The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-11-21
A FLASH OF LIGHTNING.
BY MARY E. PRESTON.

BY MARY E. PRESTON.
~ am so sorry, so very sorry!" fall
tered the girl; "prsy say no more, Mr..
Alverez; l cannot listen to you"
The face of Cola Alverez darkened in
the darkcned day, 1t was Spanish
face, with lustrous eyes of gloom, in
which swept flames that awakened at a
word; low brow, straight nose and
full, impetuous lips; face in direct con-
trast to the flower fair one of Hilda
Denton, with its shy girlhood and its
starry eyes of gray-the face that had
enslaved him.
"But l will say more!" he burst out
passlonately; ''can love like mine be
hushed to SILENCE, do you think? Can
a word from your lips quell the passion
your eyes haze awakened in my soul? As
soon might your voice still storm in
the ocean! | love you, my beautiful
one, do you understand? | love you.
What lives have gone to shipwreck for
a love like mine! And you shall hear
me; you shall reply. Nay, you shall tell
me that your heart replies, OR I--I-n
He broke off suddenly, for she was
shrinking from him in terror, her gray
eyes dark and dilated with fear.
His own face changed, grew wondrous
soft and tender, as, falling on his knee
before her, he caught and held her hands,
despite her struggles to free them.
"My love, my queen he said, almost
in whisper, ''forgive this rudeness.
The love give you is my life! Say one
little word to me of kindness; bid me
live. would die, soul and body, with
out your smile Child, your little hands
are cold; l could warm them with my
kisses pray heaven Jour heart may hold
warmth for me! l have made of YOU an
IDOL
He lifted her hands as he spoke and
crushed his burning face against them,
while short sob crossed his lips which
told her more than his disjointed SEN
fences how great love had burst to
flame in the unframed, impetuous heart
OF this chill of Spain-this man who had
come from his own sunny land to love her
with a love which was his DOOM"
"Rise, | beg of you'll command
you" she cried II must not hear YOU;
| wish you had not so spoken to me; |
am not frec--I am a promised wife"
A low cry left his suddenly livid
lips; he looscd her hands, clenched his
own, and sprang to his feet with bound
like that of a panther.
"Whose?"
The question reached her in sort of
hiss. Ere she could answer a vivid.
lingering flash of lightning shot across
the sky without Its blue light playing
on Cola's face gave it a strange, fierce
expression; then loud, rcverberating
crash of thunder, and silence, followed
in moment by the rush and patter of u
summer rain.
She was very pale, and her sweet face
had look of pain on it as again he
asked:
"Whose promised wife,"
"Clarencc Aram's; | thought yea
knew"
knew! Would | have laid my soul
at you feet if knew" he cried fiercelv.
"Would / have allowed your face to
steal into my heart until it could not beat
without thought of you2 Would ]
nave called him friend and trusted him as
brother if | knew? But now-now-'
His hoarse voice broke, his eyes burned
luridly, through the stiffness of the room
which only rainfalls against the windows
broke, she heard the meeting of his
strong, white teeth and, timid as she wa,
by nature, fear for her lover made her fol
a moment bold.
Now, she said gently, "you will b,
my friend as well as his; you will for
get that you cared for me and fine
some other face in this land of tn,
stranger fair enough to win your wor
ship"
He flung out his hands in tempestuou
anger.
''Friend-his friendn' he cried wrath
fully. as my love but a robe, to b.
flung aside after days wearing, and an
dog enough to call him friend who ha
left me desolatc2"
He walked the length of the room
then returned. His face was full of al
evil passion as she saw it.
And ! am to forget you?" he saic
bitterly. ''What if bid him forget 70,
instead2"
A transparent color burned holly il
her face as she turned on him with Girl
ish impotence and somewhat of womanl
pride.
'tListen to me moment before yo
threaten the man / love, Cola Alverez,
she said, every word ringing clear throug
the storm. .'Clarence and have know
each other since we were children Gu
love has grown as we have grown. |
all the world there is nobody like him
my Clarencel Do you not remember no,
it was that you and first metz H
brought you here and said that you wer
his dearest friend. lie babe me so II
gard you. If Ihave been Kind to YOU
if i have never treated YOU as a strange