The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-06-26
CHAPTER XXI.
RECONCILIATION.

! saw clearly that if woman loves man. a
had now good reason for supposing that
| Blanche loved me, it is not her place that
she should Toe always giving evidence of it
! without something in return. My inherent
dislike to the mandy PANTY Interpretation
| of love peculiar TO Ea,tport had lei me un,
consciously 10 suppress all external methods
OF cyincmg affection. Something now whis-
| perei 10 me: b. more confident in your
thought toward her a woman needs TO bo
rery sure of the love of the man she would
! choose, and the greater her love, the greater
may be the doubt "a to its return from YOU,
unless such return be shown clearly, unmis-
takably.
! met Blanche the next day. Possibly |
carried this thought in my eve for as it met
hers there seemed in the lighting up of her
features a recognition of it, She took my
offered hand with frank, winning smile,
and an openna IS of manner which said more
| than any words could have done Words,
after a l. are but one means for conveying
| thought, and not always the strongest.
She desired to return to the Bar as soon a
possible, being still anxious on her uncle's
account
We Travelled on horseback The moon was
gether.
But my trials We're not yet over | had
the greatest of all to meet. | was burdenel
with sense of over-much obligation to
woman Three times had this girl steppe |
in and served me at crisis; first in loaniny
me money; second in rescuing ME from the
high-binders; thirdly in confirming my story
at the trial She had performed all the
practical chvalry in the affair, and looking
over the whole matter, | felt a sense of
humiliation.
was silent. Possibly she felt my depres-
sion Moods may travel from mind to mind
in close rapport as well MS words.
what are you thinking Of, John" said
she.
a month previous | should have evaded the
question, auI said: "Of nothing in partcu-
lar Latterly | had come to the conclusion
that between some individuals, at least, the
fever secrets of any sort the better; the
some being limited in this case to two.
70 wa, hard work to speak my thought. 1t
seemed to resist my attempt to drag it out
10 would bury itself deeper than ever within
my breast And when hesitated it conjured
up Immediately a series of evasions, with
plausible reasons for using them.
| shook them off and said: blanche, the
trouble is now that you've played the mans
part a. through and the woman's, and nov
that it's all over | want to 90 and hide mysef
somewhere
You feel, then, under too much obligation
10 a woman"
well, that's about what | mean | re-
piled
Suppose she asked, "our situations were
reversed, and you had been of the service to
me that you say have to you, how would it
bepropar for me to feel"
"Oh, well,7 | repliol, lyon know what's
generally expected Of the man in these mat.
telSn
"Expe ted by whom" she asked
by the word-people, everybody
And what right has the world-people
~ ryboly--to expect What That the
man should hear of all the honors OF knight
IL service while the woman STAYS at home
and does fancy work: Has the world any
particular business in th's, matters, which
concern Blanche Seton and John Holder.
Listen, John: there is side TO your case
Pardon me if | take the liberty of arguing
it for you. | do SO the better to
argue my own. 1t is not | n INIT easy or
pleasant for man or woman to act in opposi-
ton to the worlds verdict or opinion in any
matter. Nor may it always he wise, GER
talnly not profitable so to do The world
doeS expect the man to act the mans part in
all that concerns the woman. The world is
right also in this respect, though the mascu-
line half does not always fully carry its SEN
timents. But when woman sees an oppor-
tunity to serve the man she loves, will she re-
fuse to so serve him if the opportunity does
not take the shape she desires' Certainly,
my womanly instincts recoiled from facing
the crowd that night i'll the hollow. Ger
tainly, | had rather not have faced that
court room full of men, and in this country
where now a woman is a show, stared ut
and stared through with sentiment
far more Objectionable than mere
curiosity But was there any one
else to act at the timel Was | not com
PEELED to do as did quite as much for my
own sake as yours for had / not so done
would not my responsibility in the matter
had harm came TO you, have haunted and
harassed me ever afterwards Was it not
circumstance, after all, that reversed the sit
uation, and would you not do the same for
me. OF course you would. | should expect
! it of YOU ! mean by expect that | know
| you have it in you SO to do Be assured.
! John, that II you wish To stand well with me-
you will not lack for opportunities to act like
IA man. And now is there any other griey-
anceN
There is that affair OF the sndango
| house"
"Do you wish to exchange Your present
company for what you may lind there to-
nightf' She asked, archy.
As some sort of luck would have it, we
were obliged to pass through camp that
very night where one of these standing revels
was in full blast and quite open to our inspec-
! ton from the street | turned my head
away.
at does not seem so interesting to you as
formerly, she remarked.
ITS not fair to hit a man when he's down."
/ | replied
well, John, you know the way Of the
tanss;reSscr is hard. / shall not punish You
often ty these reminders-say once q year,
when our memory needs revivingn