Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

122 AN INTERESTING DWELLING. CHAPTER XX. AN INTERESTING DWELLING. Colonel Mapleson received a letter from his wife, a day or two atcer Everet’s return to Vue de |’Hau begging him to come to Newport t9 join herself and friends. She wrote that she was an odd one in the party, and although every one was very kind, she feit rather embar- rassed to be without an escort, which marred her enjoy- ment very much; if he could not come she should return home. - Everet urged his father to go, and the colonel, feeling that it would be too bad to have his wife’s holiday spoiled, decided that he would gratify her, packed his portman- teau, and started off at once. Kiveret accompanied him to the station, and gave a sigh of relief as he watched out of sight the train that bore his father northward, for he felt that he could now pursue the investigations he was contemplating indepen- dently, and without fear of criticism. With his thoughts full of this purpose, he turned his horse’s head again toward home, but on his way he made a detour, taking a road which would lead him around by the old mill. He had not traversed this way since he was a boy, and had almost forgotten how the place looked, though he used to row upon the pond and play about the dilapidated wheel, which once had turned the mill, while he had fol- lowed the stream that fed it for miles, in search of the pretty speckled trout that lay hidden in their dark haunts beneath the tangled roots of the overhanging trees. The day was excessively warm, but the trees with their luxuriant foliage made a perfect arch above his head, and afforded a delightful shade, through which the sunlight only came in checkered gleams, making quaint shadows on the grass-grown path beneath. Hundreds of birds on every hand made the woods ring with their sweet melo- dies; myriads of flies buzzed lazily about; the beetles hummed among the bushes, and gayly painted butterflies © fluttered among the many-hued flowers that grew by the 3} = (C(O) ElOOOKKS EO