The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1878-07-17

1 / e.
difficulty in doing, it, and, gradually
he thawed out of his reserve, and
succeeded in overcoming his bashful2
ness to such :. q degree that in, an
hhonppr OF two he felt quite at rest.
Suddenly there was a, crush, and
the next thing Mr.. Craig knew, he
was sitting serenely in. the middle. of
q dirty little puddle of water, and
the companion Of his journey was
pulling weeds and grass out Of her
hair, close, BY, fi,,;t.,fr t,,,s, .ea7 ,ta,
81 declare" calculated uc,u lated M, Craig,
'lt's q mercy we ,ainI'tt de9d! Al
vira'd be half scared W death if she
knew what had happenedr"'o .eoy,s
care. you Alvira Bowen's bro
ther p asked the LADY,, If fishing IL VI, 2
false curl curl from, some. mysterious! re-
cess in int the depths Of tbs, pond with
one hand, and and pulling q! q, long , piece
Of weed from her mouth. with the,
other after the fashion Of q conjurer
drawing ribbons from his mouth.
Il thought there was something ia.
miliar in your looks .,.t, 81 la
1 -ftE
s"'Yes, I'm nla her bother answered
Mr.. Craig Il wonder. # you're the
woman she wrote about2'
80 "'Qeuite likely, answered she:
s"'My names Stafford, Mr.. Craig. It's
a queer kind Of a place for an intro
duction;, isn't it?''s and then she
laughed in s q way that con- pletly won
MI. Craig's heart, ..,..,..,.i,, ri :.
a9t "Now, # you'll be SO kind ID as TO
help me ey out Q Of this ,puddle, and fish
out that At travelling bag you see see float,
ing ab bout oyer '. there here I'll tb be e, eyer 50
much obliged TO your'I' rso. yosi;.5,
.Al A ofs which iie Mr. NJ carais proceeded ' q
to do. .,,, ,a,. 81. n.s,t,
1t was. late at night before they
reached Alvira's. OF, course, she
was delighted to see them, and
frightened almost out of her senses
to think how near they had come to
being killed, and cried over her bro.
ther, who'd come within one of being
an angel at that identical, moment.
"A miss is as good asa mile, AL
vira, said Mr.. Craig, tersely.','i o,;, :
~ Il don't know what ! should have
\ done if it hadn't been, for your bro
ther," said Mrs. S a'oud, be>towine
/. such a shewit.llingT smile aonli Mr.
Craig thatihe;ifelt warm 1aLauveriin
stantly. "Heao was tsO7 kind ant
thoughtful irqa,i sslI bna ,a&zaf !,
81 satisfied if you are, 'isaid Mr.
Craig.,i "Imy sure Isdidn' tamindsth'
1 bother any," After which clumsy
attempt ton be- complimentary h
blushed up to- 'the7rootsoofsFiss4hair
: but wisely refrained. from attempt
ing to explain AS in snehe al case b.
always made .aibadsmatter wotseas III 81
:, EaiA weekswent Sby,' and Mrit Graf!
, acknowledged himselfuthat he Jha,
!, never obeguntoEbe so deeply inelov'
before. He began to cast about il
!. Ibis own mind for some new lmethot
& of.proposing which wouldn't require
;, such an awful amountooffcodrage a.
/ the old way, demanded.ra He aknev
], that courage was the very thing hi
NJ lacked. & 1t wasn't inclination by an,
T means. 4 Buthe feltthath he copldu'
flask her ia so many words, toamarr,
/, him. 1T made him turn pale, t.
think oft 1sllG .Assw isai 10 u
IA At the,end of the week .she got
!, dispatch from aher sisteni asking he
to come, home oncei tosattehdito
: matter Of basinessso0 adt 10 $40
&. .o's..'Y ou'lbsurely come nback ami fin
islt your visit, won't you now2"isai
:, Mr.. BowenaosAnd 4 MRS. GStaffor
:, prom isedso come baeksin a fewaday
and stay week longer 1o11asoD s;
I 2Mr.,Craig wanted toefnd ont ho'
I he stood in her estimation befor
!, she went away. He might not b
, ftIfere whetnf she came Back. II wa
with a Vague idea of proposing t
: her that b" volunteered to take be
> down To The depot, on ths morning
= her departure. Two Of three times
before they reached the station b
. tried to say what he wanted to, bu
THE words stuck in his throat, as i
. hadsknown they wouIa, and choke
2 him till he was purple aiinnT the fac
e. and made him feel sure That he ha
9 resenblsd nothing else ias tie wofl
It quite al much as hetdid!one Of Alv
:. ra's purple eaBbages. 'IAa7"o1 $50 7
$ Three times, while they stood q
E the platform waiting for she train I
: made desperate efforts to say VIII;
e he wanted to, but he conldn't, -,
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