The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-08-03

promise; he stood up and struck one
one palm into another. al viii have
her Yeti" he cried, and went In to his
dreams.
" Can you think of any thing, Rose,
where we can economize?" he said, next
day.
Economize!' she repeated gayly.
q For what? In what? With what?
a. So that we can raise two thousand
dollars" he answered gravely.
& She sat down as suddenly as if some
gigantic hand bad been laid on her head
and had crushed her into the seat.
[" Two thousand dollars! she gasped.
/" We couldn't economic it in two
thousand years, for don't know where
we waste a cent now"
fImust get It in some way, then, if
| have to go out saving wood after
hours" -
"Why, Roger?" r..
"For capital to go into business" "
"The house would sell for five hum
dred more than you want"
- The hOusel" he said. "That is
not mine" -'
Rose stood up, moving one thing and
another nervously about the table; her
lips trembled, and all at once she ran
out Of the room. 'F0h, he cares moth
ing for me; he despises me; he disre-
CARDS me; he would take nothing from
me! Because it is mine, it is not his,
and he wants nothing of me.n
80 She takes no interest in it; she
doesn't care whit whether go into
business or not; it matters nothing to
her," he sighed. "She flashes out of
the room and about her business as in
differently as though l were the merest
stranger at the gate" And he iammed
ON his hat, and went to his work, head
down, hands in pocket, and gloomy as
the grave. All day long that rosy,
dimpled face fitting between him and
every customer; all day long the awful
figures, $4,000, writing themselves on
the wall before him like a Meme, meme,
tebel, ughGrSin; and when, late in the
day, a cloud slowly rose and hung over
the fields and marshes, till all the sky
was purple and all the land was in
shadow, and low thunders began to
growl in its breast, and sharp lightnings
leap from it, it seemed to Roger only
something in accord with his feelings,
for it befitted nature to be as dark as
his own outlook.
1t was terrible storm, though, be-
fore another hour had passed. Peal
after peal the thunder crashed over the
little village, and tumbled its deafening
bolts among the hills; flash after flash
the lightnings cracked and unrOlled,
and from moment to moment wrapped
the place in sheets of flame; and after
one report, when the heavens seemed
to shrivel like bit of burning parch-
ment, the bark of the century-old elm
in the square where the little band
PLAYED on summer nights had been torn
off in one long spiral from top to bot
tom, and the tree had answered the bolt
in a pillar of fire. As the storm in
creased, Roger remembered Roses fear
of thunder, and plunged out into it, de-
termined that she should not be alone
i'm such a moment of absolute terror.
The rain met him halfway, worse than
any lightnings-a gray, sitting down.
pour, in which it was impossible to dra Y
his breath, and his only refuge was to
take to his heels and run as fast as ever
any Lampad ran a race. ~
She must have seen him. coming, for
she set open the door, though she stood
behind it. "What made you leave
shelter in such a storm as this?" she
cried, and Just then there came an over
whelming flash, the fire of which SEEM
ed TO penetrate her brain. She clapped
her hands to her face with a shrek, the
house rocked and the door swung and
slammed, and she feb fainting upon the
floor. az "a
When Rose came to herself, she was
lying on the lounge where Roger had
placed her, and the storm was slowly
rolling off below the horizon, with now
and then a smOthered growl, and the
rain was pattering only in thin showers,
which the freshened breeze shook from
the vines and bOughs. She sat up di-
rectly, and presently, rs soon as she
found her feet, went to the window to
look about. The whole world seemed
sweet and rich and glistening in the
sunset, with a sort of delicious under
hight, and the birds were wild with
music. Roger stood beside her at the
window, lOoSing out into the enchanted
atmosphere. They were both silent :;
and just then good old Mrs. Vance came
up the garden walk from her own ad-
joining one, fearing Rose was alone, and
not having dared herself to come to
her before; and she staid to tea, and
wanted q game of cribbage in the even
ing; and when Roger came back from
escort duty TO old Mrs. Vance, Rose Just
lifted the candle-hame between her face
aud his, and saying goodnight, hur-
Tiedly, was away to her slumbers.
Roger went TO his, that is to say, to
his room. Sleep, he could not His
thoughts were whirling at such rate
with his emotions that he was wider
awake than ever before. He stepped
out on the old broken balcony of his
window and watched the slow wheel
ing of the consultations, and heard the
Tiny cracking sound of leaves and rain
drops and pebbles in the garden, OF
some night-bird, maybe, tapping the
/ bOugh, or esle of the dead vine branch
| beating on q window-pane, and he
4 thought how hard and bitter thing
was life, and hall cursed it; and then
the vision of Rose would steal before
him-the sweet smiling face, the dim.
pied velvet cheek, the shining eye, gen.
tie motion, gentle spirit-and he said tc
4 himself that II was enough for any one
/ to live in the same world with such {
thing as she.
But at length it occurred to him tha
this was enough of star-gazing. If ht
were ever to be man, fit to win her
even if unsble, he must cease his day
dreams and work, and, to work, b,
must sleep. He returned TO his room
I and an AT once, as if something stuns
him at every pore, he staggared back
What strange .Odor Was tbis2. wha
strange atmosphere after the cool nigh
] fragrance9 The room was fuaq OF,
thick pungent cloud-it was the smok,
J of burning. "Firel fret firei'' hr
shouted, and sprang through the doc
for Roses room, only to be met by sucl
"a sfrpn N fY1rairf me ~ raf ,,,ovi,o 40 rl