The Argosy — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

‘82 . The Missing Rubies. between the chestnuts, Godwin Earle had often walked in times gone by. Under these blossoming trees he had wooed his first love when “ There was but one beloved face on earth, And that was shining on him.” A woman so perfectly and entirely loved in the present could not be really jealous of the past. She could even smile, with a little pardonable triumph, when she looked at her own face in the glass, and thought how much fresher and fairer it was than the faded face downstairs. And then, as she went back to the drawing-room, she made up her mind that she would try honestly to like Alma very much, and endeavour to enjoy this much-dreaded visit to Fairbridge. Not one word had been said to Mr. Redburn about her engage- ment. It was understood by the Miltons that the betrothal should be kept a secret till Godwin’s circumstances enabled him to claim his bride. As to his relations, Earle had ceased to correspond with any of them ; and there was no one who had any right to interfere with the pair, or demand their confidence. But there was one person who had determined that, if there was a love affair, it should be speedily brought to light. And that person was Alma Lindrick. Beatrice, in a soft India silk gown, sat composedly through dinner, never dreaming of the plot that was hatched in Alma’s brain. Miss Lindrick was a good hostess, and that evening she had a double part to play. She wanted to win Beatrice’s trust, and find out all that was hidden in her heart. And she wanted Mr. Redhburn to think that she had taken a sincere liking to his adopted daughter. It was of the utmost importance that the old coffee-planter should believe her to be perfectly free from the slightest jealousy of Beatrice. There was music in the drawing-room after dinner. The girls sang and played, and grew friendly over the piano. But the name of Godwin Earle never once passed Alma’s lips; nor did she refer, even in the remotest way, to that night at the theatre. They talked freely of town amusements, and criticised actors and actresses ; but no mention was made of the meeting in the Lyceum, and nothing was said about Richmond. Beatrice, who had dreaded having to talk about her lover, was reassured by Alma’s silence. She began to think it was quite unlikely that Miss Lindrick suspected any affair between Godwin and herself. A little later, when Mr. Redburn had called her to his side in the twilight, her heart began to soften towards the lonely old man. He talked to her of old Indian days, of her father, of things that she had often longed to hear about. Captain Ward was represented as a hero to his delighted daughter. And to old Redburn he had been a hero indeed. In the eyes of other people, he had simply seemed a handsome man, tall and straight, who carried his head high, and looked every inch a soldier—a man who had plenty of pluck and dash, and was as true as steel and as open as day. But Mr. comicbooks.com