Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-08-07

I
laugh, and glancing at Jack who looked
a triae conscious, "You had a airt--"
"Yes," interrupted his mother; "and
!, they do say she's been Tilted by some
e town young man that S made her poor,
broken-hearted consumptye."
|. Dear mel" exclaimed Free. Heart
and lungs gone at one fell swoop! That is
going into the dying business Wholesale"
r This lrreyerent comment was received
by Auntie Trib with much reproachtul in
dignatlon; but Sallie sat mute, with Wild
e ly beating heart. Gossip had carried to her
ears the tale that Laura Beamis had claim
ed former acquaintanceship with Jack
Arnold. The unfortunate girl had gone
to live with her aunt IN L., and had re-
t turned in serious ill.health, the result, it
was said, of disappointment in love.
Frees look was peculiar. Could it be.
; my grief! it's an awful thing" con-
tinued Auntie Trib. "She was engaged
to him, think, and he went off some
where's and came back engaged to some
other girl My! the poor thing looks as
if she had one foot in the grave n ready.
, It's really dretful amt it, with
; sudden appeal to the silent listener.
",Very-,yery, indeed, said Arnold. 81
i knew her."
"You didP Well, want to know"
said Auntic Trib. "Why didn't you say
so before? Wasn't she pretty, poor thing,
before she got so lOw-spirited!"
"Who was the man" asked Salie, sud.
denly.
"Very pretty, think" said Jack, an
swering Mrs, Hills question, He did not
mean to ignore Salie's, but Free broke in
with torrent of lively nonsense, and the
conversation drifted away from Laura
Beamis and her troubles. Salie was
slightly uncomfortable, but she had con-
iidence in her lover, and did not allow
herself to indulge, as yet, in causeless sus-
piciOn. Auntie Trb, however, recurred |
to the former subject, which had distressed
her simple, sentimental old heart. She
exclaimed, meditatively:
my! amt it dishOnorable for a man to
behave SOP"
"If | knew him." said Sallie, looking
like youthful prophecies, in her sweet
austerity, 81 would never touch his hand
again-no, not if he had been my best
| friend"
What? so scvereP' asked Jack, with
half amlsed remonstrance.
"Whew! Look out, Jack" cried Free,
"You never did anything dishonorablc,
did youP"
Never" answered Jack, readily and
quietly enough.
This was irresistible.
"'What! never?"' asked Free, with
intense significance.
"Well, hardly ever" returned Jack,
nervously rubbing his chin, apparently the
very embodiment of guilty confusion.
Then they both uttered cold little evasive
laughs, and Free changed the subject.
The truth was, they had both heard the
joke so often that it could no longer raise
a hearty laugh, and they did not reflect
that the quotation was entirely new to
their hearers. They talked on, ignorant
of the overwhelming effect which their
words had produced. For Auntie Trib ,
was seriously alarmed and began to think !
that she ought to have inquired more
closely into the young mans anteccdents
She resolved TO question Free at the carli-
est opportunity; but how could this be
accomplished, since the two friends in !
tended to leave Rockville at an early hour S
on the following morning? She decided 7
to write Il most earnest letter, and silt
the matter 10 the bottom. But how was ]
it with Sallie? The little incident was, b
to her narrow and innocent mind, 'con t
frmation strong as holy writ" Jack was II
evidently ashamed of something in the +
past; he had been confused and silent
when Laura Bcamls was discussed; the t
events tailed; yes, the cirCumstantiaI :
evidence was strong, Free had said, II
'You had tlirt-" IA tlirtation with t,
her" he intended to continuc, when his II
mother interrupted him. But what if "
Jack is innocent IN the case of LauraAnd II
her broken heart? At least he had open II
ly contradicted his first denial of having "
dshonOrable action. "Ilard c,
ly ever, indeed! Did he think she-shc-
would marry man who had ever COM h
mitted the faintest shadow of dIshonora- 5
BILE action? Never! not though her own Il
heart broke, like Lauras. t.
All night long poor Sallie lay tossing on !!
her bed, working her foolish little brain 81
into state bordering upon frenzy. She e
revOlved the matter in her mind until she II
lost all power of correct and tranquil II
Judgment. The more violently she ex- u
cited herself, the more conclusive, to her a
thinking, became the proofs of poor W
Jacks baseness. At length she could lie II
there no longer. She rose, and by the N
faint light of the winter dawn she wrote c'
a brief but decisive letter to Jack, slipped =,
her engagement ring into the same IN u
closure, sealed the envelope, and wrote l
his name upon it. Faint and weary with IL
her long conflict, she was about to lie down y
again, when she remembered that it was a.
near the early breakfast hour appointed II
for the two young men, and that she had
promised to assist Jerusha in her prepara- W
tions so she dressed hastily, with tremh- n
ling fingers, and crept down to the kitch ei
en-. Had she obtained an hours sleep she 81
would have awakened with clearer sense e'
of things, and the unfortunate note would II
probably have been destroyed. But now "
her wearied and overstimulated brain con- D
tinued to ponder upon the cause of her z
distress, and magnify it to gigantic pro- +
portions.
"For the lands sake, child" exclaimed tt
Jerusha, "you do look powerful bad!"
81 couldn't sleep" said Sallie, shortly. :,
There, Jerusha, the tables set, and h
there's plenty Of time for me to go and :,
rest while now." And quietly laying =
the not beside Jacks plate, she hurried =,
back to her room. y
Her lover glanced around with restless n,
eyes when he met Free and Auntie Trib A,
at the breakfast table. He had not be- h
Iieved that Sallie would clude him this a,
He seated himself with anx- Y,
Iously-drawn brows. W
"What? why; here's letter." he ex- tc
claimed. Then, examining it, he read the lie
word Private" beneath his own name,
md flushing hotly, he slipped it into his c,
breast pocket. "From Sallie, he said, ct
quietly. fC
"What ever does the child mean?" n,
,ried Auntie Trib. "Ain't she up?
Jerushy, go right up and get her." re
"She said as how she'd ben layin'
wake, said Jerusha, "and she went to
'est a spell" "
"Well, you go along and tell her to
,ome," said Mrs. Hill. pC
But Jack called out: Don't disturb
Ter if she's asleep" W
Jerusha went up, and presently came
,lattering down again, "She's asleep" A
The said as she entered. al
Poor Sallie had indeed dropped into g
,roubled slumber, and Jack would not ad- ol
nit for an instant the idea Of rousing her. VI
1T would be cruel said the soft-hearted &C
ellow, Free and will run down here W
very snon npnin