Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-10-04
of mems style, Mary. Wait till YOU see


of mems style. Mary. Wait till you see
the fellows ape me when,
~ one OF the species is quite enough
Tor me to lose my respect for all. SO
don PRIDE yourself on your noble ar
ray of followers. .
That arrow struck home. For mo-
ment John WINGED perceptibly under
her witticism- Then anger got the bet
ter of him.
His look was annihilating as he
said; II guess you've got some other
fellow in your eye, Marypn
Yes, John, / have. replied Mary,
thinking OF the man she would like him
to be, and watching the effect of her
words with little pleasure.
John WINGED. But he hoped the gold
ring in his pocket might yet reverse
her decision. Won't you take this
ring, Mary, and let that other go?'' he
begged, humbly.
mo, John, I'd rather have the other
fellow"
1t was said so very quietly and with
such determined s'the other fellow
that John knew there was no hope for
him. He would have liked nothing
better than fighting his fortunate rival.
Swallowing his daggers which made
his voice sound harsh and fierce he
said:
III you've got some one else, should
just like to have the presents l gave
you when l was boy. ltmeans mad
for good this time"
Mary started. She was.not quite pre-
| pared to make such sacrifice. But,
OF course, Mary was too proud now to
recall anything, and she really had
made up her mind not to have John,
| if he stuck to his vanities.
After few minutes absence, in which
John felt himself the most miserable of
men. Mary re-appeared, with her hand
| full of trinkets.
His hope that she would ely and then
make up, as they did years ago, re-
ceived its death blow in the soft but de-
termined voice in which she said: Here
John. is your iron thimble, your tin
needle-box and your brass ring
'.All right, Mary Hepworth. Maybe
| you'll be sorry for this. I'm going
straight to your cousin Sarah, where |
know my suit will be more welcome.
With this he dashed out of the gate
and up the road toward Sarah's home,
leaving Mary leaning against the win
dow In anything but a cheerful mood.
She had intended to break him of his
vanity, and then marry him; for there
was everything that was good and gen.
erous in John, and it never occurred to
her that they could do without each
other. And now he was gone, thimble,
| npodlq-bnY rspn apd al
Mary didn't cry The hope that
Sarah had gone as usual to prayer
meeting, and in the meantime Johns
meeting, and in the meantime Johns
anger would abate and his love return
to her, held its own against the bitter
ness of self-approach and regret.
But when the next day wore on, and
the evening was far advanced, and the
possibility that Sarah hadn't gone to
prayer-meeting, and that at this very
moment she was entertaining her future
husband on cider and ginger-snaps,
grew to certainty, there was nothing
for her to do but to 90 out of sight and
sound of tickle humanity, and bury her
grief in the neighborhood of the spring
where John and she had so often listen
ed to the music of the falling water,
and the song of love within. John must
have had similar impulse, for when
she drew near the spring and pulled
her handkerchief from her pocket in
preparation for a good cry, she saw
John with his head buried on his knees
and oh, joy? dressed in the ordinary
working-cloth in which she always
| liked to see him.
| Her first impulse to make up was re-
strained by the fear that he might be
| Sarah's betrothed. She swallowed a
big lump in her throat and tried to look
very Indifferent, as she said:
"Good evening. Mr.. Redpath. Per-
haps | may congratulate you?"
mo, you mayn't either, I've got
nothing TO be congratulated for, except
| that | made scare-crow out of my
thirty-dollar suit But it don't seem to
be success even there. The crows are
as hard on the corn as ever"
This time the tears came Very quickly
to Mary's eyes. She knelt down on the
"John, please give ME my thimble
again?"
The iron thimble was fished from the
depths of Johns pockets and handed to
Mary in silence.
The mementary stiffness was again
broken by the same pleading voice:
John, please give me my tin needle
case.'
The needle-case changed owners in
the same mechanical fashion.
'tYou look very nice now, John.
You look like a man, you know, that
one could love and look up to-" said
Mary, at the same time pushing back
the SLOUGH hat and peeripg closely in
his eyes,
'Mary, you take the gold ring now?"
Mary held out her finger and John
slipped the gold ring on Just as he had
slipped the brass ring on ten years ago.
''Mary, may kiss you now?"
She only nodded her head, and John
was timid, after q certain adventure the
day before.
lyon won't treat me like you did the
other day, Mary, if | kiss your"
Mary laughed, a little confused, as
she answered: Il daren't now, you
know; we're engaged"
1t was a long while before she made
any effort to free herself from his arms
after that
When they walked home past the
cornfield in which the crows were busy
getting their late supper, in spite of the
fashionable scare in the center of the
field, John, remembering that other fell
low, who had caused him sleepless
night, wanted to know who his former
rival was.
''He is John Redpath, the farmer, and
l want you to be good to him." said
Mary archly. 1.-The fellow didn't like
is MIR. Redpath, the dandy, who isn't
even successful as a scarecrow, you see.
Is it any wonder would have him."
Both laughed, and were happy.