Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1894-01-12

graceful girl with the gauche school
girl of five years since.
| 81 am older" she said, her heart
sinking strangely. ''He might Dis
guise the fact that he finds me dis
appointing failure" she thought,
rather bitterly.
"Of course we are no longer boy and
girl, he said. "But hope we shall
always be friends, Nancy We have
been that NIL our lives, haven't we?"
eyes, let us be friends" she said.
And thinking that he was eager to i'm
press upon her that they were to be
nothing more, she added. "And it
was very wise to break off that child
ish engagement before you came home,
wasn't it?"
"Y-yes," he said, doubtfluly, "oh,
yes, of course. Your feelings are
naturally quito changed, I suppose,
Nancy?"
Naturally, she said calmly, but
thinking to herself that she was not SO
sure about that, after all.
Naturally" he echoed, his eyes,
however, becoming little clouded.
'rhose boy aud girl engagements
never answer, do they? People de
velop 80 differently from what one
would expect. Judging from your let
tiers, should have thought You utter
ly different from what l find YOU"
"You are equally different from what
[ should have expected you to be,
she answered. "But let us put up
with each other rs we are; we need
not sec much of one another, you
know"
They had Just reached the gate lead
ing into the garden of the Ness, rs
she said this, and unconsciously she
paused outside. Jim took this,
coupled with her Inst words, us IL hint
that he should go, aud was more hurt
than he cared TO own.
Good afternoon" he said, stiffly,
raising his hat "Your suggestion il
II brilliant one, md you need not fear
that l shall trouble you with my pres
cnce more often than is necessary"
"You ARE coming in" she said
looking at him with panied, pleading
eyes.
"rhanlt you, no., he said coldly.
81 have seen Mrs. Messenger and your
brother, and the children will keep"
"Good-by,' she said, turning i'll ut
the open gate i'll order that he should
not see the rising tears.
"Good-by," he said, freezinsly,
thinking her absolutely cruel in not
shaking hands. She went up the little
sloping avenue slowly and sadly, try
ing to crush back the tears which
would rise to her eyes in spite of her
efforts. She had succeeded before
reaching the hall, aud could answer
her sisters surprised questions quite
calmly.
'NIy dear Mary" she said, laughing
gently, "you forget our changed rcla-
tons. You must not expect him to
come MS often MS he used We have
both come to the conclusion TINT we
are quite different from what we had
thought each other, and we have mn.
tunlly agreed to see rs little us possible
Of one another"
But when she reached her own
room her self-control deserted her, and
she cast herself down on the little
couch and wept long and bitterly.
~ hate him!" she said to herself,
vindictively. 81 do; L hate him
L
opposite. Oh, / ought to DO ashamed
of myself to care for ono SO utterly
indifferent to me! He didn't even
come i'll, and after all these years Hc
shall never know that [ love him,
never! However much / may suffer,
l have enough pride to hide it. He
shall think me MS Indifferent as he is
himself"
Her mouth took n hard look, very
foreign to its sweet lines, MS she rose
and bnthed her face; and through all
that evening she bore herself so brave
ly that no one guessed of the bitter
ness and wounded pride she thus smil-
ingly hid.
If Mrs. Messenger had been given to
abstruse reflections, she might have
asked herself how jim and Nancy
could possibly avoid each other, ne
cortling to their compact, when he was
always coming to tho Ness? For he
came every day, and at all hours of
the day, rs he had been wont to do
five years ago. There was one differ
enco between this daily intercourse and
that of the old times, and that n rather
important one. Nancy lost NIL her
gentle brightness when speaking to
jim, and was coldly, distnntly polite
to him. He saw this and no doubt re-
sented it, but Nancy never guessed
that from his manner. He did every
thing he could think of to please her,
but with no outward effect Inwnrdlv
she knew that her love for him was
strengthening day by day, and that no
power of hers could prevent it.
Jim was in most trying position.
He knew himself to be deeply in love
with Nancy; his feeling for her had
never died, as he had imagined; hut
with the knowledge of her us sweet,
noble woman came the knowledge that
he had forfeited the right to tell of his
love. Her letters had been of kind
of which lie had wearied when he had
ceased to be n youth. But, anxious
that his own letters should not be rs
uninteresting to her rs hers were to