The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-11-25

to them all of kindness from some
young queen. I thought it little sin
gular that Raymond did not leave the
Beach, but then he had established
himself and taken his rooms for the
season, and it would perhaps have been
absurd to allow himself to be driven
away. After all, did it signify? Did he
care? A month had passed and he had
hardly glanced at Marion, save once or
twice with a furtive sparkle in his eve
that seemed to break all his melan-
choly up in anger.
Yet she was worth looking at, there
are few people of such severe clear
beauty as her. I remember her espec-
tally one morning, as we We're all on
the piazza when the old mail coach
came numbering in from the post-town,
five or six miles away. She had been
tossing Charlotte's baby, who had
clutched her long dusky. brown hair
and pulled it all about her face, and the
coils were streaming down her white
gown, and as she looked up, laughing
and dimpling, she saw Mr.. Raymonde
climbing down from the coach box, and
such a red shot over her cheeks and
through her smile, such a light into
her great hazel eyes as she stood one
insta: transfxed under his gaze, and
then dropped the baby into Charlotte's
lap, and moved away SO quietly that it
seemed to me I had been dreaming,
and had not really seen Marion at all,
but q vision of her.
1t was the same evening that there
was shooting in the long meadow, when
Marion, coming across the field with
Mr.. Munsor and Sallie, stopped, as
they did, at the target one moment, to
observe the character of the shots, just
as Raymonde-who had come in from
shore with a bag of birds, and looking
like brigand, in his high boots and
slouched hat-had been called and COM
PEELED to add his shot to the score, and
had just drawn his gun to the shoulder.
Maybank shouted to Mr.. Munson, and
he and his party were hurrying up the
field and out Of the way, when, like a
thunder-bolt from a blue sky, Mr.. Ray
gun went off. With a single
bound, as it seemed, he was by Marion's
side.
care you hurt ?" he cried. "By
heavens! There is another ball left for
me if you are!'
But Marion, with the same hasty red
her cheeks for the second
time since had known her, had start
ed back, and conscious that all eyes
were on them, laughing, held up the
end of the little lock Of hair the ball
had sheared. II heard it whistle" she
said.
"How tragedy treads on our heels this
exclaimed Sallie.
"But we escape him." said Marion,
lightly, and passed on, as Raymonde
aside, STOPPING presently to ca
ress the spaniel that, by jumping on
Raymonde as he stood waiting, had
been the cause of the possible disaster.
There was no more shooting that even
ing, but saw who caught and hid the
lock of hair the bullet cut away.
Day after day went by, and Marion
swept along with the same Indifferent
beauty, dancing and driving and bowl
ing and rowing and strolling with this
one and the other, and never observing
existence other than when
that rebellious red again
flushed her cheeks or she laughed
more gayly than usual when she felt
rather than saw his presence. Mean
time all Raynlonde's old-time sweet
ness went he had neither smiles nor i'll
terest for any; he no longer paused to
look over my poor sketching board,
with the old pleasant words, although
he sometimes caught Charlotte's baby
and tossed it in the air, if the nurse
went by with it as he sat on the piazza
with his cigar. The children missed
him in the bathing cove. and the
ametuer players in the hall; and the
gossipers on the porches were busy with
him, you may be sure. But he gave
no signs of leaving. I had kept my
observations to myself, and, except to
think him stony-hearted for being so
untouched by the lovliness of woman
whose life he had saved, and then again
so nearly taken, as to make no more
advances, I had allowed them as little
thought as possible; and no one else
ever coupled his name with Marion's
even in thought, suppose, and so the
gossipers were none the wiser. I, to
be sure, had never had any experience
in love affairs, but l knew enough to
mind my own business, although Twas
often sorely tempted to give Raymonde
a piece of my mind, and Marion a
dreadful taking down.
Suddenly in the midst of the pleas
uring, we awoke one day to find that
there had been frost; and although,
as the sun mounted, it was still warm
and genial, everybody felt that sum:
mer and pleasuring were at an end
The luggage came down as if it had
wings, and the air, SO to say, was full Of
flying trunks. A few however yet re-
manned and and among them Mrs