St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-10-06

llltTt WIS Il lenutGlltSS Ill llldI
And RosamOnd had said Eyes"
What must she have been thinking
and feeling all these weeks ?
And then a groan escaped from Asst
ley, as it flashed upon his mind that
only a fortnight since he had read
Dwight Edgar's name in the list of the
sailed for Europe :" read it aloud,
with some careless comment.
Rosamond was in the room, he recol
lected. What had she said Had she
said anything? He seemed to remem-
Der that she got up quietly and left the
room.
How could he ever tell her? And
what Use to tell, when Dwight was
gone, gone for years as likely as not
Oh, what had his carelessness done
81 suppose he went because he
thought she would have nothing to say
to him." he said to himself, miserably.
The sound of the dinner-bell inter
rupted his unpleasant meditatiOns, and
he went down feeling as if he ought to
be hanged.
ROsamOnd was in her usual place,
neat, graceful, smiling even but
studying her face with awakened at
tention, Ashley thought that he detect
ed effort in the smiles and the cheer
fulncss. The sweet face was little
thinner the wild-rOse bloom, which
was its characteristic, had paled to IA
fainter pink, and Ashley heard his
mother ask, ''Headache again, my
child ?" And caught the patient an
aver, "Just Il little"
With increased remorse he eXecrated
his carcleSsness. What ought he to
do What could he do
Long and deeply did he study over
the question. At last he took half
manly, half-cOwardly y resolution. Con-
fess his delinquency to his sister he
absolutely dared not, but that night
he wrote to Dwight Edgar, made Il
full exposition of his fault, and enclosed
the family blotted scrap which said so
little and meant so much.
This done, lie set himself to wait for
the moment when he could produce
evidence that, so far as in him lay, he
had made amends for his misdoing,
and till then he resolved to he silent.
Ashley was right in his guess.
Dwight Edgar had gone to Europe Il
deeply disappointed man. In the let
ter, to which RosamOnd's was answer,
he had written, "DOn't say no. | could
not bear that, nor could | give your
gentleness the pain of uttering the
word. | will wait two weeks, and if
mt their end you have said nothing,
shall go abroad, and travel till can
bear to come home again"
Not wise arrangement this, con-
sidering what chances and changes,
including pOst-Ot1ice laXities, are in
VOlved in this mortal life but lovers
are not always wise.
The two weeks passed without word
or token, each slow day deepening his
hopelessness, and at their end he sailed.
His final arrangements were made in II
hurry, and he had been glad to ac-
cept friends benevolent offer of half
stateroOm on the over-crOwded
poorly rewarded, for John Blagden
found him very dull company.
For the first few hours he made some
little effort at conversation, then he
dropped all pretences and sat in moody
silence, staring at the dim backward
horizon from which each stroke of the
paddles carried them farther and
farther.
1t was no better after they reached
London. The two men took set of
of rooms together at the Langham, but
to all plans for pleasure Dwight turned
il deaf ear.
$50 by yourself, that's good fcl-
low he said. ~ won't bore You with
my dullness. I'll just sit here till post
time and read the American newspa-
pers."
"And that is what left him at" cX
planned John Blagden to mutual ac-
quaintance encountered in the coffee
room. "POring over an old Herald,
twelve days out,-what an occupation
for man to take up in London -
'Poor Dwight, | never saw fellow
so changed in my life. He's all cut up
about something, and | wish | knew
what, for really, | have no notion what
ought to do about him. Nothing |
can say makes any difference"
And nothing did make any difference
till, ii week after this conversation, Mr..
Blagden returned from an excursion to
Hampton Court, to find his friend bust
ly engaged in cramming his belongings
into Il portmanteau. with light in his
eyes and color in his checks which
made him seem Il different man.
"Hallo Pm glad you've come, old
fellow. Pm off at once"
"Of Where to?"
''HOme. Liverpool train at nine
o'clock and catch the BOhemid.n
CLONE The States Why, what
does it mean ? You were going to
Paris with me on Tuesday, you said"
"Well-so did intend, but I've had
/ lattaYs nd ha,ly -
possible"
Nothing wrong, hope"
"Not at all quite the contrary.
Everything is right"
Marvelling greatly, John Blagden
turned to the table, where amid news
papers and torn wrappers, and other
debris of "A iust-arrived mail, lay a
sheet of clOsely-written paper with Il
little heap on it of something odd and
blottted. whats that 9' he asked.
with natural curiosity, STOPPING to
examine it.
Dwight Edgar snatched it up. "It's
its nothing" he explained, -"Only a
letter I've had" Then breaking into
IL laugh at his friends discounted
cOuntenance, the first real laugh which
John had heard him give since they
left America, he added
"Never mind, old boy, I'll explain
some day. It's all right, at least,
hope it is, and know I've been IA dull,
unsOcial dog all this time. You've
been awfully good to put up with me,
and I'll try to make amends next time
we meet
Meanwhile the days were passing
heavily enough in far-away America
where Rosamond bore her secret pain
She had kept the knowledge of heI
plighted faith as "A choice secret, not Ia
be revealed till Dwight should come