Connecticut western news., 1889-03-27
THREE TIMES SAVED.
BY WILLIAM H. BUSHNELL.

s'That man again and the lips of Kate Erskine curled, though rather with annoyance than scorn.
 sI don't see any occasion for so much feeling" replied May Allison, her chosen companion. sHe is remarkably hand- some, magnificent in physical propor- tions, and minds his own business-a recommendation that cannot be given the majority of his sex"
 s'Perhaps trihe too much so," with ill-concealed p:que.
 ''You have met him before, Katea"
 'sYes; everywhere we have been this summer. He haunts me as shadow, and, by some perverse fate, is always appearing at the exact time to save me from inconv eniences, if not deadly peril
 GA remarkably useful gallant, laughed May. s'What is the name2"
 '.Lisle Liston. At least, that is what I was told in Florida, and in the Gar dens of the Gods. Didn't write you of my adven tures9'
 Mot word! Was this gentleman the hero2"
 s'Upon both occasions. He saved me with as much nonchalance as if were simply waxen doll, and" tsNof Sah1x- rool r-onnr lady of about twenty, and weighing some hundred and thirty"
 'eThen betook himself of without giving me an opportunity to than | him."
 ''Glorious! think I will cultivate this rara avis" and, ,unheeding the frown she saw gathering, and the fires kind ling, in the black eyes, she continued, provokingly: GA beau, so different from the ordinary, is we'll worth knowing But, tell me how and when you me' him, Katie, dear; what he said and wha he did. Iknow it must have been th' most charming of flattery, and am jus dying with curiosity"
 sWhat he said didn't occupy nor, than an instant"
 ssAh! What he did, then? Pleas tell me, so that I can bow down in wor ship, even if at respectful distance. ?
 "Yes."
 And, though plainly showing hoy much she was annoyed by the badinag of her friend, Kate continued:
 s'Our party was camping on the St Johns river, and while the gent emen- my father and uncles-were hunting an fishing"
 "You, of the feminine persuasion were gathering flowers and curiositiesa Certainly"
 "And were introduced to the youn gentleman now stretched in picturesqu
 attitude upon the sand by the shore2"
 "A queer introduction, replied Kate with an attempt at laugh, but whic f ended in shiver, ''thc medium bein , an alligator"
 "Preposterous, even ii true"
 "And SO true that the recoll ectio causes fearful dreams even now. Yo s know my birds'egg hobbya It can , near being indulged in once too ofter r l saw queer nest in tree. hangin ] over dark lagoon; saw a queer lookin bird fly away; climbed, crawled o' upon the branch-' @ n "A remarkably lady like proceeding, f ''Ohw = with quick blush - | hadn't an idea that there was a ms
 within mile, and, as I was reachir for the large, speckled eggs" f "You made a precious spectacle
 yourself by falling"
 "I wouldn't, if tho limb hadr ,. broken"
 8 '.And down came cradle and bal i and all, sang May, and so loudly as .- attract the attention of tho gentlem l. they were discussing. l A single glance, however, appeared g satisfy him, and as he became absorb B. in watching the nipples kissing the san l- of the beach, and the wings of the gu 7. that cut, as with white sickles, t is glassy surface of the ocean, Kate ?. sumed:
 es Fortunately, the water wasn't dee D. aad as I was scrambling out, drench nt and covered with mud, great mons al of an alligator shct out of the reeds a ce rushed toward me with open mouth a ii snapping red eyes!" ts ''Intent, no doubt, upon a dail e. breakfast or dinner. Ughl the can hs bal; though I must own he showed go t. taste in the selection. But, serious F Kate, I should have screamed" u That's just what did do, and VI
 all ny strength. But, essers I tu