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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1900-07-20, Page 71.j YE IF -H38 A WAY j DA NET TIE H. WALWORTN. • ( O• Copyright, 1.899,1 by 4-eel:motto Walworth. ) ..... olr's...1".4.er•o•or.7.", ter daily duties Within reach of nor Inother'e ear trumpet as was praeticas be It save 0 tine and Steps. Just then she was hurriedly buttoning tip her stoutest pair of boots. They would be waiting for her up at the Hall. There was no cul of things still tohe. -done, The stand for the band was to be deeorated, aid Jess would be wantino• to knew how mauy turkeys were to tie dressed, and all that cut glass was to Io Washed. Glancing up from her low Stool, sh_saw something that mule her stare curiously—marks of damp yellow clay on the soles of her moth- •er's ample Oxford ties, which were •croSsed conspicuously on the hassock In front of the chair. She fired aa in- dignalit protest through the Old ladY's -ear trumpet, "Mother, you have been welkin," about out of doors without your rub bers." "Rubbers! Out of doors! Walking ibout i Who says so? Who saw me? What are you talking abont, Marina Spillman?" Iter voice was so shrill and her man- ner so excited that Miss Melville, look- ed at her in growing alarm. "Mother is certainly turning queer." Aloud she said soothingly: "Well, YOu'Ve got a right to prowl around if you feel like it, mummer. I only don't like yon to go out without overshoes. Goo4 old ladies are getting scarce, and I want to keep rano a great many years to eorae.' "Oh, I'm all right, child! 'What made You think I bad been out of the house?" "Clay ou the soles of your shoes, and your white flannel wrapper is all tedingied itbout the hem, mother." A look of intense cuuniug came into ltlate faded eyes. The old women ehue- klee audibly. "Well, you are one for finding a body but. I thought 1 heard somebody at the chicken coop last night, Malvina." "You heard, mother?" "Oh, I'm not as deaf as you think I am nor as blind neither! Why. I could go from here up to the Hall the darkest k night that ever came and go all over the house without stumping a toe, if I wanted to." "I hope you won't want to. mother." Just then, with a swish of starched petticoatf3 and a catching f burried breath, Mrs. Deb Lyons presented her- self in the cottage doorway. She had a roll of cloth iu her hands. . "I just thought I would step over, Miss Melville, and ask you if 1 might run up Johnny's breeches on your ma- • chine. Mine's eent the very old mischief In it and the chIld'll die outright or go plum crazy if he don't have a pair of • new breeches to wear to the coming but party." "Is your Johnny invited to the par- • ty?" asked "Mother" Spillman, with a • slight infusion of 'sarcastic incredulity In her voice. "Not that he ain't good • enough." • Mrs. Deb laughed frankly. "After a fashion, he's invited. Miss •011ie told him if he would fix up real nice he might pass lemonade around among the folks. He is in her Sunday • school class, you know. She is a real sweet young lady. My, but what an affair,it is going to be! They say Miss 011ie's dress IS going to outshine any- thing Miss Jeanne Westover's fetched Over from Paris." 4 'I'd be rather glad," said Malvina In- consequently, "to have you sit with mother while I'm gone." Then, with lowered tones:. "She's been so restless lately. I don't know what she'll be up. • to when she's alone. I have put the • machine in the back room s6 that 1 can sew wizen tnether's asleep. Some- times I think'she hears the biz." watch,her. Thanks for the mm thine. I guess yoti'll be on handehend• . Sho I have to get back home to Ewe *bout rieb'e dinner." "Oh, yes, long beforehen." Ann johnny's mother passed Into the shed room, closing the door between. "I'm going now, Mother. 1 won't stay any longer than I'm obliged to," Said Untying., She bent a few mo- ments later and hissed the *Withered forehead. She omitted to announce Mrs. Lyons' occupancy of the shed robin. Nothing Irritated the old wom- an more than to be put under SurVell- k lance, and after that recent outburst discretion WitS advisable. To Mrs. Ly - ens Malvina spoke a final word of cau- tion. "She can't hear the machine In here uorappointinent was the ()ley result. Whatever she was looking for she did not One. With a sigh 'Or ment she finally rose to her feet, a tan, gaunt, masculine figure, and stood with folded hands gazing down upon the Vacant chair, mutterieg audibly: • "Lost, lost, lostl And it IS my fault. Somebody has stolen it. Poor Tom, poor laddle, I'M the only friend you've got left! I'll find It, To, trust me. 1 promised your mother be friend to you, and he. find it, Tom, I'll never give over till I do," A cluttering sigh, and the tall form dropped back upon the cushions, the white head drooped upon the headrest, and "Mother" Spillman was soon lap- ped in sudden slumber, so profound and se prolonged that Miss Malvina had been borne half au hour before she was aware of it. Mrs, Lyons considered it her duty to 'report the strange episode of the cush- ion beating and the dreamy monologue to Miss MolvIna, who looked anxious and perplexed. "Mother has been aetlug so queer lately that I think I'll have the doctor up to see her after all this excitement is over." "I surely would if she was my moth- er," said Mrs. Lyons, "and the sooner the better," having ministered which clubions comfort she folded Johnny's completed breeehes in a tight little bundle and trotted briskly home to see about Deb's dinner. Miss Malvina was glad to think the excitement would all be over In two days from that time. She was neglect- ing her 'mother and leading her too much time to brood in, Then she tried • on her new gown again, The black silk, trimmed With real lace and jet, In which she was to help 011ie receive had beedhanging in her closet for two weeks. Mr. Matthews had presented it. Miss Melly had nev- er owned anything nearly approaching it Ip point of elegance. She would have been ashamed for •any one to know how often she had tried it.on, "so that I shan't feel too new to it," she told herself each time, with a little apolo- getic laugh. •• The last two . clays of preparation sped by on wings. full to ihe very ' brim of excitement and triumph. "Everything is just *perfectly love - 1Y1" said Olivia, dancing into her fa- ther's presence on the great day, ar- rayed for conquest. He held Iter dt arm's length. looking her over achnirin,gly. From the crown • "Oh, sof papal I deet be sea have done that. Ile serote so likely about our Using the twee." Slav Wes drawing on her Wag White gioves With dainty deliberation, "You know, paioz, wrote and begged hint to come." "No, My dear; 1 certainly did not know it. I sincerely hope he pay no attention to your thoughtlesS re. qUeEtt, It would be a serhala 1nterruP- tiOn to bis studies at a time be Should be Most assidnoUti." "Ali!" tier one ungloved band Was over Ms month. "No Wedding today. papa. The dear boy telegraphed he Weald Come if he possibly CoUld," • A smart carriage was seen roiling Into the .aeWly graveled driveway. There was no time for discussing Toni further just then. "The Westovers," said 011ie,. catch- ing her breath nervously. "1 asked them to come early to help Me re. celve," And then Kiss Malvina bustled in • from the rear, where she had been see- ing about the collation, and Pined 01 - he with a made up society smile and a soft jingling -of her maguideent jet appendages, The Westo ver carriage bad barely deposited its load et' gayly hedecked. guests when Miss Malvina touched Olivia's arm eiseterieuely, "My dear, db • you see that houseman tearing across the lawn by the side drawbars? Tom lirc,xton used to ride just that gait, But this rider loots like a young giant." They were alone ha the long parlor, The Westover ladies had made a res- tliug transit from the carriage to the dressing room, Mr. Matthews bad carried. Mr. Westover into the smoking room, Clarence Westover was yet to arrive. 011ie called him her "piece de re; ssttanncoei.; she was crawag her neck to glimpse the rider through the clip ped shrubbery. Evideutly he was not heading for the carriage approach In front, A bright light gashed into Oliv- ia's face. She clapped her hands joy- ously, • '"It is Tom! The dear boy! I Wrote him my fete would be spoiled If he did not 'come; and he has coiner She glided swiftly through the ball and stood et the rear entrance, a rad'. ant vision, smiling, glad, .with expect- ant hands outstretched. Tom, dusty and travel stained. Mounted the steps at a bound. a clear eyed young giant, flushed with exercise and expectation. • Ile waved her back laughingly. "I am not flt to touch the hem of your shining garments, Olivia,. •1 lutist postpone that luxury for half an hour. And, circling deviously through the well remembered passageways; he dis- appeared up stairs, bag in hand. CHAPTER VI. • • A PROPOSAL TO SELL. DEW:TON HALL, The fete was over. The gray dawn of another day .spread its mantle over a seeue ordisenchantment. Long strings of gaudy paper lanterns swung wine • wrecked and candleless in the sharp, dewy air. The smart little pavilions where Tom had felt as 11' the nectar Alla amines's of the gods were pressed to hisiipS while 011ie was their presid- ing deity showed themselves but taW. ,dry, flimsy make believes. in :the un- sympathetic light of day. A universal desolation or stemless flowers.. juiceless fruit riuds, melting jellies and broken fans strewed the dismantled tables— disenchantment everywhere; no, not cluTitifee fete had been prolific of dretthis, Reality bail not yet touched all those tired young eyes with her distllusion- ing wand. .* Olivia still dreamed of her short and Nvondrous 'reign aS absolute sovereign,* For a, whole radiant evening she had been exalted to a princess royalshiP. All • of q,,er small 'World had done her willing homage, and the pretty thing badqueened it right graciously, Clarence Westover dreamed of a girl Who te the most Winning mautiere. 'loveliest face and brightest of minds added the eotnfortetle allurements of. sulastantial wealth. The Westover cof- fers needed replenishing. and Clarence was the hope of the fronily. The last of the Broxtons dreamed of the gUi he loved apt of the pleasure It would be to him to bestow upon her in perpetuity the old home, with al! Its goodly .furnitate. his all, which had af- forded such a flt setting for her fresh young beauty thet night. It had been arranged before his guardian, had left Min that he was to dine at the cottage that day. Jess could furnish him some sort of break- fast. he had said, preferring not to in- trude upon 011ie's much' needed rest too early. n304 AgAgliE 1‘`v Age *UAW& zeift haarty Mgt atulation or his boat "It was 4 hrilliast saineese from start to finish, sir. I em so glad ties dear little thing had Silelt Wee time. YOU., 1 OuPPoss, did most Qf tbe planning. EN "1 Mall Iiitcn to not4ing' of that sort, er, for a great many vicars to corm" I've barely had a word with you yet. if you are not too tree, what do you say to a good. cigar before mounting? I brought some pretty fair ones in my bag." ills guardian accepted the invitation Somewhat stiffly. Tom led the way to his father's 'study, and Matthews fol- lowed. The lawyer's stiffness was largely due to the fact that Tom had been leading the wajr all evening and be following with tiocility, The con- spicuous homage which he as giver of the feast and father of the fair debu- tante had looked forward to as his own share of sweets had been frankly transferred to Rufus Broxton's son as master of the heuse, Tom's unexpected appearance on the sceue had gixen his guardian's temper • the first rub the wrong Way. ills sub- sequent effusive reception by the old neighbors had not proved mollifying. Ile had been. hailed by his father's old friends as a coming social factor of considerable local importance and had divided the honors of the evening pretty evenly with Olivia. to that young lady's smiling content, while be • (Matthews). the maker of the feast, had been shoved quite into the back- • ground. 'Apart from these minor pricks, the lawyer realized with a start of discom- fort that from a sad, listless, pliant boy his ward had developed Into a. vigorous, handsome young man, alert, intelligent and the possessor of de- cided views of his owu on various sub- jects. Disagreeable vistas were open" ing ahead. • ' Ile should have liked very much in- deed to have pinched the youngster's ears for speaking of Miss Matthews as "a dear little thing:" but, that being •'manifestly impracticable. he compro- mised on a snubbing silence which lasted until he came under the mellow- ing influence of a first rate cigar. Tom's satisfaction over the outcome of the fete flowed on wordily. "Yes," said his guardian finelly, with the blase air of a man surfeited with homage, "it went off very well, nicely enough. I am glad, however, that it is over. I found it both troublesome and expensive. Olivia, must .feel pret- ty well fagged by it all." Tom smiled at the recollection of • her sweet drooping lids and her candid yawns, revealing rows of white teeth. •"I fancy she will sleep without tonight—today, rather. flow pret- ty she looked' in spite of all she had gone through! She has grown into a lovely young woman while I have been grubbing at my Greek and Latin gram- mars. Why, it seems to me only yes- terday that 1 left her a little romp, trundling her hoop and playing with her dolls. The fellows will soon be"— Mr. Matthews clipped this sentence in two with sharp petulance. "Not at all; not at all, 'Thomas. shall listen to nothing of that sort, sir, for a great many years to come. It Is an absurd idea, and as such I resent it, sir—yes, resent it!" Tom stared at him in natural sur- prise. -Such an acrimonious outburst from a man whom he had never seen moved out of the most urbane com- posure lacked logic. "I fail to see anything in my remarkS to call forth resentment, sir," he said, with lifted head. Matthews changed • the subject abruptly. "Your judgnient In the matter of cigars, Thomas, defies criticism. This Is superfine:" He took the cigar from between his lips. baled reliectively at its cohesive white ash, flicked it free with his fin- ger and gazed meditatively at the ceil- ing. Tom gave a thoughtful twit to the soft brown fringe that cicithed his up- per lip with promises and changed the position of his long legs restlessly. Was this premature display of pa. rental hostility 'meant for his especial benefit? Ele'smiled at the futility of it. • Did this bgre of it papa think be could give the world one glimpse of his ra- diant child and then shut her up in his own ravished hetet forever? Ile frown- ed at the daring of it. A vision Of the Future was a tread,' • .., ..-w..• , , , . , 7,. • ii.40*11.'w i I 0 . .4014.1040LN She felt over the entire surface of the chair. of her shininw-heicl to the tips of the pink satin slippers peeping from be- ne.ath her chiffon ruffles she satisfied him utterly. . • "Is it all as you wanted it, my love, my precious one?" '"Everything, papa, everything. It looks like fairyland, and Titania could not be happier than I would be---If"— .'ir already? But Wait." 'With one arm around her slim waist be drew her into the back parlor, where a long. old fashioned mirror was built' into the spite° between two Windows. From the marble slab sup- porting it he took a case of faded blue velvet. From it he took it string of pearls, which he clasped about the girl's neck himself, • 011ie gazed at the tableau he and she Made in the tong Mirror with glowthom eyes. She knew herself beautiful. It made her happy. The 'pearl necklace had once belong- ed to Ltieetta Broxton. "It death had not maliciously interfered, Lueetta Broxton would hate been the mether of his ehild. This necklace was 011V- Itz's by right 'of such, inheritance." not see It neither unless she was to rho reasoning was Horace Matthews borne across the room and look into reSPollse to n pricking coUSCIWlce. ll the shed room for something. She kept it to himself when he gave the ain't likely to do *hat. • Sometimes her 'pearls to Olivia. Cyes do her a good turn. It might vex "Pearls are for young wearers, Ins her if she thouglit you were watching queen of hearts. I think these will gt well with your pink gown." Olivia stood on tiptoe to kiss him. her eyes were shining. her cheeks Were aglow. "Father, you are too good to me. 1 don't deserve to have snob a father. I don't Indeed." tie kissed the lips held up to him with her hand on the wheel and her fervently. "No 'ifs' now? All gone eyes stretched wide with astonishtnent, "No. My if is very obstinate Presently she stole from the machine one. I was going to say everything and glued her eyes to 11. crevice in the would be perfect if only Toni could have come." Rising from her chair, the old wom- don't consider his presence at all kat began feebly shaking its cushions neeessary," said the lawyer in a allied *bout with quick, Impatient InotiOnt, voice. • "ttemember the last time he Getting down on her knees, with Out- I was In the heuse, my love. he might Spread hands she telt over the entire ' have cast a damper over the whole af- surface of the chair. EVidentlY keen her." "All rIght," said Mrs. Lyons, drop- pleg into a husity whisper. "I'll be as Still as it mouse." Left to herself, as she imagined, "Mother" Spillman developed an ftetiv- ity that made Mrs. Lyons forget all about her Johnny's breeches as she sat "While waiting next morning for .less to fulfill her promise in this respect he had had waking visions, pleasant ViSious, which had ministered to his innoeent vaulty and made him rejolee for the first thee With a -frankly 'timer. sonal pleasure in Ads possession of great wealth. For a, fellow all alone, In the. world, he told himself tintgitificentiv. boost* aro not surpassed is. the WUkiolal. Their Woven Wire Ireneings have stood over fifteen years of very mu testing on VAlthi and. RAILWAY. Spncial offers made this p.m. ou . FEwciArtit. These goods aro all maaufactured by The Onferio Wire Fencing Co., Limited, of Pinion, ant For sale by the hardwato Merchants arabGenerai Dealers throughout Oanorda- Also by the Can. hardware ;rubbers, Gen. Agents—The 13. Greening Wire Co., Tbanaton Rua 3Uoutrol. , Agent for Railway Pencing—Tames Cooper, Montreal. Correspondence with the ilientifactnrers invited. Wanted A. Travelling GENERAL AGENT.. An experienced canvasser, •or a man with good character and address, with the necessary ability to travel from town to town and appoint agents. No canvassing. Salary and ex- penses paid. Position permanent and promotion according to merit, and lands mattered little, but for ber sweet sake, the soft, dimpled darling, he rejoiced that there were no rough- nesses to be smoothed away, no dreary waiting to be imposed, no howling of the wolf to be dreaded. With Morning thoughts of Olivia cane Baelz midnight reflections upon her father and his distinctly antagonls, tic attltude‘toWard possible 4ne inevi- table wooers for hot hand.. Lawyer 1stittthwS had lingered the night before until the last carriage had rolled aeross the bridge willehspainied the tiny brooklet at the foot of the lawn. It was it closed carriage, and in it sat 011ie, finshed With triumph, dile eyed With encroaching sleeplaess, but lovely In spite of the wan light of early day; also Miss ItitIvIna, who as chap- eroti had crowned herself with laurels. Tom,- gushed, handsome, Ineapable of Wettrineal, 1111(1 Sprung back up the The Bradley-Garretson, Co., 4, BR ACATTFORD, ONT, shapieg itself in the boy's active brain, a vision Which Comported so perfectly • with What he called "the common sense of the situation" that this valiant show Of opposition en the part of the man he had selected as a father-in-law had the effect of slap on Ms cheek. Toni Was not yet schooled in the wisdom of cheek turning, Ile would bide his time, he said to himself, but he would not be deterred from asking Olivia Matthews: to marry him, when that time ratite, by all the fatherk in the ni&erse. Com- mon sense dictated Wilting,. and Toni never turned a, deaf ear to common sense. . Ms vistotI had come to him unbid- • den, het noW that it had tome he ged it ties° with defiant tightness. The frowning front his guardian showed could not deed It in the least. It had tome to him first in the little PaVilion Under the sycamores, where In Office Stationery T H E TIMES is Up -to -Date. • A superior stock of BILL HEADS, MEMORANDUMS, STATEMENTS. ENVELOPES • SHIPPING TAGS, CARDBOARDS, ETC. ALWAYS ON HAND. 0 We StelaSt after tucking the lap robe se. he had Made one of fent" lutunY Yonne employ skilled workmen, have the latest designs in type, execute first-class work and charge reasonable prices. Give us a trial 0 ° for your next stationery. 0 0 41,q..04:,,we/tvwzoit. • THE TIMES OFFICE. Doctors A Go Pres erip Fir mankind TA l'en fey five etete,etDreggiste, ntocen, Reeteetente, Saicont, blews•Starids. GenerlaStores and Ilarbett Shops. They banish pain, induce aletp, and prolong life. One gives relief 1 o matter what't the matte. One will do you good. Ten sample& and title thousand teeti. menials eent by mail to tiny address en receipt of titles, by the Riparia Chemical Co., tolSpruce St., New Work City.