The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1892-11-11

II believe read you better than you
read me. / didn't mean to be satirical.
Don't you know that what often seems
irony directed toward others is in reality
dealt out to ourselvesS Such irony as was
in my voice was for myself"
And why for YOURSELF" he asked quiz
city, his eyes full of interest. He was cut
ting the end of fresh cigar. "Was it" (he
was about to strike a match, but paused
suddenly because you had thought the
same thing?"
She looked for a moment as though she
would read him through and through; as
though, in spite of all their candor, there
was some lingering uncertainty as to his
perfect traightforwardness then, as IL
satisfied, she said at last: "Yes, but with a
difference. / have no doubt which men,
DRY it will be. You will not wish to be
again on the plains of Nindobar."
"And YOU" he said musingly, 'you
will not wish me here?" There was no
vanity in the question. He vac wondering
how little we can be sure of what we shall
feel tomorrow from what we feel today
Besi''Ns he knew that a wise woman IS
wiser ian wise man.
81 really cont think shall care particu-
larly. Probably, If we met again here,
there would be some jar to our comrade-
ship-I may call it that, suppose"
(which is equivalent to saying that
goodby in most cases. and always in cases
such as ours is little tragical, because
we can never meet quite the same again."
She bowed her head, but did not reply.
Presently she glanced up at him kindly.
"What would you give to have the past
back before you were disillusiOnizedf Be-
fore you had-trouble?"
81 do not want it back. am not really
disillusionized. l think that we should
not take our own personal experience and
make it law unto the world. believe
in the word In spite-of trouble. You
might have said trouble with woman-I
should not have minded"
He was smoking now, and the clouds
twisted about his face so that only his
eyes looked through earnestly.
"a woman always makes laws from her
personal experience. She has not the
faculty of generalization-I fancy that's
the word to use" This was her reply.
She rose now with little shaking mo-
ton, one hand at her belt, and rested a
shoulder against pillar of the veranda.
He rose also at once, and said, touching
her hand respectfully with his finger tips,
"We may be sorry one day that we did not
believe in ourselves more"
"Oh, no." she said turning and smiling
at him, 81 think not. You will be in Eng
land hard at work; here hard ut living;
our interests will lie far apart. l am GER
tain about it ALL We might have been
what my cousin calls 'trusty pals'-no
more"
81 wish to God felt sure of that, Nellie
Ashforth."
Ill l. 20 Lo1
you are honest in this | expect both of us
have played hide and seek with sentiment
in our time, but it would be useless for us
to masquerade with each other; we are Of
the world, very worldly"
"Quite useless-here comes your cousinl
Now for the actors game. hope / don't
look as disturbed as / feel"
"YOu look perfectly cool, and know
do. What an art this living is! That
cousin of mine comes about the boar hunt
tomorrow. | can see it in his eye"
''Shall you join usS"
"Of course | can handle rife as well
as any of you Besides it is your last day
here"
"Who can tell what tomorrow may
bring forthp" he said.
She smiled strangely and then greeted
her cousin.
The next day the boar hunt occurred.
They rode several miles to a little lake
and scrub of brigalow, and dismounting
soon had exciting sport. Miss Ashforth
was n capital shot, and was, without loss
of any womanliness, thorough sports
man. Today, however, there was some
thing on her mind, and she was not as
alert and successful as usual. Sherman
kept with her as much as possible-the
more SO because he saw that her cousins,
believing she was quite well able to take
care of herself, allowed her to her own re-
sources. Presently, however following an
animal, he left her short distance be-
/ hind. On the edge of little billabong she
came upon truculent looking boar 1t
turned on her, but she fired and it fell.
Seeing another ahead she pushed on
quickly TO secure it too AS she went she
| half cooked her rifle. Had her mind been
absolutely intent on the sport, she had full
cooked it. All at once she heard the thud
of feet behind her. She turned swiftly
and saw the boar she had shot bearing
upon her, its long yellow tusks standing
up like daggers. sweeping thrust from
one of them leaves little chance of life
She dropped upon a knee, swung her
rifle to her shoulder and pulled the trigger.
The rifle would not 60 off. For an instant
she did not understand what was the
trouble. But, with singular presence of
mind, she never lowered her rifle or took
her eyes from the beast, hut remained i'm
movable. 1t was all matter of seconds.
Evidently cowed, the ANIMAL when within
few feet of her, swerved to the right, then
made as though to come down on her
again. But meanwhile she had discovered
her mistake and cooked her rifle. She
swiftly trained it on the boar and fired. IL
was hit, but did not fall, and came on.
Then another shot rang out from behind
her, and the boar fell so near her that its
tusk caught her dress.
Tom Sherman had saved her.
She was very white when she faced him.
She could not speak. That night she spoke.
however, very gratefully and almost ten
derby.
To something that he said gently to her
then about memory, she replied, Tell
me now as candidly as if to your own soul,
did you feel at the critical moment that
life would be horrible and empty without