The record-union., 1891-06-27

SICK man. In another week he was dead
and Nellie was struggling with her first
grief.
George did everything that son could
DO, and was the mainstay of the family
! till everything was quiet again, and the
! little household had settled down to the
sad routine of life with the great blank in
| 1t. Then he came to make his farewells,
for he was going to open a law office in
San Francisco. Mrs. Cross saw that this
was best, though she dreaded to have him
go. She heartily approved of the engage
/ ment between him and Nellie, and wished
| to see him prosper. So he went and an
other blank was left in life at the old
| white house.
Mrs. Cross took up the reins of busi-
ness where her husband had dropped
them, and managed the farm so well that
| she could have made an independent liV-
! ing out of it had it been necessary. The
Judge, however, had left his family, if not
rich, at least well provided for, and his
J widow did not lack for worldly comforts
| She was still young and energetic, natur-
| ally busy woman, and had much to
attend to in the training and educating of
| her boys
The months passed and another sum-
mer came. Andres had been little at the
white house since Judge Cross death
| from various reasons. First he was
very much occupied with matters per-
| tanning to his mine; the men who had
bought Judge Cross interest were in
cllned to ignore Andres in many ways,
and all did not go smoothly. Then Nellie
| was away for two months. and Mr..
Clark did not like Andres, and Nellie
was seldom far from her mother when at
/ home. But when the summer evenings
came again Andres found his way to the
| long porch often, Nellie and her Oldest
! brother, Jim, entertaining him. They
were good listeners, and the three often sat
J fll fpG to
in This was the signal always for break
ingup:
and SO lonely. She telt thaS he missed
her father, who had always been kind to
him, and she knew he visited at no other
! house, so she treated him very cordially,
and often put herself out to be hospitable
| to him.
He at first somewhat distrustfuI. be-
came embOldened, and finally told his
love" to the amazement of his fair en-
! tertainer. She was silent at first from as
/ tonishment, but, nothing daunted, he
went on:
"Your father approved, Miss Nellie
! | know he would be pleased"
My father! You must be crazy! He
approved OF your marrying me?'
He never told me so i'll that way, but
! he said you should never marry Il poor
| man, and urged me to open up my mine
so that / might become rich
''Never! My father never would have
/ given me TO a rich man Il he knew loved
a poor man, and do. / shall marry Mr.
! Clark"
Not while live! The villainr, and
Andres clinched his hands.
= will say goo night, Mr.. Ramon. 1t
! is time for me to go in," and she left
! him.
Nellie, III fight him if you say so.
! What is wrong?" said Jim, who, unno-
J IL
/ dres' threat and Nellie's words of dis
! miSSal.
Jim, if you ever tell anyone that he
! loves me or hates George, I'll shake you
! till you are specchless.'
4 'Whew, Nell, III hold my tongue. No
/ danger!' said the little fellow. "But you
can just depend on me if you ever need a
champion, you bet"
| Il don't. There is nothing wrong.
! Andres has been talking nonsense, and /
was goose to be offended. He won't
come here again."
| But he did. He concealed his hatred
! for George and his dislike for the Young
men whom he occasionally met at Mrs.
! Cross, and was the silent, attentive list
! ener OF the group, always, save when he
! chanced to be the only visitor, and then
! he would do his utmost to be entertaining
as OF old. But the girl, though she seemed
! 10 have forgotten his proposal and threat.
or, at most, treated the whole affair as a
! joke, could not entertain the cordial
| triendliness she had once felt for him.
! He wearied her. She grew impatient of
/ his ignorance, and his presumption an
nOyed her.
] The summer drew to a close. and au-
tumn passed. Andres did not come often.
| In January George came up for a few
/ days only. He and Nellie enioyed every
minute of the short visit George saw
Andres in the village several times on
! business, but did not meet him at the
! house, nor did he notice the deepened
scowl on the Spaniard's face. After
! weeks visit he returned to his work,
promising to come up in June for
whole month.
That is so much to look forward to,
Nellie. 4 whole month here with you"
! And that was the refrain of his letters:
"a month-the whole month of June
! with you, my love!''
In June he came. Happy to be with
/ his sweetheart once more, they went hand
| in hand to the orchard and came back
late for supper, she with her apron full of
! fruit they had taken the whole long after
noon to gather. They plucked handfuls
| Of the old Castilian roses to pelt each
| other with. They gave themselves, like
children, to the full enjoyment of the
present, and the days passed all too
| quickly.
! Sometimes the thought of the Span
!
/ she could see his eyes burn and flash;
! but she laughed at herself for thinking of
| 1t, sure that he would not dare harm her
! lover.
In the last week of that happy month
some of the young people came to beg
Nellie to join them in moonlight excur-
| sion to the next village. a distance of four
! or five miles. She had never gone much
to the social meets of the young people
whom she liked so well, and with whom
she was a great fayorite. She had gone
out very little since leaving school, and
not at all since her fathers death. This
excursion she particularly fancied she
should enjoy, and it was not hard to per-
suade George that it would be pleasure,
so they promised to go.
The evening came, and the party as
sembled, two or three couples in buggies,
but almost all on horseback, and merry
party it was.
There was much laughter and some
singing as they rode into the rayine,
crossed a little stone bridge and followed
the winding course of the noisy rivulet.
1t was a lonely spot, hemmed in by steep,
| wooded hills on all sides, while the moon
coming up over the tree tops, 'just tip
ping their SUBMITS with silver" cast an
air of romance over the little ravine that
was enchanting.
"What place for romance" exclaimed
some one sentimentally.
''Or tragedy" added another. "Im-
agine two travellers riding through here
| before the moon comes up, the one riding
up to his companion, stabbing him, and
then riding away, leaving the horrible
sight for the moon to light up an hour
later!"
go, Pessie, DON'T" exclaimed another.
81 can't bear to hear YOU"
hot =,