Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1886-10-30

after elgnt p. m. and as for himself, there
were fits Of dependency upon him at times
when he thought he should rather like to
shoot himself Ahan otherwise. Still, the
time had not come yet, and young Todd
lived at the refreshment counter Of Battle
ton Junction. SO long as Miss DAILY would
serve him. When the trains came in-and
they were always coming in Mt interesting
crises Of his career-he would retire to the
back and stand on tho forms, so that he
might watch Miss DAILY over the heads of the
travellers, and make sure that nobody had
fallen in love with her, and was Intentionally
lingering over his pork pie or sandwich; and
when the trains went out he resumed his
place, put ono elbow on the counter, and
talked and gazed-generally gazed, as his
powers of conversation were limited, and
Miss Daily did not caro- for the subject on
which he was disposed to grow eloquent
billiards and bull terriers.
So regular a lounger at the counter, so
good a customer, so well-known an inhabi-
Tan of Battleton, was obliged to he received
with a fair amount of courtesy, and he was
received in quite a sisterly-possibly more
Miss DAILY said "good morning" and "good
SNSuiu6s SSPCCAdAy 6OOu OfSALoSS vSAy
graciously to him, but she did not initiate
the style of the rest of the young ladies or
put herself out in anyway for Mr.. Todd.
Conscious of the power she welded over his
susceptible breast, she did not hasten to
meet his requirements at the bar; did not
lean over the counter and talk to him be-
tween the sandwich stands and the dishes Of
buns; did not regard him languishingly
while IN irate passenger was hammering
away with the milled edge of a shilling to
attract her attention; did not whisper or
laugh or slap him in a kittenish impulse;
and betrayed not even a Jealous symptom
when he talked to Miss Dart or Miss Racket
or anybody else.
II can't make her out" he s%oliloquized in
the quietude of his bedroom, three months
after Miss Daily had been in Battleton, and
after she had said, mo. thank you" to half
a dozen pairs of Courvoisier's gloves, of
which he had begged her acceptance; "sho
isn't like anybody else l ever knew at the
Junction. Polly Racket would make six of
her for fun, but she's an awfully nice
girl, somehow. She isn't silly, either, or
she'd fancy I was going to ask her to marry.
She's a sharp, clever little woman, pom my
soul, hut l can't make her out. And that's
deuced odd, too, seeing what a lot of girls
have been always running after me-"
1t was not odd, but young Todd was be-
You'd tho discovery Of the solution to the
mystery; his self-complaisance stood in tho
way, and the girls who ran after him were
Of the ordinary class Of high steppers, whose
mission In life was to be always running
after somebody. Even in his own sphere,
and where the exact amount of his income
and his expectations were known. young
Todd was sought and fattered by some Of
"the sleek and shining creatures Of tho
chase" but young Todd never proposed, and
had been always happier and more at his
ease at the station buffet, or in the streets
when the shop girls were going home. Hap
pier, till Miss DAILY appeared; then 1t was all
over with him and his n%onchalant airs and
grins md grimaces. He strolled in and out
no more in his old ~patronizing way; he came
in early, and stopped as a rule all day; lie
was the slave Of the refreshment counter,
the ghost of his former self, the talk of the
little town where everybody talked.
His mother condescended to ask a few
questions of him at last, and to tell him
what tho world was saying; he laughed Mt
her questions as irrelevant, and the shocking
expression he used as regarded the world
needs no repetition in these virtuous pages
His sisters satirized him and his tastes, and
be "gave it them hot" as he afterwar,l on
pressed himself to a friend, for meddlins
with his affairs and what didn't concern
hem. He never interfered between them
nd their larks with tho c~urates, did he2
et him alone, and he'd let them alone; no.
cody need lie afraid he was going to make a
fool of himself, or throw himself away; he
knew what he was about we'll enough
Trust him.
But nobody trusted him any more for this
declaration, and the home of the Todds be-
came shadow-land, in the midst Of which
spiracy were brooding. They affected to
let him alone, and he let them alone accord
ing to his usual way-which was very mucl
alone indeed-but they wrote long letters
and urgent letters to Uncle John, the mai,-
stay of the family, trustee, executor, man Of
the world, and mar of war in the Indian
service, and they begged very earnestly for
Uncle John to take the matter up, as t.,
whole affair was becoming very serious III
deed. They had no influence over Edwin
| young Todd was Edwin; no was his own
master, and they were desperately afraid Of
what would como of it. They had h I'll
afraid also to tell Uncle John before; Il, =.
did not like %intruding upon his studies, ii.
now work on Qualifications and Trevor! ~
his new charge, red hot and slashing, a%ui .st
the secretary of state for war on the i..,r-
plated stocking question; they knew low
hard he had been upon his nephew and
golaon in many matters; but as lie y ,
tho only being whom Edwin regard IT
with any degree of awe, they trusted he
would como to III rescue and "put a stop to
it" all before the family was disgraced tor
ever and ever by a mesalliance, or by SOM.
dlv,dful scandal that wa almost as bad, i.
not quite us lasting.
"1ll soon put ar end to this nonsense, ,
said Maj. C%rawshaw, after reading his sis
ter's letters. "Ill have no more OF it. L.
had put an end to a great deal of nonsense
in his time, being a hari-headed, sharp OIL
soldier in his way, and he was very sure %,
his power in demolishing this soap-bubbl
affair in less than four and twenty hours.
He knew the world and What it was III ,s!c
Of; he understood men and women, par.icu-
larly foolish men and designing women,
whom he had come across in an experience
of five and forty years, to whom le had
taught wisdom and given warning be;oro
this-ah! many times before, for other peo-
pies sakes and his own. Let him march and
away against the enemy at once.
Continued ncrt Wcck.)
60
Bucklen's Arnica Saive.
The Best Salve in the world for Cuts.
Bruises, Sores, Ulcers, Salt Rheum,
Fever Sores. letter. ChaDOeu Hands