The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-08-19
GUYS DISAPPEARANCE,


down the village street to the railroad
station in high wind, with that dry
brown hat of hers curling up acutcly on
her head, and n glimpse disclosed OF the
sweet pink face which she carried Lent
down against the dust-clouds, you might
naturally have thought of aroutus bios.
SONS in their pale brown leaves. She
was so small and young, and flower
like and shy. AS | remembered her she
seemed to be looking down half the
time, or else it was only that she was so
short as to make direct glance into her
face no easy matter; so that when she
looked into ones eyes she had to turn
her own upward
Yet she could be saucy, too. There
was good deal OF independence about
this small slip of womanhood, in spite
of her shyness, her pathos, and her tiny
figure. "BsrGha," her mother once re-
marked, lis, as set as a cat if she
chooses to be; and you can't tell why
she takes her wllims, no more than YOU
can why "a cat does thus and so; but
when she's once got a notion, she acts it
out"
And she he'd taken whim, this par
ticular dav. 10 go to town by the rail
road til t went poking around the coun-
try in the neighhorhood of Glyddon US
informally as plow, running such mild
little trains up and down. that Bertha
felt as if all she had to do was TO call
out Gee -whoap to the engine, and it
would obey her.
This whim of taking the cars was
mild one, however, compared with her
freak of few days before. Not to put
the reader in suspense, will state that
she had refused proposal of marriage
from Guy Atlee, a reasonably good and
promising young man, who had been to
the high school with her in earlier days,
and proposed now to graduate from the
position of bashfill lover to that of a
proud husband.
Guy had a position as clerk in the
postoflice and chief store of Glyddon,
while Berthas father was a not very
well-to-do farmer; so that the young
man had the argument of worldly pros.
perity on his side. But then he might
lose his position; and somehow Mr..
Finch, though he lived in a rather
broken down old house, was always
important in town affairs. At any rate,
Bertha rejected the young man gayly,
yet with "a sense of her superiority that
was quite serious.
What is your reasonP Don't you
love me?" asked he, in business-like
way. They were standing at the time
on "A little, unfrequented stone bridge,
with blue and white sky reflected in
the water below, and birds singin g
around them in the young green
boughs.
"If / did, do you suppose I'd tell you, u
returned Bertha, with irrepressible
mirth.
u suppose it's because you're proud,
then," Guy inferred, becoming gloomy
think am proud of knowing my
own mind" she admitted, " which all
girls don't"
81 wish you'd tell me the real reason, y
the unfortunate lover resumed.
swell, then" said Bertha, more
roguishly than ever, you're toe
young"
Guy kicked the bridge in his impa.
tjence. I'm month older than you
are" ," he declared, peremptorily.
| never should be able to look up
to you," his companion assured him.
This was so absurd that Guy laughed
in spite OF his state of provocation. He
was nearly six feet tall, and she hardly
five, so that, taking the proposition in
its linear or perpendicular instead of its
spiritual sense, Bertha was egregiously
wrong. However, Then you can look
down to me-" he replied. And as they
were both at that moment peering over
the side of the bridge, she adopted hi.
counsel literally; for there he was, OF
appeared to be, gazing up out of th,
placid steam from the midst of a mimic
sky. A white cloud reflection encir
cling his head made him look prema
turely venerable, and Bertha confessed
to herselfthat he was really handsome
"Well, Pm going home now," sh
said, presently. "You wait here.
think-it will be better"
Upon this Guy became sarcastic
"how long shall 1 waltz" he inquired
"Abont thirty years, suppose, till m
hair turns gray"
"If you Ike" said Bertha Finch, no
daunted in the least.
Its nothing to you, / see," tn
young man replied, bitterly, suddenl
feeling very suicidal.
"What! waiting thirty years?
laughed she. g Oh, yes, that would b
avery serious thing to me. But don
suppose | shall"
She had turned back TO say this, bu
asshe resumed her retreat immediately
he was left alone in another momen
Guy debated with himself what h
would do. He was terribly stung b
what he considered Bertha's heartles
ness, and for moment or two the idt
of throwing himself into the rive