The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1872-10-18

with young lawyer, to drop orange
and lemons among the Storage passen-
gers, when noticed the New Zealander
looking after her with q sadder regret
than usual-almost pain-in his
eyes. He had such handsome dark
eyesl l could see that without my
glasses
"Now," said l to myself 81 hope
he isn't going to get sofia sensible,
gentlemanly, agreeable man like him,
and quite old enough to be her
fatherr' And SO looked at him TO
see if he was, when suddenly he turned
upon me.
SAT least you might have written,
Agatha Wellsr' said he, sharply.
started, as you may think, to hear
my own name spoken SO familiarly by
stranger; when looking again, be-
hold | saw beneath the bronze, and
under the wrinkles and beneath the
beard face that twenty years before
YVES the dearest in the world to me-the
face Of Duncan Ashley. Weparted one
day expecting to meet on the next,
but that evening he was called away,
and wrote instead Of coming. In the
letter he said what he had said before,
with his eyes-yes, those same beauti-
full eyes-that l was the choice of his
heart and the desire OF his life.
"Answer me-" he said, 81 cannot
wait till l see YOU"
So answered. long, foolish letter,
though there was no need of writing
for he had read all could say long be-
fore, with those eyes of his then l
watched and waited for him, but never
saw him or heard one word more. If
you are young, you can imagine the
slow dying out of hope and expectation;
and ifyou are old, you know how such
things can be lived over, and hidden in
secret graves.
But now, as though the graves had
been opened, and the Judgment set,
came this sudden reproachful question
up from the buried past. / fairly
caught my breath. as l turned back
my eyes, and looked him in the face
again.
" Forgive me,' said he directly, in a
gentler tone, did not mean to speak.
You brought it out with your eyes
that questioning turn was so ia
miliar. Of course you were quite right,
and | never blamed you. never
meant you should see me again; but
the temptation to feel myself beside
you, only to be in the soothing charm
of your presence, was too great. 1t has
been blessing l shall carry with me
all the rest Of my life."
He was rising to 60 away, but l put
out my hand. 81 did write, Duncan
Ashley" said l, 1.-THE letter must have
gone wrong
" You did! You wroter he cried,
sinking back to his chair again. and
looking at me eagerly. " What did you
say r.
say and ! said that" l answered,
blushing as though had just written
the letter.
A middle.aged woman in hood and
waterproof. But, dear me, it was only
my face that was middle-aged, after all;
my heart was as young and silly as ever.
And as for Duncan's face, the marks
Of care, and thought, and time, fell off,
leaving in it only the eternal youth of
love.
1t was the old story Of lost letter,
and the Older story OF a proud man be-
lieving himself rejected and Inundated,
and fleeing to the ends of the earth
with his pain.
But, bless your heart l might as
we'll have tried to wipe up the Atlantic
with my pocket handkerchief. He was
SO erieved and so impatient and SO
land, indeed, when one comes
to think of it, twenty yaars is long
enough for an engagement that / final.
ly dropped off my waterproof and sea
and stood up behind the bin.
nacle, and was married before eight
bells that very morning, ring and all.
Duncan produced it from a small
casket where he had carried it in his
waistcoat pocket for the whole twenty
years.
81 could never bear to put the little
thing away" said he, looking at it
tenderly.
" Twenty precious years were vast.
ed !" said my New Zealander. 1--WE
will not be separated another day
while we both live. There is a cler.
gyman among our passengers; and we
will be married this very hourr'
That was so like his headlong de-
cisions Certainly he did need sober,
second thought like for ballast. "That
cannot bel" | cried. The ceremony
wouldn't be legal with q license or
something. And l would by no means
do anything SO sensational and con-
spicuous.
The next day we came to port, with
the sun shining and our flags flying.
There was furry of good-byes,
hosting of trunks, q welcoming Of
friends ON the shore, and glad hurry.
ing to and fro.
Among the rest was an instant's nest
ling Of Miss Armour's lips on my cheek,
and a little cling of her hand in mine.