CHAPTER XI.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 211, 16 July 1887, Page 7 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XI.

AN UVLNINU KAMBL I^ •Anh Wat> er, sure enough, the new-comer proved to ' be. Ruby, hat? recognised him the instant her .eyes fell upv-i him, and a happy little tKvill "had ran aloaj her nerves at the thought of *«ieeting' Jiim^ gain. It seemed to her that he had changed .fiijuce their last meeting— that he had grown 'handsomer th&^ ever. His form was more •fully developed ; he was more r.*anly in his bea?ipg, while thxre was an air of assurance and independence about him which his self-sustaining lifc-pf the last two years had iServeri-to give him. Rub} ivent torwait with ready cordiality •Jo secohft Mr Ruggk^'s hearty welcome, and ' Walter's face lighted with unmistakable pleasure a* he looked upon her. He thous^it that wa* more lovely than he h{*# c^er seen Jier, with that soft lig"Lc which came from - he rosy western sky falling puound her ; with that dainty pink in her cheeks and t-ye half shy but pleased look it, her large Vine eyes as she c ime towards fcfs.ii. " Well, well, lyy boy, I'm ture this does my old eyes' g.«od," said \h Ruggles, shaking the youug man's hand in a way to emphasise his w©i4s most forciVly. "My luck i 3 hojjiething wonderful tiuday," he added, with a Miiiliutf glance at R-vby, " to have so much ploataiis company. 3nb how did you com<: ? I've just been down: to the dep&t to meet the eastern train, &,'id we might have benight yoa along just ft^ well as not." "I came from rhe other way. I l?ave been to Cleveland, on a little matter of business for Mrs Conanfc : and. as I am to have a little vacation no\y, I thought I would come and spend it with you — that is, if you will have me," Walter said, with & look of smiling inquiry into his friend*, iace. •" Of course we will have you, and be gla<l to get you. Bless my heart ! I'd like to keep you all the time. But look here," added the man, suddenly brougho to a pense of his responsibility a.s host — for he had not given Ruby a chance to say a word as y e t — •<* here is another young iriend of mine ; Mis*, Gordon— Mr Richardson." Ruby now stepped forward, and held out her hand wit,!* a charming smile. " 1 shall claim Mr Richardson as an old acquaintance, for we have met before, and I am very glad to meet him again," the said, frankly and cordially. "Thank you,*' Walter replied, while there came a deeper "glow upon his face, " and I am sure you will allow me to say that the pleasure is reciprocated/ " Well, now, this i& pleasant," interposed Mr Ruggles, his benevolent faoo expressing his satisfaction. " I had no idea that you'd j ever seen each other. Perhaps you know Mr Gordon, too/ he added, as ho saw that i gentleman approaching them. "Oh, yes, L have mot him many times. | We are building his new house, you know," j Walter said, as he greeted him with respectful familiarity. ' " I guess you'd like some supper, my boy, if you've walked all the way from Redville depot ; it's more'n two miles. Come in. Mother 'll be only too glad to give you the best she's got. " And the farmer picked up Walter's satchel, and led the way to the house, where his good wife greeted the young man in the most hospitable manner, and then hastened to set before him as tempting an array of viands as her well-filled larder . could supply. After Walter had refreshed his inner man I the family all adjourned to the verandah, where it was but natural that the young people should seek each other's society, although the, Qonvorsation was for a time general. _ ! " How are you impressed with Redville, Miss Gordon ?" Walter asked, after awhile, thinking that Ruby would perhaps enjoy talking about something else beside the i farm, stock, mines, and the price of coal, etc. " I have seen but very little of Redville," she answered, "as we only drove on the outskirts of the town in coming here ; but I think it is a delightful place. " t / "It is, indeed. I use£ $ m } ieYQ freouen^y _ ncn j Wft9 a boy> f or Uncle Ralph always enjoyed the farm, and I have had many a good time among these grand old hills," Walter -replied. " Then you are a relative of Mr Ruggles^ Ruby remarked, feeling a little bit of curiosity to hear from his own own lips just what relationship there did exist between them. "No, lamin no way ated to him; but Mr Ralph Carpenter— who was the best friend I ever had since my mother died— was Mr Ruggles's half-brother, and he always came here to spend a couple of weeks during the summer." " Mr Ralph Carpenter was Mr Edmund Carpenter's father, was he not?" Ruby asked - „. r, i v. " Yes, he was. Miss Gordon, there is the prettiest little nook, with a charming spring, a short distance from the house; will you come and let me show it to you ?" Walter asked, suddenly changing the subject: for it always made him unhappy to talk of Edmund Carpenter. " Yes, indeed I shall be delighted to go,' Ruby said, rising to accompany him. "Good-bye, Robert," she continued, casting ashy glance at her brother over her shoulder. " Mr Richardson is going to show me some of the attractions of the place. 5 ' And nodding gayly to her host and hostess, she tripped down the steps with Walter, and the two wandered a.way in the gloaming by themselves. A short distance below the house a tiny mountain brook or rill went flowing close beside the road. A little beyond, Walter turned in at a pair of bars ani led his companion to a lovely, shady spot where a spring, clear as crystal, bubbled out from beneath a huec flat rock, and where a thrifty birch tree had grown up beside it in a curious way, nature in some unaccountable freak having curved and twisted its trunk so as to form a verj comfortable but rustic seat.

I " Walter seated Ruby upon itfiis. and then threw himself upon tWrock beside her. i All about them there was sa i?offc carpet of ( moss, gathered here and there with groat j .clusters of graceful iarns,, while the thick .ioliage of tlie trees above them made a a harming silver boATCr— a veritable lovers' i etreat. "You said truly, Mr 'Richardson, this .j> indeed the prettiest little nook I have .«a-cr seen— a spot fit for T.itaiijja herself and !ih<r fairy train to keep itheh* revels in," Ruby said, as, with a little aigh -of delight, s.W leaned back against the trunk of the tre >, charmed by the beauty oi tho place ,ant) the soft music of the waters it rippled ov#: the stones at her feet. " .Do not suggest the legibility of this place being frequented by faitfes, Miss Gordon," \Valtcr returned, laughing, " for some vindictive Oberon might resent our trespass and send his mischievous *elves to • bewitch us with some uncany spell" R,rt% flushed, for the young map's words made "her remember fair liermie'a and Lyaanflcr's wanderings in ike wood, and the sly 'i rick which sportive Puck flayed upon them. "Rather," Walter continued, breaking a long, $lepcler, feathery fern, twisting it into a circle, and tying it with a blad: of grass, "let mo make you a chaplet, ?jkl ( crown yoiu" Queen of the Glen.' "' He held itout to her as he ceased speaking, •while his eyes kindled at the pretty picture which she mule, sitting with such giacu-j itd abandon. ip. her rustic scat. Ruby smilefc' and bent her head toward , him to receive iv's offering. ' •" I wonder hew it would seem to be really a queen," she fcfwicl. Walter droppo-'.i the dainty circlet upon her forow, saying, with playful ceremony : te Fair maid, 1 q\own thee queen of this mountain glen, and. with this emerald diadem, I pray thee accept a willing subject'?, dying allegiance." "Ruby Gordon did not dream how lovely she looked with the so. f b rings of her golden hair peeping out from under Ihe delicate green of ihe dainty witeath encircling her small be&cJ. Her eyes gleamed witk amu&ement over tho mock coronation, her iice shone, fair as a pearl, in teic dim light, though there was an evquisite color in her checks, called there by the admiring look of hoi companion, while her scarlet lipb weie parted in a luminous smile. She had in her hand a brilliant spray of sumac leaves, which she had plucked on the way thither, .and with thi-**f>he gently touched her companion upon the shoulder, and, adopting the ceremonious tone that he had used, replied ; "Sir Knight, your promise of loyalty is giaciously received, and I hereby invest you with the office of prime minister Lo the queen. But, jesting apart,"' '-he added, "I shall consider this my own especial nook after this, and como here every day while T remain at the farm." "Shall you be hero long if" Walter eagerly asked, his face lighting. " Yes, for a week or so."' " Then I shall have the pleasure of showing you other lovely places, for I am to ha*\ c a vacation of two wceki, and — 1 was in(> >ulj:'<j to spend it here.' 1 ' Ruby's heart quickened its pulsations. It would be very delightful, she thought, to suond a couple of weeks among those wonderful mountain* with Walter Richardson for a companion and guide. But .something in *nh last words and in the hesitation with vvhich they were uttered made her glance at him scarchiugly. His eyes wore downcast, and he seemed to havegrown suddenly thoughtful. " I am sure it will be pleasant to have an addition to our party. lam glad you have some, Mr Richardson,"' fche taid, with frank cordiality. '• Are you ? I was fearing I might seem almost like an intruder. Are you sure you tlid not say that out of mere politeness, Mis-s Gordon ?" Walter asked, smiling, but thrilling with delight at her words. "Quite sure. I never indulge in polite fictions," Ruby gravely replied ; then she added, to change tho subject: "But, please, Mr Richardson, tell me something about the new house. Is it going to be very, very nice ?'' "Indeed it is. It will be one of the most elegant residences in all the suburbs." And Walter entered at once upon an enthusiastic description of the new building that was highly entertaining to his fair companion. "Mr Richardson, I believe you have a real love for your work. You seem to enter heart and soul into it," she remarked, when at length he concluded : " I am enjoying my work very much this year. Last year it was rather hard, as I was engaged simply in learning the carpenter's trade," Walter returned. " That must have been very hard. Was it necessary ?'' Ruby inquired. "Yes, in order to acquire a thorough and practical knowledge of my business, and I was determined to have that anyWftJ r ." "You were never used to siich work, I am told, until after Mr Carpenter died. It seems a great pity that— matters could nob have been arranged differently for you," Ruby said, yet most afraid she had touohqd upon the topic she ought to have left alone. "I do not think that 1 regret being obliged to work my way up in the world, ' Walter replied, after a moment of thought, "I am sure I shall feel better satisfied with myself in the end than if Uncle Ralph had left me a portion of his fortune. It might have made me both selfish and indolent ; and such people," he concluded, with a smile, "do nob amount to much in the world." "I think it is very brave of you to take that view of the matter," Ruby replied, thoughtfully. " My mother used to tell me when I was a little boy," Walter went on, won to speak more confidentially by the young girl's interest, "to learn to depend upon myself, for there would come a time in life when I should need all the strength of character that 1 could cultivate. She used to entreat me, too, to strive to become a thoroughly good man, never to be guilty of an ignoble act, but to strive to make myself respected and honoured by good men and women. I thought her all that was pure and perfect while she lived, and I have tried to treasure and practise her precepts since she died " Ruby thought him very noble as she listened to this earnest speech, and she could not help drawing an unfavourable comparison between him and the man who, she believed, had done him a great wrong. Edmund Carpenter seemed very inferior to this strong, true man, who had bent all his energies toward making the most of himself and the not very flattering prospects that had been his during the last two years. "Your mother must have been very lovely," she said, in a low, moved tone. " She was, both in person and character," Walter returned, a tender light coming into his eyes. "I have a picture of her as she was at twenty ; and some time, if you care to see it, I will show it to you. She has eyes and hair very much like yours, Miss Gordon. My father Ido nob remember. He died when I was very young, and my delicate mother was left with no resources save a life insurance policy for a

tlatooflftad itlollftrs. This, ,of course, was almost mobbing, md though she tried to eke dt by giving music Jessons, and — after rihe became too ill to do that — by maldag .artificial .flowers, it ,was soon gone, atid povei^y and ,vant stared xia in tho face. She died of consumption wiien 1 was ten year*, eld." ** And had she no relatives, or frbnds who vrauld Ilielp her ?" queried Kuby, it tones of sympathy. "JSTo; but I am al<raid I am wearying 1 you with «o .much personal history. " "Inelocd $'ou e wi J please go .on. I am deeply dutefested," J&uby said, eagerly. "My mother was an orphan wheo my father married 'her," Walter continued, ''and his friends M-ete very mucfo displeased with the match ; they were very aristocratic I in their notions, 1 believe, and considered a poor and friendless gid far beneath them iei station, and disov/ood my father ior the act They live, or did live, in Baltimore, and were very wealthy. I feel that I know ■ very little about them, for my mother was always backward in .speaking of them, and what little I do know I gathered fiom casual remarks which fehc dropped fr-om time to time. 1 have thought of late there might be something connected with them j which I ought to know, /or the nighl that Mr Carpenter died he tokl me that he lwul something 1 to say to me that my mother wished me to know when J became of ago. He was strirken speechless, however, before he could communicate it to me." " Oh, how sorry I am !'" ciicd Ruby, impuMvcly ; " it might have been something very important/ •" If it was simply to make known to me who my relathes are, and where 1 could iind them, it would not have amounted to aus thing,'' returned Walter ; " for," straightening himself haughtily, " [would have -spent my lite working upon the highway tuifoie 1 would have .sought aid from them." Ruby clapped her hands softly in applause :>x> this demonstration of spirit : then she .said, -\v ith a httle laugh of triumph < " Some day, perhaps, they Avill bo proud to \ccl- }ou, Mr Riehaid.son, and 1 believe that you ait as far alxnc them in true nobility as tlu^y have appealed to ennsidur themselves above your lovely mother.'' " You are very good to .say bo, Miss Gordon, and I tlunk you for the kind interest that you have manifested in my simple .story. But is it not stiangc that wealth and position, which are often attained only by the fluctuations of trade, should be so much more highly esteemed than real moral worth i" " I do not believe they aic, Mr Richardson, only among supeificial people, or among those who ha\o been wrongly educated," Ruby responded, thoughtfully. "To me a true and noble man or woman if a per.son to be revered. Money and position, I know, are gieat advantages under certain circumstances, but they are not to be compared with honour or a strong, brave cluu actor" — like your*, wanted to add, but did not. " I would lather lose e\ery dollar of my fortune -1 would lathei my brothei should lose all ho is woi th than be convicted of a mean or dishonourable act."' Walter Richaid-on mentally crowned the beautiful girl as "a queen among women "' for the^e noble sentiments, and, if ho truth had been told, she became, from that moment, queen of his heart as well. She arose almost immediately, saying, i with a smile : I "Well, we luue drifted into lather a serious vein; but it is getting quite daik, and I am afraid our friends will think we are unappreciative of their hospitality to leave them so long on this tii.st evening." Walter sprang to his feet to ftttend her, and together they wended their way back to the faim-hou'c in the twilight, feeling that they had become better acquainted with each other during this one brief interview than during all their pre\iou-i| meetings, while, to one hcaitat least, life -was for ever changed by that delightful intei change of thought beside the mountain spring on that lovely autumnal evening.