The Press., 1886-08-12
HOW THEY FIRST MET.

HOW THEY FIRST MET.
 "A letter for me, eh2 We'll, give it to me, Jack, and then close the door and re- plenish the fire; this November weather is rather chilly" - lu., a -
 And Mir. Robert Burton settled himself in his office chair, lit cigar, elevated his feet. and proceeded to read his letter, which ran thus
 My Dear Brother ;--0 0fwopRzae you are coming home for ThanlN sin0 We are-all expecting you, end q y0t ahoula take iA in- to your head to disappoinE 4s, we should never forgive you; so be e good boy and drop us a card telling us when tosexpect you. Sue Lsngdon and Nellie Cole will be here and, Bob, just to think of 1t, Ivy Blondette has promised to come. Sheiis the charming little widow \ spoke of in my last letter--aw- fully rich, and as sweet as June rose She is just she girl for you, Bob, and | have set my heart on calling her sister, but can trust her to cAptivate you, if you will only bring yourself, within range of her wonderful eyes. Please write immediately, and say you will come, Your loving sister, JENNIE"
 'Oh, pshaw r ejaculated Bob, as he inn patiently tossed the letter aside, "When will that precious sister of mine learn that there is no use in exercising her match making procliyities for my benefit? A widow indeedi No, thank you, Miss Jennie, not any 'relicts' for me-" ts, ...E
 And the next evening poor Jennie Bur- ton sat in her room and cried over the fol lowing curt little note from her idolized but perVerse and wilful brother .,.
 Dear len :- Glad to hear that you are go. ing to have the charming widow to help you fdemolish the Thanksgiving turkey, but regre, to say that my turkey is already spoken for in another direction. have received an urgent letter from Aunt Martha, requesting me tC come to her house for Thanksgiving, and have written her to expect me-because, yoy see, Jen, there will not be any widows run ming around in her house to bother Q fellow iS Yours gratefully, sg ... s.. Boa"
 It was III ip. m., on the night befor' Thanksgiving, when the train paused for moment at little station and solitar, passenger ahghted, and started of through the trees at brisk pace. ui.- .. .. l .. It was our friend Bob, and at the end O fifteen minutes he emerged from the shad ow of the trees and walked lightly acros the smooth lawn that lay in front of Aun Martha's quaint, old-fashioned country homey It was long, low, one-story farm house, covering Q liberal allowance O ground, and with wide veranda running around two sides of it. Bob paused as h, approached the house, and scanned tn, windows for some sign of light, but ther, was none. Had the sky been clear, tn
 moon would have been shining brightly but mass of clouds hid her shining face and a damp, gray mist seemed settling 1down over the house and lawn.n | sOf course Aunt Martha is not expect ing me tonight, 7 soliloquized Bob. f'Sh
 has been in bed, and sound asleep for tn
 last two hours, and I'll not waken her a this time of night, If have to sleep m tn
 hayloft. But let me see the second win dow from the corner is the one that open out of my old room. I ought to knov that, for have climbed in and out of it
 thousand times. Now, if it isn't fastene, too securely, I'll climb in once more, talk
 possession of the high-posted old bed, sn' astonish auntie by walking into the break fast-rpOm in the morning" ,t.'..5, ..
 Suiting the action to the word, he step ped lightly upon the yerandah and ap preached the designated window. Tn shutters were not closed, and . broker pane of glass rendered it easy for him t undo tho time:worn fastenings, ,s
 "How careless Aunt Martha is it is
 wonder that she has not been robbed lonI ago, 1" was his naental comment as he gent ly raised the window. and stepped over, tn sill. t..- ,.,ls5 ,,...-'''.'t -
 The window was small and heavily cul curtained, and so little light penetrate
 through it that a minute elapsed befor his eyes were were sufficiently accustome
 to the darkness to enable hum to distiu guish the familiar outlines of the old flash toned bedstead and the huge bureau, tha had stood close to the head of the bed eve since hA could remember. To this latte article of furniture he first groped his way and began searching for the match-bo
 that was always kept there. ilr, rr.t s
 "No matches, but the whole bureai stFewn with hair pins-what can 1t mean
 never knew auntie to keep her hair pin in this room P'su5 eati 4i ~Vt- rristttt,i.. tf
 Then, as he could find no matches, h f went round to the head of the bed and pu his hand to tnrn down the covers, but [surely, 1t was neither quilts nor pillow Eupon which his hand rested. No, it was long, thick, soft braid of hair, and, as poo Bob realized this fact, h seemed to IhiE that his heart had suddenly taken up il abode in his throat, while cold chills an hot Hnshes seemed chasing each other u
 and down his spinal column. a, A woman hair on his pillow l Now Bob was natura lily quick at forming conclusions, and
 took him scarcely three seconds to decid ]. Ethat there was doubtless a feminine. hea
 at one end of that lopG, soft braid !; ant
 as heswas not in France and the "Reig
 of Terror" was thing Of the Spast, wh2 naturally, he concluded that the head AsA She hair was not there alone.os, t.,i l..s ,. Il It was this, startling copeAneion thi cansed him to take quick step bacl Il ward, with the intention of evacnating th l premises as hastily as possible, butnnf0l tunately, for this wise resolve, his feel kul
 deAly became entan9led in some lony volumin0us garments that were throw lacr0es a chair in front of the bed, and