The Argosy — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

60 Christobel. stood with compressed mouth and downcast eyes, his whole attitude expressive of well-bred embarrassment, mixed with a little not un- natural surprise. ; ‘Millicent, come to your room,” again spoke Mr. Hillyer, and laid his hand upon his sister’s arm. She shrank from the touch, instan- taneously, passionately ; then, as if exhausted by that final effort, fell backwards in a faint. The doctor, who was summoned in haste, pronounced Miss Milli- cent to be suffering from pressure on the brain. Her condition being somewhat critical, most of the guests went away; but at Mr. Hillyer’s special request Mrs. Chisholm, Major Fortescue and Verschoyle re- mained. Some shooting parties and consequent luncheons, which Sir Edward Meredyth got up to amuse the American, provided all three with occupation. For while the gentlemen blazed away at the partridges, Mrs. Chisholm, whenever it was possible, devoted her attention to a nobler quarry. ‘This was nobody but the millionaire himself; vice Major Fortescue, who had eyes and ears for nobody but Miss Fane. Mrs. Chisholm resented his defection of course; but the keenness of her disappointment was greatly mitigated by the fact of the Major’s elder and hitherto bachelor brother having suddenly taken to himself a wife. Under these circumstances she derived great satisfaction from the thought that on the one hand she had lost a prize of possibly insignificant value, and on the other she might, by cleverly pursuing her flirtation with Mr. Vandyken, achieve a magnifi- cent revenge. He apparently lent himself very willingly to her views, and the autumn woods were peopled for her with visions of future grandeur in Fifth Avenue and Saratoga Springs. Geraldine was also happier, for Godfrey had returned to his alle- giance, if, indeed, he could ever have been said to have deserted It. His manner had quite restored her easily won confidence ; and if she still wondered a little at times whether her suspicions in regard to Miss Fane had been just, she was too generous and too delicate to ask questions. Christobel was absorbed in her attendance on Miss Millicent, and excepting at dinner and for an hour or two afterwards, those out of the sick-room saw but little of her. When she did appear, the person, after Fortescue, who paid her the most attention (although in an odd way) was Mr. Sherlock. His interest 1n her was indeed so marked as to arouse very uneasy feelings in the mind of Mr. Hillyer, who was all the more disposed to entertain them that for his own part he had made but little way in the old Australian’s favour. Mr. Sherlock remained just the same as in the first hour of his appearance on the scene. Quiet, shrivelled, punctilious, with a keen eye to his own comforts and an apparent callousness to everything else, ECORNICLOOKS EO m