The Red Cloud chief., 1879-09-11

Now u poor Meg. not To be ou,done
by the fair Jenny, had bought this rib
bon herself that very evening, meaning
10 wear il 10 the fair mex week. But IL
so happened that when Matt went ~
Mother Marley's shop to buy his own
blue love token, he had found Dan VIII
lis there the only man in Rysdyk whose
rivalship he had ever feared. And Dan
was buying a ribbon precisely like this.
Mother Marley had wrapped II in this
very piece Of paper, Matt was sure, and
he had seen Dan put it in his pocket
and walk of with it.
And now, here it wasl His gift was
spurned, then, and his rivals accepted;
and all Meg's talk about Jenny was a
mere subterfuge- an excuse for a quar-
rel.
IL was easy TO zee now why she had
been SO irritable Of late, and 50 prone 70
take offense. But a man could not
stand every thing, and if Meg preferred
Dan Willis TO him, why so be il.
Yet if she would not wear his love
token she certainly should not wear
Dams. He hardly meant 10 do it, he
was sorry the next minute. But what
XIV 'ils ~ a. tstS w holic "'NA
off his feet for an instant, was to wind
the two ribbons into a knot and throw
them vehemently into the sea.
"Therei" he cried, ''that's settled
once for ALL"
"And something else is settled, too,
Matt Erickson" retorted Meg, in a
white heat. "There'il be no marriage
for us next Michaelmas, no marriage
then or ever, You would strike me
some day, for aught | know, il | should
choose 10 wear a red knot rather than a
blue. III not run the risk. III have
nothing more to say TO you while the
stars shine" and darling round the cliff,
she was half way down To the beach be-
fore he ever thought of stopping her.
The next day Erickson, magnaninOts,
great-hearted fellow that he was, after
all, having gotten over his quarrel from
Meg's standpoint, il occurred to him
that he might have drawn un~called-for
differences. Dan Willis might have a
dozen sweethearts who all liked red rib
bOns for aught he knew. And how like
a fool he had behaved, losing histemper
like a hot headed boy and throwing
Meg's poor little trinkets over the cliff.
No wonder she was afraid To trust him.
More than one husband in Rysdyk was
in the habit of beating his wife on "a
slight pr%ovocatiOn as the hue of n rib
bon and it was not strange that a high
spirited girl like Meg should decline 10
run the risk after she had once seen him
in a fury.
As for Jenny, she had come in be-
tween him and Meg. He could see il
now. But she was going home the day
after the fair, and he would see Meg
that very night and tell her SD For he
did not dream that all was indeed over
between them. He could hardly walt
for the hour TO leave the mine.
He changed his soiled clothes, ate his
supper hurriedly, and was soon on his
way to Meg, stopping as he went To buy
another ribbon-rcd, this time, and
broader and richer and handsomer than
the one he had robbed her of.
Then he went on through the crook
ed, scattered little village till he reach
ed the Widow Neale's cottage, just on
the outskirts.
To his surprise he fotind the door
locked snd the shutters closed. AS he
stood in his perpleSity, a white-hsired
urchin who was turning somersaults
near by shouted "IIo, you, Matt Erick-
son! It's no good to wait there; the
widow and Meg have gone away"
"Gonep WhereP"
"Don't know. To France, like
enough-or to Ameriky-or TO London
or somewheres. They took a big box
and a bundle, and they don't know but
they'll stay forever'n ever. Meg said
So" and, making a rotating wheel of
himself, the lad vanished round the cor
ner.
tage opened and n woman's face looked
out 1t was growing dark.
"IS it You, Erickson. There's no
one at home in the house there. But |
have something here | was to give you
when you came this way"
His face was stern and set and white
in the fading light. as he took the little
packet from the woman's hand.
"Where have they gomez was ali he
said.
81 don't just know. To visit some Of
their kinfolk a great way off," the
widow said. "Oh! but she's a close
mouthed one, she is-and Meg's a bit
like her. They're not gossipy folk. You
never get much out of them," she add
ed, with an injured air.
"No; but I've found them good
neighbors enough, but they're rather
high and mighty for commouers."
As soon as he was ont of sight Mat
thew Erickson opened the packet. He
knew what was in il before he united
/ tho Innf a Cfrrnr of anr,nr,Sl- M ,--aI
beads with a strange, foreign, spicy
odor, that he had bought of a wander
ing sailor and fasresed around Meg's
neck one happy night, and two
or three other trifies he had given
her. Aud he found,this note, slowly
and painfully written, badly spelled,
perhaps, and not punctuated at all.
But what of that? The meaning Was
plain enough; ali too plain, Matt
thought, rs he drew his hand across his
eyes rs if 10 clear his vision:
81 gave you back your troth last
night. Here are the beads, and the sill
yer piece, and the heron feathers. Now
all is over between us" Here she had
evidently hesitated a moment, wonder
ing if her words were strong enough;
for, on the line below she had written.
q with an echo from the prayer-book
reverberating in her ears:
"Forever and forever, amen. Mar
garet Neale."
Not Meg, his Meg, his proud, high
spirited sweetheart-but Margaret
Neale! 1t set her at such an immeas-
urable distance from him. "All is over
between US" As if she were dead and
buried GU of his sight. And he had
spoken to James Ray about the snug
cottage beyond the bay; and they were
to have been married at Michaelmas,
He knew enough of the Widow Neale's
habits to ask no more questions of the
neighbors. As one of them had said,
she was close-mouthed. He knew she
had sister living in Scotland, for whom
Meg was named; but where aver he did
not know. Scotland was like a distant,
foreign land to the people in Rysdyk.
But the widow had money enough to 90
to Scotland or farther If she wished,
even on short notice. She had never