The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-06-07
PAYING OFF OLD SCORES.
BY KATE PUTNAM.

brance of what has been serves To give Dltlcr
ness 10 what it is, and every little tender ac' OF
spcech rises up in witness against me coiuhcsS
or carelessuess that has usurpcd their place
II wa, not quitelinditlercntly that Georgia
Alison could regard Gerald Marsh and his DO
ings. Not 50 very long before they had Deeh
if not lovers, something 50 very near II 'ht'
the world had gossipped of their engagement
And now George was no angel, possessing =
very pretty PRIDE and spirit of her own ana
her vanity, to say the least, had been uoePlS
wounded, =,
They had been so very near lovers Recall
inr ali the soft words, the signs and glanccS
that had too often made her 0bllvlous OF the
main in Gordon Raymonds honest gray eyes,
what wonder is il that she revolted from the
thought of all this homage transferred 10 an
other But she was proud enough to suiler IN
silence, only showing by Il straightcr eyebrow
or a tenser lip the trouble at'her heart
inconsistency was Gerald Alarsh'S greatest
fault. The current of his liking tluctuated To
every smile, and whatever lightshonc on him,
the last one that rose was sure TO DC tne truc
luminarv If he had done this thing with DC
liberatc purpose he would have been less Jan
gerous for forcwarned is iorearmed but he
had way Of being half in love with the oD-
iect of his admiration; not sufficiently over,
into the constrant that often marks real alice
ton. but lust enough moved TO give mean
Inr 10 his locks and "A cadence to his tones,
that deluded girl into sharing his own belief
in the strength and endurance OF what, aftcr
all was but q very transient passion, ABOUT lis
much like true love as IL will '0thc-wisp Is like
steady flame. 90
Just so had George Alison deceived herself,
ancying in spite of her experience OF MS
character that she was the one exception whose
power over him was As lasting as 1t was I'M
bounded. The dispclling Of the dream was AS
hard to bear rs If it had touched her heart in
stead Of her vanity, for pique Is sometimes
stronger than love. The sight of the devotion
which had once been all her own now offered
up at a new shrine made her long for revenge,
and even while she was very thankful Tor cs-
cape before the subtle current had drawn her
IN past hope of recovery
Meantime Gerald Marsh was already be
ginning to waver from his new allegiance, into
which less of his heart than usual had entered.
Jealous and cXacting, like most selfish natures,
he mad qualrcllcd with Georgia because she
would not utterly sacrifice Gordon Raymond
ITO his pleasure, The gulf widcncd daily until,
On The appearance of Fanny Campbell he OPP
cnlv went over To the enemy impcllcd partly
by admiration of the new face, partly 10y anger
with George.
The result had been a desperate Irritation,
which set all tongues going, but even al It's
height it half wcaricd Gerald. lie conrastcd
the TWO girls, telling himself that her blonde
beauty and certain piquancy OF manner were
Miss Campbcll's only attractions; that she
lacked that something which made George
Alison whether grave or gay always fascln-
ating, always like herself and so unlike 9TH
crs Even Miss Fanny's beauty, eXquisitcly
soft and fair as ii was, he pronounced a mere
surface prcttiness, far inferior 10 the changeful
charm Of Georges face, where constant study
lnGuld not exhaust the phases of feeling IN the
edarl eyes and on the mobile red lips Her
beauty was the medium through which soul
,hone the others only lovely mask cover
ing The blaClSncss beneath. In fine, Mr. Ger
aid Marsh had come to the conclusion that ii
is well to be off with the old love before you
are on with the new" As Il consequence the
last tliriation wancd considerably rather III
The spirit however, than in the forms, which
were still kept up with II show which would
have deceived the casual observer
That George Alison was fully aware OF the
extent of Gcrald's dissatisfaction with the cx
sting state of affairs, 1t would be impossible to
say, but it is toleraby certain that she had
some suspicious, Though very carefully at
tentive to Miss Campbell, he had II way of Inn
gcring beside Georgia when chance took him
near her, lowering Of the voice and Il silent
glance that were very expressive with Miss
Campbell he had a thousand little nOthlngS to
utter. but Georges presence seemed to icttcr
Aim with a sort OF COnStraint that made these
airy tritlcs sound awkward and unmeaning
Yet for all that, he was restless when away
from her, and the very climax Of uncomiort,
abcncss was reached when he was forced to
stand beside Miss Fanny, listening to her small
talk, and leaving Georges wit and sense her
eloquent face and sweet voice TO the enjoy
ment Of Gordon Raymond
The last named young man, i'll many opin-
IONS, woU'd not deserved description. lie was
only honest manly and true, constant as fate
to George whom he loved with the whole of
his great tender heart, but for whom he was
willing to wait until she could fully and freely
decide that her happiness lay IN his hands.
Such deficiencies plainly deserve no further
chronicle, and shall be thus briefly held up TO
odium.
Croquct must be made responsible for Il
GOOD deal Of emotion, both of love and anger
Not a little of Gerald's early devotion to
George Alison had been screened by balls and
mallets; not a few Of their later quarrcls had
been worked out in the same way He was It
remarkably good player, and the very skill
which ne udN dt IrSl uscu III ncr Dcudll Hc
turned against her afterwards, dislodging her
hall from the best OF positions, and sending
her to utmost limit allowed by rule. George
burned for revenge, but her playing, although
better than the average, could not equal his
aud her attempt at retaliation often resulted in
placing her ball in the most convenient situa
lion for ms attacks So matters stood at the
time OF the very cvcntiul game about to be re
corded
Gerald quite weary of this thraldom, was
resolved to slip il off and return, if possible, to
his former allegiance, TO such an end the
first step was TO secure George Alison as a
partner SO, confident in his own skill, he adj
vanccd. mallct in hand, ready for the trial.
"Of course wen strike for partners, Ray.
mond,n he said.
But George intcrposed quickly.
Certainly not SAID she; well play as we
have been used to- Your are not tired of me
yet, are YOU, Gordon
I've never been conscious of such feeling
he answered, laughing.
The simple fellow felt himself in fortunes
favor for once Hitherto, when GeorgiC had