The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1893-10-13

friends. He wrote to Kate regularly,
reporting the invalid's health. When
Jim regained convalescencc it was
promptly brought home to him that he
should resume management of his own
affairs, but his new sentiment barred
the way to this. At this crisis it seemed
good to Jim Paddon, whose simple
brain was not capable of dealing with
two sets of emotions, to unccremoni-
ously depart with the settlers daughter
and marry her. lie CONSIDERABLY left
a note requesting llallIett to deal with
his honor as he thought fit.
Godfrey IIalkctt was n gentleman by
instinct, and at the best but an anna
teur liar. lie had the British avcrsio.
TO taking away u mans character To u
girl. After much dcliberation he said
to himself; "If ! know Kate--and l
Halter myself that do know hcr--she
would rather retain her faith in dead
Jim than lose her faith in living jim"
SO he wrote that Jim had got worse and
died. He did not consider himself in
this. which was to his credit.
Then, being no longer required in
Colorado, he followed his letter home.
On the way home common sense ar
gued with him and brought home to
him very forcibly that he had made
mistake. Sooner or later Kate must
learn the truth. II would be better for
her to hear It from him now than to have
it brutally broken to her later, when il
might injure her life more. 1t was not
q pl casant mission. this mission of con-
fcssion on which nc went short time
after his return, but he confronted him-
self with the thought that she would at
least acknowledge that all he had done
was out of consideration for her.
Geoffrcy IIalkctt never told anyone
what happened at that interview. AS
matter of fact, the girl heard him all
through, and then, white and trembling
with Indignation, infinitely scornful
with herself for having allowed anyone
to defame her lover while she listened,
she turned and left him-not, though,
before she had pointedly suggested that
he should never enter the house again.
"She had never trusted him from the
very beginning" SO she said, "and
now"
This man, who had thought himself
never to be astonished again, was an
obstinate man, but not too obstinate to
acknowledge himself astonished. He
wasted no time over useless arguments
or letters, but he went abroad and some
time subsequently he met Jim Paddon.
The interview was short, but satisfac-
tory All, it appeared, that lIalkett re-
CURED of his former friend was letter
written TO Kate, telling her how mat
tcrs stood paddon dcmurred, and
Mrs. Paddon thought Halllett nui-
sance.
II may be sneak, )" said jim; "butrl
DC - if I'll write myself down one"
Halkctt declined to enter into the
distinction. You can put it in gen.
tlemanly way if you can" he said
A man with only one lung and bad
case is no match for man with two
lungs and good case and Il rapidly de-
veloping passion for a woman. In less
than month Nalkett was home with
The letter.
Kate IS dcyilish obstinate when
she's in 2 bad temper" he said to him
self II know what she'll do now;
she'll refuse to see me, and Fin not
going to trust the letter TO the post"
SIN, he wrote and asked her TO make
an appointment. She replied by re-
turn, naming . day and hour. Hal
kctt gasped little at this, but went
for walk to think how he should
meet her
lie need not have troubled about
arranging speeches or lines of con-
duct. Kate took the initiative at the
interview, as he might have known she
must. She was very civil, only rather
distant, and asked him why he wanted
to see her.
II have brought you a letter." he
said.
She held out her hand.
He gave it to her. She looked at the
writing, murmured an excuse and left
him.
When she came back there was little
changed about her except hcsitancy
in her speech.
Don't make me apologize" she said,
but, OF course, knew you were right
when you told me, only wasn't going
TO allow anyone but Jim to say such
things about himself, was ~"
Certainly not, said Halkett, too
blinded by the sentiment of the sem
tence to consider its grammar 1T is
/ who have to apologize.
So they parted good friends and the
student OF women went home satisfied,
and on the whole rather pleased than
not with the sensation of astonishment
to which he was now becoming quite
accustomed.
After a decent interval of these
friendly relations he asked her to
marry him.
Then the friendly intercourse
snapped like pipestem and she told
him he had insulted her. "You ought
by this time" she said. ''to know me
too well TO imagine that | could ever
love again"
This finished Off Godfrey Halkett.
He spent n miserable month making
up his mind whether TO 90 abroad or
to the devil, and he finally decided
on q combination, when this lef.p,