Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-11-03

coming home. It's pages all untouched and
blank. On the fourth day ailer the incl
dent just told, he came In after long soil.
tary tramp and found the cottage empty Of
its inmates. He had promised to walk
with Meg TO the village, and had forgotten
all about il until the sight OF the deserted
room recalled il TO him. He looked at his
watch. She must have been gone an hour.
He would start at once and meet her re-
turning. But as he picked up his hat from
the table, his eye fell on letter lying there
addressed TO himself. His checks flushed
as he grasped the letter, whose handwriting
he could not mistake. A mist rose before
his eyes for one moment, and his fingers
over the seal; then he pressed his
lips firmly together and tore the letter open.
There were but few lines:
Thevessel Is almost in, Arthur as / write these
words, and have only time TO say, have come
back-to you. We go at once 10 the fremont House.
H.
The rush of Joy and the relief from the
prolonged suspense Of three months quite
him, and he fairly sobbed with
but 1t was only for moment.
The next came the happy, practical ele-
ment that belongs to success. He need no
longer dream away his hours; he could
act. He must go TO her at once-just time
to reach the village and catch the evening
boat; his baggage might follow. He had
soon written few words to Anderson, CIV
ing his directions, and then what more?
Mcg-he must not forget her. "How she
will miss me, poor little girl" he said to
himself. II must say some word to herr"
and drawing a sheet of paper toward him,
he wrote on it:
My ship has come in. and have. gone to meet It.
You shall hear from me soon. A Nj.
In few seconds more it was addressed
to miss Margaret Anderson" inhis clear,
round hand, and then he was out of the
house, striding rapidly toward his goal.
Each step seemed TO be one step nearer TO
Helen, for the road between them now was
straight and plain. BY dint of taking a
cross cut he reached the village, and barely
caught the boat springing on the plank
one moment before il was withdrawn. In
u few moments more he was standing on
the deck, his eyes riveted not on the faSt-re-
ceding shore, upon which the shadows OF
evening were slnAlng last, Out vI4 ,he dash.
ing white foam, yet alive with the dying
sun, through which the boat was fast cleav-
L
to speck in his minds eye; the future
was luminous with light, and he was hap:
py with the happy egotism OF a successful
lover When he lay down to rest that
night, his thoughts went back TO the little
cottage on the cliff, and with kindly, su.
perficial thought of "poor little Meg" and
a hearty intention of seeing what could be
done for her" It's shame she should be
buried there; I'm glad made this sum.
mer pleasant to her r"-hc tell asleep, still
conscious in his golden dreams that he was
speeding fast toward the desire of his
heart
Meg had weary walk that afternoon.
She had waited more than an hour for
Middleton, and then started alone perforce,
for the errand must be done with or with
out him. Every one knows how it tires
one to wait as she waited that hour, with
her eyes and ears on the alert and her
heart alternately leaping as she fancied she
heard his step and then dropping down
like lead in her bosom. Nor was it much
better when she began her reluctant pro-
gress toward the village. Ahundred times
she stopped and listened, and thought, "Per-
haps if had waited q minute longer, he
would have come! and then went on
again, each step making her heart heavier
and her body wearier At last the village
was reached, her purchases all made, and
with a heavy basket on her arm she turned
homeward. She was in that state of feel
ing when it seems relief to add outward
annoyance and even pain to ones inward
burden; and she had obstinately refused to
have the heaviest of her packages sent to
her, but had doggedly packed them into
her basket, feeling as if the aching of her
arm and the weary tug up the hill would
soothe the half-sick, half-resenttul throb OF
her heart 1t was long walk, and she
walked slowly and stopped more than once
for moments rest, so that the darkness
had fallen when she reached her home
There was no light in the little window,
and she wondered how it was; surely Mr..
Middleton could not still be out? A vague
fear shot through her, and she hurried over
the few remaining steps and entered the
door All was still and dark within, and
she groped for the matches and struck
light. No one was there, that was evident.
She did not stop to think, but ran up the
steep stairs and gave quick glance at Mr..
Middleton's chamber door. 1t was wide
open, and dark within. She came down
the stairs more slowly, and set her light
down upon the table. Its flicker fell upon
letter, and she saw her own name on 1t.
She knew his writing very we'll. She sal
down and opened it. 1t did not take hel
long to read the few words Arthur ha6
written but it was long time before she
moved or raised her head. In truth, she
was almost stunned; the weary waiting and
disappointment, the long, lonely walk, had
not fitted her to encounter the shock of
Arthur's sudden departure. But unwilling.
ly he had chosen the words best calculated
to prevent her from arriving at that in.
stinctve solution of his flight which other
wise, she being woman, would have at
once occurred to her. The words which TO
him were figure of speech, to her still
suggested some material reverse OF success
of fortune, perhaps the more readily as, a
sailors daughter, she had always connected
the idea of worldly gain or loss with ships.
So, as she pondered his words, nothing of
soon her pain resolved itself into the simple
ache of absence; the idea of this being the
end never occurred to her. Indeed, the
more she mused over his words the greater
comfort did she draw from them. She had
heard of men in cities losing or making
fortunes in an hours time; and he had
been forced to go at Once-what could be
palmer? She had come in almost dazed
with fatigue, and, after the first sharp pang
at not finding him there, it would have re-
quired direct thrust to make plain to her
the true meaning of his sudden leavetak.
ing. So she sat there alone for a long
while, and when at last she went to bed, al
though she was conscious of dull sense
of pain, she slept, and slept heavily and
TRANQUILITY. But the end was not long in
coming.
Aweek had gone by from the night when
Meg had come home to find Arthur gone,
md Inlxn A ndnrcnr eli hnd the hill f0uar I'd