Ruby's Reward — page 284: what you’re looking at

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

She would have gone directly to Mr. Ruggles, but she had not thought to ask him where he was stop- ping, therefore she did not know where to seek him. She was powerless to do anything by herself, so she could only make up her mind to wait until the morrow, when she would make another effort to see Mr. Conant; but it was with a heavy heart that she went to match Mrs. Gordon’s floss—she was too up- set to go to her dressmaker’s—and then returned home, to wait with what patience she could. She wandered about the house, listless and unhap- py, all day, avoiding her sister as much as possible, because, knowing her treachery, she feared she should betray something of the abhorrence that had taken possession of her. About noon the wind changed, the sky clouded, and it soon began to rain, and the evening closed in gloomy and dismal enough. There was an uncomfortable chill in the air, and Mrs. Coxon had a cheerful wood-fire kindled in the library grate, and thither Mrs. Gordon and Ruby re- paired, the former with her work, the latter witha book; for, if she read, she need not talk. But a half-hour had not elapsed when the bell rang and Edmund Carpenter was ushered into their pres- ence. Mrs. Gordon greeted him with evident pleasure, while raby tlushed erimson and half arose from her chair as if about to leave the room. “T beg you will not disturb yourself,” Miss Gor- don,” the young man said, with sareastie bitterness, “T will retreat rather than haye you retire; but,” turning to Mrs. Gordon, “it was such a lousome, homesick night that I thought I should enjoy a game of chess with you,” “T am glad you came,’ the lady responded, with animation, ‘fF was upon the point of subsiding into a fit of the blues myself. Come into the parlor—the table is there—and I will beat you with pleasure.” oat t “fae = nat g ar; sels fag ?” Ruby | asked, fee ing that it wo be seltis ) -away from the cheerful tire. SAGES |