Pittston Gazette

              !Qft^ppt«E \ i"*! Oldest Newsoaner in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY, JULY 18, 1890. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. TWO SOLUM know how Mary regard bqcU a proffer. She pr4HDtly and discreetly ! retired, leaving the front door open foi his exit,, and the sweet June sunshine and the soft warm breath of early stun- j mer flowing in through the broad vesti- j bule. first lieutenant and two Dars a captain with a fortune that ne has trebled since in Wall street, and now, by heaven! the cold blooded brute will not lend him a pitiful twenty thousand." "1 know what you would say," sne answered with quick and ready sympathy. "I have seen how dear my child has been to you almost from the very first. Indeed I do wish you happiness, Mr. Lane; but Mr. Vincent told you that—we once had other views for Mabel. It is only fair and right that you should know." n 'pretty m selecting a wife while you .ire In here on this detail. Now, Mrs. VViUorsnnd I have been keeping ®ur eyea open, and our ears, too, for that matter; the fact is, I always liave both eyes and card open—travel with them that way, sleep with them that way. I would not bo tho man I am in the business world, Noel, if that weren't tho case. And, pretty though Miss Vincent may be, she s not the girl for you to waste your time on." that is, in the artillery. Now, why this provoking distinction in the cavalry? Here's a captain with o&ly one bar, a captain whose letters from the war department come addressed to Lieut. Gordon Noel!" knew all these circumstances so much to his disadvantage, and had seen all his lame and impotent excuses, had made him fear him as a possible enemy and hate him simply because he stood in awe of him. BILL GOES TO SEE JAY. 15th, and we could shear them on in® 16th and 17th, I'm thinkin'; and, Master Gool, ye should get another shape to associate wid the wan ye have or it'll be lonesome and die wid the angwe, as ye call it." At the bank Lane found an unusual number of men, and there was an air ol suppressed excitement. Telegraph boys would rush in every now and then with dispatches for various parties, and these were eagerly opened and road. Scraps ol low, earnest conversation reached him, as he stood a silent watcher. "They cannot stand it another day." "They've beet raining wheat on them from every corner of the north and west. No gang car stand under it." "It's bound to break,' etc. To an official of the bank who knew him well ho showed the telegram ho had received at the club, and the gentleman looked up in surprise. By Oapt, CHARLES KING. HE DESCRIBES HOW THE LATTER DOES HIS HAYING, [Copyrighted by J. B. Llpptacott Company, Philadelphia, and published through special arrangement with the American Frees Association.] "How good you are to me!" she wrote. "The flowers were—and are still—exquisite. I shall be down stairs a little while to-morrow afternoon, if the doctoi is good to me as you are. Then I can thank you, can I not? M. L. V." "Noel never speaks of himself as captian, I'm sure," said Lane. No one, to watch Noel in society or in the presence of his brother officers, would suppose for a moment that he looked upon Lane with other than feelings of the warmest regard and comradeship. It was only in his secret thoughts, which he admitted to no soul on earth, that Noel realized what his real feelings were towards a man who had never done him a wrong, but who had treated him on all occasions, public and private, with courtesy and consideration."All right, Terrance; and I wish yot would see what repairs the hay rakt needs. Then yon can conplo on to il and take it to the machine shop. Mj idea is that it only needs new crosshead babbiting, water gauge ferrules, pet coci rod handles, steam chest gland bushing and goose neck ring eyes."  It is said that much -of the hard earned money which Mr. Gould gets every month for his railroading is spent on his farm at Irvington. He hasn't so much ground as Cy Field has, but it is under a higher Btate of cultivation. Mr. Gould likes to encourage crops, whilst Mr. Field prefers to see his grounds grow up kind of wild, as they do in England. Jay has a peculiar weakness. It is for having real hornets on his country seat. He says he thinks it promotes activity, and induces one to make gigantic strides toward something better. Mr. Field has quite a lodge or toll gate at the entranoe to his grounds, where the lodge keeper's wife hangs out her clean clothes on Monday morning tc scare the horses of the gentry. Mr. Gould goes up at about 4 o'clock on the New York Central road, riding on an annual pass, and 'ft is very rare that he is recognized by anybody. Quite often a large railroad hog occupies the seat with Mr. Gould, and almost squats the life otit of the man who has squeezed other people so much all his life. Mr. Gould stands it like a little man, however, and rarely squeals. The great financier seems quite old this summer, but he says he is looking forward with hope to a bright immortality. He said that he was glad to see me, for he wanted to tell me about a kind act which he did a year ago in secret, hoping that it would get into the papers before this, but it had not. He said that other folks could do kind acts in secret somehow, and in forty-eight hours it would be in the papers, but he never could do it. "Neither do you; and for a year past, ever since I have known you by sight"— and here a quick blush mounted to her temples—"you occasionally came to our church, you know," she hastened to explain—"you have, been referred to as Lieut. Lane or Mr. Lane; but we know you are a captain now, for we saw the promotion recorded in the Washington despatches a fortnight ago. What was the date of Capt. Noel's elevation to that grade? I confess I took him for your junior in the service and in years too," "How could it have been otherwise, Mrs. Vincent? Is thero any man quite worthy of her? Is there any station in life too high for ono like her? I never dared hope that your consent could have been so freely given. I do not dare hope that she can nossibly care for me—vet." Some of the Deantles of Irvington—A Visit to the Hornets and a Search for (continued.) Better Thing* — Mr. Gould's Little "But why not?" asked Noel. "They have a magnificent home, and everything about it indicates wealth and refinement and culture; and there is no denying that she is one of tho most attractive girls in society in this city; certainly I have seen none whom I have admired more." Piece. The hours dragged until Friday afternoon came. He had to go to the Witherses to dinner on Thursday evening, and a dreary, ostentatious, ponderous feast it was. Noel, in his full dress uniform, was the hero of the hour. He greeted Lane a trifle nervously. "I meant to have telephoned and begged you to bear me out, old man," said he, "but this thing was sprung on me after I got home. Cousin Mattie simply ordered me to appear in my wai paint, and I had to do it. You are to go In to dinner with her by the way; and I wish you were en grande tenue instead of civilian spike tail. Here's Amos." [Copyright by Edgar W. Nye.] -1 will not keep you longer, tr.cn,- sCiid she, smiling through her tears. "I will see you after a while, nerhaps. Mabel is in tho library. Now 171 leave you." Every summer I like to ride np to Irvington and spend a couple of days with Jay Gould. He treats me well while there at his house, and though nothing is said about it at the time there is a tacit understanding that I am to write a piece about him for the papers when I get home. "Do you want this now, captainl Surely you are not"  With tnmultuously throbbing heart, he softly entered and quickly glanced around. The tiers of almost priceless volumes, the antique furniture, the costly Persian rugs and portieres, the pictures, bronzes, bric-a-brac—all wero valueless in his eager eyes. They sought one object alone, and found it in a deep bay window across the room. There, leaning back in a great easy reading chair, with a magazine in her lap, her fair head pillowed on a silken cushion, reclined the lady of his heart, smiling a sweet welcome to him, while tho rosy color mounted to her brows as he came quickly for ward and took her soft, white hand. How he was trembling! How For some reason or other tho lieutenant felt restless and dissatisfied this morning. Tho atmosphere of tho office was decidedly uncongenial. He was a man who rarely read anything, and to \tfhom letter writing was a bore. To be sure, he had little of it to do, for no man in the regiment had expressed a desire to hear from him. It was a hot, sultry day; the stylish white flannel 6uit in which he had arrayed his handsome self was wasting its elegance on, the desert air of a bare and empty room, instead of being seen in the boudoirs of beauty or the billiard rooms at the club. Business was slack;, no recruits were coming in, and Mr. Noel could stand it no longer. A ring from his bell summoned the sergeant to the room. "Yes, Noel holds well to his youth," answered Lane, smilingly. "No, I'm not, most emphatically," replied Lane, with a quiet laug'- "Yet 1 may have sudden use for th;.t sum. 1 telegraphed to my agents at Cheyenne yesterday. You, perhaps, ought to wire at once and verify it." It is the pleasantest time always to go up during the haying season, which begins in Juno and rages with more or less violence for two days. "Well, he is so very near it, and it is bo apt to come any day, that perhaps he thinks it just as well to let people get accustomed to calling him that. Then he w«i't have to break them all in when the commission does come." "And about the captaincy?" "Those are our bank rules, and I presume it will be done; though of course we know"  And Amos marched him around to one guest after another—"self made men, sir"—heavy manufacturers and money makers, with their overdressed wives. Lane strove hard to be entertaining to his hostess, but that lady'i mind was totally engrossed in the progress of the feast and dread of possible catastrophe to style or service. Hei eyes glanced nervously from her husband to the butler and his assistants, and her lips perpetually framed inaudible instructions or warnings, and so it happened that the captain was enabled to chat a good deal with a slight, dark eyed and decidedly intelligent girl who sat to his right, and who was totally ignored by the young cub who took hei in—the eldest son of the house of Withers, a callow youth of 20. "You did not heap my name, I know," she had said to him. "I am Miss Marshall, a very distant connection of Mrs, Withers', the teaoher of her youngei children, and the merest kind of an accident at (his table. Miss Faulkner wai compelled to send her excuses at the last moment, and so I was detailed—isn't that yon* soldi?? expression?—to fill the gap." "Then he is your junior, of course?" "Only by a file or so. He entered the service very soon after me." "Never mind. I much prefer you should, and at once." And, leaving the man of business to attend to tho necessary formalitv, Lane strolled winnow ana looked down the crowded street towards the massive building in which the desperate grapple 'twixt bull and bear was at its height. The day was hot; men rushed by, mopping their fevered browsi a throng of people had gathered near the broad entrance to the chamber, and all its windows were lowered to secure free and fresh currents oi air. Lane fancied he could hear the shouts of the combatants in the pit even above the ceaseless roar and rattle ol wheels upon the stone pavement. Little by little the minute hand was stealing to the vertical, and still no sign from Clark. "Has she touched a half yet?" he heard one man eagerly ask another as they dived into the broker's office underneath. m "But was not in your class at West Point?" "No; ho was not in my class," "In the next one, then, I presume?" bis kind gray eyes were glowing! Sh§ could not meet them; she had to laok away. She had begun some pleasant litr tie welcoming speech, some half laughing allusion to the flowers, but she 6top-. ped short in the midst of it. A knot of half faded roses—his roses—nestled in her bosom, contrasting with the pure white of her dainty gown; and now those treasured, envied flowers began to rise and fall, as though rooked on the billows of some clear lako stirred by a sudden breeze. What he said, he did not know; she hardly beard, though her ears drank in every word. She only realized that both his hands were tightly clasping hers, and that, scorning to seek a chair and draw it to her side — perhaps, too, because he could not bear to release even for an instant that slender little hand—perhaps still more because of the old time chivalry in his nature that had prompted him to ask parental sanction before telling her of his deep and tender love— Capt. Lane had dropped on one knee close beside, and, bending over her, was pouring forth in broken, incoherent words the old, old story, of a lover's hopes and fears and longings—the sweet old song that, day after day, year after year, ay, though sung sinco God's creation of the beautiful world we live in, never, "never can bo heard or sung except in rapture. Even though she be cold to him as stone, no trno women ever listened to the tale of a man's trno love without a thrill at heart. "Miss Marshall, is your first name Portia? I should hate to be a witness whom you had the privilege of cross examining. There are ladies 'learned in the law,' and I expect to read of yon as called to the bar within a year or two." "There doesn't seem to be any likelihood of recruits coming in such a day as this, sergeant," said Mr. Noel. "I'm going up to the club for a while; if anybody should come in, send one of the men up there for me; HI return at once." And with that he took his straw hat and light cane and strolled leisurely up the street. His was a figure that many a man—and more women—would turn to look at more than once. Tall, slim, elegant in build, always dressed in excellent taste, Gordon Noel in any community would have been pronounced a remarkably presentable man. His face, as has been said, was very fine; his eyes dark and handsome, shaded by deep, thick lashes; his hair dark and waving; his mustache, dark and drooping, served only to enhance the brilliancy of the even white teeth that flashed underneath it in his frequent smiles and joyous laughter. One would say, in looking at Noel, that he was a man of singularly sunny disposition; and bo he was, and so they found him at the club; and so the loungers there hailed him with jovial shouts as he entered; for, though only a fortnight had elapsed sipce his arrival, and four days of that time he had been absent, giving his testimony before the court martial in New York harbor, he had nevertheless won his way into the hearts of all the young fellows around the clnb, and no more popular man than Gordon Noel had ever come within the doors of "The Queen City." "What are you going to have, old man?" was the first question asked, and Noel laughingly ordered a sherry cobbler, saying the day was far too hot for anything stronger. mMu Mabd taytjpteaM excuse pencil, In the three days that followed th« transfer of funds and property at the recruiting rendezvous took place, and Mr, Noel stepped in, vice Lane, relieved and ordered to join his regiment. The for- That very morning Gordon Noel was pre- si n tt, ... . sen ted to Reginald Vincent. "That is all very true, perhaps," was the reply; '-but her father was very badly bitten during that wheat corner last month, and in fact he has been losing heavily for the last two years. Warden, who is liis broker on 'Change, let it leak out in more ways than one; and that wife of Warden is a regular scandal monger—she can't help talking, and everything she manages to extract from him in the way of information goes broadcast over the entire city. Of course, when the corner broke, as it did, old Vincent managed to pull out of it without absolute loss of his homestead and his entire business. But the rally came only in the nick of time. I am told that Warden has said that if wheat had gone up one cent higher it would have knocked Vincent out of time; he never could have come to again. Gordon Noel, we have another plan for you. Wait until Ned Terry's sister gets back from the east) between her and her brother they have just about as much money invested in the lDest paying business in this town as any people that I can possibly name. She's a belle; she's just as pretty as Miss Vincent. She isn't as smart, perhaps, but she is a woman worth cultivating. Now, hold your horses. Where did you meet her, by the way?" "Never mind, Capt. Lane, you nothing more about him." I will ask merwas having a delightful time. A guest of the wealthy Witherses could no! Jong be a stranger within their gates tc the Queen citizens, and every afternoon and evening found him enjoying hospitalities of the most cordial character. At the club he had already become hail-felloir with all the younger element, and had made himself decidedly populai among the elders, and every man who bad not met that jolly Capt. Noel wai eager to bs presented to him. He wai ready for pool, billiards, bowling or a drink the moment he got within the stately doorway; and, as he sang, whistled, laughed, chatted and cracked innumerable jokes during the various games, was acspital mimic, and could personate Pat, Hans or Crapaud with telling effect, hit presence was pronounced by every one as better than a solid week of sunshine —something the Queen City rarely, if ever, experienced. Poor Lane, on the contrary, was near- "No, Miss Marshall, I presume that my clumsiness has rendered it totally unnecessary." HELPING GOULD MAKE HAY. Irvington is a beautiful little neet of well to do farmers like Jay Gould, Cy Field and such thrifty grangers as TTa.nl? Villard, whose place is a little lower down the river at Dobb's ferry. TTanV and Cy Field change workers in haying, but Jay keeps help enough to put in all of his grass himself. Sometimes he used to help Bob Hoe in haying and Bob would help him in stacking, but since the death of Mr. Hbe Jay doesn't depend much on the neighbors. That night, as the guests were dispersing, Lane did what most of them entirely omitted; he went over to the piano and bade Miss Marshall good night. "Not yet; but I'm betting she does in side of five minutes and reaches ninety - nine first thing to-morrow." "Capt. she said, "I beg your pardon if I have been too inquisitive and too critical, as I know I have beeij; but you have taught me that you know how to guard a comrade's failings from the world. Will you not forgive a woman's weakness?' At last boom went the great bell—a Single, solemn stroke. There was a rush of men for the street, a general scurry towards the great board of trade building, a rapidly increasing crowd along the curbstones as the members came pouring out, and brokers and their customers hurried away towards numberless l|ttle offices all over the neighborhood. Dozens of then) passed along under his post of observation, some flushed, some deathly pale, and finally Clark himself I . 5 r "And where did you learn qui army expressions, may I ask?" said Lane smilingly.'■'There is nothing to forgive, Miss Marshall. I hope sincerely that we may meet again before I go back to the regiment."Mr. Gould's place sits back from the main road quite a piece and has an el! to it. As you drive in you see four or five men with sheep shears trimming off the side whiskers on the mall. He has quite a good lot of tillable land around the house and he has a conservatory about the size of the Paris exposition. In this ho grows quite a quantity of rare exotics, such as four o'clocks, marigolds, bachelor's buttons, ''sturshons," morning glories and Johnny-jump-ups (or Johnny-jumps-up, rather). Mr. Gould is a great floraculturist and raises his own seeds rather than trust to the gaudy but prevaricating catalogue of the professional seedsman. "I had a cousin in th D ar: ■"*. yy .sotm years ago, and visited his v/ifj when they were stationed at the old barracks across the river. There's no on? there now, I believe. Listen to Captain Noel: he is telling about Indian campaigns." And later, as Lane was walking homeward from a final peep at the dim light in a certain window, he had time to think how intolerable that dinner would have seemed had it not been for the accident which placed that dark eyed governess by his side. Indeed, pretty much ever)-body wat listening already, for Noel, with much auimation, was recounting the experiences of the chase after the Chiricahua chieftain, Geronimo. He was an excellent talker, and most diplomatic and skillful in the avoidance of any direct reference to himself as the hero of the series of dramatic incidents which he bo graphically told, and yet the impression conveyed—and intended to be conveyed —was that no man had seen more, endured more or ridden harder, faster and farther, than the narrator. Flattered by the evident interest shown by those about him, and noting that conversation was brisk at Lane's end of the table, the lieutenant soon lost himself in the enthusiasm of his own descriptions, and was only suddenly recalled to earth by noting that now the whole table had ceased its dinner chat, and that, with the possible exception of the hostess, who was telegraphing signals to the butler, every man and woman present was looking at him and listening. The color leaped to his face, and he turned towards Lane with a nervous laugh. appeared and Lane hastened forth to meet him. -Jyj ly worrying his heart out. He had gone to the Vincents' the very evening on which he bad seen the father of the family off for New York, and had nerved Wmralf to pat his fortune to the test—to tell her of his deep and devoted love and to ask her to be his wife. That "Saved by a mere squeak so far," was the almost breathless whisper as Clark removed his hat and wiped his clammy forehead. "But we know not what a day may bring forth. It's a mere respite."CHAPTER VII. Lane was awake with the sun on Friday morning, and lay for a few moments listening to the twittering of the sparrows about his window sills, and watching the slanting, rosy red shafts of light that streamed through the intervals in the Venetian blinds. "Does it angur bright fortune? Does it mean victory? Is it like tho 'sun of Austerlitz?*" were the questions that crowded through his brain. Today—today she was to "be down for a little while in the afternoon," and then sho "hoped to be able to thank him. Could she?" Ten thousand time# over and over again she could, if she would but whisper one little word—Yes —in answer to his eager question. It kicked hours yet until that longed for afternoon could come. It was not 5 o'clock; but more sleep was out of the question, and lying there in bed intolerable. Much to the surprise of his darky valet, Lane had had his bath, dressed and disappeared by the time the former came to rouse him. Once, only once, in the lifetime of men like Lane—yes, and of men not half his peers in depth of character, in intensity of feeling—there comes a moment like this, and, whethor, it be in the glow and fervor and enthusiasm of youth or the intensity and strength of inaturer years, it is the climax of a lifetime; it is the dato from which all others, all scenes, trials, triumphs, take their due apportionment; it is the memory of all others that lingers to the very last, whet} all, all but this are banished from the dying brain. Rome, in her pride of place, made the building of her capitol the climax of mundane history; everything in her calendar was "ante urbem conditam" or the reverse. The old world measured from the flood; tho new world —our world—measures frem the birth of him who died upon the cross; and the lifetime of the man who has once deeply and devotedly loved has found its climax in the thrilling moment of the avowal. u "I first met her at the Thorntons' dinner party. She was there with Capt. Lane, and some other young people whom I had not previously met," "Can the syndicate carry any more weight, think you? Prices jumped up two and three weeks ago. Now they only plimb a hair's breadth at a time. I hear they are loaded down—that it must break; but I'm no expert in these matters."die well knew he loved her, without being told, he felt sure must be the case; but, beyond a belief that she liked and trusted him, the captain had not the faintest idea as to the nature of her feelings towards him. He was a modest fellow, as has been said. His glass told him that, despite a pair of clear gray Across the main road from the house is the hay lot. It covers about five and three-fourths acres, perhaps, and so with twenty-seven men, all Milling to pitoh right in with enthusiasm, Mr. Gould is able to get his haying out of the way in time to give him a week in town. This year he was drawn on the jury * in New York just as he was going into the hay field. For quite a while he didn't know whether to go down and make sure of his little old $2 a day or stick to the haying and save the crop; but finally he threw his scythe over his shoulder and said, "Come on, boys. They can get other jurymen, but you would be a long while getting another man to take my place in the hayfield." 1 " "Oh, yes; that reminds me. It seem* to me I have heard once or twice that your friend Lane was very much smitten in that quarter. Now, you'd much bettei let him cany off Miss Vincent, if he can. She would suit his modest views of life very well. But I don't believe the girt has a penny to her fortune; at least she certainly won't if Vincent has no more luck in the future than he has had in the last year." HORNETS AT THE COUNTRY SEAT. He then gave me a roll of soiled manuscript in his own well known ht which had evidently been returned 1 good many editors dpring the past y as it had certain blue marks of di proval all over the hack. It read as lows: "Who's that I just saw going into the billiard room?" he asked. "That? That's Regy Vincent. Haven't you met him yet?" "If you wore, you'd be wise to keep out of it. Who can say whether they will break or not? It is what everybody confidently predicted when eighty-nine was touched twelve days ago; and look at it!" "Regy Vincent," said Noel. "Is he the brother of the Miss Vincent whom I met at the party last night?" D L- eyes and a decidedly soldierly cut to hit features, he was not what women called * handsome man; and, what was more, there were little strands of gray just beginning to show about his broad forebead and in the heavy moustache that shaded his month. Lane sighed as he remembered that he was in his 86th year. How could she care for him—fifteen years her senior? Lane rang the dooi bell that night and felt once more that "The very same." was the reply. "Mighty bright fellow, too, and a very jolly one; though he has been in hard luck of late." "As the cold weather set in this . Mr. Gould began to do his butchering Irvington. He generally Trills three beei creatures and nine shotes in the fall with his own hand. He begins early in the morning to heat the water for scalding his hogs, and by sundown he is all through, and ready to cut up the meat as soon as it cools off. "Yesterday was a gala day for Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Tarrytown. for Mr. Gould gave out word in the morning to all the neighbors' boys that thej would be welcome at the killing, and could help themselves to their choice of the various internal organs of the animals killed. Many poor people got their winter's tripo in this way, and as far even as Yonkers and Nyack people were supplied with sausage wrappers free. "It was a beautiful' scene, in the midst of which Mr. Gould might have been seen cheerily skipping about, and ever and anon opening up a fresh creature. It was an occasion which will bo long remembered by the young people of Irvington, and fully illustrates the generosity and innate goodness of Mr. Gould. We trust that he may live long to give yet more delights and other such things to the young of the country." "Do you go back to the office from here? Good! ni join you there in ten minutes," said Lane, "for I shall not come down town this afternoon, and may not be able to in the morning." "I took her down to dinner," said Noel, thoughtfully, "and I remember that she talked a good deal about the army, and asked a great many questions about the cavalry. Now thz\t you epeak of it, I noticed that Lane, who sat on the opposite side of the table, didn't seem to be particularly interested in the lady whom he was escorting, although, of course, he had to be civil and tried to keep np a conversation, but every now and then I would catch him looking at us, and particularly at her. But she looked so pretty that I didn't wonder at it." • • "How in hud luck?" asked a quiet looking man seated in a big arm chair, lowering for a moment the newspaper which he had been reading. And when Capt. Lane appeared at the office of Vincent, Clark & Co., he brought with him a stout little packet, which, after the exchange of a few worda and a scrap or two of paper, Mr. Clark carefully stowed In the innermost compartment of the big safe. Then he grasped Lane's hand in both of his as the captain said good-by. "I'd no idea I was monopolizing the talk," he said. "Fred, old man, wasn't it G troop that tried to get across the range from your command to ours when we neared the Guadalupe? Amos and Mr. Hawks had been "Ving me about the chase after Geronimo." "Well, through his father's ill luck on 'Change. You all know, of course, that Vincent was nearly busted before that corner went under last week," Later I saw by the paper that Mr. Gould was fined $100 for non-appearance when his name was called. his heart was beating even as it did at I o'clock when he was ushered into the awful presence of her father. "Miss Vincent has not left her room today, and is not well enough to comc down to-night, sir," said the servant whc came to the door, "and Mrs. Vincent begged to be excused because of Mist Mabel's needing her." "I—I am very, very sorry," stammered the captain. "Please say that Mr. Lane called" (they had known him so well foi two months as Mr. Lane that he could not yet refer to himself by his new title), "and—and would call again to-morrow, hoping to hear Miss Vincent was mucb better." And then, dejected and miserable, and yet with something akin to-the feeling one experiences when going to a dentist's to have a tooth drawn and the dreaded wielder of the forceps proves to be away, Lane retreated down the broad stone ttepa until he reached the walk, gazed -* the dim light in the window whicb "Have you no word to say to me, Mabel?—not one word of hope?—not one?" he pleaded. Noel was late in reaching the rendezvous. It was after 10 when he appeared, explaining that Mrs. Withers was fax from well, and therefore Cousin Amoc would not leavo the house until the doctor had seen her and made his report Lane received his explanation somewhal coldly and suggested that they go righl to work with their papers, as he had important engagements. It was high noon when they finished the matters in hand, and then the captain hastened to tbC club and was handed a telegram wit! (he information that it had only just come. It was evidently expected. LanC quickly read it and carefully stowed i1 away in an inside pocket, Jq anothej moment he was speeding down town, and by half past 13 was closeted with thC junior partner of the tottering house ol Vincent, Clark & Co. Mr. Clark wai pale and nervous. Every click of thC "ticker" seemed to make him start. A clerk stood at the instrument watchin| the rapidly dotted quotations. "I know this," was the calm reply, "that while he did stand for a few days on the 'ragged edge,' and while it may be that had that corner 6ot broken when it did he would have been in sore straits, in some way he or his partner, Clark, came to taw with additional funds, and had the consummate pluck to put up more at the very moment when it was believed that that syndicate was going to have everything their own way. So far from being badly bitten by that deal, it's my belief that Vincent, Clark & Co. came out of it with a very pretty penny to the good." "Is it true," I asked him yesterday at an equestrian lunch counter, "that the judge fined you $100 for contempt?" Then she turned her lovely face, looking into his deep eyes through a mist of tears. "Yes," said Mr. Gould, removing a fillet of Wienerwurst from his whiskers and speaking in deep, interest bearing notes, "I was found $100 by the judge as you say, but I proved by one of my hired hands that I was a member of the Tarrytown Hook and Ladder company, and so the judge remitted the fine." On a bright June morning, when the wood bird wakes the echoes along the Hudson and the wren and the thrush come down to bathe their little beaks in the beautiful brook which sings along past the door of Washington Irving's quaint and queer old home, the quick ear catches the sound of voices out behind Mr. Gould's barn. Following this sound one couica to a merry group of "hands" clustered about a large grindstone which has bacon rinds under the bearings. A small boy, reeking with perspiration, is turning the stone, while Mr. Gould with an old scythe may be se9n riding on the top of it. There aro other men about who could turn the grindstone easier than the small boy who is turning it, but no one is hopeful enough to turn a grindstone but a boy. It discourages a man, so it is customary to secure a boy to do this heart breaking job, and generally a boy wao is about to go fishing is selected. He grinds on hour after hour, while bis worms are baking in the sun and his heart is slowly dying in his little bosom. "Yes, it was G troop—Capt. Greene's," answered Lane. ' That afternoon, quite late, the captain rang at the Vincent's door, and it was almost instantly opened by the smiling Abigail, whom he so longed to reward for her evident sympathy the day before, yet 'lacked the courage to proffer a greenback. Lane was indeed little versed in the ways of the world, howsoever well he might be informed in his profession. "I do like you," she murmured; "I do honor you so, Capt. Lane; but that is not what you deserve. There i3 no one, believe me, whom I 60 regard and esteem; but—I do not know—I am not certain of myself." "You know that Capt. Lane and I are of the same regiment, and, though not actually together in the chase, we were in the same campaign," said Noel, apologetically, and then, quickly changing the subject: "By the way, Mr. Hawks, is Harry Hawks, of the artillery, a relative of yours?" "When did you next see her?" said Withers. "Only last night. You know, I was called away almost immediately after the Thornton affair, and had to go on to New York on the court martial, where I was summoned as a witness, then only got back in time for the party last night. That was my second meeting with her, and by this time Lane had gone out to join the regiment. I didn't even have a chance to say good-by to him. Do you really, that he was smitten in that quarter?" "Let me try to win your love, Mabel. Give me just that right. Indeed, indeed I havo not dared to hope that so soon I could win even your trust and esteem. You make me so happy when you admit even that." "A nephew, captain—my brother Henry's son. Did you know him?" "Miss Vincent is in the library, sir, if you will please to walk that way," waa her brief communication; and the captain, trembling despite his best efforts to control himself, stepped past her into the broad hall, and there, hurrying down the stairway, came Mrs. Vincent, evidently to meet him. Silently she held forth her hand and led him into the parlor, and then he saw that her face was very sad and pale and that her eyes were red with weeping. "Know him? Why, he is one of the warmest friends I have in the whole army—outside of my own regiment, that is. We were constantly together one winter when I was on staff duty in Washington, and whenever he could get leave to run up from the barracks he made my quarters his home. If you ever wrwi to mm jvsr ask mm u he knows Gorden Noel?' "Well, of course, Harris, you must know mora about it than I do. But you cannot be gladder than I am to hear that Vincent's status is so much better than we supposed. I'm glad on his account, I'm glad on Regy's account, and I'm particularly glad on Miss Mabel's account. And now I'm particularly chuckling over Billy Rossiter's frame of mind when ho hears -the real truth of this matter. When he went after her to Rome last year, and everybody supposed that Vincent was worth a million, there's no doubt in the world that he did his best to win her, and that was what he waa sent abroad by his father to do. But he diAnt win her then, for she strenuously denied any engagement when she came back here; yet it was supposed that if he persevered his chances would be good. Why, he's not half a bad fellow, only he can't marry so long as he is in his father's employ and dependent on him, unless he marries according to his father's wishes; and the old man called him off just as soon as he found out that Vincent was on the verge of failure. Billy Rossiter has lost any chance that he might have had in that quarter, for shell never look at him again." "It is so little to give in return for what you have given me," she answered, softly, while her hand still lay firmly held in the clasp of his. "That's what I certainly heard," said Withers; "and as soon as you get to know young people in society I venture to say you can readily find out all about it. These girls all know one another's secrets, and are generally pretty ready to tbll them. That's the result of my experience." I hope that the editor of this paper will see his way clear to print the inclosed, for it will not in any way compromise the paper, and I know it will do Mr. Gould much good. ■ : might be hers, "Yet it is so muob to me. Think, Mabel, in four days at most I must go back to my regiment. I ask no pledge or promise. Only let me write to youi Only write to me and let me strive to arouse at least a little love in your true heart. Then by and by—six months, perhaps—I'll come again and try my fate. I know that an old dragoon like mo, with gray hairs sprouting in his mustache—7" _ ma lack of self possession in m uavlng asKea w net tier "mere wasnt something he could bring her—something she would like—for the simple hearted fellow would have tramped all night all over town to find and fetch it— and then a happy thought occurred tc him: "Women always love flowers." He ran to the next street, boarded a west bound car, and was soon far down town at his favorite florist's. "Give me a big box of cut flowers— the handsomest you have," he said; and while they were being prepared he wrote • few lines on a card, tore it up, tried again on another, and similarly reduced that to fragments, and finally, though far from content, limited the expression of his emotions to the simple words: / "Do get well by Saturday at latest. 1 cannot go without seeing you. F. L." "Where shall we send them, sir?" asked the florist, as be came forward with the box in his hand. "Never mind; IH take it myself," waa the answer, as the captain popped in the little missive. "Do you know, Capt. Lane, that I have found your comrade captain a very interesting man?" observed Miss Marshall; and her eyes turned upon her next doar neighbor in calm but keen scrutiny. "Noel is very entertaining," was the reply; and the dark gray eyes looked un- "I will only detain you a moment, captain," she murmured, "but I felt that I must see you. Mr. Vincent WTote to me on the train as he left here, and he tells me you know—the worst." ft. It was evident that Amos Withers' cousin was not to be neglected in tha Queen City. Two parties at private houses, a reception at the club and three dinners were the invitations which he found awaiting him at his office. Half an hour was occupied in acknowledging and accepting or declining, as happened to be the case, these evidences of hospitality; then, having no especial interest in the morning paper, his thoughts again reverted to what Mr. Withers had been telling him about Miss Vincent, and the possible relation between her and his regimental comrade. He had been very much impressed with her the night before. Her beauty was of such a rare and radiant character, she was so genial and unaffected in her manner, so bright and winning, with such an evident litcing for his society, that Mr. Noel had come away flattering himself that he had made in this quarter a most favorable impression. He had thought of her very much as he went home from the party—of her interested face, as he talked or danced with her; and she danced der lightfully, and was so good as to. say that his step perfectly suited hers. He remembered now, too, her remark that it was so delightful to dance with army officers and graduates of the Point; they all seemed to feel so thoroughly at home on the floor. P. S.—Mr. Gould would like two extra copies of the paper also. B. N. "Mr. Vincent has honored mo with hia confidence, dear lady; and I—saw Mr. Clark today."' Equine Ada] liability. Sincliiagly into the challenge of the lark brown. She looked up eagerly: "What newa had he from New York? Did he tell yon?—about Mr. Rossiter, that is? J knew perfectly well what Mr. Vincent's hopes and expectations were in going." But here she laid her fingers on his lips, and then, seizing both her hands, he bowed his head over them and kissed them passionately. "Tea, I have listened to his tales of the frontier at breakfast, dinner and luring the evening hours, since Sunday last. They are full of vivacity and variety."The day of parting came, all too soon. Duty—the mistress to whom he had never hitherto given undivided allegiance him to the distant west, and the last night of his stay found him bending over her in the 6ame old window. He was to take a late train for St. Louis, and had said farewell to all but her. And now tho moment had arrived. A glance at Lij watch had told him that ho had but twenty minutes in which to reach tho station. Later on the merry work hands go joyously afield. A jug containing spring water and a small straddle bug is taken to the lot and concealed under a swath of green grass. Mr. Gould, wearing a pair of brown linen trousers and blue Wammus, together with a chip hat, rolls up his sleevca 60 as to reveal the raven pin feather.! 11 iw slowly turning to iron gray which adorn his brawny arms. He then stands his scythe and swath up where he can get at it, and pulling a largo, four pound whetstone from his pistol pocket proceeds to put a keen wire edge on his weapon. "There was a telegram. I fear that he was disappointed in Mr. Rossiter; but the money was not needed up to the closing of the board at 1 o'clock." "One sees a good deal of strange coun* try and many strange people in the course of ten or a dozen years' service in the cavalry." "I am not disappointed. I thank God that tho Rossi ters refused him money. It will open his eyes to their real characters—father and son. I would rather go and live in a hovel than be under obli* gations to either of them." And now the tears were raining down her cheeks. "And must needs have a good memory to be able to tell of it all—especially when one recounts the same incident more than once." And Miss Marshall's lips wero twitching at the corners in a manner suggestive of mischief and merriment combined. "Serve him right, if that be the case. Any man who hasn't sense enough to stick to a girl who is bright and pretty as Mabel Vincent, rich or poor, deserves no luck at all in this wortd. But that reminds me, Capt. Noel, according to rumor and what the girls say in society —and you know they generally know pretty much everything that is going on —there is something more than a mere understanding between her and your predecessor here, the recruiting officer, Capt. Lane. Did he say anything about it to you?" Sho had risen, aad was standing, a lovely picture of graceful womanhood, her eyes brimming with tears. Both her hands were now clipped in his; she could not deny him that at such a time; but— but was there not something throbbing in her heart that slij longed to tell? And when he got back to the house the light was still burning in the window in the second story, and the doctor had just left, said the sympathetic Abigail, and had said it was nothing serious or alarming; Miss Mabel would have to keep quiet a day or two; that was all. But what hard luck for poor Lane, "Do not grieve so, Mrs. Vincent," said Lane. "I cannot believe the danger is so great. I have listened to the opinions of the strongest men on 'change this afternoon. A 'break' in this corner was predicted in New York at 11 this morning, and that is the universal opinion among the best men now." Cunniff (the junkman)—He ain't over han'some, but he's great fer bein' intelligent.Lane "paused for a reply." Here was evidently a most observant young woman.Her fair head pillowed on a silken cuah ion, reclined the lady of hU heart. "Have you heard from Mr. Vincent?" was the first question, and without « word a telegram was handed to him. II was in cipher, as he saw at once, and Clark supplied the transcription: It is quite interesting to see Mr. Gould and twenty-seven willing husbandmen turn loose on a little buncli of grass and wipo it out in two days. The hay is a mixture of red top, timothy and red clover, with ornamental hornets' nests made of papier mache in the fence corners.Bregan—Pfwhat's he doin' now? Cunniff—He has no teeth, so he's chewin' his hay wid his shoes befoor he schwallys it.—Scribner's Magazine. "There! I did not mean to tax your loyalty to a regimental comrade, captain; so you need not answer. Capt. Noel interests and entertains me principally because of his intense individuality and his entire conviction that he carries his listeners with him. 'Age cannot wither nor custom stale his infinite variety;' but there should not be quite so much variety in his descriptions of a single event. This is the fourth time I have heard DHm tell of the night ride from Carrizo's ranch to Canyon Diablo." "It is good-by now," he murmured, his whole soul in his glowing eyes, his infinite love betrayed in those lips quivering under the heavy mustache. "Rossiter refuses. Watch market close ly. See Warden instant touches half. Break predicted here." "Yes, but it may be days away yet, and Mr. Vincent has confessed to mo that his whole fortune hangs by a single hair—that this wretched speculation lias swallowed everything—that a rise of a single 'penny means beggary to us, for he can no longer answer his broker's calls. Poetic License. when the days of his stay were so very fewl All Thursday morning was spent Bloodgood—Yes, woman is a divine creature, but never less so, it seems to me, than when she descends to spanking a child. at the rendezvous, conn ting over prop* Sho glanced up into his face. "No, not a word. I think, though, that had there been anything in the story Lane would have let me know something about it, for we are very old and intimate friends. Did you say that that was Mr. Reginald Vincent who has just gone into the billiard room?" erty and comparing papers with Noel. Then, while that gentleman went to the clnb for luncheon the captain hastened to the Vincents' door to renew inquiries. "Twenty minutes more!" groaned Clark, as ho buried his face in his hands "Twenty minutes more of this awfui suspense?" "Fred"—and then, as though abashed at her own.boldness, the lovely head was bowed again almost on his breast. In his conversation Mr. Gould uses a good many railroad terms of course, to- Noel was not a graduate of the Point by any means; but he saw no reason for disenchanting her on that score, fie was quite as good as any of tha West Pointers, in his own opinion, and in society was very much moro at homo than many of their number. As a dancer, he was looked upon in his regiment and throughout the cavalry as one of the most accomplished in the whole service. And all this interest and all this cordiality he had accepted without hesitation as a tribute to his own superior qualifications and attractiveness. It was therefore with a feeling akin to pique that he heard of this possiblo engagement existing between her and Capt. Lane. Travis—I don't know about that, Bloodgood. Shakespeare, you know, says, "There is a divinity that shapes our ends."—Burlington Free Press. "What is it, darling? Tell me," he whispered, eagerly, a wild, wild hope thrilling through his heart. gether with his farm slang, and most of his orders are given to a bald headed Spaniard with an ecru plastron of Magenta whiskers, whose name is Terrance McClusky. "What was tho last report?" asked Lane in a low voice. waa measurably coinfoBted by thC 'hat Miss Mabel was much better »UR confined to her room he not come in? Mrs. Vinoen was oat, bat die thought—did that moe intelligent young woman, Mary Annthat perhaps there was a mecsage foi him. Lake Mr. Toots, poor Lane, in hit anxiety to pat no one to any trouble, came within an ace of stammering: "It's of no consequence," but checked himself in time, and stepped into the bright !»rlor in which he had spent so many lelicious hoars listening to her soft, rich "That may have been bo when he wrote; but Mr. Clark seems to have had a little better luck locally. I infer from what he told me that they were safe for today and could meet the raise of that critical cent or two; so that, despite the great loss they have sustained, there is not the certainty of ruin that so overwhelmed Mr. Vincent on Wednesday." "You have the advantage of me, Mli» Marshall," answered Lane, his eye* twinkling with appreciation of her demure but droll exposure of Noel's weak point. "It is the flnt time I ever heard his version of it." "Ninety-eight and a quarter. My God! Think of it! Three-quarters of a cenl between us and beggary! I could beai it, but not Vincent; 'twould kill him. Even his homo is mortgaged." "Would it make you happier if—if I— told you that I knew myself a little bet- "Yes," answered Mr. Morris, "that's 3. Would you like to know him?" Not to Be Outdone. "Terrance," said Mr. Gould the other morning, as he swung tho jug over his arm and took a drink, "I do not know but it would be cheaper next season to fix up the old mower. Yon see, it costs me 8108 now to mow this eras*. Then, new scythes and swaths each yeaiyfs* more; $3 for whetstones, $8 fo£ ornamental hornets' nests, and say $55 for board of hands. That is $233, or $38 per acre, say $40 per ton for our gras3, and last year tho stock would not eat it. Now, the mower only needs new countersunk washers on tho rovers© shaft bearing, new tender frame center pins, new oil cups on bearer knees and new hinge on whistle shaft arm. Am I right?" Jimmy Struckile (rushing into'the house)—Ma, ma, Tommy Nabor has got the St. Vitus' dance! "Mabel I Do you mean—do you care ter?" "Very much indeed; and if you've nothing better to do come in and present me. Perhaps he will want to play a game of billiards, and if I'm hia man." for me?" There came a quick, sharp tap at th« glazed door; the clerk's head was thrust And then she was suddenly clasped in his strong, yearning arms and strained to his breast. Long, long afterward he used to lift that traveling coat of gray tweed from the trunk in which it was carefully stowed away, and wonder if— if it were indeed true that her throbbing heart had thrilled through that senseless fabric, Stirling wild joy and vapturo to the very depths of his own. Mr. Struckile—Has, has he? M'riar, yon must just tell that frog eatin' dancin' teacher I send Jimmy and Katie to thet he's gotter teach 'em thet dance to onctl —Lawrence American. • 4 "It is the last time he will mention it in your presenoe, if he saw the expression in your faoe, Capt. Lane." "Three-eighths, sir," "You give me hope and courage," cried tfce poor, anxious hearted woman, as she seized and pressed his hand. "And— and you come to us in the midst of our troubles! Mr. Vincent was so touched by your writing first to him; it brought back old days, old times, old fashions, that he loved to recall—days when he, too, was young and brave and full of hope and cheer." And so it happened that that verj morning Gordon Noel was presented to Reginald Vincent, and when Regy went homo to luncheon he spoke enthusiastically of his new found acquaintance, whom he pronounced to be one of the most delightful fellows he had ever met anywhere, and who was such a warm *nd devoted friend of Capt. Lane. "1 want, if 1 meet him this afternoon, as 1 probacy shall, to bring him back to dinner with me. What say you, motherl —iubt informnllv." •'It's time to move, then," said Lane. "I cannot follow you to the floor—] have no ticket; but I will bo awaiting your call at the Merchants' Exchange. Mr. Vincent lias told you— Better hav« it in treasury notes—one hundred eachhad you not?" "Do those introspective eyes of yours look clear through and see out of the back of your head, Miss Marshall? Your face was turned towards him. You stopped short in telling me of your cousin in the artillenr and vour visit to the barrr.c!:3, and bade to something I did not care half as muoh to hear at vour own impressions of garrison lite. Never mind the quadruple! account of the night ride. Tell me what you thought of the army." Sound Business Policy, "Do you guarantee this not to break down?" she asked. voice as she sang, or as she chattel blithely with him and her frequent guests. It was some time before Mary Aim returned. Evidently, there was a message, for the girl's face was dimpled with tmiles as she handed him a little note. "Miss Mabel says please excuse rtncil, sir; she had to write lying down. Miss Holton has just gone away, after ■pending most of the morning." Excuse pencil! Lane could hardly wait to read the precious lines. How h« longed to give tike glxl a five dollar bill! jBut this TTwnt mnllin iljil ni|l In all the Eleventh cavalry there was no man whom Gordon Noel feared and possibly hated niore than ho did Capt. Lane. This :.vo-o f;*o:u tLa fact that Lane as adjutant cf the x giment had seen ull the conmimicuut that passed from time tCD C iU-tive i j Noel's absence from i' - . viui'ind when his scr- "Our instructions, miss," said th» salesman, blandly, "are never to guarantee hammocks when we sell 'em to handsome young ladies." "Would I be sobbing my heart out," at last she murmured, "if I did not love you and could not bear to have you go?" "I'll eee Warden at once. D—n him! he would eell na out with no more compunctions than he would shoot a hawk." "And I have your good wishes, too, Mrs. Vincent?—even though I am only a aoldier and have so little to offer her beyond—beyond" She bought it.—Chicago Tribune. "Ton infer that Mr. Vincent has had no success in raising money in New York?" asked Lane, a* they hurried from the offioe. CHAPTER VTTT "What an awfully pretty girl that Miss Vincent is, Amos!" said Mr. Noel one morning, as the cousins were quietly breakfasting together before going down town. (:o nE co\i?\'ued.) "'Dade yon air, Muster Gool." A Wrong Impression. Sirs. Rural (at an art gallery "ind look-A1 iztg at a Madonna)—Whose picture la that? Attendant—Raphael's, msdam. Mrs. Rural—Why, sakea aliv, J always thought Raphael was &  Record. man of spirit "M have taken every possible precaution to bo with it. He knew how silent Lane had always been, and how thorough a custodian of regimental secrets he was considered. But all tha jama the mere fact that Lang Vices were m"-si, nd when any "Well, that will not cost over $85 or |40, and will give all the mowing hands two days which they sorely need for rest. My coachman conld drive the mower, I think, and the hands conld rest or prnne the sheep." "Well, of course, the first thCng a girl wants to know is what the  straps mean; and I learned the very first day thai the blank strap meant a secgsd lieutenant, a single silver bar * But he could not finish. He had looked Into her face with such eager hope and delight when he began, yet broke down helplessly when he tried to speak of his jrgftiJkw for hfr sweet daughter." It don't do to n ?''i» e lure's warning aches through the cTntem, fDiDu3* rheumatism, neural* la and backache, try Red Flaer Oil, the famous pain cure. 25 cents. At J. H. Houck, druggist. "Not an atom! He made old Rossitex what he is—hauled him out of the depths, set him on his feet, took him in ban with him for ten years, sent bin wn( "Pretty? yes," said Amos, doubtfully. "But look here, my boy; recollect that 70U want to think of eomeihimr mors 3 "Yes. we laundry the shape on the