Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-04-24

pleasantly arose ana pllced d C1dI iiooi
the fire.
ooh. no, Ned you only imagine we
don't want to see you. Sit down. Am
YOU cold? Mother and father are gone
L don't care where they are gone. L
came to see you, and none but vou'
He drew his chair away from the ire,
and near the table where Maggie sat.
well. Ned, here I am for you to see
She was determined not to allow her an
noyance to escape her, so she assumed from
the first a friendly, CHEEKY tone. And IL
Modified Ned, as she intended it should.
I was little rough on the Old folks'
Maggie J. but the truth is, since-smce-
you and that Maryland fellow have been
such friends, Isee. precious little OF YOU
anyway
Maggie could have bitten her tongue to
have prevented the blush she felt surglng
over her face.
L would naturally see more of my be-
trothed husband than merely q TREND
Ned, please hand me the SCISSORS
She did not lift her eyes, but clipped her
thread silently, and went on sewing, WINE
Ned toyed with the scissors moodlly. FIN
ally, almost abruptly he spoke
sIll get out and leave you IN peace
Maggie, if you'll give me one OF your curls
to remember you BY
Maggie smiled indulgently, secretly
| thankful at such cheap release.
'Youmay have any curl you want, Ned,
and welcome. Only, you must not take IL
as pledge Of Punishment, Ned. 'aAnd now
Maggie laid down her sewing, and looked
! into his moody, half-scorned face. L Wish
for your sake it had been us you 50 desire
But as it is not, as / am so content, let 1t
all be forgotten. Which curl Will you
have p She leaned her head towards him
coquettishly and he awlwardly, tremb-
lingly, cut one off close to her neck SO
close, the cold steel made her start
The moment he had severed it, he threw
down the scissors, thrust the curl in his
pocket in wad, and arose from his chair
L said I'd go. Goodbye, Maggie
Almost before Maggie could recover
from her surprise at his wild, abrupt way
he was off, his footsteps ringing loud on
the frozen ground.
His eyes were brighter than usual, and
his face fairly worked with exultaticn as
he drew the tangled black curl from his
pocket, and with it a band OF black velvet,
to which tiny, plain gold cross was at
TRACKED.
Little did my lady know [ cut the velv t
with the curl, and only begged the hair
that [ might secure the cross. Little did
the loyers-curse 'em--know / overheard
their sugar-candy romance about the to-
ken of the cross but if George Wayland
don't get this back before I'm a week old
en- it'll be strange. Trust either of them
for an explanation they're too plaguy
proud"
And Maggie went on with her sewing
for another hour in blissful unconscious
ness of the loss Of her treasure. After
ward she and Bessie took q game Of romps
before Bessie finally went to bed and still
later at half-past nine, she and brother
Ben went down to the last mail to see if
there was a letter from George.
It was not until she had retired to her
own room and stood before her dressing
bureau to arrange her hair for the night,
that she missed it, and then she missed it
at the very first glance III the glass.
1t was down stairs, Of course, on the
floor, where it had fallen when she and
Bessie had their game OF fun OF sup
pose she had lost it on the street on the
way to the post-office 1t was very pro
bable, very, and when she had crept softly
down stairs, lamp i'll hand, and thorough
ly searched the sitting-room in vain, she
knew it was really lost Oh the street.
What would George say of her careless
ness How could the velvet have come
united and with little fit of crying over
her loss, Maggie went to bed and dreamed
Of wading ankle deep through gold crosses.
III II, l. from