Evening journal., 1889-02-22
AGATHE'S PERFIDY.
"Are you sure that you viii always love

/ hoA AhiEF WV gHbh II S9iAo IMAM Ittill9 tu-
dowed with worldly goods come to seek your
favor; are you quite certainf
Listen, Bertrand; such love as mine Is
born not TO live but for day like gaudy but
terfy that gladdens the eye from sun to sun
and is never seen again. nay, it Is enduring
as yonder rock, pure as the blue ether above;
love that viii only end with death and per-
chance not then. ! know that you are poor,
but what Is that to met The united love Of
two beings who are all in all TO each other Is
wealth enough. | will be true to you though
all the world prove falsei''
"And | to you, swear It," solemnly 70
sponded Bertrand Argyle as he raised his
hand on high as though he would pluck one
OF the cleaning points of light that flashed
from the blue ether, above alluded to by
| Agathe dc Reille.
Oh to the west, where the sun but Just now
was but is no more, its after glow suffuses
the cloud wreaths with varied tints of purple
and gold and ruby red that are reflected upon
the ripping waters OF the lake below in
sheeny radiance This is not intended as a
reflection on the Jews, only on the lake, A
| little to the south Of west the gibbous moon
is humping itself Gibbous is a good word to
use, as few people know what it means Yon-
der, wearily vending his homeward wend
along the dusty way, is gibbous man. He,
too, is half full Softly the zephyrs sigh
through the tree tops and the bows nod
drowsily to one another, and from afar comes
the horny handed voice Of the honest
granger as he jaws his hired yeoman. From
a neighboring swamp arises a faint, misty,
vaporous fog, thickly studded with the ran
dom remarks Of male COW frog, delivered
in a low thrilling, reverberating voice.
II could stand here forever listening to the
sounds Of nature with you at my side,n re-
marks Bertrand ut the conclusion Of the
pause above referred to-
would you not fear catching cold if you
stood here foreverp she asks at length, shyly,
as though fearful that her words may give
offense.
True my love. had not thought Of
that
Bertrand abstractedly inserts one hand in
one Of bis trousers pockets and encounters a
dime. II brings bis thoughts to a practical
turn. He signs, like a man who has been
holding his breath while three men are on
bases, two out, and the striker has two strikes
called on him.
"Agathe," he begins in the low, determined
voice Of one who feels his suspenders giving
way and endeavors TO hold on to his panta-
looms by sheer force of win. tomorrow l
go forth to carve out fortune for myself and
for you. You win wait for me until return
with it, will you not, dearf"
Forever; but do you think it viii take you
very longf'
Il cannot say; it may DO years, It may be
moro or less, but with you to spur me on |
know l shall not fail And before go take
this; it is deed Of tract Of land in Florida
made out In your name 1t may not be Of
greater value than some other tracts that
have been handed me from time to time by
well meaning persons, and then again il may
It cost me s.; keep it with my blessing
sob, Bertrand, you are so goodn
Don't say anything about it, please
would do even more for you But see, tho
cleaning now has given way to gloom Of
night IT'S long past supper time; am
hungry, and SO, no doubt you are. Allow
me now to guide your footsteps to your home,
AfGil tt1 4 Atilt nRln ~ uANt A10 privilege OF
guiding them through life"
Thus they faded away in the gathering
gloom.
year or twelve months has passed away
"a year freighted with blessings and vicissi-
tudes and political conventions and-welI,
with everything that constitutes tho cargo
Of wen freighted year, on which man pays
the freight to Time, the general superintend-
ent Of the Grand Trunk line to eternity. But
this is only BY the way.
bearded, bronzed man, ettired in good
clothes and an air Of prosperity, bounds
buoyantly up the steps leading to the front
door Of charming villa and gives long,
strong pull at the bell knob.
Il is Bertrand, returned after years toll
full carving at fortune
A domestic servant appears and ushers him
into the faultlessly furnished front parlor. A
female form in the fun flush Of fair femininity
rises from the fauteuil and looks at him with
a perplexed, l-think- NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
of-me expression upon her regal features.
"Agathe, can it be that you do not know
meln he murmurs.
Mr.. Argyle, believe, y she replies aslSance.
Bertrand steps forward with rapid stride
and seeks to seize the slender, jeweled hand
that is half extended to him. "Why are
you 50 distant, Agathe, my darlingl Have
you so soon forgotten our
Forgotten nothing, Mr.. Argyle" replies
Agathe, as she draws herself proudly erect;
but things have changed since then. You
remember the deed you gave me Of some
Florida landF
Il do, Miss De Reille,n replies Bertrand,
who is beginning tc@cent something gigantic
in the nice line.
We'll Mr.. Argyle, boom struck that
section of Florida a short time ago and / sold
out | am worth quarter Of million now,
and you cannot expect that would trust my
future with man whom l cannot but sus-
, pect of wishing to marry me only for the
money possess
Bertrand listens like one who Is slowly
undergoing the process Of petrifaction.
surely, you cannot mean thisFn he asks.
You are only testing; tell me this is moth
ing but cruel joke.n