The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1877-05-31

luSt LDe same iii is 10 De So ME-
Balyon, vino was something OF
fatalist, would reply sand I cal
wish nothing better for either OF M
boys than such a girl as Kathleen 70
his wife, but I'll promise never t
put the notion in their heads. Ru
!, pert and Archie will go out in tbs
world and see other girls IL one o
them still thinks Kathleen the fair
est and sweetest, you won't say min
nay, will you ? 4 I.Ib fl.tg
"She Is the daughter Of the creates
coquette in ChristendOm, % the 'Squiru
igTumbied; "hOwever, we must Keel
the girl hsre, and I'm not sorry for
II, for I'm fond of her myself in {
way, and what Is to be will be, as yoU
say Ifshe msrries either Of them,
trust Il will be Rupert, for he will bS
able 70 stay at home and look sfte
her-All your training hasn't eIadi
Gated the seeds Of cOquetry from hel
nature. She's a flirt to the very mar
row of her bones" fa.
"Poor child, you've never seen hel
tested :" Mrs Balyon pleaded. "ThI
boys are like brothers 10 her, and she
never sees another man 10 fiirt with
/ Il EOO II duu LOO
to trifle with and wrong any ont
who loves her. l have faith in Kath
leen-"
"And I have none, for l knew hel
mother" the Squire laughed. "Bui
like the girl for all that, and the
boys must take their chance"
The boys took their chance, and
when Kathleen was about nineteen
Rupert came home to spend Christ.
mas week in the old house, and fell
in love with her in a sudden, unrea-
souing, sincere, and manly way, and
took the earliest opportunity OF tell,
ing her that he had done so.
She listened to him with bent head
and joyful eyes, and seemed to be
very much surprised at the turn
affairs had taken. Only three days
before she had run out to the ball
door to meet him, and had held heI
cheek up to be kissed by him as usual.
1t seemed to puzzle her that be
should want her to be his wife, but
the puzzle seemed a pleasant one %
her, as he gathered from the express
sion of her face.
"Paps and mamma will be very
angry with ycu," was the fret thing
she said.
kathleen, you know they love
you already as II you were their own
child besides, if all the world were
angry with me / shouldn't care 50
long as you were pleased. Are you
pleased that 1 love you, and want
you for my wife, Kathleen ?"
"Pleased that you love me? Yes.
Pleased that you want me for your
wife Doubtful You see it's an up
set, Rupert /; we've been told sill our
lives to love each other like brothers
and sisters, and we've done as We
were told. It seems unfair on Archie,
that you and l should contemplate
making change without consulting
him."
She said it so seriously that he fell
into her humor.
'fYou shall write and tell Archie OF
our engagement to-day, ifyOu will"
he saId.
"But we're not engaged. I'm bal
ancing the fors and agsinsts still.
like you and love you, and like and
love Archie, too he's just as dear to
me as you are. We had better not
be engaged /; we'd much better not
think OF marriage, Rupert let Us go
on as we we're before, and don't in
troduee complications"
'I can't gc on as I did before /;
you've grown 700 dear to me for
that,n the young man said, earnestly.
SIT must be one thing or the other
now, Kathleen ; must either go
away, and not see you agsin, or you
must promise to be my WIFE,"
"YOu shall not go away, and l
won't quite give you the promise /;
yet, 1 may, by-and-by, when I've
thought about it little more and got
used to it," ~ ~ -
sDon,t triffe with me; don't lead
me on for nothing" he pleaded.
"Don't be dictstorisl," she laughed;
''if / am worth having, Pm worth
waiting for" Then she changed her
manner abruptly, and said pleading
ly, 'Supposing say that it shall be
as you wish in good time, will you do
me little favor in return :"
"My darling ask me anything,
anything"
"Ips only little thing that 1 ask,
Rupert. Don't say anything about it
to mamma or any one yet let it be
our own little secret will you,
dear ?p EaE
She held her rosy mouth toward
him, and wss SO irresistibly cOAxing
that, as he kissed and eiasped her to
him, he granted the little favor she
prayed for, thought it was sorely
against the grain that he did it.
Everything must he as you like,
my own Kathleen; but 1 don't like
anything underhAnd. l abhor Sc
crecy, and 20 observe 1t toward the
dear mother, too We've always
told her everything, you knew don't
I let US begin deceiving her now. 1t
will make her so happy TO hear it ) LET
me tell the mother !"
But Kathleen was resolute. 1t
must be kept secret for time, for as
long as she liked, or she would have
nothing to say to him And, as he
loved her so, he gave in to her whinl,
though his judgment was opposed to
what he believed to be "motiveless
description" And affairs were in
this unsatisfactory state when Archie
came from the camp at the Curragh,
on six weeks leave.
The maintenance OF the secret in
yolved great deal more restraint
and circumspection than Rupert had
contemplated, when unRdvisedly Civ
en- in to Kathleen's caprice. The
| fraternal relation had ceased to exist ;
and, on pain of her displessure, he
dared not betray that other and m ore
tender ones had been instituted. Ac-
cordingly, q certain reserve and stiff
| ahorookariuad Dnnorffa hnorin o
toward his promised wife in public,
and the girl seemed to take delight
in teasing him, by being frigid to-
ward him, and almost demonstrs-
lively sffectionate toward Archie.
tfIt was pretty little game" she
said "quite as amusing as chess
She would insist upon his praising
her acting powers and to please heI
he was SO slsyishly in love-he
would sometimes profess to be enter
tained by the semi-sentimental flirta-
tion which she carried on openly
with Archie.
"But it's playing with fire, Kath-
leen," he said to her, warningly
once or twice. "Archie's suscepti'
| BILE fellow, and as he is unconscious
Of treaehery toward me, he may lose
his head and place you in a dilemma
by proposing to you ; then it must
come out, and how could we face him
after telling hin so ?"
The girl crimsoned as she listened
to her lover but whether her emo
4 ton was caused by anger or cOntri
ton he could not divine --
81 will take that Archie doesn't
make q mistake, or lose either hi
head OF his heart to me. You havt
no confidence in me, Rupert, no low
for me, or you wouldn't hurt my feel
ings by hazarding such a PROPOSE
tion."
"I more than love you-I worship
you,D he answered warmly "but
love my brother too"
ssThen cease to wrong me by being
Idly Jealous of him" she said, eoldly
and, for the first time since the exis
tence of their understanding, she lef
hiEa angrily, and would not evel
give him the parting kiss Of peace b
craved for.
It added to bis uneasiness this day
when bis mother-always on the aleT
when her boys were concerned-spok
to him about his brother. "Hss
| T. oS.kkfarE -,