The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1878-04-18

her face; and tried to tell her, as well
as plain "good night" would do it, that
/ knew what had happened, and wanted
her to forgive me. ] think she guessed
what the look meant, by the sudden
crimson flame in her face; but she walk
ed out of the room with as much dignity
another word.
The early days of December were cold
and wet, and the shearing was a pro.
tracted and troublesome affair. Don
lowered about restlessly, whether in OF
out of the house, always bothered and
anxious, and paying frequent visits to
the barometer. The ladies chung to thei,
fireside as if they had been in England
and / tied myself to Lizzie's apron string
with an abject alacrity that puzzled and
charmed her. My opportunities for - i'm.
proving the OCCASION" were many, Blu,
somehow l could never turn them to &C.
count. The pride of that little maiden
was quite beyond my management. Liz
zle threw us together; she left US alone
she did all that in her lay 10 further my
desires for a reconciliation and an un.
derstanding; but the implacable resent
ment of the last of the Lindsays towards
me for that wretched slip of the tongue
was stone wall / could not climb over.
The worst of it was, she did and said
nothing tangibly offensive, and l was
precluded by all sorts of considerations
from mentioning the subject we were
both (and that we both were aware we
were) thinking of. So matters went on
day after day. And before a great
many days were past | was over head
and ears in love-I may as well say it
and have done with it-and began to feel
desperate and dangerous. She walked
about the house with her grand air, my
Queen Marie Antoinette, nv little
tyrant that | could almost have demol-
ished with a finger and thumb; and |
standing six feet three in my stockings,
! had to acknowledge that she was invinci-
BILE as well as unmerciful. Unregenerate
savage as | was, had faint longings now
and then to take her by those slender
shoulders and shake her.
There were times when she became her
sweet self, and could not help it though
she tried; and these times were born of
music. She and | both loved music with
that special love that nature permits to a
few people; but to no one else in the
house did the heaven-born maid
present attractions. Don, hard at work
all day, could 60 to sleep after dinner in
his armchair; and Lizzie, after her man
ner, could 60 out of the room in the mid
die OF the most charming song. Then,
when we were singing together, or when
she was gentle and gracious with the
spirit of melody in her, then was the oil
thrown upon my troubled waters. AT
times such as these it flashed across me
that she was aware of it.
/ AT length on one of these occasions |
made dash at her guarded citadel; |
will not say in what words, but with the
/ laundering foolishness that | suppose
characterizes all implied aspirations; al
belt with sufficient plainness to leave no
chance of being misunderstood; and then
had indeed to bite the dust for once in
my life. She had been singing Ruth
with the most touching pathos and aban-
donment-" Where thou goest / will go,
and there will | be buried and could
not stand it. Don was in the room, but
snoring in that comfor table undertone
which denoted sound and quiet slum-
Der. She stood with her back to the
1 piano, and the sheet of music trembling
and rustling in her hands, watching his
modelling head in the distance, and turn
ing her delicate profile to my view.
No; will not" she half whispered
with naughty rapidity. You should
have known [ would not do not par
tlcularly want to marry anybody" she
added, flashing round upon me with her
crimson face; "but l will never marry
you. | made up my mind to that long
ago"
Everybody knows how, in the supreme
ly solemn moments of ones life, one is
apt to be assailed with most incongru-
ously ludicrous ideas. In spite of nv
bitter modification at her reply, an alb
surd rhyme that | had somewhere. flash
ed into my bead:
Do not be like Nancy Baxter.
Who refused man before he'd ax'd her.
| believe she saw the ghost of a smile
that might have lowered round my eyes
when l begged to know why she had made
up her mind never to marry me; and that
made her savage.
Because you think 1 came here to be
made love to-" she retorted, with all the
concentrated contempt that her sweet
face and voice could hold. "You think
Lizzie and have been plotting to catch
you-you think we wanted to inveigle
you into marrying me! [ know what
you are going to say"-as l rose and
seized her hands, to stop her-"but it is
not the truth. | heard you lifting
her angry eyes, now wet with unshed
tears, to mine-"I heard YOU. with nv
own ears, tell Don to warn Lizzie before
hand that you did not want to be mar
led"
Il know you did," I replied, tighten
ing my hold of her hands, while she
made feeble efforts to get away; and |
wish my tongue had been cut before |
could have insulted you and her like
that. Forgive me, Rachel, I have been
punished enough"
L cannot" she answered, still pant
ing with her excitement a should be
ashamed of myself if | could take a
man who had even thought of me like
that"
Tears began to trickle from her eyes,
ehN ~ iitliS NoUtilCdl CdlCu Ill UeT
breath betrayed to me that her defiant
courage was failing her. 1 would not
let her go. Love and shame and re-
sentful disappointment made me little
savage too.
" | never did think of you like that"
l said sternly; "and you know it. l
must hold you till l clear myself; can
not bear it"
A log tumbled in the CRATE, and Don
woke up. She caught away her hands
and sped out of the room: and I passed
through French window into the cool
summer night, too full of wrath and
love to speak.
This was how we stood when at last
ton Saturday, the Sth of December) the
true Christmas weather came, and we
found ourselves in the hot afternoon
alone on the croquet lawn; alone for the
nrst time since my stormy wooing was in
terrupted. Don being still busy in the
sheep yards and shearing shed, l had
been mis- Sipr11- NJ