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oc uentleman m
ill
From Indiana
Copyright. 1899. by Tioubteday
Copyright. 1902,
Klsbce's Items were written In Ink.
There was a blank space beneath the
lant. At the bottom of the page some
thing had been scribbled In pencil.
Hnrklcss vainly tried to decipher it;
but the twilight bad fallen too deep,
tind the writing was too faint, so he
struck a nmleh and held it close to the
paper. The action betokened only a
languid Interest. Hut when he caught
sight of thu ilrst of the four subscrib
ed lines he sat up straight In his chair,
with a sharp ejaculation. At the bot
tom of Fisbec's page was written in
n dainty feminine band of a type he
had not seen for years:
"Thu time tins como," ths walrus said,
"To Uilk uf ii. -iv thliiBH-
Of shoes am siniw nml sealing wax
Am c:ililiaKfK nml ItltiKa."
He put the pi per in his pocket and
set o(T inpldly down the village street.
At his dcpnrtuic William Todd looked
up quickly. Then he got upon his feet,
with a yawn, and quietly followed the
editor. In the dusk a tattered little
ligurc rose up from the weeds across
the way and stole noiselessly after
William, lie was In Ills shirt sleeves,
his walstcn.it unbuttoned and loose. On
the nearest corner Mr. Todd encounter
ed a fellow tow iiMnan who had been
pacing up ami down in front of a cot
tage eroouiin; to a protest I ve baby held
in his anus, lie had paused In bis vigil
to stare after 11 ark less.
"Where's he hound fer, William?"
Inquired the man with the baby.
"Rriseues'." answered William, pur
suing his way.
"I reckoned he would be," observed
the other, turnlin; to his wife, who sat
on the doorstep. "I reckoned so when
I see that lady at the lecture last
night."
The woman roe to her feet. "Ill,
Hill Todd!" she said. "What ye got
on to the hack of yer vest?" William
paused, put his hand behind him and
encountered n paper pinned to the dan
Sling strap of his waistcoat. The wom
an ran to him and unpinned the paper.
It bore a wWUng. They took It to where
(he yellow lamplight shone out through
tbcop'Mi door and read:
der Sir FoT.er linrkle r.L. jo pics an
Oitltd him oil best vennKcno Is clostcU
Imrkls not Got 3 tins to live wo como in
lto.
"What ve think. William?" asked
the man irith the baby anxiously. But
the woman gave 'the youth a sharp
push with her hand. "They never dust
to do it!" she cried; "never in the
-world! You hurry. Hill Todd. Don't
leave him out of your sight one sec
ond." CHAPTER III.
-piHK street upon which the rul
J, I aCe hotel fronted formed the
south side of the square and
ran west to the edge of the
town, where It turned to the south for
a quarter of a mile or more, then bent
to the west again. Some distance
from this second turn there stood,
fronting close on the road, a large
'brick house, the most pretentious man
Bion In Carlow county. And yet It was
a homelike place, with its red brick
walls embowered in masses of cool
Tlrglnla creeper and a comfortable
verandn crossing the broad front, while
balf a hundred stalwart sentinels of
lm and beech and poplar stood guard
around it. The front walk was bor
dered by geraniums nnd hollyhocks,
and honeysuckle climbed the pillars of
the porch. Rcliiud the house there was
shady little orchard, and back of the
orchard an old fashioned, very fragrant
rose garden, divided by a long grape
arbor, extended to the shallow waters
of a wandering creek, nnd on the bank
a rustic seat was placed beneath the
sycamores.
From the first bend of the road,
-where It left the town n;id became
(after some indecision) a country high
way, called the pike, rather than n ,
proud city boulevard, a pathway led
through the fields to end at some pas
ture bars opposite the brick house.
John Hnrklcss was leaning on the
posture bars. The stars were wan and
the full moon shone over the fields.
Meadows and woodlands lay quiet and
motionless under the old, sweet' mar-1
rel of a June night In tho wide i
monotony of the Hat lands there some- j
times comes a feeling that the whole
earth Is stretched out beforo one. To
night it scorned to lie so, In the pathos
of silent beauty, passive and still, yet
breathing an antique message, sad.
mysterious, reassuring. Rut there had
come a divine melody adrift on tho air.
Through the open windows It lloated.
Indoors somo one struck a peal of sil
ver chords, like a harp touched by a
lover, and a woman's voice was lifted, i
John Uarkless leaned on the pasture
bars and listened with upraised head
,qud parted lips.
...
- ?5J
By 'Booth Tj-rkijvgtojv
f3L McClure Co.
by McClurt. Thilltpj rftt Co.
"To thy chamber window roving, lova
hath led my feet."
The Lord sent manna to the children
of Israel In the wilderness. Hnrklcss
had been live years In Plattvllle, and a
woman's voice singing Schubert's "Ser
enade" came to him at last as he stood
by tlte pasture bars of Jones' field and
listened and rested his dazzled eyes
on the big white face of the moon.
How long had It been since he had
heard a song or any discourse of music
other than that furnished by the Platt
vllle band? Not that he had no taste
for a brass baud. Rut music that he
loved always gave him an ache or de
light and the twinge of reminiscence
of old gay days gone forever. Tonight
his memory leaped to the last day of
a June gone seven years to a morn
ing when the little estuary waves
twinkled In the bright sun about the
boat In which he sat. the trim launch
that brought a cheery party ashore
from their schooner to the casino land
lng at- Winter Harbor, far up on the
Maine coast.
Tonight he saw the picture as plainly
as If It were yesterday. No reminis
cences had risen so keenly before his
eyes for years. Pretty Mrs. Van Skuyt
flitting beside him pretty Mrs. Van
Skuyt and her roses what had he
come of her? He saw the crowd of
friends waiting on the pier for their ar
rival, the dozen or so emblazoned class
mates (it was in the time of brilliant
flannelsi who sent up a volley of col
lege cheers In his honor. How plainly
the dear old, young faces rose up before
him tonight, the men from whose lives
he had slipped! nearest and Jolliest of
the faces was that of Tom Meredith,
clubmnte, classmate, his closest friend,
the thin, redheaded third baseman. He
could see Tom's mouth opened at least
a yard. It seemed, such was his frantic
voclferousuess. Again and again the
cheers rang out, "Uarkless! Hark
less!" on the end of them. In those
days everybody, particularly his class
mates, thought he would be minister
to England In a few years, and the or
chestra on the casino porch was play
ing "Tho Conquering Ilero Comes" in
his honor and at the behest of Tom
Meredith, be knew.
A woman's voice slnatna Schubert's
"Serenade" came to him.
Thar-! were other pretty ladles bo
sides Mrs. Van Skuyt in the launch
lond from the yacht, but as they touch
ed the pier, pretty girls or pretty wom
en or jovial gentlemen, all were over
looked In tho wild scramble the college
men made Tor their hero. They baled
him forth, set him on high, bore him on
their shoulders, shouting "Ska! to the
Viking!" and carried him up the wood
ed bluff to the casino. Ho heard Mrs.
Van 3kuyt say: "Oh, we're used to It.
We've put In at several other places
where he had friends!" He remember
ed the wild progress they made for
blm up the slope that morning at Win
ter Harbor how the people looked on
and laughed and clapped their hands.
But n't the veranda edge he had no
ticed a little form disappearing around
a corner of the building, a young girl
running away as fast as she could.
"See there," be said as the tribe set
him down; "you have frightened tho
populace." And Tom Meredith had
stopped shouting long enough to an
Bwer: "It's my little cousin, overcome
with emotion. She's been counting
the hours till you came been hearing
about you for a good while. She hasn't
been able to talk or think of anything
else. She's only llftecn, and the cruchil
moment Is too much for her. The great
Hnrklcss has arrived, and sjio has fled."
Rut the present hour grew on him
as he leaned on the pasture bars. It
had been n reminiscent day with him,
but suddenly bis memories spcdt and
I aaWi 5Baa5i
Clio voice that was singing Schubert's
"Serenade" neioss the way touched
him with the urgent personal appeal
that a present beauty had always held
for htni. It was a soprano and without
tremolo, yet caine to his ear with a
certain tremulous sweetness. It was
soft and slender, but the listener knew
It could be lifted with fullness and
power If the singer would. It spoke
only of the song, yet the listener
thought of the singer. Under the
moon thoughts run Into dreams, and
he dreamed that the owner of the
voice, she who quoted "The Walrus
and the Carpenter" on Flsbce's notes,
wns one to laugh with you ami weep
with you. yet her laughter would be
tempered with sorrow and her tears
with laughter.
When the song was ended he struck
the rail he leaned upon a sharp blow
with his open baud. There swept over
him a reeling that he had stood precise
ly where he stood now on such a night
a thousand years ago; had heard that .
voice and that song and been moved by '
the voice and the song and the night
Just as he was moved now. lie hail
long known hli:mlf for a sentimental
ist. He had almost given up trying to
cure himself. And he knew himself
for a born lover. He had always been
In love wllli some one. In his earlier
youth Ills affections had been so con-'
stantly Inconstant that he Dually came
to settle with his self respect by rec
ognizing in himself a fine constancy
that worshiped one woman always. It
wiih only the shifting Image of her that
changed. Somewhere (lie dreamed,
whimsically Indulgent of the fancy,
yet mocking himself for III there was a
girl whom lie had never seen who wait
ed till he should come. She was every
thing. Pntil he found her lie could not
help adoring others who possessed lit
tle pieces ami suggestions of her her
brilliancy, her courage, her short upper
lip. "like a curled rose leaf." or her
dear voice or her pure prollle. lie had
no recollection of any lady who had
quite her eyes. He had never passed
a lovely stranger on the street In the
old days without a thrill of delight and
warmth. If he never saw her again
and the vision had only lasted for the
time it takes a lady to cross the side
walk from a shop door to a carriage
be was always a little In love with her
because she bore about her somewhere,
as did every pretty girl he ever saw,
a suggestion of the faraway divinity.
One does not pass lovely strangers In
the streets of Plattvllle. Miss Rrlscoe
was pretty, but not at all in the way
that Uarkless dreamed. For live years
the lover in liim that had loved so of
ten had been starved of all but dreams.
Only at twilight and dusk in the sum
mer, when strolling he caught sight of
a woman's skirt far up the village
street, half outlined In the darkness
under the cathedral arch of meeting
branches, this romancer of petticoats
could sigh a true lover's sigh and, If
he kept enough distance between. Ily a
yearning fancy that bis lady wandered
there.
Ever since his university days the
image of her had been growing more
and more distinct, lie had completely
settled his iiiluil ns to her appearance
and her voice. She was tall, almost too
tall, he was sure of that: and out of
his consciousness tlieie had grown a
sweet and vivacious young face that he
knew was hers. Her hair was light
brown, with gold lusters (he reveled In
the gold lusters on the proper theory
that when your fancy Is painting a
picture you may as well go In for the
whole thing and make It sumptuous),
and her eyes were gray. They were
very earnest, and yet they sparkled and
laughed to him compaulonably, and
sometimes he smiled back upon her.
The Undine dnnced before him through
the lonely years, on fair nights in bis
walks and came to sit by his fire on
winter evenings when he stared alone
at the embers.
And tonight, here in Plattvllle, he
heard a voice he had waited for long,
one- rbht his tickle memory told him he
bad never benrd before. Rut, listening,
he knew better ho had heard It long ,
ago, though when nnd how he did not
know, as rich and true nnd -Ineffably
tender as now. He threw n sop to his
common sense. "Miss Sherwood is a
little thing" (the Image was so surely
tall), "with a bumpy forehead nnd spec
tneles," he said to himself, "or else a
provincial young lady with big eyes to
pose at you." Then he felt the ridicu
lousness of looking after bis common
sense on a moonlight night in June;
also, he knew that he lied. i
The song liafl ceased, but the muslciui
lingered, and the keys were touched to
plaintive harmonies new to him. He
had come to Plattvllle beforo "Cavnl- (
lerla Rusticnnu" won the prize at Itoipe,
and now, entranced, he heard the "In
termezzo" for the first time. Listening
to this, he feared to move lest he should
Wake from a summer night's dream.
A ragged little shadow flitted down
the path behind him, and from a soli
tary apple tree standing like a lone
ly ghost In the middle of the Held
came the "Woo!" of a screech owl twice.
It was answered twice from a clump
of elder bushes that grew In a fence
corner fifty yards west of the pasture
bars. Then the barrel of a squirrel rllle
issued, lifted out of the white elder blos
soms, and lay along the fence. The
music in the house across tho way ceas
ed, and Hnrklcss saw two while dresses
come out through the long parlor win
dows on to the veranda. "It will bo
cooler out here,'- came the voice of the
singer clearly through the quiet. "What
n night!"
John vaulted the bars and started to
cross the road. They saw him from
the veranda, and Miss Rrlscoe called
to him In welcome. As his tall figure
stood out plainly In the bright light
against the white dust a streak of flit!
leaped from the elder blossoms, and
there rang out the sharp report of a
rifle. There were two screams from
the veranda One white figure ran Into
the house. The other, a little one with
a gauzy wrap streaming behind, came
flying out Into the moonlight straight
to Uarkless. There was a second re
port. Tho rllle shot was answered by
n revolver. William Todd bad risen
up, apparently from nowhere, and,
kneeling by the pasture bars, fired at
the Hash or ! rjlle.
"Jump fer flic shudder, Mr. Hark
less!" he shouted, "lie's In them el
ders. For God's sake, come back!"
Empty handed as he was, the editor
dashed for t lie treacherous elder bush
ns fast as his long legs could carry
him, but before he bad taken six
strides u baud clutched his sleeve and
a girl's voice quavered from close be
hind him: "Don't run like that, Mr.
Uarkless! I can't keep up."
He wheeled about and confronted a
vision, a dainty little figure about five
feet high, a Hushed and lovely face,
hair ami draperies disarranged and
flying, lie stamped his foot with rage,
"(let buck in the house!" he cried.
"You must n't go!" she panted. "It's
the only way to stop you."
"Oo back to luo house!" he shouted
oavagely.
"Will you come?"
"Fer Hod's sake," cried William
Todd, "come back! Keep out of the
road!" lie was emptying his revolver
nt fhe clump of bushes, the uproar of
his tiring blasting the night. Someone
Bcrcnmcd from the house:
"Helen, Helen!" . '
John seized the girl's wrists. Her
gray eyes Hashed Into his defiantly.
"Will you go?" he roared.
"No!"
He dropped her wrists, caught her up
lu his arms as If she had been a kit
ten ami leaped Into the shadow of the
trees that leaned over the road from
the yard. The rllle rang out again,
and (he little hall whistled venomous
ly overhead. Uarkless ran along the
fence ami turned in at the gate. A
loose strand of the girl's hair blew
aeross bis cheek, and in the moon her
head shone with gold. She had light
mrjA Hi
r (I-
The rlllc rana out again.
brown hair and gray eyes and a short
upper lip like a curled rose leaf. He
set her down on the veranda steps.
Both of them laughed wildly.
"Rut you came with me," she gasped
triumphantly.
"I always thought you were tall,"
he answered, and there was afterward
a time when he had to agree that this
was a somewhat vague reply.
CHAPTER IV.
UDGE RRISCOK smiled grim
ly and leaned on his shotgun
in tlie moonlight by the ve
randa. He nnd Willinm Todd
bad been kicking down the elder bushes
and, returning to the house, found Min
nie nlone on the porch. "Safe?" he
said to his daughter, who turned nn
anxious face upon him. "They'll be
enfo enough now, nnd lu our garden." '
"Maybe I oughtn't to have let them
go."
"Pooh! They're all right. That scal
awag's half way to Six Crossroads by
this time, Isn't he, William?" i
"He tuck up the fence like a scared
rabbit," Mr. Todd responded, looking
into bis hat to avoid meeting the eyes
of tho lady, "and I didn't have no call
to f oiler. He knowed how to run, I
reckon. Time Mr. Uarkless come out
the yard again we sec him take across
the mad to the wedge woods, near half
a mile up. Somebody else with him
then looked like n kid. Must 'a' cut
cross til field to Join him. They're
fur enough toward home by this." I
"Did Miss Helen shake hands with
you four or five times?" asked Rrlscoe,
chuckling. I
"No, Why?" said Minnie. I
"Because Uarkless did. My hand .
aches, and I guess William's does too.
Ho nearly shook our arms off when we
told him he'd been a fool. Seemed to
(lo him good,. I told him he ought to t
hire somebody to take a shot nl him
every morning before breakfast not
that It's any Joking matter," the old
leutlemau finished thoughtfully.
"I should say not," said William,
with a deep frown ami a Jerk of his
head toward the rear of the house.
"He Jokes about it enough. Wouldn't
even promise to carry a gun after this.
Said he wouldn't know how to use It
never shot one off since he was n boy,
on the Fourth of July. This is tho
third time he's be'u shot nt this year,
but he says the others was nt a
what 'd he call It?"
" 'A merely complimentary range,' "
Rrlscoe supplied. He handed William
a cigar and bit the end off another him
self. "Minnie, you better go In tho
house and read, 1 expect, unless you
want to go down to the creek nnd Join
those folks."
"Mel" site exclaimed. "I know when
to stay away, I guess. Do go and put
that terrible gun up."
"No," said Rrlscoe lighting his cigar
deliberately. "It's all safe; there's no
question of that; but maybe William
and I better go out and take a smoke
lu the orchard as long ns they stay
down at the creek."
In the garden shafts of white light
pierced tho bordering trees and fell
where June roses breathed the mild
night breeze, mid here, through sum
mer spells, the editor of the Herald
and the lady who had run to hlni nt
the pasture bars strolled down a path
trembling with shadow to where the
creek tinkled over the pebbles. They
walked slowly, with an air of being
well accustomed friends and comrades,
and for some reason It did not strike
cither of them as unmilural or extraor
dinary. They came to a bench on tho
bank, ami be made a great fuss dust
ing the seat for her with his black
slouch hat. Then lie regretted fhe hat
it was a shabby old hat of a Carlow
county fashion.
It was a long bench, and he seated
himself rather remotely toward the
end opposite her, suddenly realizing
that he had walked very close to hor
coming down the narrow garden path.
Neither knew that neither had spoken
since they left the veranda, nnd It had
taken them a long time to como
through the little orchard and the gar
den. She rested her chin on her hand,
leaning forward and looking steadily
at the creek. Her laughter laid quite
gone; her attitude seemed a little wist
ful and a little sad. He noted that her
hair curled over her brow in a way ho
had not pictured In the lady of his
dreams. This was so niueh prettier.
He did not care for tall girls. He bad
not cared for them for almost balf an
hour. If was so much more beautiful
to be dainty and small and piquant.
He had no notion that he was sighing
in u way that would have put a fur
nace to shame, but he turned his eyes
from her because he feared that If ho
looked longer he might blurt out some
speech about her loveliness. His
liHnif Will
Wmw VMS!
m U Tl" i SaV U Ml 1
Neither knew that neither had spoken.
glance rested on the bank, but its
ilia meter Included the edge of her white
skirt nnd the tip of a little white, high
heeled slipper that peeped out from
beneath, and he had to look away from
that, too, to keep from telling her that
he, meant to advocate a law compelling
all women to wear crisp white gowns
nnd white kid slippers on moonlight
nights.
She picked a long spenr of grasi
from the turf before her, twisted It
absently In her fingers, then turned to
him slowly. Her lips pnrted ns If to
speak. Then she turned away again.
The action wns so odd, somehow, ni
she did it, so adorable, and the pre
served silence wns such a bond be
tween them, thnt for his life he could
not have helped moving hulf way up
the bench toward her.
"What is it?" ho nsked, nnd ho spoko
in u whisper such as he might have
used at the bedside of a dying friend.
Jle would not have laughed if he had
known he did so. She twisted tho spear
of grass Into a little ball and threw it
at n stone in the water beforo she an
swered :
"Do you know, Mr. Uarkless, you
and I have not 'met,' have wo? Didn't
wo forget to bo presented to each
other?"
"I beg your pardon, Miss, Sherwood.
In the perturbation of comedy I for
gotl .
(To bo Continued.)
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