The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1874-04-23

: he bore to Elsie would be a shadow onIv
t If only the love had once been there to
8 take root.
7 Never colud he guess at any of these
dreams which haunted nae. but noticed
that he often now looked at me with a
new and curious intentness which warned
me that this hidden, selfish pain was
changing even my outward self. It must
have been this change which prompted
them to plan for Elsie and me to tray. |
to the seaside. and stay there until the
, summer waned.
If they had let me go alone-there or
anywhere thought I might have gam
q health and strength and better
thoughts; but Elsie would not leave me.
The days had been hard enough to bear
at home, but they were harder here. IF
l mad been left to sit alone in silence on
the cliffs, | Gould have loved perhaps
instead of chatting at, the lonely, solemn
sympathy of the sea but Elsie seemed
T always near me, talking of home and
Horace, until nearly--ah,so yery near
~ grew to hate her very presence,
dreadlng every word that her blight voice
should utter, and wearying utterly of her
smiling face. Left alone with her, and
hearing her constantly speak of Horace
Ia that tone OF confident, childlike happl-
ness, it could not Re but that soon must
hate her in my heart.
III.
My father and Horace were to be with
US In the afternoon, and in. the morning
Elsie and i went out to battle together.
!; There was no sunshine on the sea, but
the water was fresh and full of motion,
J just as we liked it; 80 we laughed when
} we were told that there was danger of
sudden sguall that day that very few
ladies had ventured out, and even they
were returning now.
"Not that there is any danger, miss"
the man said, as he hooked his horses
harness TO the caravan which I had chos-
en-; "only don't you think you'd better
take one of the women with you ?"
1--WE are not afraid. are We, Margaret ?"
smiled elsie land we help each other
quite enough"
Then she gave orders for her own ma-
chine to be wheeled close to mine In the
sea, and ran up the steps with smile and
a nod at me-
How we'll I remembered the look of
the sea that day, as stepped into it, and
Elsie came up to me with her dancing
step and laughing eyes SO gray and
somber the water was, go wide and rest
less. so wide, so secret, and so safe, |
shook Esie's clinging hands.
Why.do you hold me ~ I cried. go
away do not come so close to me again"
}, "No, no give me your hands. Msrga-
ret" Sue said, rising merrily and shaking
back her hair, after the noisy wave had
passed over us and left us free to speak
again. "Do you forget that they feared
u sudden gust .: We shall be all right If
we are hand in hand"
1--WE are quite safe so, and 1t is pleas
anter," ] said, an threw myself beneath
the woter, trying hard to drown the hap
py sound of Elsie's laughter,
How wide and secret the sea was and
what little thing she looked there,
battling merrily with it, SO strong
against her little shielding hands And
what horrible longing possessed me, yet
what an mastering fear Fear of
whats Fear or Elsie's tiny power {?
Fear of the waters which | loved ?
All, o; what fear had Was fear of mys
self.
We were standing quite still, telling
each other how calm the sea had grown
all In minute, and still with that dis
tanoe between US, which I wept so care-
fully, when the squall came. A sudden
violent rush of wind swept across the
waters toward the shore /; the waves rear
ed themselves above Ms, then swooped
down and dashed us helplessly up the
sand.
Margaret Margaret '-I could hear
Elsle's call as the great wave rolled on
"Your hands hold me, hold me p
fought my way to her, and took her
hands, then looked wildly around. The
bathing machines seemed to be miles
away from US now, and was thrown upon