The Argosy — page 298: what you’re looking at

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

f Fack Laybourne’s [nheritance. 279 The widow turned livid with excitement. I had purposely said nothing to her of Jack’s coming, thinking it best that it should take both her and Rita by surprise; and it was evident from her emotion now, that I had not miscalculated the strength of her interest in this— her first meeting with her nephew. Jack for an instant was also disconcerted, but he soon recovered, and wrung his aunt’s hand with a warmth that left little to be desired on the score of cordiality. “Me daughters!” said Mrs. lLaybourne faintly. ‘ Rita— Gertrude.” “So this is Rita!” remarked Jack—not very brilliantly, it must be confessed—and his kindly smile became a little constrained, while his glance rested with a troubled though gentle expression, first on the slender white fingers that lay in his sinewy palm, and next on the graceful little head that just reached to his shoulder. The child was sedate—but that was all the better. She mur- mured a few words of greeting, and only the faint flush that mounted to her cheek betrayed that she was more moved than usual. ‘“We have so often wished to know you,” said the beauty who next advanced, smiling, gracious, bewitching, with a black velvet toque on her golden hair, and a bunch of gentianellas in the waist- band of her white dress. “You are very kind!” exclaimed Jack quite earnestly, and im- mensely struck. So struck indeed that for that first evening I trembled lest all my plans should melt into thin air—dissolved by _ the sparkle of Gertrude Cameron’s eyes. And Mrs. Laybourne must have been pursued by the same fear, for the serene apathy with which she generally regarded her girls’ proceedings completely deserted her, and she made various well-meaning, but particularly clumsy attempts to divert Jack’s attention from her elder, and transfer it to her younger daughter. In these efforts she was, sooth to'say, seconded by neither of these; and I noted the delicate reserve of Rita’s manner with increasing approbation. ) The next morning Mrs. Laybourne was evidently still in a state of suppressed excitement, and on hearing that a large party of us, in- cluding Jack and her daughters, were starting for a climb, she an- nounced her intention of accompanying us. I heard Rita vainly urging her not to do so, and recalling the advice of some doctor in Paris. But her mother was obstinate, and joined us, keeping a sharp eye on Gertrude. Our destination was a lake, high up among the mountains. The path to it was long and very steep, winding through fir-woods and past green sloping meadows. As one toiled upwards the flora gradually changed, until the presence all around of the deep red Alpine rhododendron revealed the region where winter and spring had still wrestled for dominion, while the corn began to ripen in the valleys, and the tiny cups of the lilac-blossom strewed our garden- CORNICE LO© ECO an