The Portland daily press., 1874-09-26

ing band of fearless Amazous without, and
to one of their number, land ventured to en-
ter it. Finding it unoccupied, as had been
told, am afraid l ha9 the audacity oslt
down and amuse myself for a few moments
at the piano-while waiting tor my friends"
Hawkins raised his beautiful eyes to hers.
He saw very pretty girl, with frank gray
eyes glistening with excitement. with two
red, slightly freckled, cheeks glowing a little
under his eyes, with a short, scarlet upper
lip turned back, like rose leaf, over little
line of white teeth, as she breathed some
what hurriedly in her nervous excitement.
He saw all this calmly, quietly, and. save for
the natural uneasiness OF shy, reticent man,
fear without quickening of his pulse.
~ knowed it," he said, simply. II leard
We as 1 KEN up"
Miss Nelly was furious at his grammar, his
dialect, his GOODNESS, and still more at the sus.
picion that he was an active member of her
invisible cldQue.
''Ab," she said, still smiling, ''then think
l heard yOu-"
81 reckon not" he interrupted gravely.
81 didn't stay long. found the boys hang
ing round the house, and allowed at first I'd
go in and kinder warn you, but they prom
isei to keep still, and you looked so comforta-
BILE and wrapped up in your music, that
hadn't the heart to disturb you, and KEN
away. l hope" he added earnestly, ''they
didn't let Oh ez they heerd you. The amt
bad lot-them Blazin' Star boys-though
they're a little hard at time. But they'd no
more hurt ye than they would a-a-a catv'
continued Mr.. Hawkins, blushing with a
faint apprehension of the inelegance of his
smile.
mo! mop said Miss Nelly, feeling sudden
ly very angry with herself, the Fool, and the
entire male population Of Five Forks. ''No!
have behaved foolishy, suppose-and if
they had it would have served me right. But
only wanted to apologize to you. You'll
find everything as you lett it. Good day.!
She turned to go. Mr.. Hawkins began to
feel embarrassed. cpd have asked we to sit
down." he said, finally, ''if it he'd been a
place fit for lady, 1 oughter done so, emmy
way. ] don't know what kept me from it.
But!I amt well, Miss, Times 1 get sort O.
dumb ager-it's the bitches, 1 think, Miss
and l don't seem to hev my wits about me-"
Instantly Miss Arnot was all sympathy
her quick woman's heart was touched.
''Can lean anything be done?" she
asked. more timidly than she had before
spoken.
'sNo:-not oness:ye remember suthn'
about these pills. He exhibited box con-
tanning about half dozen. 81 forget the di-
rection-I don't seem to remember much any
way, these times-they're Jones Vegetable
Compound. If ye've ever took 'em yen re-
member whether the regular dose is eight.
never TUX any," he added, deprecatingy.
NO." said Miss Nelly, CURLY. She had
usually keen sense of the ludicrous, but
somehow Mr.. Hawkins eccentricity only
panied her.
''Will you let me see you to the foot of the
hill,'' he said again, after another .embarrass-
ing pause.
Miss Arnot felt instantly that such an act
would condone her trespass in the eyes of the
world. She might meet some of her invisi-
BILE admirers-or even her companions-and,
with all her erratic impulses, she was never
theless woman, and did not entirely despise
the verdict of conventioDality. She smiled
sweetly and assented. land in another moment
the two were lost in the shadows of the wood.
Like many other apparently trivial acts in
an uneventful life, it was decisive. AS she
expected, she met two or three of her late APP
plauders, whom, she tancied, looked sheepish
and embarrassed; she met also her compan-
ions looking for her in some alarm, who really
appeared astonished of her escort, and, she
fancied, trife envious of her evident sue
their anxious inquiries, did not state entirely
the truth, but, without actual assertion, led
them to believe that she had at very early
stage of the proceeding completely subjugated
this weak-minded giant, and had brought him
triumphantly to her feet, From telling this
story two or three times she got finally to be-
lieving that she had some foundation for it;
then to.a vague sort of desire that it would
eventually prove TO be true, and then to an
equally vague yearning to hasten that con-
summation. That it would rebound to any
satisfaction of the Fool she did not stop to
doubt. That it would cure him of his folly
she was quite confident. Indeed, there are
very few of us-men or wOmen-whO do not
believe that even hopeless love for ourselves
is more conductive to the salvation of the lov-
er than requited affection for another.
The criticism of Five Forks was, as the
reader may imagine, swift and conclusive.
When it was found out that Miss Arnot was
not "the Hag" masquerading as a young
and pretty girl, to the ultimate deception of
Five Forks in general and the Fool in par
ticular, it was at once decided that nothing
but the speedy union of the Fool aud the
"pretty schoolmarm" was consistent with
ordinary common sense. The singular good
fortune of Hawkins was quite in accordance
with the theory of his luck as propounded
by the camp. That after ''the Hag" failed
to make her appearance he should s'strike
lead'' IN his own house without the trouble
of ''prospecting'' seemed to these casuists
as wonderful but inevitable law. To add
to these fateful probabilities, Miss Arnot fell
and sprained her ANGLE in the ascent of
Mount Lincoln, and was confined for some
weeks TO the hotel after her companions had
departed. During this period Hawkins was
civilly but grotesquey attentive. When,
after reasonable time had elapsed, there
still appeared to be no immediate prospect
of the occupancy of the new house. public
opinion experienced singular change in re-
gard to its theories of Mr.. Hawkins conduct.
1.-The Hag" was looked upon as saiut-like
and long-suffering martyr to the weaknesses
and inconsistency of the Fool That, after
erecting this new house at her request, he
had suddenly 'sgone back" on her; that his
celibacy was the result of a long habit of
weak proposal and subsequent shameless
rejection, and that he was now trying his
hand on the helpless schOolmarm, was per-
fectly plain to Five Forks. That he should
be trustI ated in his attempts at any cost
was equally plain. Miss Nelly suddenly
found herself invested with rude chivalry
that would have been amusing had it not
been at times embarrassing; that would have
been impertinent but for the almost super
stitious respect with which it was proffered.
Every day somebody from Five Forks rode
out to inquire for the health of the fair pa
tent. s'Hez Hawkins bin over yer to-day"
inquired Tom Flynn, with artful ease and in
difference, as he leaned over Miss Nelly's
easy-chair on the verandah. Miss Nelly,
with faint pink flush on her cheek,
was constrained to answer "No." ''Well,
he sorter sprained his foot agin a rock
yesterday" continued Flynn, with shame
less untruthfulness. "You mustn't think
anything O. that, Miss Arnot. He'll be
over yer to-morrer, and meantime he told
me to hand this yer bookay with his regards,
and this yer specimenw And Mr.. Flynn
laid down the flowers he had picked en- route
against such an emergency, and presented
respectfully a piece OF quartz ard gold
which he had taken that morning from his
own sluice-box "You mustn't mind Haw-
kins' ways, Miss Nelly" said another SYM
pathizing miner. "There amt better man
in camp than that there Cy Hawkins but
he don't understand the ways O. the world
with wimen. He hasn't mixed as much
with society as TIL rest of u.s." he added,
with an elaborate Chesterfieldian ease of
manner, ''but he means WELL" Meanwhile
few other sympathetic tunnel-men were