Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-04-23
Yes, that is what Mr.. Penstone d.

Yes, that is what Mr.. Penstone d..
clares, she said. 55 s3 5 s!.=
| What q hideous name the man
has!" said Jim, irritably "Of course
you are devoted to him, Nancy?' .a
eyes; he is so very good and clever
and pleasant" she said, surprised at
his vehemence. W. So - e.. 5S = :
"You are going to marry him, j
/ supposed" he said, with i'll concealed
/ anger. H. x:~t.g. ~. 81
"You forget yourself, think" she
answered, with gentle dignity. ''Aud
whom l may marry can be no posi-
BILE concern of yours" ....'
20 none, of course!" he said, furious
Fly. 'tOnly you might have told me
+ the truth when you broke our engage.
ment. It would have been just as easy
to say that you were engaged to soma
one else at once" 1'' - -
H "You are entirely mistaken in think
ing that l am engaged to any one"
said Nancy, calmly. 'Mr. Penstone is
married, and old enough to be my faith
er. Imay have obsolete ideas about en-
gagements, but / was not aware that,
even in these enlightened days, honor
able women We're in the habit OF engag-
ing themselves to two people at the
sametime Shall veg in now, or have
you any other interesting accusations
to make?'
"Forgive me, Nancy; was fool"
| pleaded Jim, earnestly. 81 forget
sometimes that have mot still the
right to speak to you On such mat
tiers. For FIVE years I have thought
OF you as my promised wife, and now
that am with you cannot always
realize that you are mine no longer.
Say that you forgive me, Nancy, for
my roughness and presumption.
''There is nothing to forgive" she
said, coldly. "Let us 60 in now. The
evenings are getting quite chilly"
After this quarrel Jim found it i'm
possible to be on the same footing OF
friendship with Nancy. She was cold
er and more constrained than ever in
her manner towards him; and though
every day he felt more clearly that his
love was hopeless, he found it more
difficult to hide it from her. He was
too proud and too manly to force his
love on her, believing, as he did, that
she disliked him; and at last, after g.
bitter struggle with himself, he deter
mined to return to India at once
He had never been to the Ness lately
without some valid reason, and this
new decision was so good an excuse
for calling that he was not slow in
taking advantage of it. He found
Nancy in the garden, arrayed in u
large white sun-bonnet, busily gather
ing Strawberries for tea.
"You find it rather hot work,
am afraid" he said, looking down
gravely into her flushed face. "Let
me pick some now"
'"Thank you," she answered, resign
ing the basket; ''stooping so much has
tired ME q little"
He had soon filled the basket, and
then, at his suggestion, they seated
themselves under an old apple tree to
rest. Nancy took off her sun-bonnet,
and leant her bare head against the
gnarled tree languidly. Jim watched
her as she sat there, thinking that he
would soon have only the memory Of
her sweet, pale face to bear with him.
| IL came up this afternoon to say
goodbye he said, breaking the long
silence rather abruptly.
Nancy started slightly, and raised
her eyes to his in wonderment.
''Good-bye?" she SAID. "And where
are you going?"
II am going back to India; I have
had enough OF England"
'To India? At once? O why?" she
asked, piteously, growing very white
and looking at him with frightened
eyes.
An expression of tremulous hope
began to dawn on Jim's face as he
saw how his words had affected her.
"Do you care, Nancy?" he asked,
eagerly. "Would you rather l
'stayed"
my wishes have nothing to do
with the MATTER" she said rather
bitterly.
Indeed they have" he said, very
earnestly-"Nancy, tell me, would
you rather stayed?"
I'll said yes would you stay?"
she asked, quietly.
"Only if you love me-" hesaid. II
cannot stay on and see you day after
day, and feel that you will never care
for me. May stay Nancy?'
III you like she answered, shyly.
! Jim took her in his arms and kissed
her very tenderly. "There is ono
thing want to know" he said,
presently, looking down into her eyes;
when did you begin to love me,
dear?"
"When did you begin to love me?"
she replied, blushing under his gaze.
II don't know; have loved you all
my life," he answered.
II don't know, either" she said;
when | was about four or five I
think"
"But, my darling, you broke off our
engagement ne said, wonderingly.
YES; from your letters thought I
did not loveyou. They wereso stupid
i'll mean
eyes, they were stupid, but yours
were silly, too, and I thought that
was the kind of thing you liked" he
said, a ray OF intelligence drawing in
I his eyes
~ thought you were terribly boyish,
SO wrote very young letters, thinking
they would interest you," she said,
beginning to laugh.
1--WE both fell into thesame mistake,
then" he said, Laughing, too, though
a little regretfully. 30, Nancy! we
might have had such q good time!
How wish had the letters that you
might have written!"
Eyes, it is a pity" she said "But
it is all right now, and l will write the
sweetest letters to you in the future"
Indeed you will not" he replied, in
a calmly masterful tone. II never
mean to leave you again. We must
look upon those letters as part of
the vast 1t-might-have. been.'"
!
The Coolest Place on Earth.