The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-11-06

Jacd'S sudden and unaccOunLaDle
whim, but nothing daunted, he coolly
made his preparations and took him
self off without e~nlightening them any
further.
"When I get located, I'll let you
know" he said; "I'm going until l
find a place that suits me. [ need
rest and perfect quiet; my rye are
in a very shattered condition"
"Oh, pshaw r said Aggie, "that's
all made up for the occasion; he has
some wild scheme on foot now, you
see."
As for Jack-well, it was hard tell
ing what spirit had possessed him; he
hardly knew himself.
al believe that you are ~aunning
away from Dora Cunningham" said
his chum, Will Norton.
"Maybe I am" replied Jack; "she
| will have me in less than a month if [
60 with mother and the girls. They
have decided that we will make a good
match, and Dora thinks so herself, 1
fancy, from the looks of things, and
it's all day with me unless I take my
self out of the way. [ never could
| resist their combined forces. Dora is
well enough, but somehow l don't
feel like being tied down just yet,
though undoubtedly l shall yield
| sooner or later"
"Oh, Jack |" groaned Will, "You
aren't the fellow you used to be. l
wish you were poor as a church mouse;
it would be a good thing for you. You
would be a grand fellow if you would
| only shake off some of this nonsense"
"Thanks, old boy. Yes, I know l
did have ~yearnings and such like in
the old days, but I'm very well salts
fed now, and [ don't think poverty
would agree with me-"
So it came to pass that one day in
early summer the ~fastidious Jack
Rochester found himself at the door
of a very plain and unpretentious
farmhouse in the little village Old.
exclaimed as he looked about the room
assigned to him.. "They would say
that I was crazy, and I'm not sure but
| I'm. I shall probably tire of it in a
week or two, but it's a change, any
way.
For a. day or two be ate and slept
principally, then he reused up and be-
gan to look about him. He found
that the family consisted of father,
mother, two sons and one daughter.
The first two or three times that Jack
saw Name Graham he paid but little
attention to her. He had no expecta
ton of finding anything worth his
notice here, but somehow as the days
went by he began to think that he
might be mistaken. Perhaps it was
her perfect Indifference to him; it.
rather piqued him; and then she was
entirely different from his sisters and
Dora.
81 actually believe" he said to
himself in a lazy fashion, "that she
has forgotten more than they know.
And I'm blest if 1 don't believe she
thinks me beneath her notice. I don't
know as l am much, that's a fact but
I'll not have this little chit of a coun-
try girl snubbing me-"
So Jack suddenly woke ur, and be-
came another man. He could talk
when he chose to exert himself, but
the effect was not quite what he hoped
it to be
Dora's blue eyes had languished and
smiled %approvingly whatever he had
said or done; this pair of dark brown
ones studied him critically, and with
manifest disapproval. What could it
mean?
Jack was non-plussed for once in his
life, and exerted himself even more
persistently.
1t. dawned upon him at last, he was
genuinely and thoroughly in love.
There was but one woman in the world
to him now, and she was this farmers
daughter, a simple penniless country
girl, but he loved her! What would
his family say? How could he take
her to his home, what would the girls
say, and Dorah!
Jack shut himself up in his room for
a whole day. Could he dare run the
risks? They were many and formid-
able, to him at least, but at night after
tea he followed Name out into the or
chard and offered her his heart and
hand.
why, MIR. Rochester, don't 1 am
so sorry; why, I could not possibly
think of it !" exclaimed Name in un-
affected surprise and dismay.
And Jack felt as if the foundation
of the earth had unexpectedly given