Rilla of Ingleside

ut her like an aura; it was four o'clock and Susan, who had been working incessantly since six that morning, felt that she had fairly earned an hour of

bed of peonies of her own planting and culture, blooming as no other peony plot in Glen St. Mary ever

d her copy of the Daily Enterprise and prepared to read the Glen "Notes" which, as Miss Cornelia had just informed her, filled half a column of it and mentioned almost everybody at Ingleside. There was a big, black headline on the front page of the Enterprise, stating that some Archduke Ferdinand or other had been ass

da, through which a cool, delicious breeze was blowing, bringing whiffs of phantom perfume from the garden, and charming gay echoes fr

not be overlooked, since he was a creature of marked individuality, and, moreo

vil. To begin with, there had been something uncanny about the very dawn of his existence. Four years previously Rilla Blythe had had a treasured darling of a kitten, wh

ar," she was wont to say ominousl

think so?" Mrs.

," was all the answer

and well groomed, and never allowed a spot or stain to be seen on his beautiful whi

dy took place at Inglesid

he not always insisted that that cat would turn out to be

t Goldie and the name seemed appropriate enough to the little frolicsome creature which, during its kittenhood, gave no indication of the sinister nature it really possess

So they continually used the masculine pronoun, although the result was ludicrous. Visitors used to be quite electrified whe

mpromised by always referring to Jack as "it" or "the white beast," and one hear

. Jekyll mood the cat was a drowsy, affectionate, domestic, cushion-loving puss, who liked petting and gloried in being nursed and patted. Especially did he love to lie on his back and have his

d Dr. Blythe once, listening to Doc's resonant mel

sky-ringed tail about his feet and sat him down on the veranda to gaze steadily into space for long int

a savage snarl and bite at any restraining or caressing hand. His fur seemed to grow darker and his eyes gleamed with a diabolical light. There was really an unearthly beauty about him. If the change happene

is. He would sit in the middle of the kitchen floor, with his terrible eyes fixed unwinkingly upon hers for an hour at a time. This played havoc with her nerves, but poor Susan really held him in too much awe to try to drive him out. Once she had dared to throw a stick at him and he had promptly made a s

like sweet morsels under her tongue, "'were very much pleased to welcome them home a few weeks ago from Redmo

ever forget the way they used to carry on? It's really surprising how well Rosemary got on with them. She's more like a chum than a step-mother. They all love her and Una adores her. As for that little Bruce, Una just makes a perfect slave of herself to him. Of course, he is a darling. But did y

s Jem about silently like a faithful little dog, looking up at him from

th going to make

, who had been such a virulent man-hater at one time, ha

ood friends yet,

Miss Cornelia emphatically. "I hear

Marshall Elliott," said Susan significantly, "but I th

rted Miss Cornelia. "You must not forget, Susan, that we

from vanity but from a haunting dread that people might

Academy. We understand that Carl will be in charge of the school at Harbour

ueen's now and Mr. Meredith and Rosemary wanted him to go right on to Redmond in the fall, but Carl has a very

ast two years at Lowbridge, has resigned,'" read

ugh for Redmond yet?" queri

Mrs. Blythe. "An idle summer in the open air

y when one has had such a close shave as Walter had. I think he'd do well to stay

ther year but Gilbert thinks they h

se," continued Miss Cornelia, with a side glance at Susan, "that after the snub I got a few minu

is and Mrs. Blyt

s too hard yet to realize that they're grown up. When I look at those two tall sons of mine I wonder if they can possibly be the fat, sweet, dimpled babies I kissed and cudd

ng older," sighe

have an ache in it when the wind is east. I won't admit that it is rheumatism, but it does ache. As for the children, they and the Merediths are planning a g

o Queen's when Sh

th-she's really absurdly tall for a girl not yet fifteen. I am not anxious to have her go-why, it would be terrible not to hav

antry. The idea of her fig

lf want to go?" a

ious. I really wish she had a little more ambition. She has no serio

ord against anyone of the Ingleside folk, even from one of themselves. "A young girl should have a

responsibility in her, Susan. And you kn

hose over-harbour MacAllisters and Crawfords and Elliotts could scare up a skin like Rilla's in four generations? They cou

Miss Cornelia for her digs at the children's

ays old P.E.I. is good enough for him and he will

keenly at M

hall Elliott, that Mille

s Cornelia's armour.

ow family. His father was a sort of outcast from the Douglases-they never really cou

liott, that Mary Vance's own parents we

etorted Miss Cornelia. "She is not going to throw herself away on Miller Douglas, b

. Alec Davis is as much against it as you could be, and says no neph

hat she had got the best of it in this

aged as teacher for another year. Miss Oliver will spe

iss her horribly. And she has an excellent influence over Rilla who wo

rd she was going

of but I understand it

the yo

rld. This new love that has come into her life seems such a wonderful thing to her that I think she hardly dares believe in its permanence. When her marriage had to be put off she was quite in despair-though it certainly wasn't Mr. Grant's fault.

o set your affections too much on

k in her-I suppose some people would call her superstitious. She has an odd belief in dreams and we have not been able to laugh it out of her. I must

given an e

Crawford.' Why that is my own cousin Sophia, Mrs. Dr. dear. We quarrelled when we were children over who should get a Sunday-school card with the wor

quarrel, Susan. It will never do t

erful person and has been a wet blanket all her life. The last time I saw her, her face had a thousand wrinkles-maybe more, maybe less-from worrying and foreboding. She howled dreadful at her fi

e trouble when that man moved here from Lowbridge. He should never have been put in as elder-it was a mistake and we shall live to rue i

the-moon came to the Glen and it is my opinion it wi

ve him that ridiculous ni

than his whiskers, Mrs. Dr. dear, he is a very unreasonable man and has a great many queer ideas. He is an elder now and they say he is very religious; but I can well remember the time, Mrs. Dr. dear, twenty years ago, when he was caught pasturing his cow in the Lowbridge gravey

ught to print such shocking things. The Enterprise is getting far too sensational with its big headlines. Well, I must be getting home. No, Anne dearie, it's no use asking me to stay to supper. Marshall has got to thinking that if I'm not home for a meal it's not worth eating-

ch means that we shall have rain or high wind

y kitchen," said Susan. "And I am going out to see about supper. With such a cro