Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1869-08-05

and made himself so active In the
matter as to win the gratitude of the
whole town. .
He often joined our social gather
ings, and became the life of them. l
was quite envied in having his escort
so frequently, and the rumor very
soon circulated that we were engaged
to be married.
Steve and had some words on the
subject several times, and because it
was so unusual for him to insist on
such a matter, / resented it when he
did; and the more / suspected myself
to be in the wrong, the more was
resolved I would not own it.
I detected Steve's dislike of Mr..
Fordyce, and talked with him about
it. He denied nothing, but he only
shook his head and looked graveiyat
me when / promised him. He never
said worse about Mr.. Fordyce than
that he did not believe in him. He
objected to my intimacy with him on
rather general grounds, chiefest
among which were not my obliga-
tons to himself-though chose to
take it SO, and answered in such an
ill-tempered manner that Steve, not
being ice but flint, struck fire, and
retorted angrily for the first time in
! our acquaintance. The result was a
serious GOODNESS. Steve apologized
for his part of it the next day.. but
l listened coolly and retained my
anger.
/ flirted with Mr.. Fordyce more
desperately than ever after that, but
the affair really had lost all its relish
to me. I went recklessly on, howev-
er, in my foolish course, till Mr.. For
dyce, in so many words asked me to
marry him.
l don't know what it was about
| the man that all at once struck me as
insincere. knew he did not mean
what he said, and yet he wore very
loverlike air, and would have clasped
and kissed me if l had not shrunk
swiftly away from him.
/ answered him, however, as
though he had spoken sincerely, and
told him what l did not often ac-
knowledge-that l was engaged to
Steve Lashley. No man likes to hear
"No" from woman's lips, even
when his petition is an idle one. For
the first time / saw Mr.. Fordyce's
handsome face distorted with sheer
Of mingled anger and dislike, and /
knew that poor Steve's strange feel
ing toward Mr.. Fordyce was recip-
rocated by that gentleman with at
least equal intensity.
One night there was party at
Steve's fathers. 1t was Marian's
birthday. Mr.. Fordyce took me
over about eight o'clock. We went
earlier than that sometimes in those
days. 1t was gay party. We had
dancing, and the music and the sup
| per were good.
1 danced with Steve several times,
and being in fine spirits, found it not
little difficult to maintain the dis
lance l had lately adopted toward
him. His eyes, too, had such soft,
tender light in them, his lips such
patient smiling and his whole face
such brightness.
"Come into the garden a minute,
Bell" he whispered me at the close
of the dance, IL have something to
tell you," and for my life l could not
say no.
When we were in the bright,
moonlit garden, he stopped where
clump of lilac bush hid US from the
house, and drew from his bosom a
roll of notes.
81 shall finish paying for our house
tomorrow, DEAR" he said in voice
that exceeding happiness made trem-
ulous. 81 drew the money from the
bank to-day-fifteen hundred dollars.
All, how l have worked for this
hour!"
/ should have been harder than the
neither milestone if ] had not forgot
ten my foolish anger at that moment,
if had not melted rather from my
GOODNESS, for 1 was glad as he was,
and / dropped my head on his shout
der there in the moonlight, and cried
happy, remorseful tears.
"Steve," said, "you shall let me
keep the money for you till morning.
| shall think / have dreamed it If
you don't.
Steve laughed, but he let me have
my way. All! what foolish whim
it was. Few would have dared take
charge of such a sum of money, and
fewer men would have permitted
them. But Steve knew it was as
safe, according to all human calcula-