Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-10-18
Her Answer.

Selwy as she climbed the cliff alone.
IL ought TO be with her." he said to
himself. and heavod long sigh. Il
wonder If all girls are as-as. well,
provoking. to put it midas Dora
lisp"
The sea vouchsafed no answer to his
inquiry.
Il wonder if this is typical of our
lives?" thought Dick. waxing mourn
fully poetcal. ''She climbs the Ills
OF life alone. /, who ought to help
her-l. who would be the happiest
man in all the world il she would lean
on me-must sit at the foot of the hill
and watch her rs she climbs.
Dick sighed aga N, and was con-
scious of little feeling of surprise
member of ever having had so poeti-
cal a mood on him before. 1t pleased
him to think being crossed in love
was developing such fine wien of
sentiment in him.
There good subject for poem."
he told himself. IL believe I'll work
it up. and nscribe it to her. Maybe
it'll touch her heart, that is, f she has
any. which begin to doubt.
Ever since he could remember he
had loved Dora. They had been
schoolmates together and he had got
into innumerable scrapes on her ac-
count He had always been her self
constituted champion. and he couldn't
remember the time when he hadn'
thought of her as his ''little wife.
But Dick love, like other cases of
true love, did not run as smooth as he
could have wished it to.
Dora had fallen into the habit of
late. of tantaliz ng him. She knew
she could do it easily, and she liked to
show her power.
Ever since thew had been at the sea.
side. she had kept him in torment by
flirting most outrageously with Will
Danvers. who hadn't brains enough
to see that she was making sport of
him.
Dick knew she didn't care for Dan
yers. But he didn't like to see her act
ing as she did.
He told her so. OF course, that
didn't help matters any. She reptile d
by being perfectly indifferent to his
opinion, at the time it was given, and
after that on the first opportu nifty that
presented itself, she renewed her flirt.
atoms with unusual animation. and it
looked, at present, rs if she intended
to become professional firt. for she
had two or three strings to her bow,
and Dick was consequently m SCRABBLE.
The perversity of human nature. or
rather woman nature. he could not
understand.
He tried TO reason with her. Then
she got angry or pretended to- at least,
and between them, since then, there
had been a GOODNESS that troubled
Dick. But he couldn't see that it
seemed to worry her any. He began
to think she was one of those women
you read of in stories, who have no
heart.
al wish could oblige her to answer
my question fairly and squarely," said
Dick, look ng up the cliffs where her
scarlet scarf fluttered in the wind like
flag.
'If she does care for me why can t
she say So and if she don't, why can t
she say So could answer a quest on
II were woman, but it doesn't seem
as if she could. I've asked her so
often that I'm getting tired of it. She
manages every time TO evade direct
reply. l wish could tantalize her for
one day, for just one day, as she does
me. She'd begin to take pity on a
fellow by the end of that time. But !
don't just see how fellow'd 60 to
work to do it.
Dick wandered about forlornly for an
hour or two. and then began to ascend
the cliff The scarlet pennant drew
him in the direction that his inclina.
tions took.
Dora was sitting on rock with her
back toward him. when he came near.
'.Dear mer' she cried, all at once,
with start which was good imita-
ton OF the genuine article, since she
had seen him coming up the cliff all
the time How you scared me. /
guess must be little nervous this
morning"
Perhaps your conscience troubles
you" suggested Dick 81 think not, ="
answered Dora. my conscience
doesn' lie in the left shoulder. q"
, "Well. I'm sorry il l frightened
you," said Dick. You've been read
ing, l see."
Yes" answered Dora, absently.
: 81 wish you'd sit little farther away,
: MIR. Kent 1 don't want my dress
mussed, for don't intend to change IT
: If l can avoid it. Pm going to take
: my ease to-day"
'Mr. Kent' repeated Dick, indig
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