The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-08-16
II PROMISE"

viva! Vivai l must go!"
''You shall not You shall not You
belong to met"
The beautiful little creature stamp
ed her tiny foot on the turf as she
spoke; her eyes famed with anger, q
fiery flush shot up into her dark
cheek.
Il belonged to my country before l
Creighton, in sad but steady tone.
You shall not 60 though! All!
dear, dear, darling Tom, can you
leave your little lassie to die of fear9
Don't you love me?'
She gathered the tall fellows hands
close to- her heart, and clasped them
there with strange, passionate strength.
Tom stopped and lifted her to his bo-
som as if she had been a tiny child.
II could not love thee, DEAR so much
Loved I not honor more"
he said slowly, bending his head to
her ear. A splendid head it was,
crowned with close curls soon to fall
before the shears, and its symmetry to
be hidden by a forage cap, and the
face did not belle the head; its strong,
regular features, it's cleft chin and
resolute lips, all gave the world as
surance of q man, while the express
i've gray eyes revealed humor, ten
derness, pathos, passion, and pAsible
flash of rage.
Don't talk to me about honor"
sobbed Viva, hiding her face on his
shoulder. Il shall die if you go away
from mel l can't can't bear it!'
There was no heroism about Gene
We've L'Estrange; her French descent
had given her inexpressible charms of
aspect and manner; she was as slight
as girl of ten years, and no higher
than her lovers shoulder, but the con-
tours of her exquisite figure showed
the roundness and grace of woman
hood, and her piquant, glowing face
tense feminine nature. There was
nothing childish in the red, mobile
lips, the delicate, irregular features,
the brilliant dark eyes that sparkled
or melted according to her mood, the
abundant, silky black hair that fell to
her feet when it escaped from the
heavy coils that seemed too weighty
for the lovely little head they covered.
She was spoiled from her babyhood,
being the only child of wealthy pa
rents; not q wish had the willful crea-
ture ever been denied; never had she
wanted a luxury, or failed to indulge
caprice; indeed, it was a caprice that
this very summer had taken her to
the White Mountains before the great
hotels were opened, to q small house
near the village of Francohia. She
wanted to see the spring blossoms of
arbutus she had so often bought in
Broadway, from its lurking places UNI
der the pine needles of the forest; she
had heard of ''the shy Linnaa," the
white wintergreen, and many an
other early flower that fades before
fashion comes to explore its haunts,
from a school friend who lived in
northern New Hampshire; and SO,
weary of the early terrors of the great
war looming blackly in the distance,
tired from the two years in Europe
that followed her school days, and the
long winter of dissipation in the city,
she had intimated to her obedient pa
rents her desire to visit Franconia,
and they took her to the Pine Hill
house accordingly.
Here she met Tom Creighton; his
father and mother lived on q farm
near by, and the handsome young
lawyer from New York had come up
to say good-by to them; for he had
enlisted in volunteer regiment, and
daily expected orders to the front.
Viva had met him often liz society,
and the two opposite natures, in a
measure counterparts, had been mu-
tually attracted. Tom Creighton was
q typical New Highlander, strong, OBJ
stinate, enduring, with rigid sense
of duty as his dominant trait. He did
not entirely approve of the war, for
he was naturally conservative; but he
considered that he ought to go, and
go he would. 1t was thorough sur
prise to both the pair, this meeting
among the mountains; and it was the
last thing Tom Creighton intended,
to fall in love with Miss LEstrange,
much less to let her know it, but he
could not help himself; with charac-
teristic impetuosity she lost her heart
in these solitudes where all the real
character of the young man showed
itself, no longer overlaid by the Gus
toms of society.
She saw how true, how tender, how
brave he was; how superior to the So
ciety men who had bored her in New
York. She had indeed distinguished
him there from q certain superiority
of aspect, but now she knew and loved
him, and showed it with such naive