Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-10-12

| For that Madeline had already written
to Mrs. Englewood he felt little doubt.
Women are always I'm such a des-
perate hurry" he said TO himself, which.
all things considered, was surely most
unreasonable. Nor could he have de-
MED that 1t was so, for even as he made
the reflection he began to calculate In
how many, or how few rather, days
they might look for an answer, and 10
speculate on the chances OF Mrs. I'm
glewood's being acquainted with Mai
sizes present whereabouts,
'Maisie," he called her to himself,
though re had somehow shrunk from
telling the name to his sister. 1t was
so sweet-so like her, he repeated soft
~, though, truth to tell, sweetness was
not the most conspicuous quality in our
heroine. But Despard vas honestly in
| love after all, as many better and many
| worse men have been before him, and
will be again. And love of the best
kind, which on the whole his was, Is
clairvoyant-he was not wrong about
Maisie's real sweetness.
II do care for her, as deeply, as
thoroughly as ever a man cared for a
m But I don't want to marry;
| it's against all my plans and ideas. i
| didn't want TO fall in love either, for
that matter. The whole affair upscts
everything I had eyer dreamed Of
He fell to dreaming now-he had man
aged to leave his sister and her friends
absorbed in the excitement of watch.
ing a game of lawn tennis between the
best players of the county, and had
stolen by himself down some shady
q ...rlI., x,.n f,.cp, Tho cpn yl.ln and chat
ter of the garden party. The quiet
and dimness soothed him, but increased
the strange unreal feeling of which he
had been conscious since the morning.
He felt as If nothing that could hap
pen would surprise him-he was actu-
ally. in point Of fact. not surprised
when, ut a turn in the path, he saw
suddenly before him. advancing toward
him, her cloudy black drapery--for she
was in black as e~ver-scarceig distln-
guishable from the dark shrubs at each
side, the very person around whom ali
his thoughts We're centerlng-Maisle-
Maisie Ford herself.
He did not start, he made no eX-
clamation. A strange intent look came
into his eyes as he walked on toward
her. Long afterward he remembered,
and IL helped to explain things, that she
too had testified no surprise. But her
face flushed a little, and the first eX'
preston he caught sight of was one
Of Observation-Disclosures, long afterward,
he remembered this too.
They NEITHER hands touched. But
for a moment he did not speak.
"How do you do, Mr.. Norreys: she
said then. 1T is hot and glaring on
! the lawn, is it not? L have just been
seeing my father off. He was too
tired TO stay longer, and / was glad
to wander about here in the shade a
little"
"Your father" he repeated half
mechanically,
.Yes-we are staying, he and j, for
a few days at Iaxter's Hill. i am
sorry he has gone-I would so have
| liked you TO see him."
She spoke eagerly and with the pc
culiar, bright ~girlishness really natural
to her, which was II of her greatest
charms.
Despard looked at her; her voice and
manner helped him Il little to throw
off the curious sensation of unreality.
But he was, though he scarcely knew
it, becoming inwardly more and more
wrought up.
II should have liked to see him ex.
ceedingly.' he began-'any one so dear
to you. 1 may hope some other time,
perhaps, to do SO? II was thinking
OF you when / first caught sight of you
lust now, Miss Fforde-indeed, / have
nothing-upon my word, YOU may be.
lieve mel have done little else than
think of you since we last met"
The girls face grew strangely still
and intent. yet with a wistful look in
the eyes telling of feelings not To be
easily read. 1t was as if she were
listening. in spite of herself. for some.
thing she still vaguely hoped she was
mistaken in expecting.
Indeed" she began TO say, but he
interrupted her.
NO he said. do net speak till you
have heard me. L had made up my
mind to it before / met you just now.
i was just wondering how and when
it could be. But now that this oppor.
tunity has come so quickly / will not
lose ii. / love you'll have loved you
for longer than / knew myself, than /
would own to myself
From the very first, from that
evening at Mrs. Englewood's?'" she
said, and but for his intense preoeeu-
patton he would have been startled by
her tone.
Go Be Continued)