The Portland daily press., 1880-02-09
THE PRESS.
From All the Year Round.l
Along the Lakes of Ain
mouth.
CHATTER II.

out, want you"
''Eh. Mr.. Hardness, We sud ma come on
me that way; an l Gamma go out; indeed
Gamma"
'.Indeed, but you can and must; and why
shouldn't come to see you any Way can?
Pm sure | have been walking up and down
in front of your door for the last hour, like
Gagged lion or a policeman, so was obliged
at last to try the back. Lucky did, too,
since you were there, my beauty. Annice,
you get prcttier every day."
Eth 90 away VII your havers. Dom t L
know it's folly you're talkin'," Annice said,
blushing crimson; but as she smiled as she
said it, and looked first down with bashful-
ness and then up with a kind of pleased
questioning, it was plain that she did not
know it, and was by no means averse to
have it mentioned to her. Evan laughed.
.'Come here" he said saucily, "and FL
show you whether it's all folly or not;' and
as Annice rose from the inverted basket,
where she was sitting Smelling beans into
shallow earthernware basin, the young man
stretched his arms over the low stone wall
of the little garden which divided them, and
tried to catch hold Of her and draw her TO
him. The fisher lassie was too quick for
him, however, and stepped back, her blue
eyes sparkling.
''Gae AVA wi We. Ye're vera impairti-
nent, an wish Granny'd come DOT an see
ye."
sCome out yourself, Annice; that's what
l want. Your grandmother will do after
ward"
''No, Mr. Hardness, l Gamma come. l
will be peelin' the beans moo for granny TO
take to the meenisters, an thin there is the
ironin' an granny's tea. Indeed, an I'll go
within doors if yell no go away"
"Will you come out later, then, if L go
away now, Annice; after your tea is over, L
mean? I'll be waiting here for you, if you
will. Say yes, like dear little girl, do"
And Evan put as much entreaty into his
handsome face as he could summon up for
the occasion. Annice shook her head.
''Ye'll have to go whittier or no, for must
run in moo; hear granny callin' me-"
Promise me, then, and | am off. J."
'No, Mr. Hardness, Gamma promise; an
am no sure that it is right at a., and ye d
better not come. Indeed will be glad eff we
don't.' And with a sudden touch Of earn
estness SOLDERING her sweet little face, An
nice turned it from him and ran into the
cottage, beans and all.
As she did so, John Garth entered by the
front door. His long shadow, black in the
setting sunlight, was thrown right across
the yellow sanded floor as she entered; and
she heard her grandmother's voice saying to
him:
'Aye, lad, she is at hoome. Leuk DOT i
the Dack parts LOT neE, an l. Ill tIInklll
yell find her.
1t was in the girls heart for the moment
to thank Heaven that the fisherman had not
been minute earlier so as to have taken
the suggestion; but she came forward quite
coolly, save for little added pinkness in
her cheeks, and said:
''Nay, granny, am here already. Weel,
John, hoo are We, and hoo's yer mither?"
The little difference between Mrs. Garth
and Annice had never been made up, though
it was nearly fortnight old, but had rather
extended itself, SO as to embrace John in its
influence. You see he had unfortunately
taken it into his head to visit his lady love
on the evening after the little fracas, being
himself quite ignorant of it, and had been
received in a high-and-mighty fashion,
which was, perhaps, a trife more intensified
by the remembrance of the soft voice and
pretty speeches of that handsome gentleman
on the links, than if it had been only due to
Mrs Garth's unlucky interference. This,
John, who for all his love was man of
spirit, had resented, and had taken The OPP
portunity for pressing his suit more authori
tatiyely than usual. Annice had snubbed
him instantly and decidedly, and with some
sharp words about his mother thrown in,
which had offended the stalwart fisherman,
in whose creed 'Honor thy father and thy
mother took the highest place, and he had
''gone off in hoof," as Annice expressed
it. The little lass cried herself to sleep that
night, but none the less she was too proud
to go up to the Garths in the morning, and
John was too proud to run after her, so they
kept away from one another, and though
Mrs. Garth, in her anxiety for her sons hap
piness, had put aside her own dignity so far
as to go to the Laidlaws more than once and
had met Annice with all outward kindness
and friendliness ON both sides, the sore point
Ia1
laboring under a marked constraint, which
made the absence of their old loving rela-
tions more apparent. The widow was vexed
at the girls conduct to her son; and still
more later on. at rumor about a smart
young gentleman having been seen hanging
about the cottage door; and Annice was
hurt at Johns avoidance of her, and wanted
to be entreated 1t was very uncomfort-
able state of things altogether.
And now here he was, coming in the
old way of an evening, and Annice felt quite
angry with herself for the way in which her
cheeks were dyed and her heart jumped at
sight of him. Still she could not help tiny
thrill of gladness that she had negatived Mr..
Harkness's invitation and sent him away.
Perhaps John was sorry for his bearishness
and meant to be "good' again.
1t hardly seemed like it. His face was
very grave, and his manner rather stern as
he shook hands with the two women; and his
willful sweetheart was beginning to feel
rather uncomfortable, and to wonder if 1t
was only shyness, or if John was still cross,
when he turned to her and asked her some
what formally if she would come out and sit
on the bench at the cottage door. st was
fine evening and pleasanter talking there,
and he had something to say to her." An
nice blushed and put her head on one side,
wavering for moment with a very pretty
bird-like coquetry much like robin doubt
full whether to approach a crumb-scattered
window-ledge or to fly away from it,; but
finally shook her sunny curls, not unlike the
same bird spreading its wings, and decided
in the negative. She had some dough to
make for knead-cakes. Granny always liked
knead-cakes for supper; and folks were apt
to make remarks if they saw a girl sitting
outside the door with man-visitor, especially
if he were ane as veesited as seldom as Mr..
Garth. Besides, she liked the kitchen bet
ter"
In her heart the little firt guessed that he
had come to put his fate il her hands for the
hundredth time, and would rather have pre-
ferred that the submission and her accept
ance of tiff she did accept, but she had not
quite made up her mind about that-should
have been consummated in the comparative
privacy of the pleasant summer sunset with
only the dark blue sea and the grassy links
and the saffron glow of cloudless sky for
witnesses, but suppose Mr.. Hardness were
still lingering near, or were to see her! She
HAD seen him several times since that first
meeting; had come across him when out on
errands with frequency which even the
little puss herself felt could not be attributed
to simple accident; and had exchanged
many pleasant word with him as he crossed
the cottage door on his way to the sea, from
the little graystone, red-roofed townlet
above. 1t was an acquaintance which both