CHAPTER XXI.—"CAM' SEEKING ME TO WOO, O!"

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11197, 20 August 1898, Page 3

CHAPTER XXI.—"CAM' SEEKING ME TO WOO, O!"

There was an ominous gloom preceding this luncheon. The leaden morning had j turned to rain—a solid, heavy, steady downpour ; the trees stood erect and motionless, . not a leaf stirring, as if they had been ! moulded out of some sombre metal; all the colour had gone from the world; the river was dark and drumly; the houses, roads, embankments displayed the same melancholy hue ; the impending heavens were livid and featureless, and bearing down on the earth as with the obscuration of an eclipse; the distant woods, and the cultivated uplands, and the higher hills beyond had almost disappeared behind the watery veil. Not a bird chirped in the bushes; the seagulls had all fled away, back to the Moray Firth; the patient oxen out in the fields had drawn nearer to the hedge at the. end of the garden, but indeed there was little shelter for them. The dining-room was dismal, wanting its usual display of flowers. And yet, as the forenoon wore on, the ; loftier slopes of the Castle hill seemed to j be looking at something afar off—seemed .to.; becoiiscious of some light somewhere ; there came a warmth into the grey-white . tones of the skies, wet as they were.; in : time there was a faint suggestion of silver here and there as the rain lessened and lessened ; the blackbirds began to "click- . click!" in the laurel bushes; over by the Devil's Kirn, under the drooping rowans and alders, one could almost have imagined ; that a trembling ray of sunshine had wandered down to touch the stealthy current; the air grew milder and more mild to the cheek; the skies were lifting; here ;aid there a streak of faint turquoise blue declared itself overhead ; a stirring of southeflj wind went through the leaves, and they seemed to be shaking themselves dry; and at last, with the Castle hill lighting up to t a rich golden-green, and with a shivering of.diamonds on the river, and with a universal jubilation in hedgerow and shrubbery, : the splendour burst forth, and spread far and while a rainbow spanning the j Black1 Isle announced the retreat of the 1 storm.' ' / ' | And with the breaking up of the heavens [ and the. announcement of a glorious day j there simultaneously entered the drawingroom of. Glengarva House. a young man, . himself effulgent, radiant, and jocundly smir ling; he was very smartly dressed, too, if rather in ahorsey fashion ("well-groomed," Eelin said to herself contemptuously) ; and at once, when he.had sat down, he began to entertain the two ladies with an account, : of various'recent escapades and experiences of his'own, which he appeared to regard as , humorous. His talk was mainly addressed ; to Mrs Macdonald—who responded with the j gracious courtesy she extended to everyone; j but all the while his admiring looks were ! bent upon Miss Eelin, who did not quite so | graciously respond.: Of course, when he ! spoke to her direct, she had to tarn, to him ; and he seemed perfectly unaware that the measured civility of her manner and the : calm'observation of her eyes indicated only : too clearly the immense distance that lay between iiim and her. The proud beauty, of her features, the somewhat haughty ex- j. pression of the lines of her lips, in no wise .'; abashed him; nay, they rather attracted ■;' him; they, tantalised him: this'jade was j worth the winning! And so.he.went on— ' after his apologies for having come too early —beaming he was, and self-satisfied, and ; happy, and facetious: he knew he was a j devil of a fellow, to. fascinate the other sex, j But how quickly her demeanour changed when there appeared at the door of the I drawing-room a tall, broad-shouldered, fair- ; haired, uncouth-looking student, whose ap- j prehensive shyness seemed to precede him as he advanced. ''■. And of course she was the first to meet him andwelcoine him; and, noW<it was— '• . ; ' : "Oh, Mr'Gilchrist, how grateful I am to you! You have said in the Observer just what I was thinking! Will they see it, _do you think?—the oafs—the cowards—to insult a woman lite that! It was so kind of you! And I hope the writing did not keep j you up too JateJ,". '. ..' '."."':.;•.. : • . ! . At this moment the mamma interposed, to introduce' hei' guests, arid with a single glance the two men seemed co take, the > measure of each other ; then they all of them trooped into the dining ro6m, and took their places—a partjie carree/ ; " .^. ■-■ , ■ And again ; Wild Eelin showed clearly enough in which direction she was determined to bestow her favour,; for she turned aside from 'the continuous' and complacent egotisms of the:young. peer, and did her very "best to amuse her other neighbour. Nor was it difficult; (for; he was- a quickly responsive audience; his low, quiet, laugh followed her through her merry cantrips ; and merry indeed she was, with all sorts of reckless paradoxes, and mischievous inventions, and. impossible stories. Is it true that s any Englishman ever remonstrated .with an ! American for his interest in antiquities, informing him that there was nothing in Europe half^ so bid as the American young j man? . Who was the American, on the other hand, who observed that the feature which had most impressed him in England was the gigantic forests, and, on being asked by an amazed Englishman what were these forests, replied—chestnuts? Which was the South American Republic that advertised in the newspapers, as .an attraction to visitors "Revolutions got up while you wait?" These mad things flew about; and Archie Gilchrist laughed, to himself as it were; and Mountriiahon looked puzzled—but none the less did' he direct adoring glances towards- the wilful, wayward, nimble-witted lass who seemed to be filling all the atmo- j sphere with'playful summer lightnings. Nor did the warm and. adoring glances escape the observation of the other guest; and well could he surmise what was portended by them:' it was not for him to harbour any protest. Only, there came back ; into his mind- a dim, strange, half-pathetic wish he had formed that,'his mother, the old woman in Dirigwall,- should for a brief minute or ;so gaze upon, and perhaps say j a word to,' this brilliant arid beautiful crea- '. ture who had for a season honoured him, ; and lifted him up out of .his proper station, ; by an acquaintanceship that he knew must ' end. That his mother and Eelin Macdonald : of Kinvaig should meet, and look upon each i other—that was now the summit of his am- | bition ; and thereafter?—well, the Cape i Mounted Police, most likely, and a haunt- j in" forgetfulness ,of the land of glens and hills. : Luncheon, over, they returned to the drawing room, and here again "White; Cockade" continued her erratic flights of j jesting and raillery and sarcasm, for she, was in a gay mood ; and if the droop of Lord Mountmahon's underlip showed that he did not always comprehend, nevertheless his delighted eyes could dwell on the animated coloiir of her complexion, and the audacity of her demeanour, and the handsome set of her head, even when it was turned away, from him, as it generally was. But in time he grew fidgety; he looked at his watch once or twice; and at length he said: "I'm sure you'll pardon me, Mrs Macdonald ; but you know I told you I had to leave by the '3 o'clock steamer ; and if you wouldn't mind giving me a couple of minutes' quiet talk—out there in the garden " She rose at once, in gentle acquiescence; and Archie Gilchrisfc, not quite knowing what were the usages of polite society, rose also, and said he would bid her good-bye; whereupon Wild Eelin outdid all her previous 'effrontery. "Are you going into the town, Mr;Gilchrist?" she said, in the riiost innocent fashion. "If you'll wait a moment till I get my Tarn I'll walk in with you: I've a heap of things to do in the shops." And thus it was that the party was broken up— Mountmahon and his hostess passing out by the French window on to the lawn, where they could converse undisturbed. (,'lq he conlinw-d )