Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-08-07

all the horrible demons of mythology faced him he could not move or utter a sound. He was mortified, paralyzed; his jaw dropped, his face assumed ghastly look. He hardly breathed for few minutes. Miss Kurtz, taking his mortified silence for the depth of very different emotion, gently raised her hand and batting him softly on the check, drew his head down to her and kissed him plump on the lips. That kiss broke the spell. With 8 yell that might have shamed maniac the squire tore himself from her cling ing arms and rushed frantically and hatless into the street, where he con- tinued his wild run he knew not where, muttering as he sped along: >~-
 "Oh heavens! oh heavensm It was now Miss Kurtz's turn to be astonished as the frantic squire dashed out; her eyes opened wide with wonder. She stood thus for q moment, and then | she did what any other women would have done under the circumstances, threw herself upon the lounge and burst into tears, saying, brokenly, as she did so: II thought he was eccen- tric, but I didn't know he was lunatic." Still lying there, weeping as though her heart was broken, the sQuire's I cousin, Widdy, found her when she came to make a call awhile later. The squire continued his wild run for several blocks, and then he slack ened his speed. "Great heavensw he thought, as he mopped the cold sweat l from his brow and felt blindly on his | head for his hat, ''she thought l pro- 1 posed to her and she accepted me. Oh, what shall doP what shall do to get out of this? Nobody will believe me 1 if say that did not, and she and her father will think I've been trifling with 1 her and want to kill me; oh, dear! oh, dear! these women are awful. 1 wish I were thousand miles from here" And the poor squire groaned in anguish.
 At this rate you will be thousand miles from here," said hearty voice at the squire's elbow, and at the same time he received vigorous slap on the shoulder. The squire turned and saw his brother-in-law, John, beside him, but made no reply.
 "Where's your hatp and," he con- tinued, as he saw the squire's white face, 'what has happened? What's 8 the matter with you, squire, any wayp"
 "Oh, I'm done for now" was the squires mournful reply. i've made tool of myself, and am in for it."
 John, seeing his perturbed state, just took his arm and led him along to his home without saying word When inside and seated he drew up his chair and said: ''Now, Hillery, we are alone, tell me all about it, and if I can help you l will"
 Squire demurred at first, but finally
 told him all about the affair; how he made Miss Kurtz's acquaintance, his
 finding her glove in his pocket and of his calling on her Con errands for his
 sisters), how he chanced to take her to the theater, down to finding her picture
 in his pocket, his attempt to return 1t
 and explain, and how she understood
 his preliminary to the explanation,
 and the result. John could scarcely
 keep from roaring as the squire told
 his story, but he saw that the squire
 was awfully serious about 1t and was
 indeed in very delicate situation.
 Finally he asked:
 "Hillery, what do you caudidly think of Miss Kurtz, anyhow?"
 II think she Is q very nice young lady," reluctantly acknowledged the squire.
 Well, then, why not straighten thi: , mess out, as it is started. Go back tt running away and apologize and marry 5, her. She is fine girl, she evidently
 loves you or she would not have ac , cepted your supposed proposal. Come
 now, this is the best way out Ex , plain to either of your sisters or tt
 Widdy, and they can make an excase for you to Miss Kurtz.
 It took some little talk to bring thu , squire round to acknowledge this to b' the best way, but as he really loved l Miss Kurtz, and it was only his stub borness kept him from saying so, h' } was considerably delighted at the so
 lution, yet he was very much at SCI l for a plausible excuse for his >out 7 landish conduct without giving tn l true reason.
 } To keep on with their plan of recon
 struction they adjourned to the hous l of the squirrels other brother-in-law ) and there they met Widdy, who ha
 just returned from her call on Mis l Kurtz. She was loud in her denuncis l tion of the squire. but when John tol ] her the squire's side of the story sh I agreed to help out the flowing geese, I as she called them, and her ready tao
 strengthened things out so that squlr was the happiest man in town A year or more after the happy ever = that made J. Hillery a proud youn husband, and he and his pretty vii r were chatting over past events, whe the squire, in burst of loving conf N | . T. -1