "Fair Meadow" home, whistling and -halting occasionally to pluck a flower. - -"Oh, Anna," said Mrs. Ashley anxiously, "I am afraid that letter brings -sad news of Dr. Warfield. Will you stop with me and see?" - -"Willingly; and I sincerely hope that your fears will not be realized." - -The two ladies, followed by Hilda, hurried through the meadow and up the -road to the cottage, where Anna listened to the reading of the missive -which gave the intelligence that Mrs. Warfield was a widow and Paul and -Fred fatherless. - -Mrs. Ashley's tears fell fast in sympathy for her sister's bereavement, -and Anna wept with her and stayed for a time to give what comfort was in -her power. - -"I will write to Sarah this evening," said Mrs. Ashley, when Anna arose -to go home; "I wish I had written oftener and less reservedly while -Cyril lived. He was always kind to me and never knew how much I -appreciated his goodness. Oh, Anna, will we never learn to be tender and -considerate with our fellow pilgrims? We never appreciate them as we -should until they are gone; or if we do we never let them know it." - - - - -CHAPTER III--"MY LADY'S MANOR" AND ITS MYSTERY - - -During that one beautiful summer Anna Ashburton remained in her -childhood's home and scarcely a day passed that she and Mrs. Ashley did -not see each other or have an exchange of messages. - -But one morning a lawyer from Baltimore visited "My Lady's Manor" on -behalf of a client in California--Mr. Reginald Farnsworth--who could -prove beyond doubt that he was the legal owner of the property, being -the only son and heir of Joshua Farnsworth by a former marriage. - -In vain Anna protested that she had never heard of a former marriage; in -vain the Courtneys, the Merrymans, the Lattingers and other families who -had known the Farnsworths and whom Anna summoned to her assistance, -affirmed the same. The lawyer produced a marriage certificate and -letters, which even their unwilling eyes could see were genuine. The -signatures--"Joshua Farnsworth," were fac-similes of those in the foster -father's letters to her foster mother, kept by Anna with reverent care. - -To add to the proof already given, he brought with him an old San -Francisco newspaper in which was a notice of the death of the wife of -Joshua Farnsworth, of that city, aged twenty-one years, leaving an -infant son, Reginald. - -The conference ended for the time by the lawyer giving Anna a letter -from his client in which he explained his reason for the delay in -putting in his claim for the property. He wrote that he was but an -infant when his father, Joshua Farnsworth, left San Francisco; and it -was not until he was almost grown to manhood that he became anxious to -know if he was yet among the living. He had made all inquiry and had -advertised, but could gain no information, and for years had given up -the search. But recently he had obtained the certain information that -his father had been the owner of "My Lady's Manor," and he, Reginald -Farnsworth, being the only child and heir, now claimed it according to -law, his stepmother having only a life estate in it, not having the -right to give it to anyone. - -He added that his wife had long wished to be nearer her mother, who -resided in Philadelphia. Now the way was opened, and he requested Miss -Ashburton to vacate the premises as early as convenient. - -"How did he learn all this?" asked Anna, as she finished the letter. - -"From me, and I obtained it incidentally from a lawyer associate who had -never heard me speak of Mr. Farnsworth, therefore was unaware of my -knowing anyone of that name. He had visited a physician of your village -and was told the incidents connected with this place. I wrote -immediately to Mr. Reginald Farnsworth and he in turn put the case in my -hands. I searched the land records of Maryland and found that Joshua -Farnsworth, of San Francisco, had purchased a tract known as 'My Lady's -Manor,' the date corresponding exactly with the year of his leaving -California." - -Anna Ashburton possessed a sense of honor above wishing to retain what -belonged to another, and with bitter tears left "My Lady's Manor" to go -to Mrs. Lacy in Springfield, and Jerusha returned to the brown cottage -and her occupation, and if she grieved over the change her proud nature -gave no sign. - -Mr. Reginald Farnsworth, apparently unconcerned as to Anna's future, -took possession of "My Lady's Manor" with its spacious grounds, -woodland, meadows and orchards, having three experienced men to -cultivate it and three as efficient house servants as could have been -found in Maryland. - -But his conscience troubled him. He had allowed greed to influence him -in depriving the defenceless girl of the home which had been given her -in the belief that there was no other heir, and he had not the excuse of -straitened circumstances to warrant the action. - -One evening he had been directing the cutting down of several fine -maples which obstructed a favorite view. They had been planted by his -father to shade a spring of clear, cool water, and, being prized by her -foster mother, were dear to Anna. - -Feeling very weary after his walk, he went to the library, and throwing -himself upon a lounge, fell asleep. When he awoke the moon was shining -brightly through the large windows, making every object visible. - -The voices of his wife and Mrs. Lattinger were heard from the parlor, -and had almost lulled him again to slumber when he was conscious of a -presence in the room. Without stirring, he opened his eyes, and passing -him almost within touch was an apparently old lady, a stranger to him. - -She was short in stature and slender, her pale face shaded by gray -curls, and upon her bowed head was a lace cap with long tabs of the same -costly material. Her dress was of soft black silken goods, and a white -kerchief, overlaid by one of black, was crossed upon her breast. - -Mr. Farnsworth's first thought was that a caller had come to the library -for a book, but seeing him sleeping was returning quietly without it. He -was therefore more than surprised to see her, after gliding through the -door, ascend swiftly the steps leading to the attic. - -He arose and followed, keeping her in view until she reached a distant -corner of the unfurnished back room at the end of the dwelling, when, -like a shadow-picture, she disappeared. - -Feeling bewildered, Mr. Farnsworth descended to his bed-room adjoining -the library, bathed face and hands in cold water, arranged his attire, -and then sat down to reflect. - -He was not superstitious, but he feared that his conscience-stricken -feelings had influenced his brain and he had imagined what was not there -to see. Believing this, he joined the ladies in the parlor. - -"You are not well, Reginald," said his wife anxiously, "you are looking -very pale; I am afraid the sun was too hot for you." - -"My husband has had several cases of prostration from heat in the last -few days," remarked Mrs. Lattinger, "and one of the men came near losing -his life from exposure to the sun." - -"How was he affected?" asked Mr. Farnsworth. - -"He was at first unconscious, then delirious, imagining he saw weird, -spectral objects, causing him fright and anxiety." - -Mr. Farnsworth breathed more freely upon hearing this. It was not a -figment of the brain caused by an uneasy conscience as he had feared, -but he had suffered a slight sunstroke, and, believing this, he became -more tranquil. - -Resolving not to expose himself to the heat of the sun more than -necessary, he decided not to mention what he had seen to his wife, who -was nervous, nor to the servants, who were superstitious. - -The figure he had seen corresponded in every detail with the description -of the late Mrs. Farnsworth, as given that evening to his wife by Mrs. -Lattinger, and as it was the last thing he heard before dropping asleep -it was not surprising that in his drowsy condition he should imagine he -saw her. - -"Lois," he said one evening, halting at the door of her cabin, "when is -the best time to plant Lima beans?" - -"When de sign is in de arms, 'kase you wants de vines to run up de poles -and not bunch on de ground," she answered promptly. - -"I mean the time in the month, Lois. I have no belief in signs." - -"Culled folks is allus mighty keerful about de signs, and de keerfulest -ones has de best gardens." - -"What is the best time for beets and parsnips?" continued Mr. -Farnsworth, who, having always lived in San Francisco, where he was a -banker, had but little knowledge of horticulture. - -"When de sign is in de feet, kase you don't want 'em to spindle up and -be all top, but go down in de ground and grow." - -"Have we cucumber seed, Lois?" - -"Lots of 'em; ol' misses allus let de fust big uns ripen for seed. Dey -is in de attic, hangin' on de rafters in de back room. Does yer want me -to fotch 'em down?" - -"No, the ground is not ready. I will go up this evening and look over -all the seeds." - -After tea Mr. Farnsworth ascended to the attic and stood at one of the -front windows gazing out over the beautiful neighborhood, the village of -Dorton and the distant city. He then went into the back room where the -seeds hung, each kind in its little sack, tied and labeled by a careful -hand. - -The light being insufficient, he took the sacks into the front room, -made his selections and had turned to put the remaining ones back upon -their hooks when in the door-way through which he must pass stood the -little old lady in the costume in which he had first seen her. A tremor -seized Mr. Farnsworth, his heart throbbed, and his hands trembled so -much that the sacks dropped to the floor. He stooped to recover them and -when he arose the figure had disappeared. - -All was silent, the attic and stair-way could be surveyed at a glance; -there was not a living thing to be seen. - -Taking all the seeds with him, he went to the garden, gave them to the -men, and returned to the parlor where were his wife and two callers, -Mrs. Courtney and Mrs. Merryman, whom he welcomed and then took a seat -upon a sofa in a distant corner of the spacious parlor. - -"I have been overseeing my gardening," he remarked languidly; "I think -there is nothing more interesting." - -"Yes, for those who understand it," smiled Mrs. Courtney. "Brother -Valentine oversees our garden and I know but little about the work of -cultivating the different vegetables. I never tried planting anything -except turnip seeds, and that was not a success. The rule given me by a -facetious friend was to start out with half the quantity I considered -sufficient, to fall down and spill half, then sow half of what remained; -but with all these precautions the turnips were so crowded that they -were not much larger than walnuts and it did not occur to me to weed -some of them out and give the others a chance." - -This incident recalled others to the ladies and Mr. Farnsworth was -silent, pondering over the event of his day. - -The summer passed and one evening in early autumn Mrs. Farnsworth -accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Merryman to a concert in the city. It being an -hour's drive, they were not expected back until near midnight, and after -reading until weary, Mr. Farnsworth turned the lamp flame low and lay -down upon the lounge in the library. - -The house was still and he slept, but was awakened by what appeared an -ice-cold hand upon his forehead. Startled, he sprang to his feet. The -little old lady, her hand raised in warning, glided through the door and -up the stair-way. - -A cold moisture stood upon the forehead of Mr. Farnsworth. He trembled -and grew faint, and it was with an intense sense of relief that he heard -Mr. Merryman's carriage stop at the gate. - -He hurried out to receive his wife and helped her to alight. The four -passed a few minutes in pleasant conversation; Mr. and Mrs. Farnsworth -thanked their neighbors for their courtesy and kindness, then the -Merrymans proceeded on their short way down the road and up their -maple-lined lane to "Fair Meadow." - -Mr. and Mrs. Farnsworth went to the parlor where, in listening to an -animated account of the concert, Mr. Farnsworth's spirits revived, but -his sleep that night was disturbed and he arose unrefreshed. - -"Mrs. Lattinger's little girls are coming to take tea this evening," -remarked Mrs. Farnsworth cheerily at breakfast a few mornings after, -"and I gave them permission to invite any playmates they wish to -accompany them." - -"That is all right," replied her husband languidly. - -"I have thought of several ways to entertain them, among them to dress -in my great-grandmother's wedding costume." - -The children came, the orchard was visited, the dove-cotes, the fish -pond and garden had a share of their afternoon, then all returned to the -parlor and Mrs. Farnsworth quietly slipped away to the attic. - -She had taken the ancient attire from the trunk when she felt a presence -near her, and turning, she saw slowly receding toward the back room a -pale little lady with black gown, white kerchief and dainty lace cap. - -Uttering a piercing scream, Mrs. Farnsworth fell to the floor in a -swoon. - -Children and servants flocked upstairs. One ran for Mr. Farnsworth who, -pale as the unconscious woman at his feet, raised her in his arms and -carried her down to the library and placed her upon the lounge. - -One of the men-servants was sent to Dorton for Dr. Lattinger, while the -frightened Lois, Phebe and Judy used the simple restoratives at command -to revive her. - -"Mrs. Farnsworth has suffered a severe shock to her nerves," said the -doctor as she showed signs of consciousness. "Has she been frightened?" - -"I think so, but no one saw her when she fainted." - -"Let all leave the room except the doctor and yourself, Reginald," said -the lady tremulously. "I wish to tell you something." - -Children and servants were sent below and with convulsive sobs Mrs. -Farnsworth told what she had seen to the incredulous doctor and the -believing husband. - -"I will not remain here another day," she continued, "I would go this -very evening if I could! Do not let us stay in this dreadful house, dear -husband; let us go to my mother in Philadelphia." - -To her infinite relief, Mr. Farnsworth did not chide or attempt to -reason her out of her wish. Instead, he assured her that they would go -on the early train the next morning. - -"Do not leave me, Reginald!" she cried excitedly as Mr. Farnsworth was -about to follow the doctor from the room. "I cannot stay a moment -alone." - -"No, dear, I will not go from the door; I am only waiting for the -soothing drops the doctor is preparing." - -"What do you think the vision was, doctor?" he continued in a low tone. - -"Only an optical illusion, caused, perhaps, by stooping over the trunk. -But she must have change; take her to her mother as you promised." - -The next morning husband and wife were on their way to Philadelphia, -taking nothing but a few household treasures prized by Mrs. Farnsworth, -and "My Lady's Manor," handsomely furnished, was placed for lease or -rent in the hands of an agent. - -His advertisements spoke in glowing terms of the place, and applications -were numerous. The most eligible of these was accepted and a family who -had never lived in the country took possession, delighted with "My -Lady's Manor" and everything connected with it. - -In two weeks they were back in the city, declaring they would not take -the place as a gift and be compelled to live there; the little old lady -had paid them two visits and they would not wait for a third. - -"My Lady's Manor" was again upon the market at reduced rent, and again a -Baltimore family became its occupants, but remained less than a week. - -Mr. Reginald Farnsworth who, with his wife, had returned to San -Francisco, notified his agent to make no further effort to rent the -dwelling, but to close it and put the keys in the care of the servants, -who were asked to remain in the quarters. - -"My Lady's Manor" had now furnished the neighborhood with four items of -discussion: "What caused the death of Joshua Farnsworth?" "Who was the -stranger?" "How did he escape from the roof?" "Why did the spectre -represent Mrs. Farnsworth instead of her husband?" - -These questions could not be answered, and the superstitious ones of the -community avoided the place after nightfall and in their vocabulary it -was spoken of as "the haunted house." - - - - -CHAPTER IV--A VISIT TO FRIEDENHEIM - - -Anna Ashburton's parting with her Dorton friends, especially Mrs. -Ashley, was a trial to her, but their sympathy cheered and strengthened, -and in comparatively good spirits she set out for Springfield. - -She felt self-condemned that she had been reluctant to accept Mrs. -Lacy's offer of a home when she saw the genuine pleasure with which she -was welcomed by the sister of her foster mother. - -The young people of Mrs. Lacy's large circle of friends rejoiced that an -amiable, attractive girl was added to their list, and the festivities at -the Lacy mansion were a delight to all. - -Mr. Valentine Courtney, Mrs. Ashley and other intimate friends wrote to -her in response to her letters, telling of her safe arrival and cordial -reception, and congratulated her heartily upon having another mother in -Mrs. Lacy and pleasant companionship in the young people of Springfield. - -They kept her apprised of all the happenings in Dorton and its -neighborhood, told her of the grief of Lois, Phebe and Judy who could -not speak without tears of the absence of their young mistress, but of -the spectre that had frightened the superstitious from "My Lady's Manor" -they made no mention. - -Had the apparition taken any other form than that of Mrs. Joshua -Farnsworth, they might have mentioned it in a spirit of jesting; as it -was, no one in Dorton would thus wound her. - -She was aware that Mr. Reginald Farnsworth had remained but a few months -at "My Lady's Manor," but had heard that his wife insisted upon going to -Philadelphia, and from thence to California, her widowed mother -accompanying her. - -That "My Lady's Manor" was unoccupied she attributed to a rich man's -indifference. That the servants remained in their quarters was no -surprise to her, well knowing that Mr. Farnsworth could find no better -care-takers. - -It was therefore a great surprise to her when one day the Baltimore -lawyer called to inform her that Mr. and Mrs. Farnsworth asked her as a -favor to them to accept "My Lady's Manor" as a gift. - -It was not until she read their letter in which they besought her pardon -for the injustice done her, that she realized that the dear home of her -childhood was restored to her, and with happy tears she thanked the one -who brought the good news to her. - -Visits had been frequent between Anna and Mrs. Warfield during the -winter and early spring, Mrs. Ashley being the tie that bound them in -close friendship, and Anna lost no time in going to the farmhouse to -impart the information that "My Lady's Manor" was again in her -possession; and before she left, it was decided that they would go to -Dorton the following week as a surprise to their Maryland friends. - -Mrs. Warfield was as eager for this visit as was Anna; for Norman Ashley -had fallen in battle, and she hoped to bring her sister and Hilda -Brinsfield to make their home with her in the farmhouse. - -Mrs. Lacy had never admired Anna more than upon the morning she and Mrs. -Warfield set out for Maryland. The light of happiness beamed in her -brilliant eyes, for she was returning to her childhood's home, doubly -prized because once lost and mourned. - -Mr. Valentine Courtney was on a business trip to Europe, but she would -visit his sister at "Friedenheim," see the places where he had been, -would again be with her loved Mrs. Ashley and Hilda, see again the -Lattingers and the Merrymans, sit again in Dorton church, and walk again -on the banks of the clear flowing stream, the favorite walk of the -villagers. - -Mrs. Warfield had reached the station at Springfield and was waiting her -arrival. Soon the Lacy carriage drew up to the spot where she stood, the -footman opened the door, and Anna stepped out as radiant as a May -morning. - -Together they entered the car, the whistle sounded, they were on their -way, and had nearly reached the next halting place when there was a -collision, then wails of mortal pain and Mrs. Warfield knew no more. - -When consciousness returned she found herself in the waiting-room of the -depot, and near her lay Anna Ashburton, dying, but rational, and -dictating to an attorney her wishes in regard to the disposal of her -property, Mrs. Warfield and others witnessing her signature to the -document written by him. - -"My Lady's Manor" was bequeathed to her intended husband, Valentine -Courtney, and the will was given in charge of Mrs. Warfield to deliver -to Mrs. Lacy. - -A few hours after the bright young life was ended and Mrs. Warfield -accompanied all that remained of the lovely Anna Ashburton to the -sorrow-stricken home in Springfield. - -Mr. Valentine Courtney was on the eve of returning from London when Mrs. -Lacy's cablegram apprizing him of the accident reached him and as soon -as he landed in America he went to her home. From her he learned the -details of the calamity; of the will which had made him owner of "My -Lady's Manor," and of the illness of Mrs. Warfield; and so far as Mrs. -Lacy knew, no word of these things had reached Dorton. - -She was correct in this; no one there knew of the intended visit of Anna -Ashburton, and it was left to Mr. Courtney to take the sad news to -"Friedenheim." - -Only to the Rev. Carl and Mrs. Courtney did he impart the information -that "My Lady's Manor" had been restored to Anna Ashburton, and she had -bequeathed it to him. - -His reticence was not owing to any wish to keep it a secret, but the -subject was painful to him; it concerned no one but himself, and even in -the home circle was seldom mentioned. Beyond it, no one in the -neighborhood knew that Reginald Farnsworth was not the owner of the -property. - -The place had lost all interest to Valentine Courtney; the sight of it -brought sad remembrance, and for that reason he took up his residence in -Baltimore, making occasionally short visits to "Friedenheim." - -The first time he came out to remain over night he brought with him -Ralph and James Rivers, the sons of a deceased college friend for whom -he was guardian. - -This first visit was one long to be remembered by the boys, everything -was so new to them and enchanting; their journey on the train and -arrival at Dorton Station, their walk in the glowing sunset across the -flowery meadow to "Friedenheim," the warm welcome to that beautiful -home, the joyous greeting of Roy and Cecil, the supper of fried chicken, -oysters, Maryland biscuits and waffles, and after it, a visit to -orchards, woods and brook, accompanied by Mose, the colored waiter, and -by the pet dogs of Roy and Cecil; then their return to the piazza, where -sat the elders of the family, enjoying the serene beauty of the evening. -All was a delight to the two city boys who had never had so many -pleasant things crowded into one evening. - -They were on the piazza but a short time when Mose, who had left them at -the gate to go to his place in the kitchen, came to the lattice and -whispered to Cecil, who happened to be nearest, "Ax your mother if you -can't come out in de kitchen. Aunt Kitty will give us roasted apples and -cream, and pop-corn, and Aunt Chloe will have molasses candy for us, and -bline Israel is comin' and will sing." - -"All right, I know she will let us," was the response, and Mose hurried -back to give notice, that preparations for the entertainment of the -visitors might be quickly commenced. - -"Who is Aunt Kitty and Chloe and Israel?" inquired James. - -"Kitty is the cook and is Moses' grandmother. Chloe was our nurse, but -is now helper in everything, and Israel is an old man who goes from -house to house to saw wood. He lives in the alms-house in winter and -works all summer, and is the tallest and blackest person I ever saw. He -is blind, does not know darkness from daylight, but sings. You never -heard such a grand voice as Israel has. Mamma says it is so mournfully -sweet that she feels like weeping when she hears it." - -"Who else is out there?" - -"No one but Uncle Andy; he is the oldest person in the neighborhood. -Papa and Uncle Val say that he was the best servant on the place when -able to work." - -"What does he do now?" - -"He brings in cobs and shells peas, and other light work to help Kitty. -He loves to count his coins, and we all give him the new, bright pieces -we get. He sings hymns and nothing pleases him better than to admire his -coins and praise his singing." - -Mrs. Courtney gave consent and when the four boys reached the kitchen -there was a general stir among their dusky entertainers until their -guests had the best places about the great stone-flagged hearth, and -although not more than two hours since they had finished supper, the -impromptu cookery was relished. - -In the most comfortable corner of the hearth sat Uncle Andy, his white -wool glistening in the firelight, and which illumined every corner of -the large kitchen. It was the first hickory wood and cob fire the boys -had ever seen, and they admired it greatly. - -"We have told Ralph and James how well you sing, Uncle Andy," said Roy; -"we told them you are fond of music." - -"'Deed I is, honey; 'deed I is!" confirmed Andy gleefully, "'kase dar is -a promise, honey, dar suttinly is a promise to dem dat likes music." - -"Won't you sing something, Uncle Andy? We all want to hear you." - -"Suttinly, honey, suttinly!" and leaning his head upon the back of his -high chair he sang a favorite hymn, adding stanza after stanza of his -own improvising, and keeping time with his foot, Kitty, Chloe and Mose -joining in the chorus. The boys expressed such genuine pleasure in the -concert that hymn followed hymn, Andy reviving the melodies of his -boyhood for their entertainment. - -"Yes, honey, yes;" he commented after pausing for breath, "music an' -love is what heaven is made of; it wouldn't be heaven widout music an' -love." - -"But there are people who don't like music, Uncle Andy," remarked Roy. - -"Den, honey, ol' Andy wouldn't gib much for der chance for heaven, 'deed -he wouldn't, honey. What'll dey do because of de music if dey does git -to heaven? Mind I says _if_, honey; mind I says _if_." - -Before the magnitude of this query could be lessened, a shuffling of -feet was heard outside, followed by a knock upon the door. - -"It's Israel!" ejaculated Mose jubilantly, "Marse Merryman's Perry said -he had done sawed all their wood, an' he was gwine to bring him over -here this evenin'." - -He hurried to the door, and reaching out a helping hand, brought the -blind wood-sawer in triumph to the hearth, followed by Perry, who was -expected by Mrs. Merryman to return home immediately, but who remained -all evening. - -"These here two boys is our boys, Israel," said Mose, as master of -ceremonies, "and these two other boys is visitin' us from Baltimore; -and, boys, this here man is bline Israel." - -"Dat is jist like you, Mose, 'mindin' folks ob der 'flictions. What's de -use of sayin' 'bline Isrel'!" rebuked Uncle Andy. - -"Israel don't keer, he says so his own self," replied Mose nonchalantly. - -"Of course I does, Brudder Andy," said Israel, towering above them and -removing his pipe to his left hand to give his right to the old man. - -"Don't let him off so easy, Brudder Isrel," said Andy, in high good -humor, "or he'll be sayin' yer is deaf an' dumb." - -"Words speak louder dan actions, Brudder Andy," replied Israel, -benignly. - -"Take this chair, Israel," said Roy, leading him to one. "We staid here -to see you and hear you talk and sing." - -"Mighty kind in you, I'm shore, young marsters." - -"'Pears like ol' times to see yer, Brudder Isrel," said Andy, preparing -to fill his pipe. "Kitty done say dis mornin', she did, 'whar's Uncle -Isrel, dat he ain't been round dis fall?'" - -"It's mighty comfotable here, Brudder Andy, that is a fac'," asserted -Israel as Roy gently relieved him of his cane and placed it in a corner. - -"Put some more cobs on the fire, you Mose, and hand Uncle Isrel a coal -to light his pipe; it is done gone out," said Chloe, hospitably. - -"Maybe the young marsters don't like the smell of the pipe?" suggested -Israel, hesitating between respect for them and his longing for a smoke. - -"Oh, don't mind us," said the boys cordially, "we want you to feel at -home." - -"Dey is all well-mannered boys," remarked Uncle Andy complacently; "I -has done a heap towards trainin' our two. I allus says, 'Boys, let us -ol' culled folks hab de dirty pipes, 'kase we can't be spiled; but don't -yer sile yer nice clean mouves wid no whiskey nor terbaccy.' An' dey has -promised; an' ol' Andy kin trust 'em." - -"Gabe promised too, but he smoked and chawed all the same," remarked -Chloe as she took her pipe and tobacco from her pocket. - -"Oh, dat Gabe is a hippercrite, I allus knowd'd dat; not like dese yer -boys nohow," replied Andy, between puffs of his pipe. - -"I ain't never gwine to smoke," interposed Mose, not willing to be -overlooked. - -"Better wait 'till yer axed," suggested Kitty. - -"Well, how was dey gittin' along in de porehouse when yer lef', Brudder -Isrel?" inquired Andy. - -"Oh, fust-rate, what is left of de old stock, but dar is a heap of -changes in the pore-house as well as in other places, Brudder Andy. Some -of the ol' residenters have gone to dar long home, and dar places are -done filled. Gabe Websta was one of de late arrivals." - -"What is dat?" cried Andy in amazement, while Aunt Kitty and Mose gazed -upon him in consternation, and Chloe removed her pipe to listen. "Yer -suttenly don't mean our Gabe Websta?" he questioned. - -"I is sorry to inform you, Brudder Andy, that Gabe is at this moment in -the pore-house; he was took up as a wagrant early this fall." - -"As a wagrant!" echoed Andy, rolling up his eyes and shaking his frosty -head. "Now ain't it too bad dat anybody dat had de raisen dat boy had -wid ol' Marse Courtney, has done gone an' disgraced hisself?" - -"You know that he never would work, Uncle Andy," remarked Kitty. "Ol' -missus used to say that it was more bother to make Gabe work than his -work was wuth." - -"Dat boy was born on Christmas day, an' has been keepin' Christmas ebber -since," commented Andy; "he'd jist like to set by de cob fire all -winter, an' go ter sleep in de sun all summer, an' let de hoein' take -keer of itself. I allus tole him dat his laziness would done fotch him -to jail, but I never mistrusted dat he would stop at de pore-house on -his way." - -"Dar is wus places than the pore-house, Brudder Andy," remarked Israel -with dignity. - -"Dat's so, Brudder Isrel; 'deed dat is jis' so! I is makin' no -deflections on de pore-house, but on dat misable Gabe Websta. De -pore-house is fur 'flicted pussons an' dem dat is too ol' ter work, not -for sich as Gabe." - -"Gabe says he is not able to work; he done says he has the rheumatiz," -supplemented Israel. - -"He allus had som'thin' or 'nother all his days, 'cept on Sattuday -afternoons an' Sundays, an' 'lection days an' Christmas week; at dem -times Gabe was allus in a good state ob health." - -"Maybe he has the rheumatiz for certain to pay him up for play in' -'possum so many times," suggested Chloe. - -"Maybe Chloe is right, Uncle Andy," interposed Roy. "Let Israel, when he -goes back, ask the overseer to get a doctor to investigate." - -"If Gabe wants to stay in de pore-house dar had better be no -'westigations," said Uncle Andy with energy. "He'll get turned out fo' -shore; he can't fool dem doctahs like he fooled ol' missus." - -"Gabe has had spells of rheumatiz afore, has he, Brudder Andy?" asked -Israel. - -"Yes, every time dar was a big job ob work on hand." - -"Ol' missus used to send him to hunt eggs," said Chloe, "and he'd just -lay down on the hay and go to sleep. He'd go to sleep standin' up -keepin' the flies off the table, that Gabe would." - -"Nobody could do nothin' wid dat boy noways," said Uncle Andy, -reflectively; "he'll hab to wait till all de folks dat know him is gone -dead afore he plays dat game ob de rheumatiz an' de pore-house. Jis' now -he's like de folks dat wear eye-glasses to pop on an' off as suits de -'casion; when he done gits de rheumatiz right, he'll be like de people -dat wears specs; dat means business." - -"Uncle Andy, won't you sing, and let the others join in the chorus?" -asked Cecil. "It will be splendid now that Israel is here." - -"To be shore we will sing, honey! What will you hab?" - -Before Cecil could make choice Uncle Andy broke into that melody so dear -to his race--"Roll, Jordan, Roll," and Israel's deep, pathetic voice -thrilled the hearts of the city boys as no other had done; no noted -concert singer had tones so full and grand as issued from his powerful -chest without effort or thought that he was making an impression upon -his listeners. - -"There is one thing that Gabe could do," remarked Kitty, when the last -notes died away in perfect accord, "he could sing like a seraphim; that -'Roll, Jordan, Roll' was his favorite." - -"Dat is so; dat is jis' so!" agreed Uncle Andy, whose feelings were -softened by the melody, "and I'll tell yer what was passin' in my mind -while we was singin'. I is gwine to write a letter to Gabe dis yer berry -night. Roy, honey, bring de pen; Kitty, clar dat table; I's gwine ter -write dis yer hour an' tell Gabe Websta ter gib up de rheumatiz an' go -ter work." - -"Oh, Uncle Andy, Gabe won't be in a hurry to get that letter; wait till -mornin'," said Kitty. - -"No, now is de 'cepted time, Kitty. If de doctahs git to 'westigatin' -it'll knock Gabe higher 'n a kite; he'll git well ob dat rheumatiz, an' -be popped out 'n dat pore-house whar my letter will nebber jine him. No, -sah! Dat letter has done got ter be writ dis yer ebenin'." - -"To-morrow would be airly enough," said Kitty, preparing to arrange the -table for the writing materials. - -"You is allus puttin' off, Kitty. Dat is de way ol' Satan gits de souls -ob sinners; dey help him dar ownselves by puttin' off. Git de writin' -utenshils, Roy, honey." - -While Roy was gone, Andy had the table rolled to his chair and was -ruminating over the prospective contents of the epistle when he -returned. - -"How shall I commence it, Uncle Andy?" Roy asked. - -"Dear Gabe," suggested Chloe. - -"No, I is gwine ter say no sich thing!" said Andy irately, the softening -influence of the music having lost its effect when he had reflected upon -Gabe's delinquencies. "He's not 'dear Gabe' ter onybody but de -pore-house and dem dat has him ter keep; mighty cheap Gabe in my mind." - -"'Respected Gabe,' or 'Esteemed Gabe'" suggested Roy, with waiting pen -in hand. - -"No, he is none ob dat! 'Lazy Gabe' is de only 'pendix dat fits him." - -"But it would not look well to commence a letter that way," said Roy. - -"No, honey, ol' Andy knows dat. Folks hab to be 'ceitful in dis yer -wicked world. I suppect yer'll hab ter say, 'dear Gabe,'" he agreed -regretfully. - -Roy jotted it down quickly, thinking another discussion might arise. - -"It'll be berry short, honey, jes' say 'You Gabe Websta, come out 'en -dat pore-house afore de doctahs hab a chance to 'westigate, an' gib yer -wuthless place to some 'flicted creetur dat ain't playin' 'possum, an' -go ter work an' airn your livin', an' may de Lord hab mercy on yer -soul.'" - -"But Uncle Andy," said Roy, when the old man paused for breath, "that is -what a judge says when a person is sentenced to the gallows." - -"Dat tex' 'plies to anybody, honey, 'kase we is all sinnahs, an' we'se -all got ter die." - -Roy proceeded with the epistle, softening it as much as possible, signed -Andy's name to it, stamped and addressed it, and Andy gave it to Perry -to mail. - -"Thanky, thanky, honey! If Gabe goes ter sleep ober dat letta I done -hope de doctahs will 'westigate an' pop him out 'n dat pore-house;" and, -serenity restored, Andy was ready to sing and as soon as the sweet notes -of "I've Been Redeemed" died away Mrs. Courtney rang the bell for -prayers. Israel went to the library with the others and Perry went home. - -When Ralph and James went to their room that night they stood gazing for -some time from their windows upon "My Lady's Manor," beautiful under the -light of the full moon. From the servants' quarters could be heard the -same plaintive airs to which they had listened that evening, accompanied -by banjo and violin, and they expressed to each other the wish that they -might see the place before returning to Baltimore. - -"Uncle Val," said Cecil the next morning, "may we go to 'My Lady's -Manor?' Ralph and James would like to see it." - -A look of pain crossed Mr. Courtney's face, but he gave permission. "I -have a message," he continued, "and now is perhaps the best time to send -it; while there, please tell the servants of the death of Miss Anna -Ashburton; they loved her and should no longer be kept in ignorance of -it." - -Breakfast finished, the four boys hurried away, and as they drew near -Mrs. Ashley's cottage they saw Hilda Brinsfield standing at the gate -with a white rabbit in her arms. - -"What a beautiful little girl," said Ralph in a low tone; "she is the -loveliest creature I ever saw." - -"That is what we all think," responded Cecil. "Mother says that with her -blue eyes and golden hair she reminds her of the angels we see in -pictures." - -The fishpond, the dove-cote and orchard belonging to "My Lady's Manor" -were visited, then they halted at the servants' quarters and obtained -the key, unlocked the front door, passed in and closed it behind them. - -With almost awe at the silence, they went through the dim, richly -furnished rooms, then mounted the stairs to have a view from the roof. - -So full of interest was the sight of their native city to Ralph and -James that it was near noon when they descended. Talking gaily, they -reached the attic, and were surprised to see a little old lady in black -slowly receding toward the back room. - -Roy and Cecil had heard through the colored people of the apparition -which made them afraid to pass the mansion late at night, but had been -trained to have no belief in the supernatural, so without hesitation -followed. - -The spectre had glided through the door of the back attic room, but when -they reached it, it was empty and silent; and perplexed, they descended -to the quarters to give up the key and to deliver the message in regard -to Miss Ashburton. - -The boys were aware of the servants' attachment to their young mistress, -but were not expecting the outburst of grief the disclosure of her death -called forth, as they sobbed and moaned in the abandonment of woe, -genuine and awe-stricken from the suddenness with which a long cherished -hope had been shattered. - -"We can't stay here no more," cried Lois with streaming eyes, "we only -stayed to keep the place nice for Miss Anna; she is done gone! She will -never, never come, and we must go." - -"Perhaps the owner of 'My Lady's Manor' will like you to stay," -suggested Roy, deeply touched, as were the other boys. - -"No, we can't stay; Miss Anna is done gone, this is no home for us no -more! Pore Miss Anna that was kept out of the home that ol' missus done -give her! She was so pretty and sweet and kind and would have been -living and well and happy if she hadn't been turned out of her home. -Pore Miss Anna!" - -When the boys returned to "Friedenheim" they gave a full account of -their visit, and after they had gone to the lawn for a game of ball, -their elders sat in the seclusion of the library and wondered, as they -had always done, over the mystery of the apparition. - -The servants left the next day for one of the lower counties of -Maryland, and "My Lady's Manor" was deserted. Silence reigned in the -servants' quarters as well as in the spacious rooms of the mansion; -sunlight was shut out and spiders spun their webs in the door-ways of -the cabins, as well as between the lofty pillars of the piazza. - - - - -CHAPTER V--HILDA'S NEW CARE-TAKER - - -Two days after the accident which had caused Mrs. Warfield to return to -her farmhouse with nerves so disturbed by terror, pain and grief that -she was ill for several weeks, little Hilda Brinsfield was playing under -the shade of an apple tree in the garden back of the cottage of Mrs. -Ashley, it being one of the ideal days frequently enjoyed even in early -spring. - -"Hilda," called a subdued voice from the window, "come in, dear, and -stay by your aunt while I get supper." - -The little girl made no response, but laying her doll upon the bank -beside her, she took up a book and applied herself diligently to -spelling the words of three letters which described the gay pictures. - -"Hilda!" And now Diana Strong was sitting beside her with one of her -little hands in hers. - -"Oh, child," she said in an endearing tone, "you will regret it some day -that you are not willing to leave your play to sit a few minutes beside -the sweet lady who loves you so dearly! Come now, come!" - -A frown darkened the fair brow of the child, and, throwing the book upon -the ground, her foot came down upon it with a quick, angry stamp. - -Diana said no more, but taking her and the doll in her strong arms -carried her to the house in spite of her struggles for release, and, -putting her down by the door of Mrs. Ashley's room, gently pushed her -in. Ill as she was, the flashing eyes and flushed cheeks of the little -girl attracted the attention of Mrs. Ashley, and she sighed deeply. - -"My darling is angry again," she said feebly. "Who will take care of her -and teach her self-control?" - -"Diana made me leave my new book," replied Hilda tearfully. "She held me -so tight in her arms that it hurt me, and I could not get loose. Send -her away, Aunt Janette, I don't like her! Please send her away!" - -A look of pain came into the sweet face of Mrs. Ashley and she clasped -her hands as if in supplication. - -"Diana is very tired," she said after a pause. "She has lost much sleep -in the week that I have been ill." - -"I am tired, too, and want my supper," responded Hilda fretfully. - -"Diana will soon have a nice supper for you, and while she is preparing -it you can lie down beside me and rest." - -Hilda was willing for this; she pushed a chair to the bedside, and, -still clasping the doll in one arm, crept in. - -The setting sun glowed ruddily through the western window, and the -ticking of the clock upon the mantel, and the purring of the kitten -before the smouldering wood fire upon the hearth were the only sounds -which broke the stillness of the pleasant room. - -"Your father named you Hilda for your sweet, young mother," said Mrs. -Ashley, taking the child's hand in hers. "He loved his little daughter -so tenderly that he gave her her mother's name. She was lovely in -disposition and patient, and I hope my little Hilda will be like her." - -"Where are my father and mother now?" - -"In heaven, my darling, where I hope soon to be with them and your dear -Uncle Ashley." - -"When will I go?" - -"In God's own good time. Try to live each day aright, and then you will -have a home with them and never be parted from them." - -"Who will stay with me when you go?" - -"My sister, Sarah Warfield, I hope. I have prayed for that, and God -answers prayer." - -"Why doesn't she write to you? You said you wanted a letter." - -"Why not, oh, why not?" echoed Mrs. Ashley. "I do so long for a word -from her." - -"But I would rather go to heaven with you and my father and mother. What -is heaven?" - -"It is a beautiful home where we will live forever." - -"And will we never come back?" - -"No, we will be so happy we will never wish to come." - -"Oh, I want to go now! Take me with you, Aunt Janette, to see my father -and mother and Uncle Ashley!" - -"Be patient, my love, and you will come. I cannot talk any more now; I -am very weak, but will speak of it again when rested. I hope you will be -polite and obedient to Diana; she is good and kind. What would we do -without her?" - -Hilda was silent, her thoughts busy with what she had just heard. Where -was heaven? How could she get there? And what was being patient? - -Diana had made good speed in preparing the evening meal, and brought a -cup of tea and a slice of cream toast, daintily served, to the invalid. - -"Any letter?" inquired Mrs. Ashley, eagerly scanning the countenance of -the nurse as she drew near. - -"No," replied Diana sadly. "Mr. Merryman's errand boy, Perry, passed -just now on his way from the postoffice. I ran out and asked him if he -had a letter for you, but there was none. I hoped you would not ask -until you had taken your tea." - -"Oh, Diana, two letters unanswered! Sister Sarah is surely ill or she -would write to me, whether she had received my letters or not. I know -that she has much on her mind with the care of her two boys and the -farming, and Ohio is some distance from here, but the reply to even my -last letter has had time to reach me." - -"Yes, there has been time," agreed Diana sympathizingly. - -"She and my brother Herbert were opposed to my marriage to Mr. Ashley, -but they were always loving and kind. They wrote affectionate letters to -me as soon as they received my letter telling them that my husband had -fallen in battle, and Sarah offered me a home with her, and said to -bring Hilda. She was glad that I intended adopting her as my own, and -said she would be much company for me." - -"Yes, anyone would think so," agreed Diana as she drew a stand to the -bedside and arranged the toast and tea upon it. - -"I do not wish any tea, Diana. I had so hoped for a letter. Surely Sarah -must write and give me the comfort of knowing that she will take Hilda -when I am gone!" - -"I am sure she will; we must give her time," answered Diana, soothingly. - -"But Sarah is always prompt; a noble, active, Christian woman. There is -no one on earth that I can look to but her, to train Hilda as she should -be trained. Oh, if she would but write and give me the assurance! but I -fear that Mr. Courtney did not tell her in the letter he wrote for me -how ill I am;" and tears of anxiety and longing filled her beautiful -eyes. - -"Mr. Courtney said he would state the case exactly as it is, and -ministers should do as they promise." - -"Yes, Diana, so should we all; but you remember my heart troubled me so -little that day that I fear he was deceived. You said yourself that I -was the picture of health with my bright eyes, the flush upon my cheeks -and lips, and my natural appearance in every way. Oh, I fear he gave -Sarah the impression that there was no need of haste!" - -"But you told him there was; he would be guided by what you said and not -by how you looked." - -"I believe that Dr. Lattinger is also deceived by my appearance, but I -knew when I took ill that I would not get well, and if it were not for -my anxiety in regard to Hilda I would be glad to go. Heaven seems very -near to me; I have so many loved ones there, so few on earth." - -"I was thinking, ma'am," remarked Diana, "that maybe your sister is -coming, and that is the reason she does not write." - -A gleam of joy illumined Mrs. Ashley's face, and she partly arose and -stretched out her arms as if to welcome her. - -"Oh, Diana," she whispered, sinking back upon the pillow, "that would be -such a happy thing; God grant that it may be so!" - -"You say that she is prompt in her ways; she may not have waited to -write, knowing that she could reach here as quickly as could a letter," -she said comfortingly. - -"Yes, Diana," smiled Mrs. Ashley, "that is the reason she does not -write. She is coming! Dear heavenly Father," she continued, putting her -small white hand upon the head of Hilda, "grant my heartfelt petition -that this loved child be a consistent Christian, and may her home and -that of Sarah Warfield be one and the same." - -Cheered by this hope and trust, Mrs. Ashley partook of the toast and tea -with relish, and laid her head again upon the pillow with the smiling, -happy expression of one who had never known pain or trial, causing Diana -to again wonder that the week's illness had made no change in her -beauty. - -"I feel so much better, Diana," she said cheerfully. "Do you and Hilda -go and take your tea together; do not mind leaving me alone. I have -pleasant thoughts to keep me company. I shall see my -sister--Sarah--Warfield--in the--morning." - -The kitchen where the supper was prepared looked very bright and cheery -to the little girl and the light tea biscuits, sweet butter and honey -were delicious to her taste. She enjoyed the meal, then fell asleep in -the chair where Diana let her remain until all was put in order for the -night, then prepared her for rest and laid her beside Mrs. Ashley, who -appeared to be in a sweet sleep. - -Her own cot was in an opposite corner of the room, and after fastening -the outer door she lighted the night lamp, shading it from the sick bed, -then, as was her custom, lay down without removing her clothing that she -might be ready at any minute to wait upon the invalid. - -She had, she thought, scarcely slept, when she was waked by a rap upon -the outer door of the kitchen, and arose quickly that Mrs. Ashley might -not be disturbed by a second knock. - -What was her astonishment on opening the door to see the eastern horizon -tinged with a ruddy glow, betokening sunrise! - -"How is Mrs. Ashley this morning?" asked Dr. Lattinger as he stepped -over the sill. - -"She must have slept all night; I did not hear her speak or stir," -replied Diana in bewilderment. - -The doctor made no remark, but passed quickly through to the other room, -followed by Diana bearing the lighted lamp. - -"She has been dead several hours," he said, taking the lifeless hand in -his. - -"Oh, doctor, do not think I neglected her!" exclaimed Diana, with -blanched face and trembling with grief and excitement. "She was so much -better last evening and ate a slice of toast and drank a cup of tea. Oh, -how I wish now I had not lain down!" - -"You were worn out with watching and should not have been left alone," -said Dr. Lattinger kindly. - -"Any of the neighbors would have come had I asked it. I did not have an -idea that anyone was needed." - -"Who would you like to have with you? I will call any place you specify. -In the meantime it would be better to remove the little girl to the cot, -that she may not know when first waking that her aunt is gone." - -"I will, doctor; and if you are going out upon your rounds please call -at 'Friedenheim' and ask Mrs. Courtney to come. Mrs. Ashley admired her, -and said she reminded her of her sister, Mrs. Warfield." - -"I am on my way home and have just passed 'Friedenheim;' but it will be -no trouble to drive back and tell Mrs. Courtney, and I hope she can -come." - -Dr. Lattinger left and Diana removed Hilda to the cot, then sat by the -bedside of Mrs. Ashley and wept without restraint. - -It took but a few minutes for the doctor to reach the lane gate that led -to the main entrance of "Friedenheim." - -His ring of the door bell was answered by Mose, who informed him that -Mrs. Courtney was suffering with sick headache and was unable to go. - -Disappointed, Dr. Lattinger turned away and in a few minutes reached -home, where he sat down to breakfast, weary and listless, having been -all night beside a sick bed. - -"Diana Strong needs someone to assist her this morning," he said, when a -good cup of coffee had refreshed him. "Mrs. Ashley died during the night -and Diana is there alone. I called at 'Friedenheim' to ask Mrs. Courtney -to go, but she is in bed with one of her attacks of sick headache, and -it is impossible for her to give aid." - -"Of course, Diana feels the responsibility," rejoined Mrs. Lattinger. -"Mrs. Ashley had no relatives and her reserved disposition prevented her -making acquaintances. 'My Lady's Manor' was the only place she visited, -and after Anna Ashburton left it she had not one whom she could call a -friend. I wonder why Diana selected Mrs. Courtney?" - -"She said that Mrs. Ashley admired her greatly, and said she reminded -her of her sister, Mrs. Warfield." - -"I doubt, however, if Mrs. Courtney could have done what will be -required. A burial robe will have to be made unless Diana sends to -Baltimore for one." - -"I think she is at a loss to know what to do. Perhaps you can go down -and advise her. She is depending upon me to send someone." - -"I cannot possibly go from home to-day, for I have invited Mrs. Merryman -and Mrs. Watkins to luncheon, and Jerusha Flint is coming this morning -to cut and fit a dress for me, and if I disappoint her she would take -pleasure in refusing to come another day." - -"If she can make burial dresses perhaps she would go and help Diana." - -"No one could be of more help than Jerusha in every way, if she will go. -And I will be glad to postpone my work until another day." - -"Well, see that someone goes," said the doctor, as he arose and went to -his office, and at that moment a light, brisk step was heard upon the -porch, followed by a sharp peal of the bell. - -"There she is now," thought Mrs. Lattinger, as she arose to admit -Jerusha. "I will tell her before she lays aside her bonnet." - -The moment the door opened Jerusha, erect, neat, and with perfectly -fitting walking dress, stepped in, her eyes like black beads and her -cheeks flushed from her mile walk in the clear morning air. - -"Where is my pay to come from?" she asked sharply, when Mrs. Lattinger -made the situation known. "There is no charge for making a burial dress -for a neighbor, and I cannot afford to lose my day." - -"The doctor feels it incumbent to send someone, having promised Diana. I -suppose there is money in the house; if not, we will see that you are -paid for it." - -"That settles it!" responded Miss Flint, promptly, and, turning -abruptly, she left the house and walked with her usual dispatch down the -road, looking neither to the right nor to the left until she reached the -cottage. - -Diana was still alone, with the exception of Hilda, who was taking her -breakfast, and her face clouded at sight of Miss Flint. - -"Mrs. Courtney is sick and could not come," explained Jerusha, reading -Diana's face like an open book, "and Mrs. Lattinger took it upon herself -to ask me to come, so I am that accommodating individual known as -'Jack-in-a-Pinch'; what's to be done now that I am here?" - -"I don't know; that is why I wished someone to come." - -"Has no patient that you have nursed died until now?" - -"Yes, but there were always plenty of relatives and friends to make -arrangements; my duty was done and I went home." - -"Well, the first thing I will do is to lay aside my hat and cape, seeing -the lady of the house is not polite enough to ask me." - -"Oh, please excuse me!" said Diana, reddening; "I really forgot it." - -"No harm done," said Miss Flint, as she shook her cape with a vigorous -snap, folded it and placed it on the pillow of the lounge and laid her -hat upon it. "Had she no relatives?" - -Miss Flint had nodded toward the other room while smoothing her raven -hair with the palms of her hands until it shone like satin, and Diana -had no difficulty in understanding. - -"Yes, she has a brother and sister in Ohio. Her sister, Mrs. Warfield, -has been written to twice, but has not answered either letter. They were -opposed to her marrying Mr. Ashley; she told me so herself, last -evening, poor dear;" and Diana's eyes filled at the remembrance. - -"No wonder they were opposed," commented Miss Flint as she glanced about -the neat but simply furnished room. "If she had possessed the common -sense that a woman of her appearance should have had, she would have -been opposed, too." - -"It may be that they won't pay any attention to her, or it may be that -Mrs. Warfield is on her way here," resumed Diana. "I do hope she is, for -I want to get away. I feel it such a responsibility." - -"What is to be done with her?" asked Miss Flint, nodding toward Hilda. -"She will be in our way." - -"I might stop the miller's children on their way to school and ask them -to take Hilda home with them, or ask one of them to come here for -company for her; their mother will, I am sure, oblige in a case like -this." - -"Let her go there, for mercy's sake!" responded Jerusha sharply. "We -will have two to bother with if one of them comes here." - -"There they come now!" said Diana. "I will run out and ask them." - -Fortune favored; one of the children was glad to return home and take -Hilda with her, and Miss Flint was gratified to hear that the miller's -family would keep her until after the funeral; and the way was now clear -for business. - -"Now if Mrs. Warfield would come, how thankful I would be!" sighed Diana -as she set aside the remains of the breakfast. - -"But we cannot wait for that. What is to be done about a burial dress?" - -"I don't know," responded Diana anxiously. "Do you take the lead and I -will help you all I can." - -"What I want to know is, will it be made here, or bought ready made in -Baltimore?" questioned Miss Flint sharply. - -"I really cannot decide. Which do you advise?" - -"That depends upon circumstances. What is there in the house?" - -"Do you mean money?" - -"Yes, money or clothes, or material to make a burial dress of," snapped -Miss Jerusha impatiently. - -"There is a bureau in her room with her clothing in two of the drawers; -the third one is locked; I don't know what is in it." - -"Where is the key?" - -"In the upper drawer in a little box." - -"We can soon see; come!" - -"I really cannot; not while she is in there," said Diana, shrinkingly. - -"Why, there is where she will have to be until taken to the grave; you -certainly are not thinking of having her brought out here?" - -"Oh, no; but it seems so hard to go in and unlock her bureau when she is -unable to prevent us." - -"We don't want to be prevented. Somebody must attend to this; come along -and give me the key." - -They went, Diana shading her eyes from the still form on the bed. The -drawer was unlocked and a white cashmere burial robe was found, covered -by a sheet of white tissue paper. - -"Just as I expected the moment you told me that the lower drawer was -locked," remarked Miss Flint. "She was exactly the woman to prepare for -this in order to be independent of her neighbors. Well, it saves a day's -work, so I am not the one to complain." - -Sustained by the self-reliance of her companion, Diana became of "some -use," as Miss Flint expressed it, and did as directed with many a -longing to be away from it all. - -The beautiful form of Mrs. Ashley was neatly arrayed in the robe and -Diana waited for further orders. - -"Give me a pair of scissors and I will cut off a lock of her hair; her -sister may want it. But stop, you need not go! I have mine with me." - -"I don't see how you can bear to cut off her hair," said Diana -nervously, as the snip, snip of the scissors fell upon her ear. - -"It is lovely," commented Miss Flint as she held up a glossy tress, "and -it curls naturally." - -"Yes, many a rich woman would give half she possesses for such a -splendid head of hair, and could envy her in many ways. Mrs. Lattinger -said she was a lovely young creature when she came as a bride to Dorton, -and has changed very little since. Now she looks like one of the -beautiful marble statues in the Peabody Institute, if it were not for -the long, dark lashes resting upon her cheeks." - -"She was a beauty and no mistake, but as proud as Lucifer. Pride and -poverty killed that woman, or my name is not Jerusha Flint." - -"She was always kind and gentle and polite to me," responded Diana -tearfully. - -"Polite, oh certainly! But she made you know your place, I'll warrant. I -wonder that one as proud as she was would marry a poor artist. Now you -can fix her hair the way she wore it, and while you are doing it I will -watch at the gate for someone who can be trusted to send the -undertaker." - -"Oh, please don't leave me!" exclaimed Diana, dropping the comb. "Do you -stay here and let me watch at the gate." - -"Well, you are the poorest creature I ever did see. You are not afraid -of her, are you?" asked Jerusha derisively. - -"Oh, no, but I feel so nervous. If I had kept awake last night and known -if she needed anything I would not feel so miserable." - -"Kept awake!" echoed her companion in astonishment. "I hope you don't -mean to say that you let her die alone?" - -"She passed away while I was asleep," said Diana humbly. "I thought her -so much better!" - -"Thought her better, and you a trained nurse, calling yourself a -watcher; a professional, if you please!" - -"You cannot make me feel more self-condemned than I am," sighed Diana -tearfully, "but I have the comfort of knowing that if she could speak -she would grant me her forgiveness. She was a saint on earth if ever -there was one." - -"I fail to see how she could be with all that pride; she scarcely -noticed me." - -"I am sure it was not pride. She was very retiring in disposition, and -the neighbors may not have tried to make her acquaintance." - -"Because she showed by her manner that she considered herself above us. -No one suited her highness except Mrs. Farnsworth and Anna and Mrs. -Courtney; and it is plain to be seen that their elegant homes were the -attraction. I wonder that she was so anxious to be friends with them -when her home was so poor." - -"But all is comfortable and pretty," replied Diana glancing about her, -"and she kept it in beautiful order." - -"Well, what she did and what she did not do is no concern of ours. What -we have to do is to bow these shutters and sit down and wait for someone -to go for the undertaker." - -Diana went outside to watch, and while she was gone Miss Flint stood in -the doorway between the rooms and took a look over the objects of beauty -and utility contained therein, and over her grim lips passed a satisfied -smile. - -"Yes," she said to herself, "it is the very plan; and trust Jerusha -Flint to carry out any scheme she determines upon. Yes, it shall be -done!" - -Diana in the meantime had unhooked the shutters, bowed them, and -returned with the intelligence that Perry had been sent over by Mrs. -Merryman to offer his services, and had gone to Dorton to see the -undertaker, and, that care removed, they could think of other things. - -"What time will you set for the funeral?" asked Diana. - -"That will depend upon Mr. Courtney. If he can preach the sermon -to-morrow afternoon that will be the time to appoint. I will go over to -'Friedenheim' after the undertaker has been here and ask him." - -"But isn't that very soon? She died only--" - -"You were asleep and know nothing about it," interrupted Jerusha -sarcastically. "What would be the use of waiting for her sister who has -not set a time for coming? And there is no one in the neighborhood who -cares when she is buried." - -Perry had returned and, to the relief of Diana, could remain as long as -wanted, so the moment the undertaker departed Miss Flint hurried to -"Friedenheim," saw Rev. Courtney, who made it convenient to conduct the -services the following afternoon, and thus far the plan was working -well. - -Her next call was upon the owner of the cottage, who was willing to -allow her to live there in Mrs. Ashley's place, the rent having been -paid by the year, and she returned in exuberant spirits. - -"I will tell you what I have been doing," she said, her black eyes -sparkling and her cheeks glowing with the brisk walk. "There is no one -to care for Hilda, so I will stay here until Mrs. Warfield comes." - -"Oh, that is so kind of you!" said Diana eagerly. "I never for a moment -thought you would stay. I thought you had such a good home with my -sister-in-law and your brother." - -"There is where I stop," replied Miss Flint with emphasis. "I told -Horace the very day he brought his wife there that his house would be my -home only while I could not have a better one. I have the chance now to -have one more to my liking and am going to take it. I will stay here -until Mrs. Warfield comes, and then can decide what course to take." - -In her own mind she did not believe that Mrs. Warfield would ever come, -but she kept her opinion to herself. - -"Hilda is no relation of Mrs. Warfield's, I think you said," she -remarked after a pause. - -"No, she was Mr. Ashley's niece, not Mrs. Ashley's; but Mrs. Warfield -will surely take her when she hears that it was her sister's last -request." - -Miss Flint had another plan in her mind but she said nothing about it to -Diana; and that was that as soon as the funeral was over the next -afternoon, and Diana gone, she would go immediately about arranging the -furniture to suit herself, and then walk to her brother's house in the -village and make arrangements with him to have her effects brought to -her new abode. - -All these plans fell into line at the proper place; the funeral was -over, a long train of neighbors following the bier to the Dorton -churchyard, but among them not one relative or near friend of the -departed. - -Diana remained at the cottage until Miss Flint returned; then, being as -eager to leave as Jerusha was to have the house to herself, she was not -slow in taking the hint that her company could be dispensed with, and -left for the village. - -In the kindness of her heart she went out of her way to call at the -miller's to tell Hilda of the changes in her home. - -"Yes, I know," assented the little girl; "she told me she was going to -heaven and will see my father and mother and Uncle Ashley." - -"You are to go back now, Hilda," said Diana, her eyes filling with -tears. "Miss Flint is so kind as to take care of you until Mrs. Warfield -comes." - -The miller's little girl saw her safely to the cottage gate, and bade -her good-bye with a parting kiss. - -"What brought you here until I sent for you?" exclaimed Miss Flint -angrily, as Hilda stepped in. "I am just going out." - -"Diana told me to come," said Hilda, cowering; "she said you were so -kind as to take care of me." - -"Just like the meddlesome wretch! Now I will have to stay at home or -drag you along with me." - -Hilda began to cry, and Miss Flint could scarcely restrain herself from -laying violent hands upon her, while every nerve thrilled. - -"Stop crying instantly, or I will give you something to cry for!" she -said harshly. - -"I wish I were in heaven," sobbed the child. - -"You cannot wish it any more than I do! You could well be spared from -here." - -Hilda raised her head and looked with earnest gaze at Miss Flint. - -"What are you staring at? Get a book or something and stare at it." - -"I left my new book under the apple tree; please open the door for me." - -Her companion was glad to comply, and Hilda returned quickly with it, -and, sitting in her little chair, examined it with the look of having -regained a lost friend. - -"I am glad you have a pretty book," remarked Miss Flint, calling what -she flattered herself was a pleasant smile to her aid. "I am going out -for a little while and you must not stir from that chair until I come -back;" and hastily donning her wraps she locked the door, put the key in -her pocket and walked rapidly to Dorton. - -After arranging for the removal of her possessions, she called to see -Mrs. Lattinger to say that she would come next morning to fit the dress, -and then set out for the cottage. - -She considered that her absence was short, but to Hilda it appeared -endless. It was growing dark and she imagined that Miss Flint had left -her to pass the night alone. She was a timid child, and Miss Flint's -harshness had made her nervous, and her sobs and cries were pitiful. - -She had obeyed the mandate to stay in the chair; and opposite was a -lounge with cretonne cover, the ruffle of which reached the floor. She -saw this ruffle move, and when something peeped out and quickly -withdrew, her terror was beyond control. - -Miss Flint's anger broke forth when she found her in this state upon her -return. - -"How dare you act so, you spiteful creature?" she cried, shaking her -violently. - -"I saw something come from under the lounge," gasped the child -convulsively. - -"It is a falsehood, a wicked falsehood!" and going to the lounge she -raised the ruffle. "You see there is nothing under there! You are only -acting this way to keep me from going out again." - -"I did see something!" screamed Hilda, stamping her foot in her -excitement; "they were two black fingers." - -"Two black fingers!" echoed Miss Flint, derisively; "where are they now? -They must have been alive if they moved." - -"They did move; I saw them come out and go back!" - -"You little vixen!" cried Jerusha, grasping her; "if you don't hush I -will--" - -A voice at the door silenced her and caused Hilda to cower in her chair. - -"I was coming from Dorton," said Perry, "and heard somebody crying, so -stopped to see what was up." - -"I was out for a little while," said Jerusha, turning scarlet, "and -Hilda got frightened. She thought she saw two black fingers come from -under the lounge." - -"When people are scared they see lots of things. I have, myself. You -won't see them now that Miss Jerusha is here. Good-night to you both," -and Perry went on to "Fair Meadow" and they were again by themselves. - -"Now you see what your wicked story-telling has done," exclaimed Miss -Flint when Perry was out of hearing. "You see he did not believe you. -Two black fingers, indeed!" - -"I did see them!" screamed Hilda, flushed with excitement and passion. - -"Now look here," cried Miss Flint, pale with anger and her eyes glowing -as she grasped the child's arm, "if you say that again I will give you -such a whipping as will last you a lifetime. I have a mind to do it as -it is." - -Hilda cowered in her chair. She was a match for her tormentor in spirit -but not in strength; she was vanquished and sat trembling with vague -terror. - -No more words were spoken until supper was upon the table, then Hilda -was bidden to come, or not, if that suited her better, and she accepted -and took her usual place, though too disturbed to do justice to the -simple but well served meal. - -As soon as it was finished Miss Flint put the room in order for the -night, while Hilda returned to her chair and watched her quick, -impatient movements. - -"Come, you must go to bed now," was the command. "I must sit down to my -sewing and want you out of my way." - -"Please let the door be open; I am afraid in the dark," pleaded the -child. - -"What, of the two black fingers?" - -Hilda drew back shuddering and tears rushed to her eyes. - -"Come along, I have no time to waste upon you. Can't you unhook your -dress?" - -"Diana did it after Aunt Janette got sick. I cannot reach the hooks." - -"You are old enough to wait upon yourself and will soon find that I am -not a waiting-maid for you," and, giving an angry jerk to a refractory -hook, the dress was loosened and other garments removed, and the little -girl crept into the cot, which Miss Flint designated as her resting -place. - -"Won't you hear me say my prayers?" she asked timidly as her care-taker -was leaving the room. - -"You have great need to say them. I wonder you are not afraid to go to -sleep after telling such a wicked story," and, taking the lamp, she went -out, shutting the door after her. - -Miss Flint sat down to her sewing in the clean and pleasant room, but -she was not happy. She at last had a home of her own, but considered the -incumbrance that went with it overbalanced the benefit. - -She had not thought that her patrons would object to her taking Hilda to -their homes in her dressmaking visits, but realized that she was -mistaken, as she saw with her sister-in-law's eyes that there would come -rainy days when Hilda could not go; and if clear the child could not -stand the walks she would be compelled to take if she accompanied -Jerusha, nor could she be left alone in the cottage. - -Weary and sad, she leaned back in her chair and reflected; and her -glance happening to rest upon the curtain of the lounge, she saw it -move. Jerusha was not frightened, although she was wise enough to know -that there could not be an effect without a cause. - -The motion was repeated; the head of a mouse peeped out and was quickly -withdrawn, and she recognized one of the black fingers that had alarmed -Hilda. - -"Enjoy yourself all you can to-night, my lively friend," she said to -herself. "If a trap can catch you this will be the last chance you will -have to frighten anybody." - -She took care, however, not to enlighten Hilda as to her discovery and -for many days the child avoided the lounge, fearing the "black fingers." - - - - -CHAPTER VI--HILDA A LITERAL FOLLOWER OF BUNYAN - - -"Fair Meadow," the home of the Merryman family for generations, was a -large old-time farmhouse, built of gray stone, with dormer windows in -the roof, broad window and door sills, and within and without gave the -assurance of genuine home comfort, peace and good-will. - -It lay between "My Lady's Manor" and "Friedenheim," within a short -distance of each, and save for a wide lane and a meadow, would have been -opposite the cottage of Jerusha Flint, on the other side of the road. It -was a true Christian home, and its influence, like that of the -Courtneys, was felt throughout the neighborhood. - -The Merrymans were generous, genial people, and entertained city and -country friends with cordial hospitality, but it was seldom that the -farmhouse wore such a festive appearance as upon one evening the middle -of the February following the summer and autumn that Jerusha Flint held -possession of the cottage. - -The occasion was a reception in honor of a bride and groom, the bride -being Mr. Merryman's sister, married at her father's residence in -Baltimore and returning that evening from a southern tour. - -Snow had fallen the day before, which necessitated sending sleighs -instead of carriages to Dorton Station for the bridal party, and Mrs. -Merryman, seeing her husband drive down the lane in the lead of three -other sleighs, realized that time had passed too rapidly; the guests -would soon be there, and she was not dressed to receive them. - -With a satisfied glance at the supper table--brilliant with silver, -china and glass--she was hurrying up the stair-way to her dressing-room -when she heard a feeble knock upon the hall door, and, retracing her -steps, she opened it. - -A poor wanderer stood with hat in hand waiting there; the wind was -toying with his gray locks, his thin garments protected him but poorly -from the cold, and through his broken shoes could be seen his -stockingless feet. - -"They are all busy preparing supper; you need not wait," she answered -hurriedly in response to his humble appeal for a cup of hot coffee. - -"No, Archie won't wait," said the wanderer, turning meekly away. "Archie -is hungry and tired, and the snow is cold, but Archie won't wait." - -Closing the door quickly, Mrs. Merryman went to her room, dressed as -speedily as possible and descended in time to receive Mrs. Courtney, who -passed on up to the guest chamber to remove her wraps and be in -readiness to help receive. - -Mrs. Merryman had no anxiety for the successful serving of the supper, -and later the refreshments, for in addition to her own efficient maid, -Norah, Diana Strong had the management, and through the kindness of Mrs. -Courtney, Kitty was her helper, while Mose, in white apron and gloves, -was proud to have been loaned to wait upon the door and afterward the -table. - -Notwithstanding these helps to contentment, Mrs. Merryman carried a -heavy heart under her silken attire. The words of the half-frozen -wanderer kept up a refrain in her memory: "Archie is hungry and tired -and the snow is cold, but Archie won't wait." - -Oh, to look about her in that comfortable home; the whole place glowing -with light and heat, the kitchen redolent with roasting poultry; and she -had refused the cup of coffee that might have kept hope and even life in -the stranger! - -"I do not deserve to have a roof over my head!" she said to herself as -bitter tears welled to her eyes, but she controlled her feelings, for -the halting of sleighs at the gate gave token that the bridal party had -arrived. - -Amid the chattering of merry voices her depression was unnoticed and the -guests passed up to their rooms. Friends invited to meet them were -coming in couples and groups, and she welcomed all smilingly, but her -thoughts were upon the old and poorly clad man whom she had turned from -her door. - -At the moment of the arrival of the bridal party, Hilda Brinsfield, in -the cottage of Jerusha Flint, was kneeling upon a chair by the western -window; not watching with childlike interest the passing sleighs with -their joyous jingling of bells, but with a look of interest and hope -upon her pale face to which for many a day it had been a stranger. - -"Hilda," said Miss Flint, "I am going up to the village on business, and -wish you to be quiet and patient. I will not be long away." - -Hilda made no reply. She was thinking of a picture she had seen at Dr. -Lattinger's where she had been the day before with Miss Flint. - -It represented a group of sweet-faced angels, robed in white, grouped -about a harp upon which one of their number was playing an accompaniment -to their singing. - -She had asked the nurse where the angels lived, and was told that their -home was in heaven. - -"Where is heaven?" she had asked eagerly. - -"Do you see that sun?" asked the nurse, pointing to it from the window -of the nursery. "That sun is in heaven." - -Hilda had thought of but little else since hearing this. She had at last -located the home where her parents and her Aunt Ashley awaited her. All -that was required of her was to follow the sun and it would lead her to -them. She had watched all day, but the sun had kept itself hidden under -dim clouds. - -About the time that Miss Flint left the cottage it gleamed forth, and -seemed to invite her to follow. A longing to be with father, mother and -Aunt Ashley in heaven was too great to be resisted; all was to be gained -by following where he led. Without stopping for wraps, the eager child -hurried out. The sun, low in the west, seemed very near to her, and she -ran to join it on its way. On and on she ran, the snow not crushing -under her rapid tread. The air chilled her, but keeping the sun as a -guide she pressed on. It sank below the horizon, but Hilda followed, -guided by the ruddy glow which marked the spot where it descended. It -grew dark and the child became bewildered, retracing her steps or -wandering in a circle. Her limbs ached with weariness, and she was about -to lie down and rest, when she heard the chatter of happy voices and the -sound of sleigh bells, and, encouraged, she followed. But the sound -ceased, and again she wandered aimlessly, having nothing to guide her. - -At length she saw the gleaming of many lights, and she crept toward -them. - -"That is heaven!" she said to herself. "It is not far away, but I am so -cold, so cold!" - -The lights grew more brilliant, but she could scarcely move on toward -them. Her thoughts grew confused, strange visions thronged her mind, -vivid colors danced before her eyes, sweet music charmed her senses. She -was growing less weary; a pleasant warmth comforted her, and her eyelids -were heavy with sleep as she toiled on toward the goal, reached it, and -sank down between an evergreen shrub and one of the windows of the -Merryman farmhouse. - -Unconscious of the tragedy transpiring without, the bride, arrayed in a -fleecy robe of white, as were her attendants grouped about the piano, -was singing, when at the window appeared the wanderer for the second -time that evening, bearing in his arms the unconscious form of the -little girl. - -"She is dead," he murmured in a dazed, helpless way, as he stepped -through the window which Mr. Merryman opened for him; "she was in the -cold snow!" - -"She may be," said Dr. Lattinger, coming quickly toward them. "We must -take her to a cool room and make efforts to restore her." - -Tear-dimmed eyes gazed upon the pallid face, loving arms were extended -to bear her where Mrs. Merryman would direct, when Diana Strong, hearing -the subdued exclamations of surprise and pity, came to the parlor door -and glanced in. - -"It is Hilda!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands and turning pale with -emotion. "What could have driven her out this wintry night?" - -Although a new anxiety had come to Mrs. Merryman, she experienced relief -in again seeing the wanderer, and while Dr. and Mrs. Lattinger, Mrs. -Courtney and Diana were doing all in their power to restore the little -girl, she took him to the kitchen and soothed her tried conscience by -seeing that he was made comfortable with light and warmth and good food -at the table with Perry. - -"I knows him," remarked Mose, who with Kitty was enjoying his supper at -a table in another corner of the kitchen. "I done seen him many a time -on the road." - -"You knows a heap of people, Mose, that don't knows you," commented his -grandmother. - -"Where was the little girl when you found her?" Mrs. Merryman asked -Archie, while Diana was pouring his coffee. - -"She was sitting among the bushes by the piazza. Archie thought she was -looking in at the people. Archie did not know she was dead until he took -her up." - -"Why were you here?" asked Mrs. Merryman kindly. "I thought you had -left." - -"Archie was cold and hungry and tired. He went to the barn to sleep; he -had no other place to go. Archie heard sleigh bells and people coming in -with horses, and was afraid they would drive him away. Archie walked -about to keep warm; he heard singing and came to look in the window and -found the little girl." - -The efforts of Dr. Lattinger were rewarded; after a time Hilda had -recovered sufficiently to be taken to the nursery where Diana watched -beside her until time to help serve refreshments. - -"Where is mamma?" whispered Hilda without opening her weary eyes. "I -heard the sweet music and saw the beautiful angels, but did not know my -mamma or Aunt Ashley." - -"You will see them after a time," said Diana tenderly; "go to sleep now -and get rested." - -"I will," whispered the little girl; "I am tired, so tired, but I have -found heaven." - -Tears flowed from Diana's eyes as she watched her sleeping, and -tender-hearted Norah wept in sympathy. - -Hilda was so changed; she seemed no longer the light-hearted, care-free, -high-spirited child which had been loved and cherished by Mrs. Ashley. -Sadness had its place upon the wan face, the pinched features, in the -deep-sunken eyes. Diana almost censured herself for a share in the -cause. - -Fortunately Diana could remain at the farmhouse while the bridal company -stayed, and her heart was comforted by knowing that Hilda had found a -good home; for the next morning Mrs. Merryman received a note from Miss -Flint saying that as Hilda had run away from the cottage, she should not -be received again under that roof. - -The same afternoon as Perry was returning from the village with a wagon, -Miss Jerusha stopped him at her gate and helped him place in it three -trunks which had belonged to Mrs. Ashley. They contained clothing, books -and bric-a-brac, Jerusha retaining the furniture until claimed by Mrs. -Warfield. - -Cast upon the charity of Mr. and Mrs. Merryman, Hilda was heartily -accepted, and Miss Flint went from her cottage in the morning and -returned to it in the evening, rejoicing that she was at last free from -the burden that had oppressed her. So sprightly did she become, in -addition to her naturally independent and arbitrary manner that she gave -no one reason to suspect that her conscience was troubled by three -secrets, one of which in after years she strove vainly to divulge to -Hilda. - -The bridal company had been entertained at the Courtneys, the Lattingers -and several other homes, had seen the places of interest in the -neighborhood, had heard the traditions and chronicles, especially that -of the spectre that haunted "My Lady's Manor" and had returned to their -homes. - -One evening Norah was preparing the evening meal and crooning an Irish -melody--to which Hilda, sitting in Erma's cradle, was listening -attentively--and had just placed tea biscuits in the oven when the door -opened and Archie came in. - -He was comfortably clothed in the suit given him by Mr. Merryman, and -without glancing at Norah or Hilda he went directly to the seat in the -corner of the hearth which he had occupied the night of the reception. - -"It is Archie!" cried Hilda in delight, "he has brought me a mocking -bird." - -"No, Archie is ashamed that he could not bring one," said the wanderer -sadly. "He has tried and tried to catch one, but Archie has brought -something," and untying a plaid handkerchief he gave her a dead oriole, -a bit of moss, several snail and mussel shells, and other trifles which -he had gathered in the woods and streams perhaps miles away. - -When Mr. and Mrs. Merryman and their little Erma returned from Dorton -and with Hilda sat down to tea in the dining-room, Archie fell asleep in -his chair, but awoke to take supper with Norah and Perry; then went to -the room over the kitchen which he had previously occupied, and before -the sun rose was away upon his aimless wanderings. - -Thus the years passed, and in the home of the Merrymans contentment and -peace reigned. Hilda was looked upon as the elder daughter of the house -and was treated as kindly as though indeed their own. She went daily to -the village school and was beloved by teachers and companions. - -Although each school day she passed the cottage twice, and the same on -Sabbaths to the village church, she never had a glimpse of Jerusha -Flint, from which the inference could be rightly drawn that Jerusha had -frequent glimpses of her. - -One Saturday morning Hilda was helping Mrs. Merryman arrange the potted -plants upon the porch when Mose, hat in hand, made his appearance with a -note from Mrs. Courtney inviting them to take tea at "Friedenheim" that -evening. - -Hilda's eager glance at Mrs. Merryman, hoping for acceptance of the -invitation, was met by an assenting smile; a reply was written and Mose -hurried away. - -When it came time to dress for the visit Norah, who took great pride in -Hilda's beauty, arranged her hair in soft, full ringlets and helped her -don a pretty pink gown, Hilda's favorite, and singularly becoming. - -The visit was one of unalloyed pleasure, for during the afternoon Mr. -Valentine Courtney drove out from the city in a handsome carriage drawn -by a pair of ponies, and finding Hilda and Erma there took them out for -a drive, and after tea he took them the short walk to "My Lady's Manor," -too short to Mr. Courtney, so interested and amused was he with the -conversation of Hilda. - -He enjoyed her quaint manner of telling the events which transpired -within the range of her knowledge, among them the arrival of Norah's -aunt from Scotland, an event of great interest to Norah, and through her -to Hilda. - -"She is now at your Uncle Merryman's, I suppose?" remarked Mr. Courtney, -with a view to keeping up his share of the conversation. - -"No, she is in Baltimore, but she wants to come to Dorton to be near -Norah; and Aunt Merryman will try to get her a place as housekeeper. She -is a very good housekeeper," concluded Hilda sagely. - -When they reached "My Lady's Manor," Mr. Courtney unlocked the front -door, and they passed in; and after closing it he led the way through -the wide hall to the rooms on either side, all seeming to Hilda like the -almost forgotten remembrance of a dream. Then they ascended to the -second floor, then to the third and from thence up the narrow stair-way -to the walk on the roof, where Mr. Courtney pointed out the prominent -places in the city and noted the changes in Hilda's expressive -countenance, as in her quaint manner she gave her views of them. - -It was growing twilight and so they turned to descend, Hilda being the -first to reach the stair-way. - -"There is a lady waiting to come up!" she said in a half whisper, "I -think she is very old." - -"A lady?" ejaculated Mr. Courtney, in surprise, and, stepping to the -stair-way, he glanced down. - -The little lady in black, of whom he had so often heard, stood at the -foot, with bowed head and folded hands, but before Mr. Courtney could -address her, she disappeared. - -When they descended to the attic, Mr. Courtney, without commenting upon -the subject, glanced into the rooms, but not a living creature was to be -seen, nor in the rooms below it; the house was silent save for their -footfalls. - -"This mystery shall be explained, if possible, and that at the earliest -moment," he said to himself as he locked the hall door upon their exit, -and if Hilda noticed that he was silent on their walk back to -"Friedenheim" she made no comment. - -Mr. Courtney joined the Rev. Carl, Mrs. Courtney and Mrs. Merryman upon -the piazza, while Hilda and Erma, attracted by the cheerful appearance -of the kitchen, halted at the door. - -"Come right in, honey," cried Uncle Andy, heartily. "We is mighty glad -to see yer; we has no little chillen no mo', an' 'pears like we can -nebber git used ter doin' widout 'em." - -"Where have they gone?" asked Hilda as, holding Erma's hand, she stepped -in. - -"Roy an' Cecil has done mos' growed up, an' de little gal hab gone to -heaven whar ol' Andy will go in de heavenly Master's own good time. Ol' -Andy will soon go, honey." - -Hilda longed to send a message by him to her father and mother and her -Uncle and Aunt Ashley, but had not courage to go near enough to him to -whisper her request. Her indecision brought the delicate bloom to her -cheek, which always appeared under any little excitement, and which -awakened anew the admiration of Chloe. - -"She is as pretty as a picture; that is just the truth," she remarked to -Kitty. - -"Now, Chloe, jes' yer hab done wid dat," exclaimed Andy, turning sharply -about. "Ol' Satan an' de lookin' glass will done tell her dat fas' -enough widout yore help." - -"They will tell her the truth, Uncle Andy, you know that your own self," -replied Chloe nonchalantly. - -"Purty is as purty does, honey; don't disremember dat," advised Andy, -turning to Hilda; "don't let nobody make you sassy of yer beauty, fer -bime-bye, if de good Lord spares yer dat long, de wrinkles will done -scare de beauty away. Den whar is yer?" - -"Never scared no beauty away from Mis' Emma," asserted Chloe defiantly. -"Wrinkles is coming to stay, but she is a beauty in spite of them." - -"'Kase mistess wan't sassy ob her beauty, dat's what I done jes' say, -Chloe; de strongholt is mine, not yourn," and Andy laughed and coughed -exultantly. - -"Missus come of a pretty family," interposed Kitty. "She couldn't have -been ugly if she had tried. When she an' Mars Courtney was bride and -groom, dey was de han'somest couple in de state, an' her mother an' -grandmother were beauties in der day." - -"'Kase dey was Christians, an' had der treasures laid up in heaven. Yes, -Kitty, dey was good to de pore an' 'flicted, and too busy helpin' dem -dat could not help demselves to be sassy about der beauty." - -"They was too good for dis yer world, dat's certain," responded Kitty. - -"Deed was dey, an' nebber done forgit dar manners to nobody. When I was -de coachman, and used ter bring Selim to de block for young mistus--dat -was dis Misus Courtney's grandmother--honey," he said, turning to Hilda, -"an' she done come sweepin' down de piazzy steps, holdin' de long train -ob her habit ober her arm, an' her pearl handled whip in her han', an' -de long plumes in her hat bowin' an' noddin', tell yer what, honey, she -suttenly was purtier dan any picture." - -"So she was," echoed Kitty. "I was young then, but I remember that she -looked like Mis' Emma." - -"But you done forget about the manners, Uncle Andy," said Chloe -flippantly. - -"Oh, yes! When I done led Selim to de block an' would pat de -proud-sperited creetur 'till mistus mounted into de saddle, an' took the -bridle, an' was startin' away, she allus said, 'Thanky, Andy!' She -nebber disremembered dat, nebber." - -"Yes, and Mis' Emma is just as polite as her mother and grandmother," -said Kitty, proudly, "they was born ladies and couldn't be anything -else." - -It came time for Mrs. Merryman to go. Hilda and Erma were summoned. Mrs. -Courtney and her brother Valentine accompanied them across the meadow to -their home, and their conversation on the return walk was of "My Lady's -Manor," now bathed in the splendor of the moonlight. - - - - -CHAPTER VII--HILDA'S WELCOME TO MY LADY'S MANOR - - -A week passed and one evening Mr. Courtney came out on the train to -remain over night at "Friedenheim," and with him were Ralph and James -Rivers. - -He had something in contemplation which he wished to impart to the Rev. -Carl and Mrs. Courtney, and when supper was finished and they returned -to the library he mentioned what he thought they might consider a -foolish experiment. - -"Brother Carl and Sister Emma, I am thinking of housekeeping. What is -your opinion of it?" he asked. - -"Do you mean at 'My Lady's Manor'?" asked Mrs. Courtney. "I think it -would be charming thus having you for a neighbor; it would be next best -to having you at 'Friedenheim'." - -"I, too, am pleased," said Rev. Carl. "Are you really in earnest?" - -"Yes, I would like to at least make the trial, if I can get a suitable -housekeeper." - -"But the apparition, Val!" reminded Rev. Carl in a low tone. "Of course -we give no credence to such foolishness, but you may have trouble in -getting a housekeeper." - -"I would never have taken Anna there until the mystery was explained, -neither would I be willing to have anyone run the chance of being -frightened, but Ralph and James have a plan in view which I will not -disappoint them by divulging. In the meantime Hilda mentioned that Mrs. -Merryman knows of a woman who wishes to come to Dorton; did she happen -to mention it to you, Sister Emma?" - -"Yes, she asked me if I knew of anyone who needs a housekeeper. It is -Nora's aunt who wishes a place. She is now at a friend's house in the -city." - -"I wish you would see Mrs. Merryman in regard to it when convenient." - -"I will go or send there to-morrow, and am sure that Mrs. Merryman will -act promptly in regard to securing her." - -About twilight Ralph and James, with traveling satchels in hand, walked -to "My Lady's Manor" with the intention of discovering, if possible, -what manner of creature it was that was deceiving so many people. - -The satchel of James held a lamp, candles and matches, and Ralph's -contained a stiff rope with a noose at one end, with which he purposed -capturing the spectre. - -They took a survey of the mansion and decided upon occupying the two -bed-rooms overlooking the quarters. - -The doors of both rooms opened into the corridor, and these they decided -to lock, that any unquiet spirit that chose to visit one of the rooms -could have free access only to the other. - -Not a sound disturbed the stillness of the night; they slept peacefully -until the white sails upon the Patapsco were tinged with rosy hues of -the ascending sun. - -Before returning to "Friedenheim" they explored the attic room, which -was void of furniture or articles of any kind, but found no clue to the -mystery, nor hiding place for even a mouse. - -As the spectre declined to visit them when the doors leading to the -corridor were locked, the next night they decided to leave the door ajar -which led into it from the bed-room which Mrs. Farnsworth and Anna had -used as a library, and to place a lighted lamp near the steps leading to -the attic rooms. Ralph, with rope behind him, lay down upon the lounge -in that room and James occupied the room adjoining. - -He was too excited to sleep, but Ralph was in the land of dreams when -something like an icy hand touched his forehead. He sprang up, rope in -hand, and followed the little lady in black who had glided through the -door and ascended several steps toward the attic room, threw the noose -about her neck and brought her to a halt so suddenly that she had to -cling to the banister to keep from falling. A piece of marble which had -simulated the cold hand fell to the floor, the lace cap and gray curls -fell back, disclosing a head of glossy black hair, and the dough mask -fell off, showing the humiliated face of Jerusha Flint. - -The boys stood appalled at the discovery, and Jerusha shed a torrent of -tears, but whether from shame or grief or anger they had no means of -knowing. - -She spoke no word, but like a veritable spectre, glided up the attic -stairs and was seen no more. Only the sound of the shutting of a distant -door in some part of the large building could be faintly heard, then the -boys locked the three doors and slept in the bed-room until morning. - -It is doubtful if any news could have given more genuine astonishment to -the home circle at "Friedenheim" than that of Miss Flint playing the -role of a spectre, and the motive that prompted her was quite as much of -a mystery. But before the day closed the matter was made plain by Miss -Jerusha, who sent a humble message to Mrs. Courtney to come to see her, -as she desired earnestly to converse with her and was too ill to leave -her cottage. - -Mrs. Courtney went immediately, and although Miss Jerusha expected her, -she could scarcely raise her eyes to her neighbor's face when she stood -beside her, so humiliated was she as she lay pale, yet feverish, upon -the lounge. - -"I don't know what you can think of me, Mrs. Courtney," she said, as she -signified her wish for her visitor to take the seat beside her, "but I -will tell you the exact truth." - -Mrs. Courtney took the chair in silence and Miss Flint, after a pause, -resumed. - -"Anna Ashburton was my friend, the only person in her position who -treated me as an equal, and because she had given me her friendship, I -told her what I have told no other, before or since. She understood me -as no other human being could; she pitied me and loved me; and if I -could have remained with her I would not be the desolate, unhappy, -malicious creature I am. It was a bitter blow to us when we were cast -out of that beautiful home. We both loved it, and I say in all sincerity -that I grieved more for her sake than for my own. I had not her gentle -spirit, having inherited a proud and implacable temper, and I vowed in -my homeless condition that so far as lay in my power to prevent it, -Reginald Farnsworth should never find purchaser or tenant for his -ill-gotten property." - -"But my dear Miss Flint," said Mrs. Courtney, "'My Lady's Manor' has not -belonged to Mr. Farnsworth for several years. He gave it back to Anna -Ashburton and she bequeathed it to my brother, Valentine Courtney." - -"Bequeathed it to your brother!" echoed Miss Jerusha slowly, and turning -very pale. "She had it to bequeath, yet never told me of it in any of -the kind, affectionate letters she wrote to me?" - -"She did not become owner of the property until a short time before her -death. She was coming to see all her Maryland friends and was keeping it -as a surprise." - -"She left her property to a man who has already more wealth than he can -use, and not one penny to me whom she promised to give a home if she -ever had one to share with me! God help me! I thought I had one friend, -but there is no such a thing in the wide world. My life has been a -miserable failure." - -"You should not censure Anna Ashburton, Miss Flint. I feel sure it was -her intention to keep her promise to you." - -A scornful smile crossed the thin lips of Jerusha, but she made no -response. - -"And you should not count your life a failure, there is no one in the -neighborhood more useful." - -A sniff of derision rewarded this sincere compliment. - -"Please tell me," resumed Mrs. Courtney, "how you could act the part of -a spectre and not frighten the servants away." - -"Nothing could be simpler," replied Miss Jerusha wearily. "They were -glad of anything that would dishearten Mr. Farnsworth and cause him to -restore Anna's property to her. They never saw me, because nothing would -tempt them to enter the main building except in daytime, and then not -alone." - -"You always disappeared in the unfurnished attic room, yet James and -Ralph, who examined it thoroughly, could find no place of exit." - -"That was yet simpler when understood. In that one short, happy summer -with Anna I was one afternoon gathering clusters of grapes from the -arbor which yet shades this end of the house, and noticed a locked door -for which I could see no use. I spoke of it to Anna and she explained -that it led by flights of narrow steps to a room just their width, off -the back attic, and furnished with rows of hooks for meat. After the -building of a meat house it was abandoned and almost forgotten. - -"When we were forced to leave 'My Lady's Manor' my plans were laid. -There was no key to that door, but my brother, being a locksmith, had -keys of every shape and size. I took the impression of the keyhole in -wax and never gave up trying keys until I got one that would turn the -rusty lock. Then, screened by the arbor, I could gain admittance any -hour of the day or night." - -"But how could you get from the meat room to other parts of the house?" - -"There is a sliding door in the partition which allowed the servants of -that day to get meat from the room without unlocking the outer door. It -fitted so perfectly that no one could detect it except by the knob, -which I took care should be removed; and it would not occur to anyone -that there was a narrow room between it and the outer weather-boarding -of the house." - -"But the costume of Mrs. Joshua Farnsworth?" - -"Anna gave it to me as a memento of her foster mother. I kept it on one -of the hooks, and it was short work to don it. The meat room having no -window, the light from my shaded lamp could not be seen from the -outside. Here is the key. You can give it, with my compliments, to Mr. -Courtney;" and again the scornful smile passed over her lips. - -Mrs. Courtney saw in this a hint of dismissal and arose to go; moreover -Miss Flint appeared weak and exhausted. - -"But can I do nothing for you?" she asked. "It grieves me to leave you -so alone." - -"When I need assistance from you or anyone in Dorton, or out of it, I -will ask it," replied Jerusha haughtily, her black eyes gleaming with -unshed tears, and, seeing that her presence was no longer desired, Mrs. -Courtney went home. - -When she reached there she found a note from Mrs. Merryman saying that -Mrs. Flynn was ready any day to assume the duties of housekeeper at "My -Lady's Manor," and Mr. Courtney was encouraged to proceed with his -arrangements for housekeeping. - -Busy days now followed, for Mrs. Courtney resolved that her brother's -home should be in perfect order for his reception on his return from the -city the first evening of taking possession of his inheritance, and all -the Courtney family be there to welcome him. - -At length all was in readiness and not only the parlor but the kitchen -at "Friedenheim" was interested, for Chloe was to depart to take up her -abode as cook at "My Lady's Manor," and the evening of the home-coming -was sent over by Mrs. Courtney to have all in readiness for the supper -which she and Kitty had prepared, and would be brought later by Mose. - -Chloe never felt her importance more than when, as sole occupant of "My -Lady's Manor," she unlocked the china closet and took out the beautiful -and costly ware, once the property of Mrs. Joshua Farnsworth. She was -absorbed in admiration of a tea plate, almost transparent when held -between her and the light, when the door quietly opened and Archie came -in, and without so much as a glance at the startled Chloe made his way -to the corner of the broad hearth. - -"Archie was glad when he saw the smoke coming again from the chimney. -Archie has often looked for it," he said, rubbing his hands in -satisfaction at seeing the glow from the open grate of the range. - -"Nobody comes into my kitchen without knockin'. Don't like folks to come -in that way nohow," remarked Chloe, keeping at a respectful distance. - -"Archie never knocks. All the houses he goes to are Archie's homes." - -"This is Marse Courtney's house and I am boss of this kitchen," -proclaimed Chloe. - -"Archie is tired. He has walked and walked," and before Chloe could make -further protest he had leaned back and closed his eyes in the -comfortable chair. - -She kept on with her work, but it was with a feeling of relief that she -saw the carriage with Mrs. Courtney and Cecil stop at the gate. - -Hilda on her way from the village school had stopped to speak to them, -and Mrs. Courtney, ever mindful of the pleasure of others, invited her -to assist in welcoming Mr. Courtney. - -The delicate flush which always visited the cheek of Hilda at an -unexpected pleasure proved her eagerness to accept, and she followed -Mrs. Courtney up the broad walk to the entrance. - -"I am afraid I ought not to stay. Aunt Grace will worry about me," she -said, as Chloe, in new plaid turban, opened the door, beaming with -satisfaction. - -"I have thought of that, dear, and intend Cecil to drive over and tell -Mrs. Merryman that you are here." - -"Oh, please let me go with him!" said Hilda eagerly; "I will put on my -pink cashmere dress and ask Norah to curl my hair." - -"Certainly, my dear, if you wish it, but you look very neat to have been -in school all day." - -With happiness heightening the beauty of her expressive face, Hilda -turned to go. - -"Tell Mrs. Merryman not to be anxious about your coming home this -evening," enjoined Mrs. Courtney; "we will take you in the carriage." - -"Come in and see the table before you go, honey," said Chloe, leading -the way to the supper room and watching for Hilda's admiring glance when -the table came in view. - -"Oh, Chloe, it is splendid!" she said in delight. "I never saw china and -glass glisten so." - -"Yes, honey, it do glisten, and so do the silver. Jes' you wait till the -lamps are lighted and you see that table with the fried chicken and -oysters and pounded biscuit and muffins and raspberry jam. Be sure and -hurry back, honey! Come as soon as ever you can!" - -As eager to be among all these triumphs as was Chloe to have her, Hilda -promised, when a new thought came to her. - -"Chloe, will there be little bouquets at the plates and a large one in -the center of the table as Mrs. Courtney likes to have at home?" - -"I 'spect so, honey. Mis' Emma allus sees to the flowers. There's oceans -of 'em growin' wild in the yards and garden." - -"Oh, Chloe, I have the loveliest pink rosebuds at home. I will bring -them to put at Mr. Valentine's plate." - -"Where did you get them, honey?" - -"The miller's wife gave the bush to me. She asked Miss Jerusha Flint for -it, because it had been planted by Aunt Ashley. And Miss Jerusha gave -it, although she knew it was for me. I knew nothing of it until I came -one evening from school and found it in my flower bed. It was very kind -of them." - -"I 'spect, honey, Miss Flint don't care for flowers, or you wouldn't -have it now." - -Hilda smiled and was hurrying away when she caught sight of Chloe's -first guest. - -"Why, there is Archie!" she cried, "dear, dear Archie!" and running to -him, she took his hand in her soft little palms. - -"Does you know him, honey?" asked Chloe, full of surprise. - -"Know him? Oh, Chloe, he saved my life!" - -"Yes, honey, I done heard that some old body found you in the snow. -Mighty fine girl he saved; he ought to be proud of that find." - -"Archie is proud," said the old man who had waked at the first sound of -Hilda's voice. "Archie looks all the time for people in the snow since -he found her." - -By this time Cecil, who had finished bringing in the baskets, was -waiting for her. She ran out, stepped into the carriage and was driven -away. - -"I hope we won't meet any boys," thought Cecil. "They would never stop -plaguing me." - -Mrs. Merryman was glad that Hilda had the prospect of this pleasant -visit and entertained Cecil while she ran up to her room to dress, -keeping in remembrance the roses she was to take. - -"I am so glad you will be there, Miss Hilda," said Norah joyously as she -curled the girl's beautiful hair. "I am to go as soon as our supper is -over, and will stay all night with aunt, for Mrs. Merryman, bless her -kind heart, says that aunt will feel strange and lonely at first." - -"I am glad you are coming, Norah; I am sure your aunt will be glad to -have you." - -Looking very fair and sweet in her becoming toilet and with rosebuds in -hand, Hilda reached "My Lady's Manor" and was assisted from the carriage -by Mr. Valentine Courtney, who was watching for her. - -"My little Hilda expected to welcome me. Instead I welcome, gladly -welcome her to my home," and, taking her hand in his, they went up the -broad path to the entrance. - -"Thank you, sir," smiled Hilda. "When I went past here to school this -morning I never thought of being here this evening." - -"I hope it is as much pleasure to you to be here as it is to me to -welcome you," he said kindly. - -"Yes, I love to be here. I think 'My Lady's Manor' the loveliest place -in the world." - -"Then I hope you will come very often," he returned smiling with -pleasure. "You are fond of reading, I am sure." - -"Oh, yes, I do love a pretty book; I am reading a beautiful story now." - -"Here is a large collection and suitable for every age," said Mr. -Courtney as they reached the library, which since the days of Mr. -Reginald Farnsworth was on the first floor, across the hall from the -parlor--"you can read here when it suits you, or you can take any books -home with you that you wish." - -The glad light in Hilda's eyes and the flush upon her cheek showed her -appreciation of the offer, for which she thanked him in her naturally -graceful manner. - -It was one of the happiest hours of Mr. Courtney's life when, in company -with his sister, her husband and sons and Hilda, they sat at supper in -his own home for the first time. - -Mrs. Courtney did the honors, and Roy and Cecil, though accustomed to -Kitty's and Chloe's culinary achievements all their lives, considered -the supper the best they ever tasted. - -Twilight came and the whistle of a departing train had scarcely died -upon the air, when Norah, who had gone to the Dorton Station, was seen -coming with her aunt. Hilda ran to the gate to meet them, and Mrs. -Courtney received Mrs. Flynn kindly, introduced her to her employer, and -asked Norah to take her to her room while Chloe prepared her supper. - -Mrs. Courtney admired the neat-looking woman with the stamp of goodness -in her face and felt satisfied that she was a suitable person to manage -her brother's household. - -Hilda had never enjoyed an evening so thoroughly, as she flitted like a -bird through the spacious rooms. She was now in the parlor listening to -the cheerful conversation, now in the tea room with Mrs. Flynn and -Norah, then in the kitchen where Chloe was putting all in order for the -night, and Archie was resting in his chair. - -"What's to be done about him, honey?" asked Chloe in a whisper, nodding -her gay turban toward the sleeper. "He's gwine to stay all night, that's -certain; I knowed that as soon as he was done supper, 'cause he never -sighted his ol' hat and cane in the corner, but made straight back to -his chair." - -"Will I ask Mrs. Courtney, Chloe?" whispered Hilda. - -"Ax Marse Val, honey, 'cause the house is his'n now." - -Hilda returned to the parlor and stood beside Mr. Valentine Courtney -until he finished something he was saying to Rev. Carl. - -"Chloe wishes to know if Archie is to stay over night," she said -somewhat anxiously; "he does not say anything about going away." - -"Certainly he can stay," replied Mr. Courtney. "Please tell Chloe to see -that he has a comfortable bed," and Hilda sped away, well pleased with -her mission. - -"It would be a poor beginning to my housekeeping to turn a fellow -pilgrim away, would it not?" he asked, with a smile, of Rev. Carl. - -"I think so, indeed. You are doing right to invite him to stay and to -make him comfortable." - -"Before we leave you perhaps it would be advisable for me to go through -the rooms in the back building and see which would be best to give him," -suggested Mrs. Courtney. - -Before Mr. Valentine could reply Hilda came running back to the parlor. -"He has gone to his room without waiting for anybody to tell him," she -said almost breathlessly. "He says he knows the room that Lois gave -him." - -Rev. Carl gave a hearty peal of laughter, in which all joined. "That is -the style of visitors to have, brother Val," he said; "they save you the -trouble of entertaining them." - -"I look upon it as a good omen," smiled his brother-in-law. "I hope my -home will be a place of rest and refreshment to all who enter its -doors." - -"I am sure it will be," said Mrs. Courtney sincerely; "but this Archie, -I don't understand his saying that he knows the room that Lois gave him. -I am quite sure it was not in Mr. Joshua Farnsworth's time, or in that -of his widow, or Anna. I was here quite often, and never saw him or -heard any of them speak of him." - -"The servants who had charge afterward may have allowed him to sleep -here, and no doubt were glad to have company near them," suggested Rev. -Carl. - -"While we were reviving Hilda the night that Archie found her in the -snow, Diana Strong mentioned that she had seen him on the road more than -once, but did not know his name," remarked Mrs. Courtney. - -"I, too, remember hearing him spoken of that evening," rejoined Rev. -Carl. "Dr. Lattinger mentioned that he frequently met him, and said that -he was a mystery to him, reminding him of the Wandering Jew. He added -that Archie is weak-minded and does not know his last name." - -"He appears to be one who has seen better times," commented Mrs. -Courtney. "There is an air of refinement about him that one does not see -in the ordinary wayfarer. I believe that he has a history, but it is not -likely that we will ever know it." - -It was now time to return to "Friedenheim," and Mrs. Courtney arose to -go. - -"I hope, sister, that you will allow Roy and Cecil to come here -frequently and pass the night with me. I will bring Ralph and James -often, and wish all these young people and their friends to take -pleasure in visiting here." - -"They will not be more pleased to come than I will be to have them with -you, and we all wish you every happiness in your home," replied his -sister affectionately. And thus ended the happy day that welcomed Hilda -Brinsfield for the second period of her life to "My Lady's Manor." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--LETTERS WHICH BRING A TRIAL TO HILDA - - -Not only the village of Dorton, but the whole country around it rejoiced -that Mr. Valentine Courtney was the owner of "My Lady's Manor," and that -it was again occupied and one of the hospitable homes of the -neighborhood. - -His first purchase was a pair of handsome horses, a comfortable carriage -and a phaeton. - -For coachman he wished a middle-aged, unmarried man, for whom he -advertised, and among the many who responded was one he was satisfied to -engage. This man was Sandy MacQuoid, a Scotchman who bore testimonials -from two Edinburgh families as to his exemplary character and -capability. - -Sandy was tall, thin and pale, quiet in manner and scrupulously neat in -attire, which was always black and perfect in fit. - -With congratulations of his own good fortune, Mr. Courtney brought him -to "My Lady's Manor" and the years which followed proved Sandy's -testimonials correct; he vied in fidelity with the Irish housekeeper and -the African cook. - -Sandy stipulated but for one favor after the matter of salary was agreed -upon, and that was that he might bring a parrot, which had been trained -to say many things, and his Scotch bagpipes. - -Mr. Courtney granted both requests with pleasure for he was partial to -pets and fond of music; moreover the place would be rendered more -attractive to his nephews and their friends, and to Hilda. - -With the cordial assent of Mrs. Merryman, Hilda had availed herself of -the invitation of Mr. Courtney to read in his library, and almost every -afternoon on her way from school she passed an hour or more in the -home-like room. - -Although Mrs. Flynn and Chloe saw but little of her during that hour, -they were glad to know she was there; the day always seemed brighter -when she passed on the way to the library, halting to chat a moment with -them. - -As a rule, she was away by the time that Mr. Courtney returned from the -city, but it was a pleasure to him to hear that she had been there. - -At his request Mrs. Flynn frequently invited Hilda and her schoolmates -to tea, which request was all the more heartily appreciated by her that -Norah always came and spent the evening in order to see Hilda safely -home. - -It was also an understood thing that when Rev. Carl and Mrs. Courtney -came to take tea at "My Lady's Manor" Hilda should be invited, and she -always accepted the invitation. Thus in time she looked upon the villa -as a second home, as when a child in the cottage of her Aunt Ashley she -passed so much time there with Anna Ashburton. - -Happy summers passed, and winters equally pleasant, and Hilda was -growing into healthy, symmetrical and beautiful young womanhood, the -cultivation of her fine mind keeping pace with her growth. - -Three days in each week Mr. Courtney went to the city in his carriage -and Sandy, after leaving him at his office, purchased supplies for the -household. - -One day, after completing this, he was driving to the hotel where the -horses were cared for, when he had the unexpected pleasure of meeting an -old friend who had recently arrived from "the land of the thistle." - -Sandy invited him to take luncheon with him, after which they repaired -to the lodgings of his friend where he was presented with a young Scotch -terrier of great intelligence. - -Sandy's pleasure in the gift was enhanced by that of Mr. Courtney, and -when Roy and Cecil came over that evening they could scarcely tear -themselves away in time to study their next day's lessons, so charmed -were they with the terrier. - -The parrot was kept on the porch, as a rule, and in order to hear its -quaint speeches one had to go there, but the terrier was here, there and -everywhere; and Hilda was almost tempted at times to defer her reading -in the library to be amused by the antics of the canine foreigner. - -Seeing her fondness for the terrier, Chloe was loth to complain of it, -but could not at times refrain when his mischief grew too pronounced. - -"That pup is mighty mischievous, honey," she said one afternoon upon -recovering her breath after chasing the terrier to get her clean turban -which he had captured. "You don't know the tricks that terrier can play. -When the door-bell rings and I go to let company in, I'm never sartin -that a pile of bones or ol' shoes won't fall in when I open the door." - -"I wonder why he likes best to put them at the front door when there are -so many doors to the house?" laughed Hilda. - -"Jes' to be as tricky as ever he kin, honey, and where he finds the ol' -shoes is the riddle I can't guess. I never sees none layin' around, and -I burns all he fotches in." - -"But he is so funny, Chloe, and we all love him so!" - -"I'm not gwine to say nothin' agin him, honey, and haven't said nothin', -even when he tore up my best turban that Mis' Emma done give me. Mrs. -Flynn feeds him. She puts a piece of oilcloth on the floor by the table -and gives the terrier scraps while she and Mr. Sandy is eatin'." - -One afternoon Mrs. Courtney, Mrs. Merryman and Hilda went to take tea at -"My Lady's Manor," a charming walk across the fields that lovely day, -and Hilda was the happiest of the happy. - -The afternoon passed speedily and pleasantly, and Hilda, who had been -part of the time in the library, was first to see the carriage -containing Mr. Courtney and Sandy stop at the side gate. She ran -joyously to announce his arrival to Mrs. Courtney, then to the kitchen -to tell Chloe, then out to the gate to meet him. - -"My home-coming is always more pleasant when Hilda is here to welcome -me," he said cordially as he clasped her dimpled hand; "something told -me that you would meet me at the gate." - -Hilda flushed with pleasure, and, clinging to his hand, she went with -him to the parlor, where he welcomed the other guests, then went to his -dressing room, the terrier flying up the steps in advance of him, and -watching every movement with alert, bright eyes until he descended. - -Hilda's request to arrange the bouquet for the center of the table was -cheerfully granted by Mrs. Flynn, and with scissors in hand she went to -the garden, the terrier following in an ecstasy of delight and playing -about her until he saw Archie coming through the gate, his coat upon his -arm, for the evening was warm. - -The terrier ran to meet him, danced around him and barked, but Archie -paid no attention to him, and walking slowly up he placed his coat on -the balustrade of the back porch, then went to his favorite seat in the -kitchen, and was soon asleep, worn out with his constant walking. - -Hilda, in the meantime, had arranged her roses in a tall vase and placed -them upon the table; then the tea-bell rang and Mr. Courtney and his -guests gathered about it, and cheerful conversation enlivened the meal. - -When it was finished they went to the library, where later, Sandy, tall, -grave and reserved, joined them at Mr. Courtney's request to give them -Scotch airs upon the bagpipes. - -It seemed to Hilda, seated near Mr. Courtney, that Sandy's music never -sounded so mournfully sweet as upon that evening, the last time she was -to hear it for many days. For destiny was quietly closing the doors of -"My Lady's Manor" upon her, and opening those of a distant farmhouse, -the existence of which she had never known. - -In the pauses of the music the occupants of the library heard a -scampering and a scuffling upon the porch, mingled with sharp, quick -barks, and the dragging of something to and fro. - -Mr. Courtney arose and was about to pass from the room to see what -occasioned the sounds, when through the open door rushed the terrier, -bearing in his mouth two letters which he dropped upon the floor and -then ran out. - -"Can't find no mo' ol' shoes so must go and tear up the coat that Marse -Archie sot so much store by," said Chloe, as she captured both coat and -the terrier as he was again scampering into the library. "I done heerd -that scampering and knowed that tarrier was up to sumpin', and he's done -tore out the linin' of that good coat and the cover off a letter." - -"Did he get the letters out of the coat?" asked Mr. Courtney, as Hilda -picked them from the floor. - -"I 'spect so, sir. There weren't no letters on the piazzy 'till the -tarrier done tore the coat." - -"This one is signed 'Janette Ashley'," said Hilda, becoming very pale, -"and is addressed to 'My Dear Sister Sarah.' I remember that Aunt -Ashley's first name was Janette," she added, turning to Mrs. Merryman -and putting the letter in her hand. - -"It was, Hilda, and her sister's name was Sarah Warfield. Shall I read -it aloud?" - -The girl nodded; she could not trust her voice to speak. - -"These must be the letters of which Diana Strong spoke the evening of my -reception," remarked Mrs. Merryman when she finished reading. "The dates -prove that they were written the week of Mrs. Ashley's death." - -"My husband wrote this one," said Mrs. Courtney, to whom Mrs. Merryman -had passed the letters. "I recognize the writing; besides, I remember -hearing him say at the time that he had written a letter for Mrs. Ashley -to her sister in Ohio. He wrote it at the cottage and I remember his -saying that Mrs. Ashley asked Diana to give him her pen from the writing -desk. He said it was the handsomest he had ever seen, a gold pen, the -handle also gold, and set with lines of rubies. He commented upon the -beauty of it, and Mrs. Ashley said her father gave it to her upon her -fifteenth birthday, and she had never used any other since." - -"But where have the letters been all this time?" said Mrs. Merryman. - -"Without doubt in the pocket of the coat of which the terrier has torn -the lining," said Mr. Courtney, whose handsome face had grown pale and -sad since the reading of the letters. - -"Poor Mrs. Warfield never received them and we have censured her for not -replying," continued Mrs. Merryman. - -"But one would suppose that not receiving any letter from her sister, -she would write to know the reason for her silence," suggested Mr. -Courtney. - -"She may have done so, but I never heard of it. Diana said that she -asked the postmaster to forward a newspaper containing a notice of Mrs. -Ashley's death." - -"What should be done with the letters?" asked Mrs. Courtney. "Ought they -not be forwarded to Mrs. Warfield?" - -Hilda sat pale and silent, glancing anxiously from one to another, and -for a time no one spoke. - -"It appears to be the just, therefore the right thing, to do," commented -Mrs. Merryman. - -"As my husband wrote one of the letters, if you all agree to it, I will -take them home and ask him to forward them to Mrs. Warfield. Wouldn't -that be best, my love?" asked Mrs. Courtney, turning to Hilda. - -"Oh, she may think I ought to go to her! How can I leave you all?" -exclaimed the girl. - -Tears filled the eyes of the elder ladies, and Mr. Courtney arose and -left the room. - -"But we would not be acting justly to the living or the dead by -withholding them," interposed Mrs. Courtney. - -"No, it would not be right, they must be sent," sobbed Hilda. - -"The question with me is, how letters written so long ago came to be in -Archie's coat," said Mrs. Merryman. "I know that he is, in his sad, -preoccupied way, searching for something in his pitiable wanderings, and -has his pockets at times filled with trifles, but these letters, while -somewhat stained and yellow, are not the least worn, so could not have -been carried long in his pocket." - -"It will always be a mystery, I think, unless he is willing to tell us -where he found them." - -"He was at our house over night," said Mrs. Merryman reflectively. "I -wonder, if asked, whether he could tell where he got them. Will you ask -him, Hilda?" - -She obeyed immediately, but as they supposed, he could not give the -least information. - -"Diana incidentally mentioned that she gave the letters to Perry to -mail. It may be that he is the one to blame for their not being received -by Mrs. Warfield. I will ask him as soon as I get home," continued Mrs. -Merryman. - -"But what could be his object, and where has he kept them all these -years without your knowledge?" - -"I have not the least idea. He has a small trunk, but it is never -locked, nor has he ever given the least evidence that he is keeping -anything hidden." - -Hilda arose and left the library, and as she stepped into the hall she -heard footsteps of someone passing to and fro upon the long piazza. It -was Mr. Courtney, and as she appeared in the door-way he halted and held -out his hand to her. She glided swiftly to him and he clasped her hand -and placed it within his arm, and silently they walked back and forth. - -The ladies prepared for their return home, and Mrs. Merryman went to -apprise Hilda, who withdrew her hand to follow. For one brief moment Mr. -Courtney clasped her in his arms, for one brief moment she sobbed upon -his breast, then she rejoined the others. They bade the master of "My -Lady's Manor" good-night at his gate and left him to his sad -forebodings. - -When Mrs. Merryman reached home she questioned Perry, whereupon he made -a full confession, glad to be relieved of the secret which had so long -oppressed him. - -Diana Strong, during Mrs. Ashley's illness, had given him two letters to -mail at the Dorton postoffice. He had opened them out of mere curiosity, -as he earnestly alleged, and they had been a millstone about his neck. -Terror of the law had made him afraid to have them found in his -possession, and what conscience he had, refused to let him destroy them. -He had taken them to the woods and placed them in the hollow of a tree -too far up for them to be seen from the ground, and hearing Mr. Merryman -say that the tree was to be felled, he was compelled to remove the -letters. - -The visit of Archie to the Merryman home had left an avenue of escape, -and he watched his opportunity when the wanderer was about to depart to -slip them in the pocket of his coat; and the old man went to "My Lady's -Manor," unconscious that he was bearing a message that would take Hilda -from the home where he had placed her. - -Perry was anxious to do all he could to atone, and as a commencement was -willing to leave a game of ball to carry a note from Mrs. Merryman to -"Friedenheim," that Rev. Carl might know the whole story before writing -that evening to Mrs. Warfield, enclosing the letters. - -Mrs. Warfield was one who never dallied over a known duty. Her answer -came by return mail, and had Hilda been destitute of a home, or situated -less happily than she was, the letter would have given her unmingled -satisfaction. As it was, it brought to her heart and to that of another -a chill of bitter disappointment. - -Mrs. Warfield wrote that she had received the paper containing the -notice of Mrs. Ashley's death while ill from the effect of the railway -accident, and the nervous terror resulting from it had kept her from -traveling since. She explained that Mrs. Lacy having gone to France to -reside, she had no one to communicate with, and had written to the -postmaster at Dorton asking the name of any friend of Mrs. Ashley whom -she could address. He replied, but had taken so little interest in the -matter that he sent the name of Mrs. Reginald Farnsworth, of San -Francisco. - -Mrs. Warfield wrote immediately, and after several weeks she received a -letter saying that Mrs. Farnsworth was traveling in Europe, but the -letter had been forwarded by the postmaster in response to Mrs. -Warfield's request. - -She never received a reply, and still hoped the time would come when she -could visit Dorton and learn for herself what she had used all means in -her power to know through others. She added that she was rejoiced to -know that Mrs. Ashley had intrusted Hilda to her care, and so far as lay -in her power the trust should be faithfully cherished. - -The letter concluded by saying that her eldest son would visit -Philadelphia the following week, and would take great pleasure in going -to Dorton to accompany Hilda to the home that would welcome her gladly. - -The evening of the day that this letter was received found Mr. Valentine -Courtney in consultation with his sister, and the next morning that lady -visited Mrs. Merryman, going early that she might see Hilda before she -set out for school. - -Mrs. Courtney having--as she reminded Mrs. Merryman--no daughter of her -own, asked as a favor that she be allowed to exercise her taste in -providing an outfit for Hilda which might not be convenient to obtain in -her new home. - -Mrs. Merryman, taking the offer in the spirit it was made, gave glad -consent, and it was decided that Hilda should accompany Mrs. Courtney to -Baltimore that morning upon a shopping expedition. - -This was a charming surprise to Hilda. She was ready by the time Mrs. -Courtney and Mrs. Merryman had discussed the needs of the prospective -young traveler, and it seemed like a fairy story that instead of walking -to school, she was spinning along the pleasant road between Dorton and -Baltimore in a roomy, comfortable carriage behind a pair of fine bay -horses, and with the charming companionship of Mrs. Courtney. - -Shopping proved to be the most attractive of amusements as they drove -from one business house to another, and to the inexperienced girl Mrs. -Courtney's purse seemed inexhaustible. - -"One article that Mrs. Merryman and I agreed upon as being indispensable -is a large trunk," Mrs. Courtney remarked as they reached the city. "We -will buy it the first article, and all the other purchases can be taken -home in it." - -Hilda was charmed with the selection made. It was handsome, substantial -and commodious, with many little compartments dear to the heart of the -feminine traveler. - -The buying of dress goods came next, and Hilda was in her element, and -Mrs. Courtney was surprised at the judgment she evinced in selecting -what was suitable to her age and appearance. - -Wraps, hats, gloves, ruffles, and all the articles which complete a -girl's wardrobe were rapidly filling the trunk which Mose had strapped -on the rack on the back of the carriage. - -"Now, dear Hilda, I have a favor to ask of you, and that is to sit for -your picture. Mrs. Merryman wishes one, I should like to have one, and -brother Valentine would be pleased to have you present one to him." - -"And one for Miss Jerusha Flint," supplemented Hilda, laughingly. - -"Of course," assented Mrs. Courtney, amused at the suggestion. "But -first we will take luncheon at the ladies' restaurant where I always go -upon these shopping tours, then to the picture gallery, then to a -dressmaker's to be fitted, and I think we will feel that we have made -very good use of our time." - -"But, dear Mrs. Courtney, would it not be better to wait for the -photograph until one of these new dresses is made?" - -"No, dear, we prefer seeing you in the pink cashmere. It is the same you -wore when last at 'My Lady's Manor,' and is very becoming. We will go -now and have a good luncheon which will refresh us for our afternoon's -shopping." - -The gallery was visited and the sweet face of Hilda imaged for the -friends she was soon to leave, the dresses fitted, and she supposed all -they had come to do was accomplished. - -"We have had a pleasant day together, Hilda," said her friend, "and I -wish to give you a remembrance of it and of me--something useful as well -as ornamental. Would you like a watch?" - -No need to wait for an answer; the beaming eyes, smiling lips and rosy -tint which rose to the fair face were more expressive than words, and -Mrs. Courtney led the way to a jeweler's where she again had occasion to -admire the innate refinement and courtesy of Hilda. What the donor -selected was her choice, and her pleasure was enhanced and the value of -the gift increased by the inscription which Mrs. Courtney requested -should be engraved on the inner side of the case: "The Lord is my -Shepherd; I shall not want." - -It was left with the jeweler to be brought out to "Friedenheim" by Mr. -Courtney. Then they turned their faces homeward, and thus ended this red -letter day in the life of Hilda. - -It had always been a foregone conclusion that anything in which Mrs. -Courtney took part proved to be a success; therefore the pretty new -gowns, the watch and the cabinet pictures reached "Friedenheim" in good -time, and were satisfactory in every respect. - -Mrs. Warfield's son Paul came at the appointed time and was, in the eyes -of Mr. Valentine Courtney--who, with his sister, called that evening to -see him and bid good-bye to Hilda--a young Apollo. In the opinion of the -others--Hilda not excepted--he was a tall, finely formed young man, with -good features, dark hair and eyes and a firm mouth and chin. - -He bore well his part in the after-supper conversation, and Hilda had a -feeling of pride that her Aunt Ashley's nephew was so worthy the -attention of her Dorton friends, while he was more than pleased with -them all. - -"He is young, handsome, cultured, well educated and agreeable," thought -Mr. Courtney. "There is every reason for Hilda to become attached to him -now that they will be under the same roof." - -Obeying the request of Mrs. Courtney, and her own inclination, Hilda -selected the most perfect of the pictures of herself to give to Mr. -Courtney, and had gone to her room early in the evening and had brought -it down to the parlor to have it in readiness to give when he arose to -leave. - -It was given and accepted, farewells were said, and the Courtneys went -to their homes; then Hilda, who had borne herself bravely during the -evening, bade Mr. and Mrs. Merryman and Paul good-night and went to her -room, and from the window looked with tear-dimmed eyes upon "My Lady's -Manor." - -She watched the light gleaming in the library where she knew that Mr. -Courtney was sitting alone, and when at a late hour it disappeared she -retired and wept until slumber closed her eyes. - -The next morning was bright and beautiful, and, refreshed by sleep, and -possessing the hope and buoyancy of youth when not crushed out by -affliction or cruelty, Hilda arose and dressed for her journey in the -pretty new traveling dress, which, with hat and gloves, she had placed -in readiness before retiring. - -Descending to breakfast, the first object that met her gaze was a -bouquet of roses which she knew at a glance had come from Mr. Courtney. -She had been accustomed to seeing flowers all her life, but these seemed -the sweetest and loveliest she had ever known. She examined each bud and -blossom, and admired anew the donor's name and compliments upon the -card. - -Tears were in Mrs. Merryman's eyes, and tender-hearted Norah wept, when -Hilda, equipped for the journey, stood, bouquet in hand, ready to go to -the carriage which Perry brought to the gate. - -"Good-bye, dear Aunt Merryman!" she said, putting an arm around that -faithful friend as they stood upon the piazza. - -"Good-bye, dear Hilda!" responded the lady as she pressed kisses upon -the lips and the fair brow of the girl. "We shall miss you; do not -forget us." - -"How can I forget, when I have found mother and father in you and Uncle -Merryman?" - -"And, Hilda," continued Mrs. Merryman in a low tone, and noticing that -Mr. Merryman and Paul were engaged in parting words--"never, never let -your Aunt Ashley's prayer grow dim in your memory." - -"No, dear Aunt Merryman, I will always look upon it as my guide through -life, and with it will associate you who have tenderly kept it in my -remembrance; and see," she added with a sudden flush of color to her -cheeks, "it is being answered, in part, at least, for my home and that -of Aunt Sarah Warfield will be one and the same." - -They all walked down the path to the waiting carriage, Mr. Merryman -helped her in and bade her good-bye; then with a few last words they -were on their way to the Dorton station while Mr. and Mrs. Merryman -returned slowly to the house feeling that something sweet and pleasant -had been removed from their home and lives, never again to be restored. - -In a few minutes the travelers reached Baltimore, where the train -halted, and to Hilda's surprise and pleasure Mr. Valentine Courtney -appeared at the window by which she was seated, his handsome face -growing brighter when he saw his roses in her hand. - -"They are lovely; I treasure them!" she said, touching them with her -lips. - -"And this, also, I hope," he said, putting a small package in her hand. - -"I know I shall," she answered, flushing with surprise and anticipation, -giving him a smile and glance which lingered long in his memory. She -waved her hand in farewell, and they were gone. And he returned to his -office, and in the evening to "My Lady's Manor," feeling more desolate -than he had ever been in his life. - -The world in which he had lived since taking possession of his home was -not, as it had been, the matter-of-fact world of business alone. It was -a new world, rosy with sweet companionship and hope; morning sunshine -which had now given place to evening clouds and coming darkness. - -He tried to think that he was no more desolate than before he had known -Hilda, but his reasonings brought no comfort. He was not--as when Anna -was taken from him--reconciled to the lot which he had in Christian -faith looked upon as not only out of his power to prevent, but as -something which God willed, and it was therefore his Christian duty to -be submissive. - -Had Hilda been a few years older, Paul Warfield should not have taken -her away before he had made known his attachment. He had not done this, -believing it not honorable to fetter her with a promise before she had -seen anything of the world. Now she was gone, and he was grieved that he -had given her no hint of his feelings. He realized that he had been -unjust to himself and to her. - -As soon as possible after they were again on their way, Hilda untied the -packet and brought to view a crimson velvet case in which was a fine -picture of Mr. Courtney. - -"Oh, it is so like him, so exactly like him!" she exclaimed in delight, -as Paul bent his stately head to look upon it. "Isn't he the very -handsomest man you ever saw?" - -"He is very elegant looking, indeed, Cousin Hilda," responded Paul -heartily. - -"And just as good as he is handsome! He is so kind to everybody and -urges poor Archie, who saved my life, to make his home at 'My Lady's -Manor,' and pass his days in rest and comfort; but Archie will stay only -for a night, preferring to wander about." - -"He is handsome and of noble presence, Cousin Hilda," remarked Paul as -he saw her looking again upon the picture, "but I cannot agree with you -that he is the handsomest man I ever saw, and he is somewhat gray." - -"Only a little upon the temples," said Hilda eagerly. "Some persons turn -gray early." - -"Wait until you have seen my brother Fred," said Paul, a little -confusedly. "Do not think me boastful, Cousin Hilda, but all agree that -Fred is very handsome, and he is young." - -"I suppose he looks like you," said Hilda, in all sincerity. - -"Girls never see me when Fred is around. He seems to know exactly what -to say to interest them." - -"And 'My Lady's Manor' is such a lovely place," resumed Hilda. "I wish -you could have stayed even one day longer and visited there and at -'Friedenheim.' They are such beautiful places, and my friends are all so -kind." - -"They are indeed charming people. I was glad to meet them and would have -enjoyed remaining, but, little cousin, I have something to tell you. -Shall it be now?" - -"Yes, now," echoed the girl eagerly. - -"I told your Dorton friends that we would remain in Philadelphia until -to-morrow with Mr. and Mrs. De Cormis, old friends of my father. A niece -of Mr. De Cormis from Woodmont, a village near my home in Ohio, is -visiting there, and I am glad to have you become acquainted." - -"Is she a dear friend of yours?" - -"Yes, the dearest." - -"Did she come to Philadelphia with you?" - -"No, she has been there several weeks. She has many friends there to -visit, for she lived there all her life until the past four years, when -she and her father came to Woodmont. Her father, Rev. Horace De Cormis, -is pastor of our church and is one of the best of men." - -"Will she go back to Ohio with us?" - -"No, her visit is not yet completed. Her uncle, Mr. Robert De Cormis, -and his family wish her to remain the winter with them, but she is a -devoted daughter and is not willing to leave her father longer than a -fortnight more. You may know that we were glad to meet again." - -"You love each other, then?" - -"Oh, little cousin, when you see her you will understand how impossible -it would be not to love her! If nothing prevents, we expect to be -married before another autumn." - -"I am glad, Cousin Paul, and hope you will be very happy." - -"Thank you, cousin; I am sure you wish it. I cannot fail being happy -with Lura De Cormis." - -"What style of person is she, Cousin Paul?" - -"She is faultlessly fair, has coal black hair and brilliant black eyes, -lips like coral, perfect teeth, and her hands are small, white, and -beautifully formed." - -"She must be beautiful," commented Hilda. "I hope she will love me. Is -it easy to make her acquaintance?" - -"She is considered very reserved, but she is interested in you. I am -sure you cannot help being congenial friends." - -Paul's fiancee was out when the travelers arrived at the handsome home -of Mr. Robert De Cormis. - -Mrs. De Cormis received them cordially and conducted Hilda to the pretty -apartment she was to occupy, then left her that she might make her -toilet for dinner. - -Hilda took girlish delight in arraying herself in one of the new gowns, -which fitted her lithe figure perfectly and was charmingly becoming. - -She heard the door-bell ring, and heard the sound of cheery voices and -descended to the parlor to meet Miss Lura De Cormis. Paul met her at the -door and led her to the alcove window where the young lady stood, so -absorbed in reading a letter just received from her father that she did -not hear Hilda's step upon the soft carpet. - -The introduction was given and when Hilda looked upon the face of the -future Mrs. Paul Warfield she saw a younger and fairer, but with those -exceptions, a living image of Jerusha Flint. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--AT THE GYPSY ENCAMPMENT - - -It was evening of a cloudless day when Paul and Hilda reached the -Warfield farmhouse, which was looking charmingly picturesque in the -ruby-red glow of the sunset. - -The flowers in the lawn were giving out their sweetness, and birds in -the maples were singing their vesper songs as if in greeting to the -travelers. - -Mrs. Warfield's welcome to both was tenderly kind, and the marked -resemblance she bore to Mrs. Ashley was a joy to Hilda. - -Separated from those whose loving kindness had made life a holiday to -her, she had again found a home and a mother. - -"I will not weary you, my dear, by questioning now, but will give you -the opportunity to refresh yourself after your journey," said Mrs. -Warfield, and, conducting Hilda to a pleasant room adjoining her own, -she left her to herself and returned to the parlor to talk with Paul. - -"Her beauty quite bewildered me, it was so unexpected," she said, laying -her hand upon his shoulder as he sat by the window, newspaper in hand. - -"Yes, and the Merrymans spoke of the sweetness of her disposition. She -will be a charming companion for you, mother." - -"I know I will love her as a daughter. How did you like the family who -have so kindly cared for her?" - -"I never met strangers whom I admire more. We have taken her from an -excellent home, mother, and must try to make her happy here." - -"We will. And now tell me of my future daughter-in-law," continued Mrs. -Warfield, with a smile. "I hope she is well and happy." - -"Perfectly so," replied the young man, smiling in turn and reddening -slightly. "She sent her love to her future mother-in-law." - -"For which I am duly obliged. When does she expect to come home?" - -"In a fortnight, and has promised to be my wife within the year. Mother -dear, you will have more daughters than you can manage!" - -"Yes, I can count upon three. Fred will be bringing me a daughter one of -these days, I suppose." - -"If he can keep in love with any one girl long enough. He is fickle, and -the girls seem to know it." - -"He is a jolly, generous, conscientious boy," commented his mother with -a glow of pride. "I don't believe he would intentionally wound the -feelings of anyone, and I hope the girls he flirts with understand that -he means nothing serious." - -A step was heard on the stairs, and in a moment Hilda appeared at the -parlor door. - -"I think I told you on our journey that Fred is reading law with an -attorney in Springfield," remarked Paul, as he arose to give her a -chair. - -"Yes, and you also said that you expected him this evening." - -"I did, and he has come," exclaimed Paul, glancing eagerly toward the -door, for quick footsteps were coming toward it, and a buoyant voice had -called, "Mother, where are you?" - -"Here!" responded Mrs. Warfield, her eyes beaming with pleasure. "Come -and welcome your new cousin!" - -Fred came forward in his easy, graceful manner and was presented in due -form. - -"They are as handsome as pictures," thought Mrs. Warfield proudly. "The -Garden of Eden could scarcely have shown a handsomer couple." - -"How are you, old fellow?" said Fred, turning with a bright smile to -shake hands with his brother. - -"In fine health and spirits, and I see you are the same." - -"I thought you were not coming until late. Having you in time for supper -is an unexpected pleasure," said his mother. - -"I intended coming out on the evening train, but there are gypsies -encamped in Mr. Barry's woods, and some of the young people of -Springfield came out in carriages to have their fortunes told, and -insisted that I should come with them, and here I am." - -"I have not the least belief in gypsies or in fortune telling, but I am -glad you are here. Now we will go to the tea table." - -With an arm about his mother's waist, Paul led the way, and Fred, with a -radiant smile of pleasure, offered his arm to Hilda, who accepted with a -smile and blush. - -If Mrs. Warfield allowed herself to be proud of anything, it was of her -sons, and not without reason. They were sensible, well educated, -attentive to business, and honorable in their dealings, and mothers with -marriageable daughters could not forbear pointing out, or at least -alluding to the excellence of these damsels when in the society of Sarah -Warfield. - -If it be true that happy people have no history, then nothing could have -been recorded of Fred Warfield, for Mother Destiny had willed that his -pathway from babyhood should lie in sunshine, never in shadow. He had -experienced but few disappointments and fewer trials to dampen his -exuberant spirits; but light, almost trifling as he was in manner, his -intimates knew that beneath it all was a warm, affectionate nature, a -steadfast love for what was good, and a wish to help others to enjoy -life, as he undoubtedly did. - -That he was captivated by every new face and fickle in his attachments -was known to all who were acquainted with him, but they looked upon it -as no more than might be expected of a handsome youth who was courted -and admired in society, a fault which age and experience would correct. - -That evening at the farmhouse was an ideally happy one to him, the only -shadow to its brightness being the knowledge that he could not study law -in Springfield and at the same time remain under the home roof without -attracting attention to the fact that it was because Hilda was there. - -Without appearing to notice, Mrs. Warfield took note of Fred's manner to -the young girl, and read his thoughts as accurately as if inscribed upon -the page of an open book, and resolved to have a more serious -conversation with him than she had ever had in regard to his failing. - -If it lay in her power to prevent it, there should be no trifling with -the affections of any girl, no blighted happiness laid to the charge of -her sons. - -"It is really too beautiful this evening to stay indoors," remarked -Fred, when, tea finished, they returned to the parlor. "Mother, I will -have Planchette put to the carriage and take you and cousin Hilda for a -drive." - -"I would enjoy it, but Hilda will excuse me this evening, as several -ladies are coming from the village to help arrange for a fair to be held -in the hall there, but that need not prevent you and Hilda from going." - -"We will drive past the gypsy encampment," said Fred eagerly, turning to -Hilda. "It is really romantic; I could scarcely tear myself away. You -will go, won't you, cousin?" - -No need to ask. Hilda's face showed her delight in anticipation of -something so new and altogether enchanting. - -"I hope you will not encourage the gypsies by stopping to listen to -their foolishness," said Mrs. Warfield gently. - -"Oh, I would not have them tell my fortune for anything!" ejaculated -Hilda. "I would be afraid they would tell me something evil." - -"That would depend upon what you paid them," smiled Mrs. Warfield. - -Fred made no comment, but hurried out to give orders for the conveyance. - -"Now, cousin mine," he said as it came to the gate, "allow me to assist -you," and with easy grace he took the filmy white scarf from Hilda's -hand and placed it adroitly and becomingly on her brown hair and a few -minutes later Planchette was speeding away with the long swinging trot -which characterized her. - -Fred had said truly that nothing could be pleasanter than the drive to -the encampment, and nothing more romantic than the scene upon which they -looked a little later. - -In order to observe, and, as he thought, be unobserved, Fred selected as -a good place to halt a part of the forest separated from the encampment -by a running brook and the thick screen of willows on either side, -between the trunks of which they could, with but slight obstruction, -have a good view of the camp. - -In the foreground were two small tents, in front of which was burning a -bright fire of brushwood. - -Two forked sticks supported an iron rod from which was suspended a tea -kettle, clouds of steam issuing from lid and spout. - -Upon a large box which served as a table a middle-aged woman had spread -a white cloth, and was placing upon it dishes of different colors, and -with an eye to effect. - -A young and handsome gypsy in a scarlet dress and with a plaid kerchief -about her shapely throat was seated under a large oak tree that spread -its protecting arms over the tents. - -Her swarthy yet clear complexion was smooth as satin, her eyes were -large, brown and lustrous, and her crimson lips parted frequently in -smiles at the gambols of the child at her feet, showing her perfect -teeth. Two robust little boys played about the mossy bank, upon whom her -eyes rested with pride. - -Back of the tents stood two substantial, covered wagons, and under the -oaks beside them lay three gypsy men, idly watching the horses, which, -held by ropes, were cropping the grass within reach. - -"It looks so lovely and peaceful," commented Hilda. "I wish an artist -were here to sketch it." - -"The full moon is rising," said Fred, turning to look through the window -of the carriage; "the tops of the trees are becoming silvered, which -adds to the beauty. Would you like to be a gypsy, Cousin Hilda?" - -"At this hour it would be charming to encamp; but during the bitter cold -and snow-storms of winter the poor creatures must suffer." - -"No danger but they will keep warm so long as there is wood to steal; -besides, they are accustomed to rough it," said Fred lightly. - -"And yet they suffer sometimes from exposure. When I was a child Dr. -Lattinger attended a gypsy who was ill of pneumonia. Their encampment -was in the woods near Dorton during two months of winter, and Dr. -Lattinger saw her twice a day. He said they were very respectful to him, -and in sympathy for the sick woman and in care of her were much like our -own people. They were of the tribe of Stanley." - -"Yes, I suppose they have good and evil among them as have other -communities, but it is the general belief that gypsies are not -trustworthy." - -"Which of those women is the fortune-teller?" - -"Neither of those. I do not see her. She must be in one of the tents." - -"Is she handsome?" - -"Handsome! She is gray and wrinkled, and toothless and swarthy, -cross-grained and disagreeable in every way. Phew!" grimaced Fred, at -the remembrance of the prophetess. - -"She did not please you in your fortune, I think," laughed Hilda. - -"She was not very clever to me, that is certain. Jack Prettyman gave her -the largest fee, and is to marry a rich and beautiful girl and live in -Europe." - -"What did she tell you?" - -"She paid me a few compliments, which no doubt I deserve. She caught me -mimicking her, and I never saw such a look of malignant hate as crossed -her ugly face." - -"Had you no faith in her predictions, then?" - -"No; yet I felt almost startled when she described my mother and my home -better than I could have done. She also told me of some of my -flirtations," continued Fred, laughingly, while he reddened. "The old -vixen said I would meet my match at no distant day, and would receive no -pity, and deserve none." - -"How could she describe your mother and your home?" said his companion, -amused at his discomfiture. "She had never seen them, had she?" - -"Not that I am aware of, but these strollers have sources of information -unsuspected by honest individuals. She could not have told me so much of -my life since childhood had not someone given her the information." - -"What did she tell the ladies who came with you?" - -"Something that pleased them very much, judging by their happy looks and -smiles. We tried to persuade them to tell us, but they would only give -us scraps and hints which might have been told any young lady and not -been far wrong." - -"They are such good-looking people. I imagined that all gypsies had a -wild, degraded look." - -"These are the most respectable ones I have seen, so far as appearances -go, especially that one by the oak tree. They also belong to the -illustrious house of Stanley." - -Fred's laugh arose above the key to which they had been modulating their -voices, and they realized that it had attracted the attention of the -gypsies. - -The men arose, and tying the horses, stood awhile looking about them, -conversing in a low tone, then went to the brook, laved hands and face, -and went to supper. - -"Cousin Hilda," said Fred, who had been gazing intently at the horses, -"I believe that beautiful cream-colored one is the very animal that was -stolen from an innkeeper in Springfield about two years ago." - -"But there are many cream-colored horses; how could you be certain that -this is the one? Or why do you imagine it is?" - -"By the peculiar manner in which she tosses her head. The one I speak of -belonged to a circus company and had been trained to perform several -tricks. I feel quite sure that this is the animal." - -"But surely you do not intend hinting anything of the kind to them?" -said Hilda, anxiously. - -"No, but Planchette is perfectly quiet. If you will hold the lines a -moment I will take a circuit and come up back of the tents, and while -the gypsies are at supper will examine that horse." - -"But what proof would a closer view give you?" - -"One of the tricks of the circus horse was to kneel if touched upon a -particular spot on his head. I know that spot and will put it to the -test. You can watch from the carriage and see if I am right." - -"Oh, Cousin Fred, do be careful! Suppose they should see you?" - -"But I do not intend them to see me, and will be back in a moment." He -swung himself lightly from the carriage and disappeared behind the thick -underbrush. - -Hilda gazed anxiously in the direction of the tents and saw Fred reach -the place, keeping at the same time his attention upon the gypsies. - -Patting the animal gently, and speaking in a low, soothing tone, his -fingers glided to a spot upon her forehead. Instantly the intelligent -creature knelt and laid her mouth in the outstretched palm of Fred. He -raised his arm and she arose to her feet; and convinced that he was not -mistaken, Fred went swiftly behind the tents on the way back to the -carriage. - -He found Hilda with a blanched face, a look of terror in her eyes, and -seeming almost on the verge of fainting. - -"Oh, Fred," she whispered, "the fortune teller sprang from behind that -bush the moment you left, and I cannot tell you the terrible things she -said to me! She heard all you said and has gone to tell them." - -Fred was no coward, nor was he foolhardy. He realized the danger they -were in, and his cheek grew as pale as that of his companion. - -A commotion was visible among the gypsies--loud talking, curses and -threatening looks toward the carriage, and a general uprising from the -table. - -Fred sprang to his place beside Hilda, took the reins preparatory to -flight, had turned Planchette's head toward the road and reached to take -the whip from the socket, when the bridle was grasped by one of the men. - -"Halt, liar, and explain, or you shall not leave this place alive!" -cried the gypsy, his black eyes blazing with fury. - -For answer Fred brought the lash down upon his hand with a quick, -stinging stroke. The bridle was released, and Planchette sprang forward -just as a bullet whizzed through the back of the carriage between the -heads of the occupants, and amid shouts and imprecations from men, women -and children, they cleared the woods, and were in comparative safety. - -"This is only loaned," exclaimed Fred, with flashing eyes, and face pale -from anger and excitement. "I was single-handed, unarmed, and have a -lady with me. It shall be returned with interest!" - -"Oh, Fred," implored Hilda, almost faint from terror, "promise me not to -molest them! I should never forgive myself if anything happened to you, -Which would surely be the case if you attacked them. Promise me!" - -"That horse was stolen, Hilda; they should be made to return it! They -fired upon me, and it is not through any merit in them that one of us is -not lying dead at this moment. Would you wish me to leave all these -things unpunished?" - -"Yes, for we are the ones at fault. They did not go to us; we came to -them." - -"Then you wish me to act the coward's part by hiding their theft, and -the attempt upon our lives?" - -"Yes, all; all for the sake of your mother. Oh, to think that the very -first evening of my coming I should be the cause of bringing anxiety and -perhaps anguish upon her! Promise me, Fred, or I will not return to your -house." - -"You would despise me when you reflected upon it," commented the young -man moodily. "Were I to follow your advice I would be of no credit to -you." - -"What credit would it be to you, or to anyone, to quarrel with gypsies? -Supposing you were victorious and killed one or more of them, what would -it add to your advantage or happiness?" - -"The woman insulted and frightened you. What man worthy of the name -would allow it to go unpunished?" - -"Words do not kill; I care nothing about them, and would not have told -you only to warn you of the danger we were in. We were the aggressors." - -"They should be driven from the neighborhood, which the authorities -cannot do unless complaint be made against them, and you will not let me -make it." - -"We are unharmed, and have no right to complain against them when it was -our own fault. They may not have stolen the horse, but bought it from -someone who did, as I am sure if they had stolen it they would not -encamp so near Springfield, where at any moment the horse is liable to -be recognized." - -"That looks reasonable," said Fred, reflectively. - -"Let us keep it a secret, at least for some time. I am a girl, but I can -keep it to myself." - -"Agreed!" responded Fred. - -"Promise that you will not pass the encampment on your way back to -Springfield, will you?" - -"No, I will go by the way of the Lakes, or the Pacific, or around by -California and the Isthmus of Panama, if you prefer." - -"My mind is at rest now," said Hilda with an answering smile. "Thank -you, Cousin Fred, I will go home with you now." - -Her mind was at rest so far as concerned the safety of Fred, but her -tried nerves could not recover their tone for many days. Her sleep was -troubled, and in dreams she saw the wild faces of the gypsies, heard -their shouts and imprecations, and saw Fred dying at her feet. - - - - -CHAPTER X--AN OFFER OF MARRIAGE - - -One evening nearly a year after the adventure with the gypsies, Fred -came out on the train from Springfield to pass the night under the -homestead roof, a thrill of boyish delight paying tribute to it, as -always, but more pronounced now that it was the dwelling place of Hilda. - -They were expecting him, and Mrs. Warfield, with motherly care, had seen -that his favorite dishes were prepared for the evening meal, and with a -glad light in her beautiful eyes, welcomed him. - -"Where is Hilda, mother?" he asked, glancing inquiringly through the -open door of the parlor, after pressing a filial salute upon the yet -plump and rosy cheek. - -"She is in the garden arranging bouquets for the vases. She expects -several of the young people, from the village to pass the evening here." - -"I hoped she would have no visitors this evening," commented Fred, a -shadow crossing his handsome face. - -"She invited them because she was quite sure you would be here, and, -Fred, I hope you will divide your attentions among the girls, and not -devote them to one of them, as you have a habit of doing. You know that -you care for no one long at a time, so why do you give them reason for -thinking you are in earnest?" - -"Now, mother, that is cruel!" exclaimed Fred, reddening, while his dark -eyes sparkled with amusement. "You will blight my prospects if you -proclaim me fickle. I am afraid an earnest girl would be influenced by -your opinion of me, and doubt my sincerity should I offer my hand and -heart." - -"The idea of a boy making an offer of his hand and heart!" laughed Mrs. -Warfield. - -"Twenty-one next fall, just in time to cast my first vote! Lots of -fellows are settled in life at that age," and he gayly left the room in -search of Hilda. - -He did not follow the straight course, but instead took a circuitous -path to the arbor, where sat Hilda upon a rustic chair, the table before -her covered with flowers, and all framed in by the vine-covered arch. - -Very deftly her fingers were adding sweet to sweet, apparently -unconscious that a pair of handsome eyes were regarding her with -admiration. Her simple gown of dark blue material fitted her graceful -figure to perfection, and was finished at throat and wrists with filmy -white frills. From the pocket of her white apron peeped the handles of -bright scissors, and a broad-brimmed sun hat lay on the bench beside -her. Her luxuriant hair was bound by a narrow crimson ribbon, and a -crimson rose upon her breast cast its warm glow upon her rounded cheek. - -This costume was considered by Fred as the most becoming of any in which -he had seen her, yet he called to mind that he had thought the same of -every toilet in which she appeared, only that the sunlight flickering -through the leaves made the picture more lovely. - -An incautious step upon a stick which snapped under the pressure -betrayed his near approach. Hilda smiled but did not look up. - -"Come in, Cousin Fred," she said; "don't be timid." - -"How did you know it was Cousin Fred?" he asked, taking the hand she -offered. - -"I saw you when you left the house. You reminded me forcibly of the -ostrich of school-book renown." - -"Will you make a boutonniere for me to wear this evening?" he asked, -laughing, in spite of his wish to frown. - -"Certainly! I have just finished one for Cousin Paul. See the little -beauty," and she took it up and inhaled its fragrance. - -"Why do you bother to make one for Paul?" he asked, his smile becoming -less pronounced. "You know he is engaged." - -"Because, like yourself, he is, by courtesy, my cousin." - -"But Miss Lura De Cormis is the one to make bouquets for him, leaving -you at liberty to make them for me, as I am not fortunate enough to -claim a lady-love." - -"Were Paul in Philadelphia or Miss Lura here, I am sure there would be -no need for me to make a boutonniere for him; but she has gone to -purchase her trousseau. Had you forgotten that, Cousin Fred?" - -"I should say not, when I am to be best man, and you Miss Lura's -bridesmaid." - -"I would like more foliage for this large bouquet. Will you please get -it for me?" and she gave him the scissors. - -He obeyed her with a lingering glance upon the fair face bending over -the flowers, and a resolve to tell her what was in his heart, for "out -of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," and it came as -natural for Fred Warfield to speak of love to a pretty girl as it is for -a broker to discuss the rise and fall of stocks, or an artist the lights -and shades of a new study. In truth, it was his chief amusement, and -practice had made him perfect. - -Just now, however, he was ill at ease, and in his own eyes awkward and -uncouth as, leaning against the door frame of the arbor, he watched -Hilda's active fingers add the foliage to the artistically arranged -bouquet. - -"You are very beautiful, cousin," he said almost involuntarily. - -"I know it," she replied serenely, without glancing in his direction. - -Fred gazed upon her in undisguised astonishment. - -"This is not new to you; you have been told so by others," he said. - -"By admiring glances and appreciative smiles, never in words." - -"Do you consider it good form, Cousin Hilda, to express your opinion of -your own beauty?" he inquired of her, with commendable hesitation. - -"If you remember, cousin, it was not I who expressed the opinion; I only -agreed with yours," and she gave minute attention to the placing of -colors in the second bouquet. - -"Yes," he responded uneasily, "but suppose someone else should tell you; -some stranger, for instance. It would not be good form to agree with a -stranger's opinion." - -"Thank you, cousin; you are very thoughtful, and I mean it for your -comfort when I suggest that a stranger will not be at all likely to -comment upon my beauty in my presence. That bridge is so far out of my -latitude there is not the least danger of my having to cross it." - -"You are so indifferent to me and my opinions. Cousin Hilda! You keep me -quite out of spirits." - -"I do not wish that; instead, I hope to see you in your very best -spirits this evening, and willing to charm us with your choicest pieces -on piano and mandolin. I wish I were the accomplished musician you are. -You cast me in the shade." - -"You will soon surpass me. Professor Ballini remarked the last time that -he went back to Springfield in the train with me that 'Meesh Heelda haf -ze exqueesite taalent for ze moozique; she is one woondare.'" - -Fred was a good mimic. Hilda laughed heartily at the expression of face -and tone of voice assumed for the occasion. - -"Oh, Fred, I hope I won't think of you when I take my next lesson!" she -said, wiping away tears of mirth with her handkerchief. - -"You never wish to think of me; I am only Cousin Fred to you." - -"Oh, yes, I do think of you, and am grateful for it is you who merit the -praise for any progress I have made in music. You gave me such thorough -instruction in the rudiments that my progress could not fail in pleasing -Signor Ballini. You have been very kind to me." - -"Then why not show a little interest in me? You know that I care for no -one but you!" - -"Oh, Fred, I should, instead, try not to have interest in you, except as -a cousin!" replied the girl, flushing deeply as she bowed her head over -her work. - -"Why should you try? We are suited to each other in age, position and -disposition!" was his quick reply. - -"Not in disposition; you have not my quick temper." - -"Temper, Cousin Hilda!" ejaculated Fred in surprise. "We have never seen -the least evidence of it." - -"Because there has been no occasion; and, moreover, I have been taught -to control it. Dear Aunt Merryman saw many an evidence of it." - -"But we are wandering from the subject in hand. Have you forgotten that -I asked you to care for me, and told you that I cared for no one but -you?" - -"No, I have not forgotten, but you have said the same to so many girls -that I do not put much confidence in it." - -"Now, cousin, that is too cruel, and I know who told you. It was Celeste -Prettyman." - -"Have you been flirting with her, too, Cousin Fred? She thinks you very -handsome, and wonders that you are so much handsomer than Paul, when the -same description answers for both." - -"I suppose she compares me with her brother Jack. It is a pity that he -is such a burlesque upon his own name. I take it for granted that he -will be as awkward as ever this evening and will break his goblet and -upset his chair before he leaves." - -"Yes, one cannot help noticing his awkwardness," said Hilda, laughing in -spite of herself; "but I think it is caused by embarrassment, and he has -so many good traits that one can easily overlook such small defects." - -"You seem to be well posted as to his good qualities. Please inform me -of what they consist," remarked Fred dryly. - -"In kindness to his mother and sister; in his genuine goodness, -earnestness and stability; there is nothing trifling in his manner; one -may be sure that he means what he says, and can depend fully upon him." - -"You appear to have made quite a study of our friend Jack," commented -Fred, flushing uneasily. "I scarcely thought that one year's -acquaintance could make one so thoroughly competent to judge." - -"But I have the opinion of others; everyone speaks well of Jack -Prettyman." - -"Have you more than a friendly interest in him?" - -"Not at all; I never thought of such a thing; but am only saying what is -my real opinion of him. He is your friend; you should be glad to know -that he is appreciated." - -"So I am in a certain sense, but if I tell the truth I must say that he -is awkward and uncouth." - -"That is owing to his having so little confidence in himself. He hasn't -a particle of conceit. Conceited people are so comfortable that they can -afford to be agreeable. It really appears to be a desirable thing to -have a good opinion of one's self. Don't you realize this?" - -"Do you speak from experience?" - -"Yes, and from observation." - -"Conceit would be too ridiculous in Jack Prettyman with his red head and -pug nose." - -"But he is very entertaining. The last time he took me out driving he -taught me the language of flowers." - -"I did not know that you go out driving with him," responded Fred, his -face flushing and his eyes shadowed. - -"Neither did I know that it was expected of me to inform you. Aunt Sarah -sanctioned it and I supposed that sufficient." - -"It is cruel in you to take that tone with me. Oh, Hilda, I feel so -uncertain of you! You never appear to believe me in earnest. Promise -that you will not go driving with anyone but me." - -"Wouldn't you think it selfish if I asked the same of you?" - -"No, indeed; I promise gladly. Do you agree to it?" - -"Yes, I don't care. Aunt Sarah and I drive out as often as I wish to -go." - -"Then you only agree because you sacrifice nothing. Hilda, why are you -so cold, so indifferent to me? You keep me always anxious. Promise me--" -taking her reluctant hand in his, "promise to be my wife!" - -"Oh, Fred, what is the use of promising? You will change your mind as -soon as you see a new face." - -"Promise! I will not let go your hand until you do!" - -"The tea-bell is about to ring. I heard Angie take it from the -sideboard." - -"Then promise!" - -"I will," the hand was pressed, then released, and Hilda gathered up the -bouquets. - -"Here is yours, Cousin Fred," she said, holding the boutonniere toward -him. - -"I had forgotten it," he said, candidly. - -"You will notice that I have arranged them according to their language. -See, here is a sprig of arbor-vitae: - - "'The true and only friend is he, - Who, like the arbor-vitae tree, - Will bear our image in his heart.' - "With it I have placed - "'The generous geranium - With a leaf for all who come.' - "Then a spray of myrtle: - "'Myrtle placed on breast or brow, - Lively hope and friendship vow.' - "Then two pansies: - "'Pray you love, remember. - There's pansies, that's for thought.'" - -Fred placed the boutonniere without comment in the button-hole of his -coat, and they went up the broad path to the house. - -Mrs. Warfield read in Fred's happy face and in the bloom upon the fair -cheek of Hilda that which she had hoped for was in the way of being -realized, but gave no evidence of it by word or manner--she would wait -until the young people saw their own time to tell her of the agreement -into which they had entered. - -Fred was at his best that evening in the way of entertaining their -guests, and Mrs. Warfield smiled at the dignity of his demeanor, -bespeaking as it did the engaged young man, while Hilda comported -herself as if engagements of marriage had ceased to be a novelty. - -The luckless Jack Prettyman succeeded in passing one evening without -upsetting his chair or breaking his goblet, and to all it was an -enjoyable evening. - -The next morning Fred arose earlier than usual and descended to the -garden, which was dewy and fragrant, and wended his way to the arbor. -Birds were twittering in the trees overhead, and colonies of ants dotted -with their hills the ground at his feet. Innumerable filmy webs -festooned the evergreen borders and flowering shrubs, which, jeweled -with dewdrops, sparkled in the beams of the sun. - -Happy as Fred had been in all his favored life, he had never been so -happy as that morning. Owing to the relations existing between them, he -fully expected that Hilda would give him a few minutes of her society -before he left for Springfield. But anxiously as he looked toward the -house, he saw no evidence of her coming. Instead, Angie rang the bell -and he went in to his breakfast, and found Hilda quietly reading by the -window which commanded a view of the arbor. - -"She could not have helped seeing me," thought Fred; "she might have -come out for a few words!" - -It had always been his custom to leave for Springfield as soon as -breakfast was finished, and he had no excuse for waiting that morning. -Moreover, Paul, his mother and Hilda lingered, as usual, to say good-bye -before separating for the duties of the day. - -"I may not let two weeks elapse before coming home next time, mother," -he said, as he kissed her at parting. - -"Come whenever it suits you, my son; your homecoming is always a joy to -us." - -Coke and Blackstone gave precedence to Hilda Brinsfield in Fred's mind -for several days after his visit home, and with chair tilted back, feet -elevated and eyes closed, he recalled the conversation in the arbor, -while alone in the office of Mr. Meade, attorney-at-law. - -Mr. Meade noticed the abstraction and surmised the cause, but was not -disturbed in the least, satisfied that in Fred's case the malady was not -incurable. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--HILDA'S LETTERS TO HER OLD HOME - - -Hilda, in the meantime, was pursuing the even tenor of her way. Her -church and Sabbath school duties were faithfully performed; she went -daily to the Woodmont high school, enjoyed her music and art lessons, -and took interest in the minor employments of the home which would have -naturally devolved upon a daughter of the house. Always busy, cheerful, -amiable and affectionate, she endeared herself more and more to the -motherly heart of Mrs. Warfield. - -Paul had taken upon himself the charge of the farm, thus relieving his -mother of all care, and Ben Duvall, his efficient foreman and all-around -helper, was living happily with his wife and children in their little -home in the village, walking out to the Warfield farm in the morning and -back in the evening, satisfied with the world and all it contained. - -One morning a few weeks after Hilda's engagement to Fred, she set out -for a walk to the village, having several little commissions on hand, -among them to call upon Mrs. Duvall with a message from Mrs. Warfield. -Her heart was buoyant with the thought of the festivities that were to -follow Paul's wedding, now near at hand, and her frequent meetings with -the young people of the neighborhood in consequence. Her gown was being -made by the village dressmaker and her first call was there, and all -being satisfactory, she passed on to the neat home of Mrs. Duvall. - -"Something told me that you would be here to-day, Miss Hilda," said -Susie cordially, as she opened the door; "the chickens keep crowing and -a little black spider came down from the ceiling, which is a sure sign -of a visitor, and I said to myself, 'That is Miss Hilda.'" - -"I am very glad you thought of me, Mrs. Duvall," smiled Hilda, amused at -the superstition, as she took the proffered seat. "Here is a package of -cake Aunt Sarah sent to the children, and she told me to ask if it would -be convenient for you to come three days of next week to help Angie. You -know that Cousin Paul is to be married on Tuesday, and on Thursday -evening we are to have a reception, and hope you can come on Tuesday -morning." - -"Nothing but sickness will prevent me, Miss Hilda," said Susie, warmly; -"Mrs. Warfield has always been a kind friend to me and I love the two -boys as if they were my own. You know I lived with Mrs. Warfield for -years, and the farmhouse was a real home to me, and she was always good -and kind to me." - -"Yes, and aunt said she could always count upon you, and is quite sure -you will come and help." - -"I wish she could always count so surely upon that wife Paul is getting. -I am fearful of it, Miss Hilda. Lura De Cormis has a temper, and what is -more, she doesn't try to curb it." - -"She is an only child," remarked Hilda, "and her mother died while she -was very young and I suppose her father indulged her too much." - -"Well, I reckon he thought he ought to put up with her bad temper, -knowing that she got it from him. People that know him say that his high -temper has been a terrible trial and cross to him, and he has grieved so -much over it and over his unforgiving nature that he has bettered -himself in both ways, as a minister ought to, if he expects to be an -example for the people who hear him preach." - -"I do hope for Aunt Sarah's sake that Lura will try to improve her -temper; they are, as you know, to live together." - -"Yes, and Miss Lura will be boss. Mrs. Warfield will have to give the -right of way to her, if I know anything about Miss Lura De Cormis. It -makes me sorry to think of it, for a sweeter, nobler Christian woman -does not live than Mrs. Warfield, and everybody that knows her loves -her. - -"People in Springfield who knew her and her sister Janette when they -were young said they were rich orphan girls, and that they and their -brother Herbert lost nearly all through the failure of people who had -their money in trust, but that did not spoil their sweet dispositions. -Just think how Mrs. Warfield struggled along and kept that farm for the -boys, and with it her generous nature that oppresses nobody but helps -everybody along! I do wish that Miss Lura had her sweet, kind -disposition," she concluded. - -"Have you had any evidence of her temper, Mrs. Duvall?" - -"Indeed I have! The last Sabbath school celebration we had, she had -charge of one of the dinner tables, and my Johnny broke a tea cup. She -was so angry at his carelessness, as she called it, that she shook him, -and her black eyes fairly blazed. She made him pick up every scrap on a -newspaper. She said that if I would make him behave himself at home, he -would do so when out in company." - -Hilda had heard the subject of Miss Lura's temper discussed, but not so -freely as by Susie, and knew that what she said was entirely correct. In -her own mind she believed that no one could resemble Jerusha Flint so -closely without partaking of her nature. "I do hope that Cousin Paul has -made a good choice," she said sadly. - -"I hope that both boys will make good choices. Folks say that Fred has a -notion of getting married, too." - -"Do they?" asked Hilda, her face flushing. - -"Yes, to a girl in Springfield," continued Mrs. Duvall, not noticing her -visitor's embarrassment. "She is a great friend of Miss Lura's and of -course will be at the wedding and you will have a chance to see her." - -"I never heard that Cousin Fred was waiting upon anyone in Springfield," -said Hilda faintly. - -"No, I reckon not. Fred Warfield waits upon so many girls it is hard to -keep track of him. It was about a month ago that I heard it, so most -likely he has dropped the Springfield girl and is in love with another. -He always had a sweetheart, sometimes one, and sometimes another, ever -since I first knew him." - -Hilda breathed more freely. It had been a fort-night since Fred had -engaged himself to her, and Mrs. Duvall evidently knew nothing of his -attachment. Fred had told her of the girl in Springfield that last time -he was at home, and in his happy-go-lucky manner had made merry over the -flirtation between them, at which Mrs. Warfield had reproved him while -she vainly tried to conceal her amusement at his travesty of the affair. - -"That Fred Warfield was always the best-natured fellow that ever lived," -resumed Mrs. Duvall. "Paul would get mad sometimes, but Fred you -couldn't make mad no matter what happened. He just made merry over -everything and was the kindest, tenderest-hearted boy that ever lived, -and wouldn't hurt the feelings of a fly." - -"I must go now, Mrs. Duvall," said Hilda, rising. "Aunt Sarah will be -glad to know that you can come. I have to call at Uncle Herbert's store -for spices and other things, and will ask him to send them here for Mr. -Duvall to bring out in the morning if convenient for him to do so." - -"Certainly, Miss Hilda! Nothing pleases him better than to oblige Mrs. -Warfield or any of the family. I will be sure to come early, and please -tell Mrs. Warfield that I can stay as long as she needs me." - -"She will be glad to know that, and Aunt Sarah requests you not to walk -to the farmhouse, for I am to drive to the dressmaker's in the village -on Tuesday morning for my gown and will take you home with me." - -"What kind of a gown are you having made, Miss Hilda, if I may be so -bold as to ask?" - -"A white silk, and the bride's is white satin. It was made in -Philadelphia and is very elegant." - -"They can well afford to have fine clothes for Miss Lura," commented -Mrs. Duvall. "People who know them in Springfield say that Mr. De Cormis -got a fortune from France, where his grandfather came from. He needn't -preach if he don't want to, but he likes to live in the country, and -wants only a small church, so has here what suits him." - -"It would interest you to go to the church on Tuesday evening and see -them married, Mrs. Duvall?" - -"It certainly would, and I'll go. A cat can look at a queen, I reckon, -whether the queen looks at her or not." - -Hilda laughed, and then nodding good-morning to Mrs. Duvall, drove to -the store, made her purchases and went home. - -Tuesday evening came, the church was filled to overflowing, and Rev. -Horace De Cormis gave his daughter to the one above all others whom he -would have selected had he done the choosing. - -Beautiful as was Hilda at all times, she never looked more lovely than -upon that occasion, and Mrs. Duvall was not the only one whose gaze -wandered to the handsome attendants, who expected to be only secondary -objects of interest. - -The evening reception at the parsonage was followed by that given by -Mrs. Warfield, and this in turn by friends of the bride among her -father's congregation. The quiet neighborhood had never known such a -festive time. - -Fred was always mentioned as Hilda's escort to these festivities and was -an attentive and courtly cavalier. Hilda's confidence in him became -firmly established and confidence became esteem, which she mistook for -love. - -Mrs. Lura Warfield remained several weeks at the parsonage, then became -one of the home circle of the Warfield farmhouse. Yet her taking up her -abode in a new home did not prevent her from keeping her place as head -of her father's household. She attended to his wardrobe, visited the -poor and ailing of his congregation, purchased the supplies, answered -his letters, and in every way in her power kept him from realizing the -loss he had sustained in her marriage and her removal to another home. - -Mrs. Lura was a good, dutiful daughter, and there was scarcely a day -passed that she was not engaged upon some work for him, and Hilda was -glad that there was something to interest her outside the farmhouse. -Sometimes by invitation she accompanied her, driving Planchette to Mrs. -Lura's phaeton, and could not help admiring the executive ability of the -brilliant little woman. - -Although she had seen but little exhibition of a Jerusha Flint temper, -Hilda never gave up the conviction that it was there, only waiting -occasion to be called forth. Many traits which she remembered as being -possessed by the adversary of her childhood were noticeable in this fair -and refined-looking prototype. - -Mrs. Paul Warfield resembled Jerusha Flint in her untiring industry and -her methodical habits, her uncompromising neatness, her ability, her -satirical opinion of anything that failed to agree with her ideas and -her extreme selfishness. She had a much better education than had -Jerusha and her environment had been of the best, but the texture of her -mind was no finer; she was cold, calculating and heartless. In short, -Mrs. Lura was so much like the one with whom part of her childhood had -passed that, try as she might, Hilda could not persuade herself to love -her. - -Happy as was the young girl in her Ohio home, and tenderly kind as were -Mrs. Warfield and her sons to her, she did not forget her Dorton -friends. She looked eagerly for letters from them, and the most trifling -incidents which interested her Maryland acquaintances were full of -interest to her, and knowing this, Mrs. Merryman let nothing which came -to her notice pass unmentioned. - -Hilda was informed of Erma attending school in Baltimore, staying five -days out of the week with her grandparents there, of Norah's -faithfulness, and Perry's improvement in all branches of farm work, of -everything in fact that would keep up Hilda's interest and affection for -those who loved her and held her in remembrance. - -It was the rule from the beginning that after the Merryman household had -read Hilda's letters, they were passed on to "Friedenheim," for the -Courtneys had always evinced much interest in her, and she had made no -restrictions in regard to her letters. - -When Mrs. Courtney had read them aloud to her family they were sent the -same evening by Mose to "My Lady's Manor," and in this way Mr. Valentine -Courtney was kept in touch with Hilda's everyday life. - -When she left Dorton "My Lady's Manor" lost its charm for him. He missed -the gentle girl more than he had ever before missed a human being, and -felt that life was scarcely worth living when she was not there to -brighten it. - -He tried to arouse himself from what he considered unmanly weakness, but -without avail. He went from his home each morning disconsolate, and -returned to it despairing. Had it not been for the efficient management -of Mrs. Flynn within doors and Sandy MacQuoid without, home life would -have been at low ebb. But these faithful servitors, without appearing to -notice the changed manner of their once cheerful employer, attended to -their allotted duties, enjoyed each other's society, fed the terrier and -the parrot, entertained the Courtney boys and Ralph and James Rivers, -and Norah and Archie, to the best of their ability, when they gave "My -Lady's Manor" the pleasure of their company. - -The first gleam of comfort which Mr. Courtney received lay in the -knowledge of Paul Warfield's engagement. Each succeeding letter of -Hilda's spoke of Fred, dwelt much upon him, but for months it did not -occur to Mr. Courtney to fear a rival in him. Hilda was so unrestrained -in speaking of him, even making merry over his love affairs, more as an -older sister would jest of a young brother or some other jolly companion -than a maiden of a lover. Then came a time when Fred's name dropped from -her letters, and a grave maturity came into them, unnoticed by any -reader save Mr. Courtney; and then it dawned upon him that he had indeed -a rival. His heart ached with its burden of unrest; his home had grown -into a prison; he felt that he must leave it and seek change from the -thoughts which oppressed him; he resolved to close "My Lady's Manor" and -pass at least a year in travel. Ralph and James Rivers could attend to -the law business, and if it suffered financial loss in their hands it -was of but little moment to one of Mr. Courtney's wealth and -disposition. - -One evening after coming to this decision, he sat alone in his library. -It was cool for the season and Chloe had made a glowing fire upon the -hearth before which he sat, lost in thought. - -Rich curtains hung in heavy folds over the windows, the glow of an -astral lamp on the table beside him gave light for reading, but books -had lost their charm. Pictures with sunny Italian skies, of Alpine -peaks, of arctic snows, of fair English landscapes, lined the walls. -Comfort and beauty was on every hand, but they brought him no happiness. - -Chloe came with a letter upon a silver waiter, presented it and quietly -withdrew. And Mr. Courtney, with a presentiment of further unrest in -store for him, opened it and read to the end. It was from Hilda to Mrs. -Merryman, and as Mr. Courtney finished it he contrasted his feelings -with those of light-headed, light-hearted Mose, who had brought it, and -whose boyish laughter was heard from the kitchen where he was recounting -to Chloe some of the adventures in which he was, as usual, the hero. - -There was no mention of Fred throughout the letter, but a postscript was -added which thrilled his heart with pain. - -"Dear Aunt Grace," it said, "I feel that it would not be right not to -tell you, my dear second mother, that Cousin Fred has asked me to be his -wife and I have accepted him. Aunt Sarah says it is what she has hoped -for, and in this way Aunt Ashley's prayer will be answered." - -Mr. Courtney knew the trial it had been to Hilda to write this. He was -glad at the prospect of happiness for her in her future home, but he -groaned in spirit at the thought of his own loneliness. How was he to -pass the years of life allotted to him? After a time he rang the bell -and Sandy appeared. - -"I wish to have a few minutes conversation with you, Sandy," he said, as -his stately Scotch servitor stood respectfully beside his chair. "Take a -seat." - -Sandy obeyed, his well-trained countenance showing no surprise. - -"When I employed you," said Mr. Courtney, "I did not foresee that I -would wish to leave 'My Lady's Manor.' Circumstances have made it -necessary that I should seek change. I have sent for you to tell you -this, and to express my hope that this sudden resolve may not -inconvenience you. I shall advance you three months' salary for any -disappointment it may be to you, and will do the same by Mrs. Flynn when -I speak to her, which will be this evening. Chloe can go back to her old -home at 'Friedenheim.'" - -"Excuse me, sir, for asking, but do you expect to return here sometime?" - -"I may, Sandy; I cannot say." - -"I do not wish to pry into your affairs, sir, but do you intend renting -this place?" - -"No, it will be closed for the time I am absent." - -"You have encouraged me, sir, to make free to tell you my plan," said -Sandy, gravely. "Perhaps you will do us a greater favor than to advance -three months' salary." - -"Us?" echoed Mr. Courtney, looking up in surprise. - -"Yes, sir; Mrs. Flynn and myself are intending to marry." - -Mr. Courtney smiled almost cheerfully. - -"That is news indeed, Sandy, and very agreeable news," he said. "She -will make you a good wife." - -"And she will have a good husband," responded Sandy. - -"You are right. What do you propose as to housekeeping?" - -"I am not sure as yet, sir. We had intended, if you were willing, to -remain here with you in the same positions we now occupy. We know that -we could find no better home than this. Now that you are going away, no -coachman or housekeeper will be needed by you, but perhaps you will let -us stay and take care of 'My Lady's Manor' while you are away." - -"I will be more than willing; it will relieve me of a great care," -replied Mr. Courtney cordially. - -"If there is nothing in Dorton for me to do, I can, I think, get some -employment in the neighborhood," continued Sandy, reflectively. - -"I am not anxious to dispose of the horses, Sandy. If you can get any -employment in which you can make use of them, you are more than welcome -to them until my return." - -"Thank you, sir! I am sure I can, and am more grateful than I can say -for your kindness." - -"It will not be necessary now for me to speak to Mrs. Flynn. You have -taken that out of my hands," smiled Mr. Courtney. "I wish you every -happiness in your married life." - -"Thank you, sir, we will try to deserve it." - -The next evening in the presence of the Courtneys, Mrs. Merryman, the -delighted Norah, and a few of the villagers, the Rev. Carl Courtney -performed the ceremony which made Mrs. Flynn Mrs. Sandy MacQuoid, much -to the astonishment of Roy and Cecil, who had never suspected any -love-making between the dignified Mrs. Flynn and the more dignified -Sandy. - -As nothing remained to prevent, the following week saw Mr. Valentine -Courtney upon the Atlantic, bound for he knew not and cared not where. - - - - -CHAPTER XII--JERUSHA FLINT AND HILDA - - -One favor stipulated by Fred, after his engagement to Hilda, was that -she should answer his letters promptly when anything prevented his -weekly visit to the farmhouse, and she promised. - -At the commencement of this correspondence Fred ignored the title -"cousin" in inditing and ending his epistles, and substituted "My -Dearest Hilda," or "My Beloved Hilda," as the fancy of the moment -dictated, and signed them "Your Devoted Fred." Her answering missives -were guided by his letters, modified, however, by maidenly reserve, but -at his request she ceased to address him as "cousin." - -As the winter wore on, snows and rains and like excuses were utilized by -Fred as preventing his weekly visits; and after the spring came and -merged into summer he made only fortnightly visits to the farmhouse, as -was his custom before Hilda became a member of the home circle. His -letters, however, came punctually and gave lively details of the social -festivities in Springfield society. "Dear Hilda" appeared to be a -sufficiently affectionate appellation in inditing these missives, and -before the autumn came "Cousin Hilda" seemed to satisfy his surely -waning affection. - -A silent, but none the less attentive observer of all this was Mrs. -Warfield, although she never saw or asked to see a line of the -correspondence. But after Hilda's reception of a letter from Fred she -failed to see the glow of pleasure which had illuminated the sweet face -in the early days of the engagement; instead, a wounded, unsatisfied -expression sat upon the sad lips and tried to hide itself in the depths -of the pensive eyes. - -One morning Hilda received her usual letter from Mrs. Merryman and one -from Fred, brought from the village post-office by Ben Duvall. She -hurried to her room to read them. Mrs. Warfield, who had gone to her own -room adjoining, heard her ascend the stairs, enter her room and close -the door, and expected after time was given her to peruse them to hear -her gentle tap upon her door Mrs. Merryman's letter in hand to read -aloud, as was her custom. All remained silent for such a length of time -that Mrs. Warfield had almost concluded that her eyes had deceived her, -and Hilda had not received letters, when she heard her foot-steps pause -at the door. - -"Come in, darling, I am here," she called, and Hilda came in slowly with -Mrs. Merryman's letter open in her hand. A bright spot burned on either -cheek, but it was evidently not caused by pleasure. There was a look of -having shed tears, and when she took a low chair near Mrs. Warfield and -read the letter her voice trembled, although she made an effort to -steady it. - -Mrs. Merryman's letter was long and interesting. Her former letters had -informed Hilda of the absence of Mr. Valentine Courtney. This one -mentioned the place of his sojourn in the old world as heard through -Mrs. Courtney. It gave details of all the little happenings in Dorton -and in its neighborhood, and of affairs at "My Lady's Manor" under the -management of Mrs. MacQuoid, as reported by Norah, and closed with the -intelligence of the illness of Jerusha Flint. - -Mrs. Warfield listened attentively to the letter from beginning to end, -and thanked Hilda for giving her the pleasure of hearing it; at the same -time she heard nothing to warrant the subdued excitement of the reader. - -She was quite sure that it was not the illness of Miss Flint or Hilda -would have made allusion to it. Moreover, her manner appeared to take -more of anger than grief, and Mrs. Warfield felt assured in consequence -that a letter had been received from Fred, and it was responsible for -that anger. - -As soon as Hilda finished she arose and returned to her own room. - -"Aunt Sarah," she said a few minutes later, "do you wish anything from -the village? I am going to the post-office." - -"No, dear, I do not know of anything needed." - -Hilda went to her room to put on her wraps, and Mrs. Warfield, after a -moment's reflection, laid aside her sewing and followed. - -"My dear," she said, as Hilda opened the door for her, "if you are -writing to Fred, I hope you will be careful what you write. He is very -careless of his letters, and other eyes may see what you only intend for -his. I do not seek to question into what should perhaps not concern me, -but you appear a little different from your usual manner and I only wish -to warn you." - -The color left the face of the girl for a moment, and she leaned against -her dressing-table for support. - -"You are his mother," she said with tear-dimmed eyes. "Read what he -says." - -"I hope, my child, that you have not asked me to do this unless you are -desirous that I should read it." - -"I did not even imagine, five minutes ago, that I could ever allow -anyone to see it; now I wish you to read it," and tears rolled down the -pale cheeks. - -Mrs. Warfield opened the sheet and glanced over the words: - - "My Poor Little Hilda: - - "No one could have convinced me half a year ago that I would - address you, whom I then loved, to tell you that my feelings in - regard to you have undergone a change. I am heartily ashamed of - myself to have to acknowledge this, and no doubt you will be - disappointed in me. Perhaps if I could have seen you oftener it - might have been different. If I could know what my future - sentiments toward you will be I would gladly tell you. I hope - you will care a little because of this, but I do not wish you to - grieve too much. - - "Your Cousin Fred." - -The flush which had arisen to the cheek of Hilda was eclipsed by the -glow that spread over the face of Mrs. Warfield. She gave the letter -back without a word, her eyes refusing to meet those of the girl -standing before her. - -"Will you read my answer?" asked Hilda, taking it from the envelope not -yet sealed. - -"If you wish it, my love." - -"Yes, I would rather have you know the whole story." - -Mrs. Warfield's face brightened into a smile as she read: - - "Dear Cousin Fred: - - "Yours received and I reply merely to advise you not to - distress yourself fearing I will grieve. Why should I be - disappointed in you, when it is exactly as I expected? I - was favored with the experience of other girls, and as - you will remember was not willing to engage myself to - you, knowing your fickleness; but after you remained - faithful a few weeks I was foolish enough to believe you - in earnest, and for this I am heartily ashamed. I shall - be in no danger of committing again the folly of - believing it, so you need not trouble yourself to tell - me 'your future sentiments.' - - "Your Cousin Hilda." - -Mrs. Warfield arose upon finishing the letter, and taking Hilda in her -arms pressed a kiss upon the trembling lips. - -"I feared you would not be willing to have me send it," faltered Hilda, -as tears for the sympathy received filled her eyes. - -"Yes, send it, by all means, and the earlier the better. It will do Fred -good to find that one girl, at least, is not so much in love with him as -to withhold resentment for his unmanly fickleness." - -Hilda put the letter in the envelope, sealed it and went out, and Mrs. -Warfield returned to her room and took up her sewing. - -"Without intending it, she has taken the very best way to retain him," -she communed with herself. "She is a noble girl. Fred will rue this." - -Bravely as Hilda had borne the trial, try as she might to conceal her -wounded feelings, Mrs. Warfield, apparently unobservant, knew as time -passed on that the reaction was harder to bear than the first knowledge -of Fred's inconstancy. - -Hilda had watched for his coming, the correspondence had been a stimulus -in her uneventful life at the farmhouse, and when it ceased, in spite of -her good sense and excellent judgment for one so young, she felt -desolate and unsettled. She dreaded Fred's next visit home. How could -she meet him under these changed circumstances? What could she say to -him, or he to her, under the piercing, satirical gaze of Mrs. Paul -Warfield? And Mrs. Merryman--what would she think of it, she who was so -glad to know that Hilda had such kind and loving friends in her new -home? - -It was a bitter trial to tell her, but Hilda's conscience would not -allow her to leave that faithful friend in ignorance of how matters -stood, and in the postscript to her next letter she said: "Dear Aunt -Grace, the engagement between Cousin Fred and myself is broken." - -That was all; she could not tell her now the cause, and was very sure -that Mrs. Merryman would never ask. - -Hilda was sincere in saying that she would not grieve. She read, she -studied, practiced the most difficult of the pieces given her by -Professor Ballini, and in other ways kept herself constantly employed; -and Mrs. Warfield's motherly heart yearned toward her as if she were -indeed her own loved daughter. - -After a time Fred's letter set Hilda to analyzing the real state of her -feelings toward him. She loved him because, like the others of his -family, he had been so kind to her. He was one of the best of sons, one -of the most affectionate of brothers. She doubted if any girl could have -helped becoming attached to one so handsome and attractive, if placed in -his companionship as she had been. - -Yet she realized that the affection she had cherished for him was unlike -that which she had thought a woman's should be for the one who was to -fill the place of protector and life-long companion; different, as she -now discovered, from the affection she entertained for Mr. Courtney. - -Yes, like a revelation it came to her in the quietude of her room that -the feeling with which she regarded him was different from that felt for -any other human being. She remembered his manly steadiness and strength -of character; his protecting care of her and of everything feebler than -himself; the repose and peace and contentment she always felt in his -society. She remembered the last evening she passed at "My Lady's -Manor," and tears filled her eyes as she thought of the loneliness that -reigned in the beloved library, now that he was far away. - -She took the miniature portrait of Mr. Courtney from its velvet case and -looked long and earnestly at it. - -"He has not a superior," she said to herself; "he is noble and true and -I love him and only him, though he may never think of me or see me -again." - -That afternoon Mrs. Lura invited Hilda to make parochial calls with her, -after which she intended stopping at Uncle Herbert's store in the -village to purchase material for her embroidery. She was proficient in -all kinds of fancy work, and just at that time was exercised over the -completion of a sofa pillow for a birthday gift for her father. - -In the fancy line Uncle Herbert's stock was far from extensive at any -time, and at that particular epoch was poor indeed, and Mrs. Lura was -unable to obtain any of the shades of silk desired. Consequently she -lost her temper and sharply reminded him that he ought to keep a store -where customers could get at least a third of the articles called for, -or give it up that a more enterprising man might take his place. - -Uncle Herbert laughed good-naturedly at this candid opinion, accompanied -by a frown upon the fair brow and the flashing of brilliant black eyes, -and informed her that he intended going to Philadelphia on the early -morning train to purchase his half yearly supply of merchandise, and -would be happy to get anything she needed. - -Equanimity restored, Mrs. Lura made out a list which Uncle Herbert put -carefully in his memorandum book, searchingly watched by Mrs. Lura, -accompanied by the injunction not to forget until she came for the silks -that it was there. - -The errands all completed, they drove back to the farmhouse, at the -entrance of which Mrs. Warfield met them, more disturbed than they had -ever seen her. - -"My love," she said taking Hilda's hand, "a telegram has just come from -Dorton. Jerusha Flint is very ill; they think she cannot live, and she -says she must see you, and you cannot go alone." - -"Uncle Herbert is going to Philadelphia in the morning," said Mrs. Lura -promptly. "Hilda can go with him." - -"That is an excellent opportunity," exclaimed Mrs. Warfield. "I will -send immediately to the village and tell him that Hilda will meet him at -the station in good time." - -"Planchette and the carriage are yet at the gate," said Mrs. Lura, -glancing through the window. "I will drive back and tell Uncle Herbert, -although I wonder that Hilda is willing to trouble herself to visit one -who treated her so unkindly as did Miss Flint. I should not go near -her." - -"I grieve to have Hilda leave us, but it is a duty. Miss Flint must have -some important reason for wishing to see her. She has possession of the -few articles of furniture which were my sister's, and she may wish to -see her in regard to them; or she may wish to ask forgiveness for her -cruelty. Be the reason what it may, she must have her wish granted, if -possible." - -Hilda passed the evening packing her trunk, and although she reproached -herself that she could be glad to go from friends who were so tenderly -kind, and her conscience troubled her that she could not be more sorry -for the cause that was calling her back to Dorton, in spite of her -reasoning she could not help rejoicing over the prospective visit. - -"I will see dear Aunt Merryman and all my Dorton friends," she said to -herself with an exultant throb of her heart. "Besides, I shall miss -seeing Cousin Fred." - -The next morning Mrs. Lura, who had another commission for Uncle -Herbert, took Hilda to the Woodmont station, where he had not arrived, -much to her displeasure, for it was nearing train time and she -prophesied that with his usual want of punctuality he would be left. - -Just as she arrived at the stage of impatience as to be upon the point -of driving to the village for him and giving him a piece of her mind, he -came in sight, walking at his usual leisurely, dignified pace, and in a -few minutes they were off and Mrs. Lura went home. - -Uncle Herbert was a genial traveling companion, and Hilda enjoyed the -trip thoroughly. He accompanied her to the Baltimore depot as soon as -they reached Philadelphia, and saw her on her way. Mr. Merryman's -carriage met her at Dorton Station and conveyed her to the cottage of -Jerusha Flint. And thus, without a moment's delay which could be -avoided, Hilda stood again in one of the homes of her childhood. - -Diana Strong was in attendance upon the invalid and welcomed Hilda -warmly. - -"How much you have grown!" she said softly. "I never would have thought -that a person could improve so much in less than two years; you are -really an elegant young lady." - -"Is she very ill?" asked Hilda in the same tone, as she laid aside hat -and gloves in the little sitting-room. - -"She is at death's door. It appears that only her longing and hope of -seeing you have kept her alive. She has something on her mind that -troubles her, poor creature, and has fretted and worried to see you, and -I had to get Mr. Merryman to telegraph for you to come." - -"Hilda," moaned a feeble voice, "won't you come?" - -"I am here," replied the young girl, passing into the room, and bending -over the invalid. "Tell me what I can do for you, and it shall be done -gladly." - -And thus the two whose heredity and paths in life had so contrasted met -for the last time upon earth. - -"Forgive me, oh, forgive me for my cruelty to you!" implored the fast -failing voice slowly and falteringly. - -"I do forgive you, freely and fully, as I hope to be forgiven." - -"I am almost gone," whispered Jerusha. "I was unjust to you as well as -cruel. Your Aunt Ashley left--two letters--for you. I read them--and -destroyed--one. All in the cottage--was--yours,--there was money--I -kept--every penny--of it--safely for you. It--is with the--letter, -and--her pen--in the--the--" - -Eagerly as Hilda listened, she heard no more. Jerusha's lips were closed -in death. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--HILDA BY THE MERRYMAN FIRESIDE - - -Excepting Erma, who was growing into healthy, attractive young -womanhood, Hilda found no change in the Merryman household. - -Her room was just as she left it the morning she and Paul set out for -Ohio. She was glad to be again in it, and was as tenderly welcomed to -the home as if she were a beloved daughter, and dropped naturally into -the place she had once filled. - -Mrs. Courtney had forwarded Hilda's last letter to her brother -Valentine, and had not expected to write so soon again; but having -called to see Hilda the evening of her arrival, she could not forbear -writing to him as soon as she reached home telling him of the unexpected -call which had brought the young girl to Dorton, and speaking warmly of -her beauty and the sweet dignity of her manner. - -The day following that in which Jerusha Flint had been placed in her -resting place in Dorton churchyard, Mrs. Merryman went with Hilda to -visit the cottage abandoned by Diana Strong. - -Following the rule adopted at the commencement of her occupancy, of -renting by the year and paying in advance, Jerusha Flint, though in her -grave, held, in a manner, possession of the cottage, so all remained as -she had left it until Hilda could consult with Mrs. Warfield through the -medium of letters. - -With the exception of the desk, and a few small articles, there was -nothing that she cared to keep; yet as all there was bequeathed to her -by Mrs. Ashley, she did not wish to act unadvisedly. - -The main object of her visit was to examine the writing desk in search -of the papers and the ruby inlaid pen of which Jerusha had spoken. - -"I wrote a letter to you with it, but did not send it, as Mr. Merryman, -who called, said a telegram would be better," Diana Strong had told her -the day she came. "I laid the pen back in the desk and while standing at -the gate talking to Mr. Merryman I saw Jerusha rise from her bed, totter -the few steps to the desk, lock it and put the key under the pillow -where we found it." - -All searching for the papers was vain, but Hilda never passed the -cottage that she did not examine the desk, believing there was a secret -drawer that was baffling her search. - -Her walks to "My Lady's Manor" were resumed, to the delight of Mrs. -MacQuoid and Chloe, who made it a rule to have the library warm and -bright when Hilda came. - -Sometimes she remained only long enough to exchange books, but they had -seen her, she had chatted with them, had petted the terrier, exchanged -some words with Sandy and left all cheered by the visit. - -One afternoon she extended her walk to Dorton post-office, intending to -call at "My Lady's Manor" upon her return in order to get a volume which -an adverse and scathing criticism had tempted her to read. - -She was expecting a letter from Mrs. Warfield, and saw that she was not -to be disappointed when the postmaster, with a benevolent smile, -commenced looking over the mail in the Merryman box. - -There was one for her, but not addressed in the feminine script of Mrs. -Warfield, but in the bold, business hand of Fred. - -She had not remembered that it was the fourteenth of February, and with -trembling fingers opened it the moment she reached the seclusion of the -library at "My Lady's Manor." - -Fred's remorse for his fickleness had found relief in rhyme, and under -the wing of St. Valentine he poured forth his plaint: - - "Each sound hath an echo, like to like doth incline, - But where is the heart that respondeth to mine? - In sunshine and shade life is lonely and drear, - I call my beloved, but no answer I hear. - I seek my beloved as the dew seeks the flower, - As moonbeams seek stream, meadow, forest and bower. - Oh, sadly I wander o'er woodland and lea, - And muse on the one so far distant from me! - I question my fate, and try to divine - If Hilda, my loved one, will ever be mine. - But all, all is silent; I wander alone; - I hope against hope, for I know she is gone. - She is loved by another, his bride she will be - And all pleasures in life must seem hollow to me." - -His reminiscences had a different effect upon Hilda from what he -intended. They cheered and warmed her heart, it was true, but not for -him. Kind-hearted and sympathetic as she was, the prospective hollowness -of Fred's pleasures did not in the least disturb her serenity. Instead, -the last two lines of his valentine held a prophecy which filled her -heart with sweet content. In the loving arms of kind Destiny she had -been fostered, and she had faith to believe that she would ever there -repose. Fred's written words only confirmed what she in thought was -beginning to cherish. She loved Valentine Courtney, and had the -conviction that the time would come when he would think of her; for that -time she would wait. - -It was growing twilight, and folding her letter she left the library, -and to her great pleasure saw Archie sitting by the kitchen hearth, who -spoke to her as he would have done had he seen her every day. - -"Got any valentines yet, Miss Hilda?" asked Chloe. "You must not forgit -that you is a valentine yer own self, that Archie done found in the -snow." - -"No, Chloe, I can never forget that good Archie saved my life on St. -Valentine's day," replied Hilda, looking kindly upon the wanderer. - -"Archie can find no more people in the snow; he has looked and looked -for them," he said sadly. - -"I suppose it is yourself that gets plenty of valentines, Miss Hilda," -remarked Mrs. MacQuoid respectfully, gazing with admiration upon the -fair girl. - -"No, Mrs. MacQuoid, there is no prospect of my getting many," smiled -Hilda. - -"Archie wishes that he could bring one," said the old man. "He would -find one in the snow if he could." - -"Thank you, Archie, I am sure you would bring me a valentine if you -could find one," and nodding a cheery good-bye, Hilda ran down the steps -of the porch and in a little while reached "Fair Meadow." - -"Miss Hilda," said Norah, "Mr. Merryman had a message from his sister in -Baltimore, saying that relatives from Boston on their way south for the -winter are there to remain over night, and she would like Mr. and Mrs. -Merryman to come there for supper, and they have gone." - -"Very well, Norah; then you will please bring in the tea while I run up -to my room to lay aside my wraps." - -Hilda had worn a crimson cashmere dress to the village, a costume very -becoming to her fair face; and, adjusting the soft lace about throat and -wrists, she put on a filmy white apron with a pocket to accommodate the -ball of some fleecy white knitting, and with it in her hand descended to -the tea-room, which was very bright and cheery in the lamp and -fire-light. - -Hilda's brisk walk in the crisp air had made the simple meal very -enjoyable, and as soon as Norah had again put the center-table in order, -Hilda drew it closer to the hearth and was soon absorbed in her book. -Nothing disturbed the stillness of the room save the singing of the -hickory wood blazing in the open grate, or the purring of the kitten -upon the hearth. - -At the same hour the household of "My Lady's Manor" was agreeably -surprised at the unexpected arrival of Mr. Courtney; and his welcome -home, so far as they were concerned, was all that could be desired. - -But during his voyage across the Atlantic, and every reflective moment -since, he had pictured a fair girlish face that he longed to see -brighten at his coming, and had felt the clasp of a dimpled hand that -was dearer to him than all else upon the broad earth. - -"I hope you will not allow my coming to disturb you, Mrs. MacQuoid," he -said kindly when both arose from their evening meal at his entrance. "Do -you and Sandy finish your tea; I will chat with Archie a while and then -rest in the library until it suits you to ring for me." - -Archie had been asleep in his chair, but awoke at the sound of Mr. -Courtney's voice and looked up at the handsome, kind face with an -appreciative smile. - -"Archie is glad you are home; he has often been here, but could not see -you," he said. - -"Miss Hilda was here this afternoon, sir," said Mrs. MacQuoid. "She was -reading in the library." - -Mr. Courtney's heart thrilled with pleasure, and a smile illumined his -countenance. He was now where she had lately been; the sweet -consciousness of her presence made his home doubly dear. - -While he was chatting with Archie and asking Mrs. MacQuoid for the -welfare of Rev. Carl and family and the neighborhood in general, Sandy -lighted the library lamp, drew the blinds, and wheeled Mr. Courtney's -favorite chair before the grate. - -"If we had knowed that Marse Val was comin'," remarked Chloe, after he -had withdrawn to the library, "we could have had fried chicken and hot -waffles, an' invited Mis' Emma an' Miss Hilda over, an' it would have -been like ol' times." - -"He knows we didn't expect him, Chloe, and I am sure this rich ham, and -your beautiful white rolls, and the sweet butter and honey will suit -him," replied Mrs. MacQuoid as she placed glass and china for one upon -the tea-table. - -"He allus was that easy to please; never had no bother nohow with Marse -Val, and Marse Carl an' Miss Emma. They is angels, that is certain -sure." - -"True for you, Chloe, and now if the coffee is ready, I will ring for -the master." - -"It's done ready, an' is the Simon-pure an' no mistake. Kitty done say, -she did, that when Marse Val was a little fellah, he couldn't be -humbugged when it come to coffee. He knowed the very fust sip that the -culled folks' Rio wasn't the white folks' Mocha." - -The meal appeared to suit Mr. Courtney perfectly. Refreshed in spirit by -his sojourn in the library, his manner proved the return of hope. When -he finished he again sought the library. - -On his homeward journey he had read and reread Mrs. Courtney's two -latest letters, received by the same mail--one telling him of the broken -engagement, the other of Hilda's return to Dorton. They had found him -lonely, restless, seeking for happiness that change did not bring. After -reading them he was, as it were, in another realm, and obeying a sudden -impulse made haste to return to his native land, was now at "My Lady's -Manor" in his favorite room. Alone and at leisure, he had time to -reflect. - -If, after all, his coming were fruitless, what had life to offer in -compensation for his great disappointment? He reasoned that the broken -engagement was, perhaps, the result of a misunderstanding which had been -explained away, and the engagement renewed upon a firmer basis than -before. - -He called to mind that business alone had brought Hilda to Dorton. She -had not come because she wished to see him or "My Lady's Manor," for she -knew of his absence, and could have no knowledge as to when he would -return. - -If she loved Fred Warfield, this visit to Dorton would not weaken the -attachment, nor would he wish it to do so; yet her return to Fred would -leave him desolate, and "My Lady's Manor" a prison. - -What presumption--he reflected--for one whose age was nearly double her -seventeen years to hope to win one so lovely! What advantage had he over -the bright, buoyant beauty, the youthful companionship of Fred Warfield, -except his wealth? And he knew Hilda's noble nature too well to believe -for a moment that she would make of it the most remote object. He arose -from his place by the hearth and walked to and fro in the quiet room. - -The library door opened softly and Archie came in. "I want you!" he -said, in a subdued, impatient tone. "I promised her. Come!" - -Mr. Courtney made no response; mutely he obeyed, and swiftly and -silently Archie led the way across the meadow to Mr. Merryman's. Taking -neither path that led to the front entrance, he took his accustomed way, -opened the tea-room door, and they stood in the presence of Hilda. - -"I have brought you a valentine, but I could not find one in the snow," -said Archie in a low tone. "Archie would have tried and tried, had there -been any snow." - -Hilda arose, a flush of joy illumined her sweet face, she advanced a -step toward Mr. Courtney, then withdrew. - -"She does not love me, Archie," said Mr. Courtney, noticing the action, -"youth and loveliness can have no affinity with middle age." - -"Please tell him, Archie," said Hilda, gently, "that youth trusts to -middle age for faithful love and protection. Hair tinged with silver is -beautiful in my eyes." - -Mr. Courtney advanced eagerly and taking her hand in his pressed his -lips upon it. - -"Oh, Archie, dare I ask for this dear hand?" - -"If he asks, Archie, it is his," said Hilda. - -"But the heart, Archie? The hand is valueless to me unless the heart -goes with it." - -"Tell him, good Archie, that the heart has always been his, though part -of the time it knew not its master." - -"I feel as if in a dream," faltered Mr. Courtney; "an hour ago -despairing, now filled with greater happiness than I had dared imagine." - -"We owe our happiness to Archie. He has been my good genius from -childhood. He is my mascot." - -"I will make another effort to have him share our home at 'My Lady's -Manor'," said Mr. Courtney. "Your persuasion will, I think, prevail." - -"Our home!" Hilda's heart thrilled at the sweet words. An orphan, -homeless, save for the goodness of dear friends, she was now the -promised wife of one who would protect and care for her as long as life -was granted, one whom she could truly love and honor for his noble, -tender and steadfast nature. How could she ever be grateful enough to -God for His goodness to her? - -"This is one of Archie's homes; Archie will stay till morning," and, -passing into the kitchen, the old man, without so much as a word to the -occupants thereof, went up to his room, leaving Norah and Perry amazed -at his sudden appearance. - -With a look of supreme content Mr. Courtney took a chair beside the -center-table whereupon lay the book which Hilda had been reading. His -glance fell upon the letter lying beside it and a look of pain crossed -his handsome features. - -"It is only a valentine," said Hilda. "Will you read it?" and she gave -it into his hands. - -"This is from young Mr. Warfield, I suppose?" he commented with a smile -as he finished the closing lines. - -"Yes, it is from Cousin Fred, and I suppose it is my duty to tell you -that he once asked me to be his wife." - -"You loved him, of course," said Mr. Courtney, a little anxiously. - -"I will tell you, sir, exactly as it was," she replied, with the -straightforward look and manner of one who had nothing to conceal. "The -girls told me that Fred is fickle, and they did not believe that he -could really love anyone. When he told me of his affection for me, I -knew it was what he had said to every girl with whom he was well -acquainted, so did not believe him sincere. He wished to correspond with -me, and through his letters I began to have a warmer affection for him, -and was disappointed when they began to grow cold, or failed to come -when expected. It ended by his writing, releasing himself from the -engagement." - -"And you were grieved, my darling?" - -"Yes, sir, and I was angry. His letter was so patronizing, so full of -his own importance, that had I asked him to marry me, he could scarcely -have worded it differently. I let him know that, attractive as he -considered himself, I could quickly give him up." - -"But you were sorry it occurred?" - -"For a while I missed his visits and his letters, then I grew glad it -happened, for I would not have known my feelings toward you had not Fred -engaged himself to me, and then broken the engagement. I compared him -with you, and he appeared boyish and unstable. I could have no -confidence in him. He would change his mind at the altar if he should -see a prettier face among the spectators." - -"Was Mrs. Warfield aware of the engagement?" asked Mr. Courtney, amused -at the quaint seriousness of the little woman. - -"Oh, Mr. Courtney, no mother could have acted more nobly than she! I -told her all, and gave her his letter and my reply." - -"Could you welcome Mrs. Warfield and her younger son to our home without -one regret for 'the might have been?'" - -"Without one regret." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--ARCHIE FINDS A PACKAGE - - -Mrs. Warfield was deeply grieved and disappointed that Fred had given -Hilda cause to lose confidence in him so utterly, as she had given -evidence in her letter to him. She had intended speaking plainly to him -in regard to his heartless conduct, thinking it would influence him in -his future companionship with Hilda, and was much disappointed that the -summons came for her to return to Dorton before his next visit home. - -Her resolutions, like many others depending upon circumstances, were put -aside, for instead of setting out to chide she remained to comfort. -Fred, for the first time in his life, was completely cast down. Ever -since receiving Hilda's letter he had been revolving in his mind what he -would say when they met, in order to place himself upon the former -basis. - -The passage at arms had aided him, as it had Hilda, to define his -feelings. He realized that he loved her, and this time, if never before, -was in earnest. It was his intention to offer a humble apology, and to -ask a place in her esteem with the eloquence of which he was master, and -he did not believe that she would refuse. - -His hopes received a blow when he came home and found her gone, and no -time specified for her return. He could have shed tears in the -bitterness of his soul, and Mrs. Paul Warfield, who suspected how -matters stood, shook her shrewd head and agreed with herself that it -served him right. - -After sending the valentine he hoped to hear a word from Hilda, but in -her letter to his mother no special mention was made of him, so he wrote -to her imploring her to believe him sincere in his profession of -affection for her, and asked for a line bidding him hope. Perry brought -the missive from the village post-office and Norah took it to the parlor -where Hilda and Mr. Courtney were conversing by the early evening -fire-light. - -Hilda, with a deep blush, opened and read it and passed it to Mr. -Courtney. - -"I hope you don't think I expect this of you," he said gently. "Believe -me, I have not a particle of jealous curiosity." - -"No, sir; I gave it because I wish your advice in regard to answering -it, and you could not give it unless you understood the whole affair. -Aunt Sarah has also written to me, and says that Fred deplores his -mistake and she hopes I will reconsider the matter, for she knows him to -be sincere and pities him." - -"It would be well to answer both letters immediately," remarked Mr. -Courtney when he finished the perusal of Fred's letter. "It is far -kinder to tell them the relation in which we stand to each other than to -allow them to indulge a false hope." - -"I do not mind telling Fred," replied Hilda, a flush very like anger -coming into her face, "but I do feel sorry to grieve Aunt Sarah. She is -as kind to me as an own mother, and I love her so dearly." - -"I know it, but it will not be the task to write it that it would be to -tell them were you there. I should write at once to both." - -"I will do as you advise. I can see that it is the kinder way." - -"There is another favor I would ask of you, my dear one, and that is not -to address me as 'sir.' It keeps the difference in our ages in very -large figures before my eyes." - -"I never thought of that," responded Hilda, laughing and blushing. - -"I hope you will never feel under more restraint in my company than in -that of Fred Warfield or any other person near your own age. I should be -grieved to know that we were not in every way congenial and at home with -each other." - -"I never felt otherwise with you; you have always appeared young to me," -said Hilda, sincerely. - -"Thank you, my darling; I am truly glad to hear this. I have known two -instances where the husband was double the age of his wife, and the lady -in both cases seemed to be in awe of her husband. I would be miserable -to know that you felt so toward me." - -"You need not dread my being in awe of you," laughed Hilda. "You were -somewhat younger than now when I first became acquainted with you. I -suppose that accounts for my lack of deference. We have grown old -together." - -Mr. Courtney had suggested an early day for their marriage, and there -was nothing to prevent except the item of a trousseau, a subject which -Hilda, penniless, and having no claim upon a human being, did not -consider open for discussion. - -Mr. Courtney believed that to be the cause of her reluctance to agree to -his suggestion for an early day, and had he not appreciated her fine -nature so thoroughly, might have been tempted through the aid of Mrs. -Courtney, to do away with that hindrance. As it was, he could only await -Time's adjustment. - -Hilda wrote to Mrs. Warfield and to Fred and waited for the second time -in her life with keen anxiety for Mrs. Warfield's reply. Would she be -wounded because Hilda remained indifferent to the united appeal of -mother and son? Would she resent the reticence of Hilda in not giving -them knowledge of her attachment to Mr. Courtney in the nearly two years -she had been with them and thus misleading Fred? - -Smothering the pain in her heart, Mrs. Warfield's letter was candid, -cordial and affectionate. She wrote nothing that would mar the happiness -of the girl whom she held blameless. She offered her sincere -congratulations, and added to the measure of her kindness by enclosing a -check for the purchase of a handsome outfit as a wedding present. - -There was now nothing to prevent Hilda from acceding to Mr. Courtney's -wish to appoint an early day for the marriage, which would be at the -home of the Merrymans, Rev. Carl officiating, and the bridal tour -followed by a reception at "My Lady's Manor" under the auspices of Mrs. -Courtney and Mrs. Merryman. - -As upon a former occasion, Mrs. Courtney offered her assistance in the -matter of shopping, and the offer was accepted gladly by Hilda. - -The evening before they were to drive to Baltimore, Mrs. Merryman and -Hilda took a walk to the cottage, and upon reaching the gate saw Archie -coming down the road from "My Lady's Manor," where he had been the past -night and day. - -"I am sure he is on his way to 'Fair Meadow,'" said Mrs. Merryman. "Ask -him to wait and go with us; he can carry the things you wish to take." - -Archie was willing to oblige and followed them up the grass-grown path. -He sat down upon the door-step while the ladies went inside and opened -the windows, letting in the soft evening air, laden with the odors of -early spring. - -As upon former visits, Hilda went to the desk, let down the lid and -searched through the small drawers and other receptacles, but found -nothing, and was about to lock it again when the old man entered and -stood beside her. - -"Archie knows where there is money," he said abruptly. - -"No, Archie," said Hilda, "we have searched several times and can find -nothing." - -"But Archie knows it is there. Archie saw the woman put it in there one -night when he was looking for people in the snow." - -"Where is it, Archie?" asked Hilda, trying to conceal her eagerness, -knowing it would confuse him. - -"In that tall box," pointing to the desk. - -"There is no money there, Archie," said Mrs. Merryman. "We have looked -for it several times." - -"Archie can find it; he saw the woman put it there. Archie was looking -through a crack in the shutter. The woman didn't know Archie saw her," -he added earnestly. - -"Show us where it is, Archie," said Hilda; "take your own time." - -He stepped to the desk, put up the lid, lowered it again, and stood -contemplating it with a look of perplexity upon his worn face. - -"Archie forgets. He must think," he said. He locked and unlocked the -desk several times, the ladies sitting quietly by. - -"Yes, Archie knows!" he cried exultantly. "The woman held the lid so, -and put her hand under here," and suiting the action to the word, he -drew forth a small flat package and gave it into the hand of Hilda. It -was addressed to her. She opened it and found Mrs. Ashley's letter, the -money, a letter from Jerusha Flint to her and the gold pen with its -holder set with rubies. - -Pale and silent, Hilda held them, her eyes brimming with tears. It -seemed almost as if her aunt had returned to hold converse with her, and -that poor Jerusha was yet craving forgiveness, though "after life's -fitful fever," she was at rest in the grave. - -"Hilda," ran the letter, "I was cruel to you, and can never atone for -that, but I give back all I kept from you. I did not intend to keep the -pen, but forgot to send it with the trunks, and then, wishing to have no -communication with you, put off sending it. I have used it twice, there -being no other pen in the house. The first time was in writing my letter -to Mrs. Merryman to keep you. You did not return, and I looked upon the -pen as bringing me good luck. Diana told me that she used it in writing -to Mrs. Warfield; you found a home with her, which I regarded as better -luck, for it took you out of my sight. I directed an envelope to my -brother Horace with it, enclosing three letters. One was my mother's -letter to me, received on my sixteenth birthday. The other two I -requested Horace to forward to our grandfather after I am gone, and I -wish him joy in reading my mother's letter to him from Baltimore, and -his reply. I also enclosed for Horace a slip cut from a London newspaper -years and years ago, by my grandmother, which confirmed the record of -our ancestry and heredity given in my mother's letter to me. - -"That letter from my mother served to keep in remembrance my miserable -childhood. Her pride of ancestry kept her from allowing me to associate -with the plebeian children of the neighbors, among whom our -poverty-stricken homes were compelled to be, and to add to my -half-starved, and in winter, half-frozen condition, I was shut up with -her sighs and tears, her heart-sick waiting for forgiveness and help -from her father which never came, and her unavailing regret for her -disobedience to him and to her mother, which was the cause of all her -troubles. - -"My sleep was broken, my nerves wrecked; and I imagined and dreamed of -all kinds of terrible calamities which we were powerless to escape. When -my mother died, I was taken to an orphan asylum, which I hated from -foundation to roof; and when old enough to earn my living was compelled -to earn it by means of an occupation I despised. - -"I mention these things as some little excuse for my warped disposition -which made me so disagreeable to my fellow-creatures that I had not one -real friend, and was so cruel to you that I wonder you lived. For that I -implore your forgiveness. - - _"Jerusha."_ - -"Poor Jerusha looked upon this pen as a mascot," remarked Hilda, taking -it up to examine it after finishing the letter. "Oh, Aunt Merryman, how -could I bear resentment toward her after reading this story of her -life?" - -"Yes, we should be patient with our fellow creatures. We cannot know the -burdens that many of them are bearing. I have often wondered what trials -poor old Archie has had to bring him to the condition he is in now, for -he has evidently seen better days." - -"I have often said that Archie is my good genius. Besides saving my -life, it seems that through him, guided by a kind Providence, I have -found three beautiful homes, and now through him this package has been -found." - -"Did you ever see anything so capable of keeping a secret as is this -desk?" commented Mrs. Merryman. "Let us examine it more closely." - -"How simple when one understands it!" said Hilda, raising and lowering -the lid. "The desk has a false bottom to which the lid is attached by -hinges not placed at the end, but a short distance above it. Thus, when -we put up the lid it closes the secret space, and when the desk is -open--that is, the lid down and resting upon the open drawer beneath -it--it is concealed." - -"It is the greatest curiosity in the shape of a desk that I have seen," -commented Mrs. Merryman. "Who would suspect a vacancy under what they -suppose to be the floor of the desk, large enough to hold a larger -package than yours? In truth, several of that thickness could be -concealed there if laid side by side." - -"But the hiding place is easily seen if one knows that the secret lies -in holding the lid in a horizontal position; but being always under it, -and the entrance to the secret nook being partly filled in by the lower -end of the lid, it is sure to elude detection." - -"It eluded ours, and Archie was puzzled, although he had seen it." - -"It cannot be seen except at the moment that someone is raising or -lowering the lid," remarked Hilda, experimenting, "and then only by an -observing person who was standing where a side view of the desk could be -had, as did Archie. When the desk is closed it conceals the false floor; -when it is open it conceals the real one." - -"But you and I are as intelligent as most persons," said Mrs. Merryman, -reflectively. "How is it that we could not find out the secret of that -desk as did Jerusha Flint? She said in her letter that she had used the -pen, and yet we find it with her letter in the secret nook. Who told her -how to find it?" - -"The information must have been in the letter she destroyed. She feared -it would fall in other hands." - -"Yes, I am sure you are right," answered Mrs. Merryman. - -"It is no wonder that she longed to see me," continued Hilda. "I wish -for her sake that I had reached here in time to listen to all she wished -to say." - -They arose, locked the desk and the cottage door, and, followed by -Archie with the basket, went home, Hilda carrying the package which had -been kept so long from its rightful owner. - -Since her return to Dorton she had gone several times to the village -churchyard to visit the grave of her Aunt Ashley--on which Mrs. Warfield -had long before ordered to be placed a handsome memorial stone--and -never left it without evincing her forgiveness by pausing at that of -Jerusha Flint. - -The wish had been in her heart to mark that lowly mound by a headstone, -however small and plain--a greater longing than she had ever felt for -any acquisition for herself. Now the way was opened, and the next day -she made it part of her errand to the city to visit the marble yard -where Mrs. Warfield's order had been faithfully executed, and order one -of snow-white marble bearing only the carved words--"Jerusha Flint." - -Invitations to the wedding reception at "My Lady's Manor" were sent to -the four members of the Warfield family, but Mrs. Warfield and Fred sent -a courteous regret, promising to visit Hilda at some future time. - -"They will never come," commented Hilda, after reading the letter aloud -to Mr. Courtney. "Fred will not wish to come, and Aunt Sarah would not -travel so far unless Fred or Paul accompanied her." - -"After we are settled in our home we will invite them again," said Mr. -Courtney, "and if they are kept in ignorance of my knowledge of the -engagement between you and Mr. Warfield it will save them -embarrassment." - -"I shall never tell them unless they ask, and I scarcely think they will -mention it to us, or to anyone." - -Mrs. Lura purposed making her annual visit to her uncle Robert De Cormis -and his family in Philadelphia about that time, and Paul accompanied her -there, and to the reception at "My Lady's Manor." - -Upon her return to Ohio she discanted so volubly upon the beauty of the -bride, the elegance of the bridegroom, and the grandeur of their home -when in the presence of Fred that Mrs. Warfield was constrained to think -that the chief pleasure she took in the visit was the opportunity it -gave her to embarrass him. - -Mrs. MacQuoid and Chloe were rejoiced that the home had a mistress, and -that mistress, Hilda, and Sandy, who had resumed his position as -coachman as soon as Mr. Courtney returned from Europe, was more than -satisfied, and drove the iron-grays to town and back happier than a -king. - -Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Courtney made an effort to induce Archie to give -up his wanderings and remain with them, but to all inducements he made -the same reply, "No, Archie has plenty of homes; he must walk about to -find people in the snow." - -"My Lady's Manor" was a charming visiting place to the young people of -the neighborhood, and to no one more so than to Erma Merryman, who -looked upon it as a second home, and upon Hilda as a loved sister. - -One morning, about two years after Hilda had taken up her residence -there, Mr. Courtney came into the nursery with an open letter in his -hand. The king of that small realm was Valentine Courtney, Jr., a -healthy, handsome boy, "just as good as he is handsome," being the -opinion of each and all who saw him. - -"I think I have a pleasant surprise for you, dear," said Mr. Courtney, -taking the infant upon his knee and looking with loving admiration upon -mother and child. - -"I am not easily surprised, but have my share of woman's curiosity. What -is it?" smiled Hilda. - -"Judge Sylvester happened to mention to me some time ago that he wished -a partner in his law business and preferred a young man. I thought -immediately of Fred, and as Sylvester appeared willing to have me write -to him, I did so, remembering that Mrs. Warfield said in one of her -letters that he wished to go into partnership with an established firm. -Fred answered promptly, and the result is that he is coming to Baltimore -and we will have him near us." - -"That was so kind and thoughtful in you; Aunt Sarah will appreciate it," -said Hilda, gratefully. - -"I have been wishing to do them some favor that they would accept, in -return for their kindness to you, and am glad that this was acceptable." - -Hilda wrote that evening to Mrs. Warfield, inviting her to come with -Fred and make a long visit, a request with which Mrs. Warfield gladly -complied. - -Thus before a month passed Fred Warfield was established as partner with -Judge Sylvester in Baltimore, and Mrs. Warfield was at "My Lady's -Manor," where her son was always a welcome guest. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--HILDA'S HOME - - -Five happy years had passed since Hilda had become the cherished wife of -Mr. Courtney, and during those years Mrs. Warfield had spent two winters -at "My Lady's Manor," and was there for the third. She was expecting to -return to her Ohio home, for spring had again made the earth jubilant -with the song of birds and fragrant with the perfume of flowers. - -Although no confidences were solicited or given upon the subject, Hilda -knew that her beloved guest was happier during these visits than at any -other time since Paul's marriage, because away from the domineering -presence of Mrs. Lura, who was growing more like Jerusha Flint every -year of her life. - -No childish voices disturbed the quietude of the farmhouse; perfect -order reigned, and Mrs. Lura could devote all the time she wished to -embroidery, the chief pleasure of her existence. - -There were many reasons for the sojourn at "My Lady's Manor" being -pleasant to Mrs. Warfield, not the least of which was having Fred so -near, a lawyer in good position, popular in society as he had been in -Springfield, and, as was characteristic, falling in love with every -beautiful face new to him. - -Mr. Courtney invited him frequently to pass the night with them, taking -him back to his office in the morning; and Fred thought, as had Hilda -years before, that nothing was more enjoyable than the drive in a -luxurious carriage drawn by a span of handsome, spirited horses. - -Then Mrs. Warfield was always happy in the company of children, and -believed that no better or handsomer boy could be found than the small -Valentine; and the dainty blue-eyed darling--Sarah Warfield -Courtney--was, in her eyes, the perfection of infantile beauty and -excellence. - -Another tie which bound her to Hilda and Hilda's home was the articles -which had belonged to Mrs. Ashley; and she passed some time each day in -the room containing them; relics hallowed by the touch of the lovely and -beloved young sister. - -She loved the neighborhood of Dorton and its people; she and Mrs. Carl -Courtney were congenial in every way, were members of the same -denomination, and although both were too broad-minded to be rigidly -sectarian, it was a dear tie that attached them to each other. - -Her visit, however, was nearly finished, and she was making preparations -to return to Springfield, when she received a letter from Mrs. Lura, -eminently characteristic of that managing little matron. It read: - - "Dear Mother--I think you will be surprised to hear of a change - made in our household arrangements. Father has always been - lonely since I married and left him, and it occurred to me that - it would save me much time and trouble going back and forth if I - could have him with us. So he has given up the parsonage, and as - he has always been accustomed to a large front room with - southern exposure, and where sunlight comes in freely, I have - given him yours, which, being just across the hall from Paul's - and mine, I think suits him well, and I am sure you should be - satisfied with the one back of it, as Angie tells me you used it - the summer that Mrs. Lacy and two other visitors were at the - farmhouse, so you must have preferred it. - - "Believing that you cannot fail in agreeing to this, I remain - - "Your affectionate daughter, - "Lura Warfield." - -After receiving this epistle it appeared to be a suitable time for Mr. -and Mrs. Courtney to again urge their loved friend to remain with them, -and as that letter seemed to be the only thing required to make her -decide, she agreed to stay. - -They all had occasion to rejoice that she had thus decided, for the next -week after she had appointed to go to Ohio, little Valentine was ill of -scarlet fever, and Mrs. Warfield, who loved the boy as if he were of her -own flesh and blood, was, next to Hilda, his devoted nurse. - -"'Pears like ter me, Kitty," said Andy one morning when the dangerous -symptoms were at their height, "dat Marse Val didn't seem chipper dis -mornin' when he com'd over to see Marse Carl an' Mis' Emma; has yer took -notice to it, Kitty?" - -"Marse Val never looked handsomer than he did this yer mornin'," replied -Kitty, decidedly. - -"I didn't say nothin' 'bout handsome, Kitty!" exclaimed Andy irately. "I -done said he wan't so chipper. I don't like dat pale face, Kitty; -'tain't for no good, min' dat." - -"I may as well tell you, Uncle Andy," said Kitty, hesitatingly, "that -Chloe told me all about it; she was in de china closet when Mis' Emma -was over dar yistady, and heard her an' Mis' Warfield talkin'. De doctor -comes twice a day to see little Marse Valentine and little Mis' Sarah; -dey has de scarlet fever, an' Dr. Lattinger is afeard dat little Marse -Valentine won't live." - -"Well! well! well!" cried Andy, shaking his white head, and brushing -away a tear with the back of his wrinkled hand. "I's nearly a hundred -years ol', an' has toted Marse Val in my arms when he was a chipper -baby. I done lubed dat chile like I lubed my own chillen, an' now can't -help him none in his trouble." - -"We must all have trouble in dis world, Uncle Andy." - -"I know dat, but de good Lord won't shorely take little Marse Val an' -leave me who ain't no 'count nohow. I's like a withered apple on a dead -branch, dat no wind nor frost nor hail kin fotch down from offen de -tree." - -"Chloe told me that Dr. Lattinger says much depends on de nursin', and -dey has good nurses. I tell you that it is a mighty good thing Mis' -Hilda has dat Ohio lady to call on in time of trouble." - -"'Pears ter me yer knows a heap dis mornin', Kitty," remarked Andy -dryly. "'Spose yer was 'tendin' to keep all dis from de ol' man." - -"No, Uncle Andy, but Mis' Emma said it was better not to tell you unless -you asked, for it would only distress you, for you think so much of -Marse Val." - -"Of course I does, Kitty, but nobody wants to be kep' in de dark, yer -knows dat yer own self! Ol' folks wants ter know what is goin' on, an' -how is dey ter know widout somebody tells 'em?" - -"I will tell you all I know, Uncle Andy," said Kitty remorsefully, as -the old man took out a remnant of plaid handkerchief to dry his tears. -"What do you want to know next?" - -"Whar did de chillen catch de feber?" - -"Dr. Lattinger says it is in de atmosphere." - -"Is dat sumpin' to eat or drink, Kitty?" - -"No, it is the air." - -"Den why couldn't he say de air? Oh, 'twill be mighty hard for Marse Val -to part wid dat little boy and gal. Dey is de light of his eyes." - -"But maybe he won't have to part wid dem, Uncle Andy," said Kitty, -cheerfully, "and de sorrow of a night will be forgot in de joy of de -mornin'." - -"But I am afeard dey'll be taken, Kitty," sighed the old man tearfully. -"I ain't axed my heavenly Marster to let me lib a little longer, not -sense I had seen Marse Val so happy in dem chillen, but I suttenly wants -to lib now; an' if dey is taken I hope de good Lord will spare ol' Andy -to comfort Marse Val." - -Andy was spared this grief, for to the joy of many hearts the children -recovered; and when the balmy summer weather came were well enough to -enjoy many pleasant drives over the shady country roads. - -Hilda, though favored with efficient helpers, lived far from an idle, -aimless life, for her days were filled with good works. The plans -originated by Mr. Courtney for promoting the temporal and spiritual -welfare of his fellow creatures were heartily seconded by her; she was -in every way a helpmeet. - -Time passed speedily and happily in their home, varied by visits from -friends from the city and the neighborhood, one of the best loved being -Erma Merryman. She had returned from her school in Baltimore, a cultured -and accomplished young lady, cherished by the home circle and admired in -society. - -Fred, in his frequent visits to "My Lady's Manor," saw, admired, and as -was his wont, fell in love with her which impelled Hilda to have a -serious talk with him. - -"Erma is a sweet, confiding girl," she said, "and if you are only -intending to flirt with her I consider it my duty to warn her and her -parents that their confidence in you is misplaced; for you will leave -her for the next pretty face you see." - -"Oh, Cousin Hilda, please don't prejudice them against me! I am really -in earnest this time." - -"So you always say. Fred, what does make you so fickle and -inconsistent?" - -"Absence, Cousin Hilda." - -"Absence! Oh, shame. What style of husband would you make when you so -easily forget a loved one when separated for a time?" - -"But the case would be entirely different, if the lady were my wife. -Never fear, Cousin Hilda. If I am fortunate enough to win Miss Erma -Merryman you will see me one of the best of husbands; you will be proud -of me yet." - -"Listen, Fred; you and your family have been dear, kind friends to me; -but so, also, have been Uncle and Aunt Merryman, and it would distress -me beyond measure to have them made unhappy through you." - -"But I will not give them unhappiness; instead, I wish to give them a -son-in-law first-class in every respect. Do, Cousin Hilda, lend a -helping hand by speaking a good word for me." - -"No, sir; I will do nothing of the kind. Making or breaking matrimonial -engagements is something at which my conscience rebels; and if ever I -should be tempted to aid in that line, it certainly would not be for one -so unsettled in the affections as yourself." - -Fred laughed in his usual amiable and lighthearted manner, but Hilda was -too much disturbed to smile. - -"It was never excusable in you, Fred, even with youth on your side; but -at your age it is positively culpable. You will lose the respect of all -right-minded people, for if there is a person who merits ridicule, it is -a light-headed, trifling old beau." - -"But Cousin Hilda, how can I convince you that I am in earnest this -time? I really love Miss Erma and intend asking her to be my wife." - -"No doubt; but unless you give me your word of honor, as a gentleman, -that you will not trifle with the affections of that lovely girl, but -will keep your word, Mr. Courtney and myself will not consider you -worthy of respect, and our home will be closed against you." - -"I do give you my word of honor as a gentleman that I will ask Erma -Merryman to be my wife; and if she accepts, will ask the very earliest -time that she will agree to for our marriage, and will not make the -least effort to break the engagement though the face of an houri should -tempt me. Will that satisfy you, Cousin Hilda?" - -"Yes, and no one will rejoice more than I to see you happily married; -and you cannot fail in happiness if your wife be Erma Merryman." - -The evening that Hilda and Fred had this conversation Erma received a -letter from Anita Appleton, a school friend in Hagerstown, accepting the -cordial invitation given her by Erma the week before, to pass a month at -the Merryman farmhouse. - -She had scarcely finished the perusal of it when Fred called and was -told of the expected visitor, and innocent satisfaction beamed in her -gentle face when she noticed that his brow grew clouded, and the smile -left his lips. - -"You do not seem glad, Mr. Warfield," she said. "I am sure you will be -pleased with her. She is not only very beautiful, but is lovely in -disposition. She is accomplished and witty; very different from me, -which is, I suppose, my reason for loving her more than any girl in the -school in Baltimore." - -"I am glad for your sake, Miss Erma, but not for my own. I wish only -your society," he said, taking her small, white hand in his, "not only -for the evenings of the coming month, but for all time. I came to ask -you to be my wife," and accustomed as was Fred to making proposals of -marriage, his voice trembled with apprehension as to the answer. - -Erma's face flushed, then paled, and she remained silent; a silence -which Fred misconstrued. - -"I am aware that it was my duty to have first asked your parents' -consent, but you have given but little encouragement that you cared for -me, and now this expected visitor has unsettled my plans." - -Erma was still silent; she seemed to be collecting her thoughts for an -answer. - -"Promise me that you will be my wife; promise now, before a stranger -steps in to prevent us being alone together! If you will consent, I will -seek the consent of your father and mother before I leave this evening." - -"I must have time to consider," said Erma; "you cannot expect me to take -such an important step without reflection, or consultation with papa and -mamma." - -"But you can certainly give me some hope, or appoint some early date -when you can give me your decision!" - -"Yes, I will appoint a time," she said, gently. "When Anita's visit is -over, if you ask me again I will give you my decision. There is no need -to speak to papa and mamma in regard to it; their only wish is for my -happiness. They could say no more to you than I have already done, and I -am sure that they will give free and full consent to any choice I may -make." - -"But I would be so much happier if you would promise me now, so much -more settled in mind than if kept in suspense for more than a month." - -"The time will soon pass, and we must bend all our thoughts toward -making Anita's visit pleasant. We will take her out driving and on -horseback. Cecil Courtney would, I think, help make a party of four for -many a pleasant expedition." - -"Then Cecil must be her escort; I will not give you up to him!" said -Fred, his face flushing warmly. - -"We will not consult our own pleasure," replied Erma, gently. "Whatever -will be most agreeable to Anita for the short time she will be here must -be our pleasure. I only hope that you will assist in entertaining her by -coming as many evenings as you can." - -"There is nothing to prevent my coming from Baltimore every evening with -Mr. Courtney; you know that I have a standing invitation to 'My Lady's -Manor.' Mr. Courtney is glad to have my company in the drive out and -back to the city." - -"I know it; Mr. Courtney loves you as he would an own brother." - -Early the following week Miss Appleton came, was cordially welcomed by -the Merrymans, and proved to be one of the most agreeable of guests, a -brilliant, attractive creature, with whom every member of the family -felt at home from the moment she crossed the door sill, and whose cheery -presence seemed to pervade the whole house. - -Anita had perfect taste in dress; and every article of her artistic and -elegant wardrobe was becoming to her. More than once, the very first -evening in the parlor of the Merryman home, where several young people -were congregated in honor of her arrival, Erma saw Fred's glance rest -upon the beautiful face of her friend, and then upon hers, and she read -his thoughts as correctly as if they were spoken words. - -"Bird of Paradise and gentle dove," he had said in a low tone to her, -and she had the intuition that "Bird of Paradise" was the ideal of the -spoiled favorite of society, and not the sober plumaged dove. - -Cecil Courtney was more than pleased to act as escort to one of the -girls, and, seeming to prefer Erma, Fred did not object; so after the -first drive and horseback expedition, all fell naturally into the places -which they had filled the beginning of the visit. - -Fred made no secret of his preference for the companionship of Anita, -and soothed his conscience with the thought that he had been solicited -by Erma to help entertain her friend, and she surely could not be so -unjust as to feel aggrieved that he had taken her at her word. - -The visit was over and Anita returned to her home, and Fred, true to the -letter of his request, and his promise to Hilda, called to hear Erma's -decision. - -"I have concluded that we are not at all suited to each other, Mr. -Warfield," said Erma when he again made his offer of marriage. - -A swift look of relief crossed Fred's expressive features, and any -lingering idea that he really cared for her fled from Erma's mind. - -The next day she went to take tea at "My Lady's Manor," and Hilda -rejoiced at heart that she was not a love-lorn damsel, but was, as -usual, bright and cheerful. - -"Fred seemed pleased with your friend Anita," remarked Hilda as the two -were seated in the shaded veranda while Mrs. Warfield and the children -were taking their afternoon rest. - -"Not pleased only, but captivated. He is certainly in love now, if never -before." - -"But Erma, dear, if you care for Fred, was it wise to invite your -beautiful friend to visit you at this time?" - -A smile, as if the question had called up some pleasant remembrance, -hovered upon the lips of Erma, and Hilda's heart grew so light that she -laughed gleefully. - -"Tell me, my Erma," she said, assuming a tragic air, "pour out the -secrets of that heart into my faithful bosom." - -"I will, oh friend of my childhood!" laughed Erma; then with tears of -feeling in her eyes she added, "Oh, Hilda, how grateful I am every hour -since Anita's visit that I was willing to agree with papa and mamma's -advice to invite her to visit me at this time." - -"The advice of Uncle and Aunt Merryman?" exclaimed Hilda in surprise. - -"Yes, I had told them of Mr. Warfield's flippant manner of speaking of -his broken engagements, and they trembled for my happiness should I -become his wife. That was our reason for inviting Anita at this time and -the result is just as we expected." - -"And you are not crushed by the blow? Ah, Erma, dear, someone has taken -possession of that gentle heart of yours." - -Erma's downcast eyes and flushing cheeks confirmed her in this opinion -in advance of the artless words, "Yes, Hilda, I compared him with Cecil -Courtney, and he dwindled into insignificance beside that manly, -reliable friend that I have known from babyhood. And oh, Hilda, Cecil -has always cared for me and I did not know it! Nor did I know until -Anita's visit that I cared for him." - -"I congratulate you both from my heart; but Erma, dear, there is another -side of the question to be considered. Was there not danger of your -friend Anita becoming attached to Fred? You cannot deny that he is -handsome and agreeable." - -"I told her that he was a known trifler, and she was not many evenings -in his society until she saw that my opinion was correct. She went away -perfectly fancy free, so far as Fred was concerned. I cannot answer for -him." - -Erma had not long to wait to hear how Fred fared, for Anita's second -letter informed her that he had written an offer of marriage which she -declined for two reasons, one being that she could not respect a man who -so trifled with the affections, and the other, that after her return she -promised herself in marriage to a young man worthy in every respect, -absence proving that they were all in all to each other. - -Winter, with its sleighing parties and other amusements, brought the -young people together frequently, and Cecil Courtney was always Erma's -escort, both their families, the Lattingers, and in truth the whole -neighborhood approving highly of the prospective union. - -Thus the months passed, and one sweet June morning a company of dear -friends were gathered in the parlor of the Merryman farmhouse to witness -the marriage, after which the newly-made husband and wife went upon a -wedding journey and then took up their residence in Baltimore, as happy -a young couple as could be found in "Maryland, My Maryland." - -The evening of the wedding day Hilda and the children took one of their -favorite walks to Dorton churchyard, and while the little ones, under -the care of Chloe, gathered wild flowers that dotted the grassy -enclosure, Hilda went to the resting place of Jerusha Flint. - -When she reached the spot she was surprised to see a lady beside it, and -more so to find in her no stranger, but Mrs. Robert De Cormis, of -Philadelphia, the aunt, by marriage, of Mrs. Lura Warfield. - -"No wonder that you are surprised to see me, my dear," she said, as -Hilda greeted her cordially. "I am on my way to your house to pass the -night with you, if agreeable to you to entertain me at this time. The -postmaster at Dorton pointed out 'My Lady's Manor,' but I took a circuit -from the direct way in order to visit this churchyard." - -"Nothing would give us greater pleasure than to have you with us, Mrs. -De Cormis. Shall we walk, or would you prefer that I send Chloe to have -the carriage come for us?" - -"I prefer walking this lovely evening, and we can converse on our way. I -came from Philadelphia this morning, and stopped off in Baltimore in -order to see Horace Flint, the brother of Jerusha Flint. He had -forwarded letters to our address which was the reason for my coming. My -dear, do you know that Jerusha was my husband's niece, the daughter of -his only sister?" - -"His niece!" echoed Hilda, halting to look into the face of Mrs. De -Cormis; "his sister's daughter! Then she was first cousin to Lura -Warfield, wife of Cousin Paul." - -"Yes, her own cousin; Lura's father and Jerusha's mother were brother -and sister." - -"Lura Warfield has no knowledge of it, I am sure. I have every reason to -know that she never heard of Jerusha Flint until she became acquainted -with me," commented Hilda. - -"No, I am sure of it. My husband never heard of Jerusha until we -received the letter from her brother--Horace De Cormis Flint--which -Jerusha requested should be forwarded to her grandfather. The letter -proved itself, having been written by Jerusha's mother--my -sister-in-law, long since dead; and enclosed in it was my -father-in-law's reply." - -"But I cannot understand it," exclaimed Hilda in bewilderment. "Jerusha -died several years ago. Why were not her mother's and her grandfather's -letters forwarded at that time to your husband, Mr. Robert De Cormis, -instead of waiting until now?" - -"Horace Flint gave the excuse that as he and his sister Jerusha had -lived until past middle age without any acquaintance with their mother's -relatives he should never have made himself known were it not for the -request of Jerusha." - -"I never saw Horace Flint," remarked Hilda. "He may never have lived in -this neighborhood, or if so, must have left it before my remembrance." - -"He did not mention how long he has lived in Baltimore, but just -incidentally mentioned that Jerusha's home was with him until she rented -the cottage where a lady lived whose name was Ashley." - -"It is so surprising that I can as yet scarcely comprehend it," said -Hilda. - -"It was the same to me, and the perusal of the two letters sent by -request of Jerusha was a great grief to my husband. I will tell you of -them. - -"The mother of Jerusha and Horace Flint was the only daughter of Father -De Cormis, and was several years older than her two brothers--Rev. -Horace De Cormis, of Woodmont, Ohio, and Robert De Cormis, my husband. - -"She was beautiful, but self-willed, and in spite of the threats of her -father and the entreaties of her mother persisted in receiving the -attentions of a young man named Archibald Flint, who was visiting -Philadelphia from San Francisco. - -"He was handsome, cultured and amiable, but without knowledge of -business of any kind. - -"To break off this intimacy Miss De Cormis was sent to a distant -boarding school. Mr. Flint followed, she eloped and they were married, -and for several years her parents heard no word of them. Not knowing -that during this time her mother had died, and being in abject poverty, -Mrs. Flint wrote to her parents from her poor home in Baltimore, -beseeching them for the sake of her little daughter, Jerusha--named for -Mother De Cormis--to send relief. - -"My father-in-law was a man of implacable temper; he wrote commanding -her never to communicate with him again. He reproached her as being the -cause of her mother's death, and added that her ingratitude and -disobedience to her parents was being visited upon her children. He -concluded his letter by saying that he disowned her as a daughter, had -disinherited her, and had commanded his young sons, Horace and Robert, -under the same penalty, never to see her or communicate with her in any -way. - -"In this letter he returned the one she had written; and these were the -two letters which Jerusha had requested her brother Horace to send their -grandfather; but he being years before in his grave, we, who are living -in his old home, received them." - -"Poor Jerusha had these letters,--her mother's to grieve over, and her -grandfather's to sour her against the world," sighed Hilda. "Her poor -young mother was severely punished for her disobedience. I wonder how -long she lived after receiving that letter?" - -"It must have been several years, for Horace Flint mentioned in our -conversation to-day that Jerusha was ten years of age and he was six, -when, after the death of their mother, they were taken by their father -to the orphan asylum." - -"I wonder what became of the father?" questioned Hilda. - -"We always supposed that he died years ago, our reason for thinking so -being a letter found among the papers left, by Father De Cormis. It was -written to him by a nurse in the hospital in Baltimore, saying that a -man was lying there dangerously ill of brain fever, and in his pocket -they had found a letter which, being addressed to Father De Cormis, the -nurse had written to enclose it. But Horace informed me to-day that his -father recovered." - -"I wonder if Father De Cormis gave any attention to the letter of the -nurse?" questioned Hilda. - -"I think not, nor to the one Archibald enclosed in it, which was so -pathetic in its appeal that, so well as I knew my father-in-law, I -wondered that he could steel his heart against it. - -"It was written at the bedside of his sick wife, and in it Father De -Cormis was implored to send relief to the suffering woman and her little -children. The writer added that he was ill, and exhausted from watching, -and from a long walk of several miles to ask assistance of his -brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, of 'My Lady's Manor,' who was willing -and able to assist him, but who had died suddenly, so that hope was -extinguished. - -"He wrote that he had no expectation or wish to live, but while able to -write, and with a clear mind, he wished to state the incidents of his -visit to his brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, at 'My Lady's Manor,' -which, with his many anxieties and insufficient food, had brought on the -fever from which he was then suffering. - -"In order to make his statement plain, he dated back to his boyhood in -San Francisco, where he and his sister were the only children of wealthy -parents who indulged them in every wish. He grew up without knowledge of -business of any kind, his parents lost their property, and this was -followed by their death. - -"His sister married Joshua Farnsworth, who at that time lived in San -Francisco, and at the age of twenty-one she died, leaving an infant -son--Reginald--whom Mr. Farnsworth placed in the care of a friend and -left for Maryland and became owner of 'My Lady's Manor,' now your home. - -"Archibald wrote that being without home or kindred--except his little -nephew, Reginald Farnsworth--he left San Francisco for Philadelphia. At -this point in his letter he implored pardon--as he had done many times -before--for the elopement, and added that they had wandered about -seeking employment, until compelled to remain in Baltimore owing to the -ill health of his wife. They were reduced to want, when he heard -incidentally that his brother-in-law, Joshua Farnsworth, was living -here, and he walked from Baltimore to see him, ask for help and then -return the same night. He saw Mr. Farnsworth at the post-office and -walked with him to 'My Lady's Manor' and up to the seats upon the roof, -where they could converse undisturbed. There Mr. Farnsworth agreed to -take him back to Baltimore that night in his carriage and provide -liberally for his family. - -"He had scarcely finished speaking when he placed his hand upon his -heart and fell back lifeless. The shock to Archibald was so great that -for some time he sat motionless; then, realizing the danger to himself -if found there alone, he resolved to escape from the house. When he -reached the corridor he saw the open door in the wall of a back attic -room. He crept through it into a meat room, closed it after him and went -down a flight of steps and out a door which he locked and took the key, -unconsciously. He walked back to Baltimore, where at the bedside of his -wife he wrote the letter to Father De Cormis, closing it with a -heartfelt petition for assistance, and taking all the blame of the -daughter's disobedience upon himself. - -"The letter was never mailed by him, for his wife died that night. The -next morning he took Jerusha and Horace to the orphan asylum, then went -to the hospital, where the letter was found upon his person." - -"Does Horace Flint say that his father is yet living?" asked Hilda. - -"Yes, but he has no home, but wanders about, his mind nearly a blank -since his attack of brain fever." - -"It surely is Archie, the Archie who saved my life!" exclaimed Hilda. -"No one in the neighborhood knows his last name, for he has forgotten -it." - -"Horace mentioned that he sees him frequently, as did Jerusha, but -without making themselves known to him. I think there is no doubt but he -is the Archie you speak of; and, my dear, I am sure you will be -surprised to know that Jerusha was the great-granddaughter of a French -nobleman--the Marquis De Cormis. He was a noted officer in the French -army, but owing to a sudden ebullition of temper was forced to flee from -his native land." - -"Is it possible?" exclaimed Hilda. "I wonder if Jerusha knew it!" - -"Yes, her mother told her of it in the letter which Jerusha sent to her -brother Horace, and which Horace forwarded to Philadelphia. He also -showed me a slip cut from a London newspaper of that date which gave all -the details of the affair which made a refugee of the marquis." - -"Do you know what it was?" - -"Yes, my father-in-law told us of it a short time before his death, and -we also found a full account of it among his papers and those of the -marquis, which he had kept. The substance of it was that the young -Marquis De Cormis was at one time summoned from the frontier by his -superior officer, and when he upon a dark, stormy night arrived at the -tent of the officer, cold, wet, and exhausted from a long ride, he was -severely and insultingly reprimanded for his delay in reaching there. - -"The haughty spirit of the marquis could not brook the injustice from -one whose social position was inferior to his, and seizing a boot which -the officer had just removed, he hurled it at the head of its owner. It -struck him upon the temple and he fell to the ground unconscious. - -"The marquis rushed from the tent and with the help of his aides escaped -to England, and from thence sailed to America, where he lived in the -strictest retirement. He married in Philadelphia and my father-in-law -was the only heir to the property in France, and to the title, neither -of which he made effort to claim. - -"In my father-in-law's will was a request that my husband should go to -France and lay claim to the property, and divide it equally between -himself and Horace, which has been done." - -The two ladies had walked slowly toward "My Lady's Manor" during the -conversation, and upon reaching it found that Archie, who had come the -evening before, was still there; and after Hilda had shown Mrs. De -Cormis to her room she returned to have a chat with him. - -"You have never told me your last name, Archie," she said gently as she -took a seat beside him. "Every person has a last name, and it would -please me to know yours." - -"Archie forgets; he has tried, and tried, and cannot think," and a look -of sad perplexity came into the worn face. - -"Is it Flint? Archibald Flint?" - -A gleam of glad recognition came into the eyes of the wanderer, and he -clasped his hands in delight. - -"That is it! Archibald Flint! Archie has never heard it since he had the -fever. Archibald Flint! Yes, that is Archie's name." - -From that time he made no effort to leave "My Lady's Manor." He said he -was tired of looking for people in the snow; he must rest. So he -remained in that comfortable home, frequently saying to himself, -"Archibald Flint! Yes, that is Archie's name," and the home of the one -whose life he had saved was truly a haven of rest to his weary feet. - -Lives of usefulness, peace and happiness were enjoyed by the Courtneys -and their loved Mrs. Warfield; and Mrs. Ashley's prayer had, in God's -own time and way, been fully answered; for Hilda was a consistent -Christian, and her home and that of Sarah Warfield was one and the same. - - - THE END. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HILDA'S MASCOT *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40620 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. 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