The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-02-12

Madge and | could come together an
other day for some-there was plenty
of time before Christmas-but to-day's
in-gatherings | meant to keep all to
myself.
At least for this one day, told him,
when we had reached the house, and
paused together in the porch. For
this one day we would not call in any
one, however friendly, to see what it
had brought me; but tonight, when
he was gone, then l would tell Aunt
Margaret that / was to be his wife. /
said the word in a little flutter as we
stood there together, for already he
had been asking me how long | meant
to keep his own from him. AS / said it,
| glanced up shyly at him, and it
would have discounted me to see how
his face changed, paling at that word,
II his hand had not closed on mine
with Tightening grasp which made me
ashamed of a dawning doubt that he
wanted it.
annie"
The voice, full of a strange pain,
startled me. Could this day have any
pain in it?
Perhaps he read that thought-he
was always so quick to understand
for he said: II have a story to tell
you Annie, a story that may take
some of the brightness out of this
hour for you, as it has taken all the
brightness out of the last seven years
of my life until now. Shall / tell it to
you now? Or can you trust me that
it is nothing which ought to part us?
and would you rather wait to hear it
until tomorrow"
l could trust him; ay, rather, /
could not distrust him; and / told
him SO. Let slive this day out with
out a shadow; afterward, if shadows
must come, he should lead me safely
through them.
"There is no danger in the shadow,
Annie; there is only somethingfor both
of us to forget"
"Let us forget it now, then. See,
there is Aunt Margaret at the window
signing to me; she is afraid | shall let
J her neighbor SO offend against her o
old-fashioned hospitality as to 70
away to his bachelors hall, when it is
three o'clock and u dinner hour"
The shortest day of all theyear. We
! were watching its setting from the IL
brary window, we two left alone, for
Madge and Fannie haddriven into the
village for the mail, and Aunt Marga-
ret was summoned to one of those
kitchen-cabinet councils which in view
of Christmas cheer grew more and
more frequent under old Lethe's able
administration. So we two were
standing together in the bay-window,
watching the crimson glow fade off
from the wide snow stretch Of lawn
that sloped down to the lane, dotted
here and there with a black-green
pyramid offir, between the naked oaks,
when presently ! caught sight of some
thing moving across their shadows
flung stiff and dark against the white.
"Some one is coming" Isaid, break
ing the happy silence. "a lady, !
thought-though / wonder who it
could be, walking"
"What a bore!o
ooh, she1fnot be shown in here, and
unless you fell disposed to go to Aunt
Margaret's assistance"
Here ] saw the side door of the Ii
brary opening from the lawn. The
visitor must have observed us at the
window; some one on sufficiently un-
ceremonious terms.
1t was a stranger. She had closed
the door behind her, and had come
forward into the fullglow ofthe Christ
mas wood fire blazing on the heart. A
stranger, certainly; if had ever seen
her before, / should never haveforgot-
ten her.
She was standing on the heerth and
drew her slender gloved hands out of
the folds of her cashmere shawl, hold
ing them to the warmth, before she
turned TO us the fairest face | haveev-
er seen-the fairest face one ever
dreamed. Only that would have been
a strange, Fouque-like dreamin which
such a vision should come.
1t could not have been after
knowledge on my part, for before she
spoke, while she still fronted us with
that gay smile upon her perfect lips, /
thought OF Undine in her soulless
lovsiness, light-hearted, glad, careless
OF others pain because she could not
feel it. There is the Undine nature in
a child too, for whom there exists no
pain that does not bruise its own ten
der flesh, and that soft hardness made
itself felt in every line and curve about
this woman, as she stood there, white
and golden, looking at us out of those
great brilliant eyes, Of which / have
read somewhere,
Alive in their depths, as the Kraken be-
meath the sea blue
eyes which ! would fain havefollowed,
for they fixed themselves on Brian.
Only ! could not, thaSface SO held me.
"They told me at your house that
you were here, perhaps; that you were
often here; and SO | came" she said,
still looking at Brian.