Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-04-21

her breath away II should never have
thought it of you, she said.
Dear me y / answered you don't
suppose he's going to 60 signing like a
furnace for you forever. when YOU"
When what"
'Have refused him twenty times"
I've never had the chance to refuse
him once / don't want to have it"
You're afraid you'd accept him,
Miss, | exclaimed.
81 don't want to accept him"
YOU'D accept him quick enough if
he was a slender young officer with
his face hidden by bright brown
beard and smooches and smirches of
powder, driving his soldiers out of the
house--the first man that ever kissed
your hand, Miss Romaine, with an old
silver-set diamond ring on his finger.
/ You'd think | hadn't any eyes if l
wasn't but six years old, or any memory,
or any faculty of putting two and two
together"
"Oh, how can you be so cruel" she
cried, holding her face in her hands
II m not cruel" | said cts you
that are cruel, and silly too. Cousin
Nicholas is worth dozen of that fell
low that you set up for yourself to bow
down to. Don't you suppose Cousin
Nicholas would have driven the sol
dieis out, and have kissed your hand
| too?".
Nicholas, where bullets were fly
ing,"
les, where bullets were flying, and
riddled with them, besides. And you
don't deserve him, that you don't, if
you are beautiful. But oh, | do de-
clare, Romaine, when you are so per-
fectly lovely, and he does love you so,
for you to"
''How do you know he loves me so,
He never said it."
LAS if there were no other speech
than just so many words / can't see
how you can be so unfeeling"
Il never said was unfeeling."
"What? Really, Romano? Are you
in earnest Do you really care for him,
just a littIe?"
I'LL mean | could-maybe.
But-but then, you know, dear, II
can't talk about it. feel as if We're
pledged--as if | were breaking a
bond"
"To that other fellow, Fiddlesticks'
ends! You, twenty-seven years old,
almost an old maid, and as silly as
that! Now, I'll tell you what, if you
don't turn II short corner, I'll see what
| can do myself; and when it's too late
for you, you'll be eating your heart out
with envy and rage. There he comes
now, and I'm going DAT to see him and
begin" and so | ran down the lawn to
meet him as he gave his horse to the
groom-it was only the next day after
Mrs. Chances ball.
1--WE something to tell you, said,
taking his arm and holding it in way
to drive vexation to Romaines heart,
for | knew she was looking at us from
behind a curtain somewhere.
"And I've something to show you,
my dea" child" he answered, and he
fun bled into pocket moment, and
then, opennd his hand just little
way, let me see a CLEAN of something
sparkling -diamonds-silve set
" Nicholas !" | cried, and / stood
open-mouth, looking him over from
head to foot.
Ten years make great alterations
he hummed.
"But, Nicholas
Hush hush ~ he said, "do you be-
Geve she has suspected?'
ooh, never Oh, make haste Oh,
do go in She's IN the music room,
looking out behing the curtain" And
| never was so impatient with anybody
in my life rs with the slow, careless
gait at which he went up the lawn and
into the house.
| ran in, haitian hour afterwards, to
get my Japanese work. They had
gone out on the balcony and were lean
ing over the rail together, looking at
the sea; and as | just glanced at them
there was color in Romaines cheek
and glory in her eye that almost
made my heart stop beating, And
suddenly | made a dart at her, and
they both seized me with one accord
that moment and swore me to ,ecrecy.
And | promised; and a promise is a
promised, you know, and although I'm
dying to tell you, wild horses wont get
it away from me, and | never, never
shall tell you what it was l saw on Ro-
maine's finger.