Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1890-01-30

W. WIN 10 oOlO w VI pbNhs
"Well," reloined Owen deliberately,
after pause which seemed thought
full one. ''supposing that don't want
10 draw back-what then P"
"Do you or don't you P" queried
Alleyp, stopping to look at him.
al don't know. Upon my honor,
George, haven't had time seriously 10
make up my mind about it-thaCs the
sober truth ~
"And you will go there again P"
OF course shall 60 there again"
"Well," returned Alleyn, with last
eTort, for the train was in. his foot on
the carriage step. and there was time
for no more, sits pretty plain,
should think, that her father doesn't
want YOU"
Hang her father! Goodbye, old
man Drop me II line now and then,
and look us up when we come to
town"
But Owen Ormiston, although he
had opposed TO the last anxious look
OF his friend face expressive OF per-
feet carelessness and gale y, was yet
grave enough as he drove back to the
Cot. The fact that the Tha ched Cot
tage and Lily Blair hal given him a
good deal to think about during the
last fortnight-the last week especial
ly for he had succumbed entirely 10
the charm OF this golden-haired maid
en- with the wonderful gray eyes, and
had almost made up his mind that life
would not be worth living without her.
He knew well enough the difficulties
in his way. Lady Eli abeth would
OBJECT and make Il FUSS, jus. at first OF
course; but she would give in when
she found out how firmly he was bent
upon having his own way. And he
was quite sure, in spite OF that half
denial TO his friend that his onlyway was
10 marry Lily Blair-he had no doubt
it. He had been in love before GER
tainly-two or three time perhaps; but
he had never been SO much in love.
He certainly had not the least idea OF
denying himself the gratifica ion OF
seeing Lily every day-of listening 10
her sweet vol as she talked TO him
with such pretty fresh artlessnes, and
OF watching the sweet rose-tint which
he knew he could easily bring to those
fair cheeks OF hers. No; he was too
far gone 10 draw back-farther even
than George Alleyn knew of--so far
that he cared little for Aaron Blair's
determined ungraciousness OF manner,
which, in any other case, would have
exasperated him quickly enough, and
had even managed in his own mind 10
get over the re. ection that he would
make in some respects decidedly
awkward father-in- law. He troub ed
himself very little to find out what this
gruf and curt behaviour meant. If he
assigned any reason to it at all, it was
tina the man was naturally n cross
grained and ill-conditioned old follow.
He was complacenty conscious that he
Lady Eli abeth's relative and he.r-
must be so much more than n good
match for Aaron Blair's daughter. If
he had known that Aaron BLAIR had
tiercely sworn to himself that he would
sooner see Lily dead than his-Owen's
wife, it would have aslonished him
more than he had ever been astonished
in the course of his easy eYisten e.
But he had no such knowledge, and TO
himsel he almost on essed that after
all, he was glad old George was gone.
1t had been exceedingly unpleasant to
have his sharp eyes watching The pro-
gress of the sweet idyllic courtship
among the roses.
The Cot saw very little OF Owen
Ormiston during those sweet summer
weeks. His horse learned to turn
down the lane which branched OF
from the road to Upper Dat hing, and
to stop at the little white gate opposite
to the shallow pool without any guild
ing touch upon the bride. At The
Cot, Lady Eli, abeth grew cross and
Millicent anxious and Owen, seeing
boi h, cared not ut all. He cared for
nothing but the lovely face that had
bewitched him he was growing more
infatuated every day.
And to Lily the days were n dream
"a delicious dream which even her
fathers clouded face and gruh words
could not rob OF sweetness-ind ed,
likes Owen, she hardly noticed him at
all. The girl had had a rather strange
ii e; for, although she would soon be
twenty, it was not very long since she
had left boatding-school, and her
father had left the busy town where
his home had always been for as long
as she could remember and taken the
pretty Thatched Cottage, which lay n
couple of miles from the tiny hamlet
OF Flowerdale, and six from the larger
village of Upper Catching. Aaron
Blair would himself have been quite
satisfied wi h the Cottage as 1t was /;
but his darling had been used to fine
things at her boarding school, and it
was solely for her pleasure that he had
had the pretty little conserva' DRY
built. and the red-brick drawing-room
with its French windows. its lace cur
tains its piano, its smart carpet, and
its fashionable and frail furniture. He
did not care about them--in fact, he
hardly ever set foot in one or the other
--preferring his working bench and
his elbow-chair in the plain sitting
room but he seemed to have no
doubt that they were the right things
for Lily. There was something odd
and almost touching in the passionate