The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-05-28

Dlb OF WOmannOOQ Dy MS SIDE. AS fOr
Nancy, she was little afraid of the
gray eyes that could be quizzical as
we'll as admiring, and of the smile that
sometimes curled the corners of the
black mustache. But Nancy was minus
lover just then, the doctor was q
"catch," and so she laughed and chat
tered as the bay horse trotted along.
The farmhouse came in sight too
soon, and the doctor stopped midway
in a speech to inquire,
"Won't you take & longer ride It's
such beautiful afternoon !"
Nancy demurred, as in duty bound.
'"I-don't know. guess it must be
most tea-time."
The doctor laughed, and held his
watch before her. 1t was precisely
four.
"Oh, we'll, then" began Nancy,
somewhat confused. But aren't these
your Office hours ?'
Confound my Office hours p com.
mented the doctor to himself Aloud
he said, "I'm sometimes obliged to
break through my hours. I'm going
now to see "a patient on the outskirts
OF the town." So they drove on.
The patient" could hardly have
been in critical state. The doctor,
leaning back in the carriage, let the
lines lie loosely on the horses back as
they paced slowly through shady wood
roads smelling OF pines, while the warm
breeze futtered light curls across
Nancy's arch black eyes, and the blue
silk parasol had to be held up to keep
the sun from her rose bud of face.
The doctor had lurking fear that
Nancy was rustic and ignorant, but
ah ! she was 80 pretty
How far they rode in this lazy way,
wholly rapt in conversation, is not
known. How far they would have rid
den is uncertain, if Nancy had not sent
mischievous glance straight into the
gray eyes, and inquired,
"Why, where does that patient of
yours live ?"
The doctor laughed frankly, coloring
nevertheless.
81 see you understand the ways
that are dark and the tricks that are
vain pretty we'll, Miss Nancy. And
now don't dare to tell you what 1 was
going to before you spoke"
What was it ?" queried Nancy, Curl
Gus and conscious.
"It was," said the doctor, bending
his own face closer to the curl-shaded
one at his side, "that wish I had the
right to keep you with me always.
Miss Nancy, will you look at me-will
you let me ?"
1t was well that the doctor did not
guess why, amidst Nancy's bright
bushes, her lip quivered and her eyes
filed with tears. She had made up her
mind to accept the doctor, but in this
decisive moment the thought of John
Armitage sent pang, cruel in inten-
sity, through her heart. Then came
the memory of their yesterdays quar-
rel, and Nancy faltered, with o strug-
Cling smile,
ell don't know"
She did know when, in the late twi.
light, she and the doctor walked togeth-
er into the dusky sitting-room at home,
where her father was doing and her
mother knitting, to ask their consent
and their blessing.
"Dear me p' said the good farmer,
rubbing his eyes. "Two sech pieces
of news in one days GURUS hereabouts.
| heerd on'y an hour sence that Johnnie
Armitage is a-goin' to Texas to kinder
farm on his own account. I sorter
thought, too, that he an Nancy fancied
each other, but here she's wantin' to
marry another man. It's Gurus -
Nancy had taken her hand from the
doctors arm and had sat down in the
window. She heard, mistily, COM
ments and congratulations she an
swered questions, laughed at Jokes.
70 40 10 ,r-;E h.
doctor when he left, and stood there
plying to his tender talk; but when he
was gone, leaving farewell kiss on her
lips, she rushed up stairs and threw
herself on the bed in perfect agony of
sobbing that she could hardly stife in
the pillow.
The story of the next week is hack
neyed. Such happenings are too COM
mon. Nancy came and went like the
ghost of herself, but the whole village
was gossiping over her engagement,
and her evidences of trouble were as
cribed to the "queerness of a girl Just
engaged" Little tired Mrs. Armitage
ran over across lots one afternoon to
tell the Evanses that John was going
Monday, and she guessed he would
manage to get over and bid them good
by and cried because her pet son was
going away, and was cool and sharp to
Nancy, evidently suspecting that she
was the cause.
Perhaps light natures suffer most
overwhelmingly. Often in those beau
tiful June days Nancy, all alone IN some
shadowy, grassy place, with sunbeams
above, would wonder in a
dim, childish way if she should not
:" die when John went" Only one
hope was left: John was coming to say
good-by. Oh, if she could only let
him know how it really was But how
could she and she would look down
lespairingly at the little gold circlet on
ler finger.
Sunday afternoon John finally came.
Nancy, sitting in the parlor with the
DOCTOR, caught a glimpse of the we'll
known figure at the gate under the
ilacs again. For moment the room
whirled around, and she was deathly
white; then she rose mechanically, say
ng that she must bid Mr.. Armitage |
yood-by, and went out to the doorway,
where John was greeting her parents,
md warding off the Newfoundland with |
, Iann1,