Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-04-22
looking at him with panied, pleading

looking at him with panied, pleading
eyes.
Thank yop, no." he said, coldly
al have seen Mrs. Messenger and your
brother, and the children will keep.
Goodbye" she said, turning in at
the open gate in order that he should
not see the rising tears.
.tGood-bye," he said, freezingly,
thinking her absolutely cruel in not
shaking hands. She went up the little
sloping avenue slowly and sadly,
trying to crush back the tears which
would rise to her eyes in spite of her
efforts. She had succeeded before
reaching the hall, and could answer
her sisters surprised questions quite
calmly
"My dear Mary" she said, laughing
gently, ''you forget our changed re-
lations. You must not expect him to
come as often as he used. We have
both come to the conclusion that We
are quite different from what we had
thought each other, and we have
mutually agreed to see as little as
possible OF one another"
But when she reached her own room
her self-eontro. deserted her, and she
cast herself down on the little couch,
| and wept long and bitterly.
81 hate himP' she said to herself,
/ don't; believe | do the very oppo-
site. Oh, ought to be ashamed of
myself to care for any one SO utterly
Indifferent to mel He didn't even
come in, and after all these years! He
shall never know that | love him,
never However much may suffer,
have enough pride to hide it. He shall
think me as indifferent as he is him.
self
Her mouth took hard look, very
| foreign to its sweet lines, as she rose
and bathed her face; and through all
that evening she bore herself so brave.
| " that no one guessed of the bitter
ness and wounded pride she thus sniff
ingly hid. /.
CHAPTER II.
Ii Mrs. Messenger had been given to
abstruse reflections, she might have
asked herself how Jim and Nancy
could possibly avoid each other, ac
| cording to their compact when he was
always coming to the Ness? For he
came every day, ADD at all hours in
| the day, as he had been wont to do
| five years ago. There was one differ
ence between this daily intercourse
and that of the old times, and that
rather important one. Nancy lost all
her gentle brightness when speaking to
jim, and was coldly, distantly polite to
him. He saw this, and no doubt re-
| sented it, but Nancy never guessed
| that from his manner. He did every
thing he could to please her, but with
| no outward effect. Inwardly, she
knew that her love for him was
strengthening day by day, and that no
power of hers could prevent it.
Jim was in a most trying position.
| He knew himself to be deeply in love
| with Nancy; his feelings for her had
never died, as he had imagined; but
with the knowledge of her as sweet,
noble woman came the knowledge that
he had forfeited the right to tell her Of
his love. Her letters had been OF a
kind OF which he had wearied when he
ceased to be a youth. But, anxious
| that his own letters should not be I'M
interesting to her as hers were to him,
he had written in boyish, semi frivo-
lous strain, which he thought would be
| pleasing to her, as natural to herself.
| He could not understand how such a
thoughtful, intelligent girl as he knew
her to be, could have written such
shallow, characterless letters. lie
supposed that she had not cared for
him enough to write about what she
felt interested in.
His position with regard to Nancy
was much worse than that of any
mere acquaintance. Every other man
could tell her of his love while it SEEM
ed to him that he had lost this right
| by gladly agreeing to cancel their en-
gagenlent. What made matters worse
was that Nancy never appeared to
dream that any other relation than
the present constrained friendship was
possible between them.
One afternoon he found her alone; a
very rare occurrence, indeed; for she
was very careful to avoid tete-a-tete
with him.
"Shall we go into the garden?" she
| asked, thinking that anything was
preferable to sitting stiffiy in the draw
| ing-room.
81 should like it immensely" he an
swered, rising, and opening the door
with alacrity. "Will you take me to
our old favorite seat? have so often
thought of those old days when l was
feeling homesiek, Nancy"
81 thought you We're happy in In
| dia," she said, unresponsively.
$50 / was, but / was homesick
sometimes, especially when l first went
out"
"This is the seat, is it not?" she
asked, as if she might have easily for
gotten the place where he had first
TOLD her of his love.
Eyes, this is it, he said, dreamily,
| looking out over the cliffs and sea-
"Mr. Penstone and always quarrel
over this view" said Nancy, anxious
to prevent any embarrassing pause.
"Who is Mr.. Penstones" asked Jim,
knitting his brows.
HE is our curate," she answered.
81 always say that this is the finest
view in the town, but Mr.. Penstone
maintains that the view from
"He must be an idiot, them" burst
in Jim, hotly; "the views are not to
be compared"
"You might have waited until had
mentioned the other," said Nancy,
raising her eyebrows.
I'll beg your pardon" he said, in
| utter confusion. 81 thought you
must mean--In fact, Understood you
to say--that-that the view from the
Beacon was finer than this"
"Yes, that is what Mr.. Penstone de-
clares," she said.
"What hideous name the man
has!' said Jim, irritably. "0f course
you are devoted to him, Nancy"
Eyes; he is so very good and clever
| and pleasant, she said, surprised at
his vehemence.
"Iou are going to marry him, i
SUPPOSE" he said, with i'll concealed
anger.
0You forget yourself, ! think" she
answered, with gentle dignity. 'And
whom | may marry can be no posi-
BILE concern OF yours"
20 none, OF counsel" he said, furious
ly. "Only you might have told me
the truth when you broke our engage
ment. Il would have been just as easy
to say that you were engaged to some
one else at once"
"Iou are entirely mistaken in think
ing that am engaged to any one"
said Nancy, calmly. Mr. Pensioners
m, N ,.,.;aI o,,J nI1 anO,tal, r, lo nv 90 h