The Portland daily press., 1876-02-12
[From Harper's Bazar.l
The Nick of Time.

he were her lover or not, and drove her first
to some action that almost betrayed her own
feelings, and then to one that should give the
lie TO that betrayal and set everything at
loose ends again.
You could hardly say why Miss Tresudell
had SO many suitors. She was not so very
good-that is, she was as good as most peO-
pie, but not jot better; she was not pretty
at least not till she laughed and showed
her white teeth, and a dimple as deep as love
ever nestled in, or til she lifted her great gray
eyes and let you see how lustrous they were
under that trick of dropping lids. No, it
could not have been her beauty that was the
charm; it was the voice, face, figure, all to-
gether; her personality, gay spirits. teasing
moods, sweet ways; her infinite variety, that
attracted everybody comingiwthin its sphere.
She sang a little, she danced littl; what
ever she did she did well; and so, of course,
she firted to perfection, and played off one
lover against another as prettily, the lockers
on might think, as juggler losses his golden
balls. But what Gid the lovers think of it?
One of them thought very poorly of it,
and was determined to bring Miss Alice to
close quarters in small time, not in the least
aware that all the others had made the same
determination, and had found that to deter
mine was one thing and to do was another.
Man might propose, but Miss Alice must dis
pose; and Miss Alice-as, indeed, they each
and all fondly hoped-was match for any of
them. If she danced with Gregory, just as
Gregory felt encouraged and began 10 whis-
per the burning words, she dropped her fan
with glance at Mallory, who darted to re-
store it, and was detained with thanks and
gay words and replies just long enough to
make it impossible for Gregory to take up
the thread where she had broken it. II she
walked with DR.. Fowle, it was only after she
had oil Nv Ill 60 = hat Oh
would be strolling in that direction, where
she was always so pleased to see him when
he came up breathlessly, and found the doc
tor muttering anathemas between his teeth
-invocations to Esculapius, she called
them.
But Dr. Fowle was not man you could
put off forever when he once made up his
mind to thing, and so Miss Alice began to
learn. And when, one night as he babe her
good-by, Mallory and the rest being there, he
told her, in grave but authoritive under
tone, quite unlike that of the usual lover,
that he wished to see her next morning at
O'Clock, if she had wanted to deny him, II
could not. But, to tell the truth, she did not
exactly want to. The young men had seemed
SO inconsequent and so stupid, that evening;
Netty Armftage had seemed so frivol-
Gus; they had, each in turn come in
and interrupted the doctor when he was tell
ing her such fairy-like tales of recent discov-
cries in science; she had shrugged her shoul-
ders at them till the situation struck her rid-
culously, and then she had laughed with the
merriest of them, and pouted at the doctor.
But nova he was going, she slipped her hand
in his arm and sauntered down the lawn
with him. The night was a night in June,
when, If ever, nights are perfect. The air
was laden with the breath of honeysuckle
and mock-orange; the winds that curled
round them seemed to come from distant
lands of everlasting bloom, so sweet they
were; and the stars hung their lamps through
the dark close above the thick tree-tops.
She fancied, that night, that life was
too delicious thing to be INDUCED in
freely, and she murmured something of the
fancy with half laugh. "There are times
when we all feel that life is more than we de-
serye," he answered. "To.morrow-it may
be-Shall feel the same myself, tomorrow,
or will fate"
She laughed uneasiy. "You mustn't ask
me riddles" she cried.
"At II, tomorrow, them" he said, lifting
his hat.
CAT II, tomorrow" And she went back
10 the house, wishing it were II, tomorrow,
now; and then, in gay freak, as she heard
the hall clock strike, she ran down the hall
and set the hands forward an hour. "Bring
him the quicker" she whispered-"bring
him the quicker and went back to the
others.
They were talking of flags and bulrushes
that grew by Lenders lake, sheet of water
in the neighboring woods; and she was ca
ger to hear the details of the direction there,
for she shared the popular frenzy raging just
then for bulrushes, and thought of all things
she should like some great punches of the
brown velvety things in the vases, tomorrow.
II believe, if l rose early" she said, ST
could be there and back before lip
"Why ?" said Mallory, lazily.
"Oh, have an engagement at that hour"
she replied, bending her head little, that he
might not see the color creeping up.
81 am at your SERVICE" he said.
"Will you come along, Netty? ?" she asked
CAT five o'clock in the morning, and on
foot? Not step. That hour in the after
noon, behind pair of bays would suit me
very well. Young Vary thought it would
Every well Mr.. Mallory. IT you will come
at 8, tomorrow, shall have my bulrushes
and be back in good season."
''We'll not fall" said Mallory. "And to
that end, assure this company that it is the
witching hour of night, when the sweetest
sound the ear can hear is the slamming of
the big house door," And with that they all
departed.
As o'clock in the morning came. Miss
Alice, with her shears hanging at her side,
and her hat tied on, was looking up and
down the road impatiently. She quite forgot
her freak with the old clock the night before.
ut is very INDIGENOUS way to serv me-"
she cried. "Ten minutes past s! And I
shall not wait another moment. I will have
my bulrushes, Mallory or no Mallory. And
if l am little late I don't care; it will seem
as though body were not SO very anxious;
and / don't khow-Pm afraid-I'm really
afraid was gushing, last night, and do so
despise gusher! And he may only want
may only want to engage me to watch with
old Miss Steeres, the night she takes ether
for that operationp And thereat the little
body was off for Lenders lake. with precious
small idea of the exact whereabouts of that
pretty sheet. ePve a tongue in my head, I
suppose" said she.
As Miss Alice continued, her ideas grew
still less. She feared she would lose her way,
and not be back at all; she wished she had
waited for Mallory. But she piodded on af-
ter her best sense of locality, tore her gown
came near breaking her ankle, and at II
O'Clock by her watch sat down and cried
hot, bitten by flies, tired out, and lost.
When she had finished crying she looked
up, and there, gistening double through her
tears, lay Lenders lake, blue as sapphire, in
the hollow of the hills. Her courage came
back at once. If she could not keep her ap-
pointment, she could show by the bulrushes
that she had intended to. She forgot fatigue,
and was off for the edge of the lake, not SO
easily reached, after all, and, with taium-
plant handful of the brown velvet wands and
of great blue flags, was presently homeward
bound, having found the highway. and stay
ing only to ask at the door Of little hut for
a cup of water.
Nobody answered her rap; the door was
open-she pushed it wider,l and peeped in,
but started back at the sound of groan, and
quick, sharp sob, perfect storm of sobs.
A moment Miss Alice hesitated; bnt she was
no coward where pain was concerned; she
took heart of grace and walked in, and found
the brown old berry woman with her little
boy, her grandchild, bleeding to death in her
arms. "Oh," she exclaimed, 81 never knew
you lived here. What is the matter? How
did he do it?"
''With the ak! with the ak! Just nowv'
cried the woman. "And can't stop il, and
Pm all alone, and can't stop it, and can't
leave him, and he'll die-oh, he'll dep
''Oh, no, mop said Alice. s'What have
you done? Only cold water ?' Law him