The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1879-11-28

she was cold and reserved, and must
take her chance--the tournament was
omen 10 all 50 all these beautiful wom-
On fluttered their fans, and In their soft
" modulated musical voices said charm
ing things to the tardy arrival. But MIR.
Morton, with many winning smile and
whispered compliment, went listlcssly
by. His face wore that yacuous and
bored expression which Is considered In
society an evidence Of cultivation. but in
truth il was only that he was still alb
sorbed in artistic reflections. He went
on to the further end Of the room,
where, in feverish, naughty, uncom-
promising hut agonizing reserve, sat
Miss Van Vleet. Her mother had
nudged and frowned and beckoned, all
to no purpose, when Mr.. Morton entered
the room.
- You can at least allow yourself TO be
seen," said her mother, acrimoniously.
=. II he wants me. he can find me,
said Madeline, with sharp pang of
fear and distrust, which deepened when
at last he reached her side, and said,
in the most commonplace way in the
world,
" Did you save that waltz for me P-
And when she looked up in his face with
q thrill Of delight. and found no response
there, only that vague, listless. dreamy
expression, her own beautiful face grew
almost haggard with the intensity Of her
emotion; 1t was all she could do to keep
the hot, wrctched tears out Of her eyes
ssWhy are you so absent tonight ?-
she said ut last. s What is it YOU are
thinking ofpr And then, as they are
whirling-no, not whirling, but Ian
guidly stepping about in the waltz, he
told her Of his accident, and described
TO her infinitely the bit of interior which
had so charmed him.
The queer, quaint old room," he
went on to say, "with its smoke-colored
rafters, and the country woman holding
the lamp over the beautiful sleeper, was
something striking in its way; and when
the eyes were opened and full of opaline
and changing lights, brought about, no
doubt, by the effect Of the candle, as
sure you that it was delightful. l was
really glad, Miss Van Vleet, that mat
ter Of pure art should so occupy and
divert my mind under the vexatious cir
cumstances-- And there is sydney now
you'll excuse me, won't you, il 60
over TO him ?'
Certainly she would excuse him.
What else could the poor girl do?
Mr.. Morton led Madeline TO her
mother, and that ponderous female ear
gerly whispered "Has he spoken,
Madeline-only tell me, dear, has he
spoxen?-
.sOf course not, mamma; how could
he, in the waltz?'
I. He was talking so earnestly. /
never saw him quite so earnest before.
thought perhaps he had spoken"
You see that word !" spoken was 50
much--so vexatiously much. A man
could talk the cbre of a woman's heart
out, and yet at the end Of il all not have
" spoken"
. He Is talking just a. earnestly with
Mr.. Sydney now, mamma; he is inter
ested in art Just now The bitterness
in the voice Of her daughter tinged ac-
ridly the thoughts Of poor Mrs. Van
Vleet.
II shall not accept the Colonel's in
vitation for Thanksgiving" she said,
dolefully. In the mean while Mr.. Nor
ton was endeavoring generously TO give
his friend Sydney the subject for sketch,
and the artist was listening with that
quizzlcal, amused air that was charac-
teristic If him.
See here, Norton said Sydney AZ
last, "a horseshoe is a sign Of good
luck, and your steed shed one, il APP
pears, at the door Of this rustic beauty.
l.bclieve your heart followed IL. Go in
and win, old fellow, and then send for
me to paint her portrait. / am not much
given 70 interiors;
Shortly after that Mr.. Morton took
leave Of his acquaintance in general,
and Madeline in particular, and WAS
soon tossing in his luxurious bed, dream
ing in unison with the simple rustic un-
der the patchwork quilt at the farm. II
was not the dark eyes or carefully ma
nipulated locks Of Miss Van vleet that
fitted through the dreams Of Mr.. Nor
ton; half-opened eyes Of blue, and Iii.
shcveled curly locks, colored and ar
ranged BY the wind and the sun, haunt
ed him as they did poor Joe.
Joe awoke the next morning and re
solved once for all to make an end t.
these witcheries that half maddened
as they gladdened him.. He would pluck
up courage and settle the matter, 50 that
his dreams might be savored with sober
certainty. lie knew that no great OBJ
stacles lay in his way. His folks were
willing, and 50 were hers; there was no
body to say him nay but Kitty herself
and he wasn't much. afraid Of that II
was only the pesky. bother Of get
ting It over with. What was Tho
use Of il, anyway? His people
knew, and hers did, and Kitty mus
know-shc couldn't help II; now where
was the good Of keeping fellow on /
hot gridironP The very thoughts 81
coming right out with Ii made him ho'