The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1895-08-30
RECOVERING A RING.

cushion under each arm and straight
way went down to the boathouse, for
Virginia had promised herself to me IN
marriage, and l perforce obeyed her
always and implicitly, as Is the GUS
tom in such cases.
had been staying for some weeks
with her people. who had country
house on the western shore of lake
wen, the name doesn't matter We had
been together n great deal, and / had
learned to read Virginias moods from
the expression of her adorable little
mouth. on this particular occasion her
lips were pressed tightly together,
which symptom meant in my code that
a storm was brewing, and so, after
her ladyshlp had settled herself com
fOrtably among the cushions, |, saying
nothing sculled steadily away from the
shore for some minutes. And besides,
1t was one OF those gorgeous autumn
afternoons that make one silent. Little
will-o-t he-wisps of sunlight were dan
cling with the rpples on the surface of
the lake. The trees on shore, like CO.
quotes who are conscious of having
lost the full bloom of their beauty, had
dressed themselves in gaudy suits of
scarlet and orange, as If hoping by
brllliancy of color to hide the tragedy
of decay that makes autumn so inf
nitely pathetic. Ever and anon an adj
venturous trout would spring out of
the water to look at the deep blue of
the sky, and great golden bumblebees
went buzzing over our heads in their
transit across the lake in search of
fresh plumber
Watching these things, | was almost
unmindful of Virginias presence, and
l started when she said, sharply
You're not very amusing this after
noon"
1 smiled an answer whereupon she
Immediately cleared decks for action,
ana said, with fine air of irony: IF
only your dear Mrs. Carruthers We're
mere, you would soon find plenty to
say: I'm sure the way you went on
with her at lunch was simply disgrace
full. Not that 1 am jealous of her.
You needn't think that!'
MRS Carruthers was fellow guest
OF mine who possessed greRt \u5py of
the alluring qualities of dN9g
'Virgier'
She is, and you know it. You can't
call her prettyr'
well, dear, L suppose 1 mayn't, but
have heard lots of fellows say they
thought she was brick"
Brick or no brick she's 40 IL she's
day."
She probably is day, but 4O--no.
Shall we say 1872"
This was ingenious on my part, see
ing that Virginia and 1 both knew that
Mrs. Carruthers was not yet 26.
Virginia flushed, and looked at me
with her lower lip quivering.
George, when you are sarcastic ! al
most hate you"
Dear!' said 1, reproachfully, accen-
tuating the vowel sound, to make the
little word seem more caressing.
wish had never met you. hate
Delng engaged anyway-and we seem
TO be always quarreling"
a,o ~ takes two to make a quargadugh'
gle, and I'm sure I''''-.' '.ieI, Vir-
n - hag .
V@hoi" ) the aggravating part of 1t.
i'-Ju sit there smiling and L can't make
you angry"
To my shame be it said, I burst out
laughing. The moment after | was
sorry, for the tears began to gather in
her eyes, and l can't bear that and
more ominous STILL she was fidgeting
with her engagement ring. Now this
really alarmed me. AS a rule, our en-
Sagement was broken and recemented
once week. Only the afternoon be-
fore we had gone through the cere-
mony. If 1t were going to happen once
every day there were elements of dan
ger In the custom which it was desra-
BILE to avoid.
But before I had time to sue for for
glyeness,, Virginia took off the little
gold band, and after a moments hesita-
ton, flung 1t in to the lake. And then
she looked straight at me, with a brave
mouth let me know that she was fright
ened at what she had done. l was
more hurt than words can say, and
with a few swift strokes, turned the
boats head homeward. But 1 couldn't
bear to leave the ring behind, and l de-
termlned to dive for it. 1 shipped my
oars and took off my coat. Virginia
pretended to take no notice Then
watching her closely, L began to unite
my shoe Iaces. sim she pretended not
10 see. Then took off my belt and
SHOES, and placed the contents of my
trousers pockets in neat little heap
In the bottom of the boat.
Virglnias eyes met mine, and she
said TREMENDOUSLY: What are you GO
Ing to do, George?"
Dive for the ring Virginia"
can you swim?"
mo"
1 couldn't resist this fib. It would
have spoiled 1t all If had told her Sat
l, at Elton, had held the school ch1tn-
pionship for three years in succession
George, DEAR can't we let the men
dredge for it?"
How should we ever remember the
exact spot where 1t went down? No."
this with slight touch of melodra-
maj must take the risk And, Vir-
die, If / should not-not come up, don't
you know-tell them that L fell over
board"
Virginia gave vent to a scream. Not
one OF tnOse Staccato notes that the
mention of a mouse will generally bring
from women, but genuine scream Of
fear.
George, please-please don't! I am
so sorry L was jealous and cross and
wicked"
And the tears began to show them
selves again, so, without more ado, [
went to the bow and took a header |
found that the water was only about
ten feet deep, but the ring was not to
be seen. on coming up for breath |
found poor Virginia brandishing an oar
over the side of the boat, with a view
to saving my life, if possible. seized
1t with much show of distress. and
waited until l got my breath. Virginia
implored me to come back into the
boat, but l was obdurate. After the
third dive l returned to the surface
triumphantly holding out the object OF
my search. 1 swan to the side of the
boat and, taking hold of Virginia :
left hand, placed the ring on her fin
ger. We made many vows and prom
ises, and 1t was not before some min
utes had expired that 1 began to real
lie that 1 was getting awfully cold
Clambering back into the boat with