Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-11-29
RECOVERING A RING.

AhH1 AZ" A1 ~ H&E
a row. So l Of course tucked q big red
way went down to the b%oathouse, for
Virginia had promised herself to nc in
marriage, and l perforce obeycd her al
ways and implicitly, rs is the custom in
such cases.
/ had been staying for some weeks
with her people. who had n country
house on the western shore Of lake
well, the name doesn't matter. We had
been together a great deal, and l had
learned to read ViEginia's moods from
the expression 81 her adorable little
mouth. On this particular occasion her
Alps were pressed tightly together which
symptom meant in my code that a storm
was brewing, and so, after her ladyship
had settled herself comfortably among
the cushions, /, saying nothing, sculled
steadily away from the shore for some
minutes. And besides it was one Of
those gorgeous autumn afternoons that
make one silent. Little will-o'-the-wiEps
Of sunlight were dancing with tho rip
pies ON the surface Of tho lake. Tue
trees on the shore, like coquettes who
are conscious Of having lost tho full
bloom of their beauty, had dressed
themselves in gaudy suits of scarlet and
orange, as if hoping by brilliancy Of
color TO hide the tragedy Of decay that
makes autumn so infinitely pathetic.
Ever and anon an adventurous 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 Virginia's presence, and 1
started when she said sharply, YOU'RE
not very amusing this afternoon.
/ smiled an answer, U%lIereupOn she
Immediately cleared decks for action,
and said, with q fine air Of irony, "If
only your dear Mrs. Carruthors were
here, you would soon find plenty 60 say.
I'm Bure the way you went on with her
ut lunch was simply ~disgracefuL Not
that 1 am jealous of her. You needn't
think thatp'
Mrs. Carruthers was a fellow guest of
mine who possessed q great many Of
the alluring qualities Of a young widow.
"She's a horrid firtP'
"Virgiep'
'She is, and you know it. You can't
call her prettyl
well, dear, 1 suppose 1 mayn't, but
/ have heard lots Of fellows say they
thought she was a brick"
Brick or no brick, she's 40 if she's
a day"
''she probably is a day, but 4O-no.
Shall we say S0?"
This was ingenious on my part, see
ing that Virginia and 1 both knew that
Mrs. Carruthers was not yet 90.
Virginia flushed, and looked at me
with her lower lip quivering.
George, when you are sarcastic I al
most hate you"
"Dearl ' said I r~eproachfully, accen-
tuating the Q vowel sound, to make the
little word seem more caressing.
II wish ! had ever met you. I hate
being engaged anyway-and we seem to
be always quarreling."
1T takes two to make a quarrel, Vir-
gle, and I'm sure I'm i'll the best Of
tempers.
"That's the %aggravating part Of it.
You sit there smiling and 1 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 1 can't bear that, and more omin-
Gus still, she was fidgeting with her en-
gagement ring. Now this really alarm
cd me. As a rule, our engagement was
broken and recemented Once a week.
Only the afternoon before we had'gone
through the ceremony. If it were going
to happen ono every day, there were
elements Of danger in the custom which
Il was desirable to avoid.
But before 1 had time to sue for for
giyeness Virginia took off the little gold
band and after a moments hesitation
flung it to the lake. And then she look
cd straight at me, with a brave show Of
defiance, although the telltalo mouth
let me know that she vas frightened at
what she had done. / was more hurt
than words can say, and with q few
swift strokes turned tho boats head
homeward. But / couldn't bear to leave
the ring behind, and 1 determined to
dive for it. / shipped my oars and took
of my coat. Virginia pretended TO take
no notice. Then, watching her closely,
1 began TO unite my shoe laoes. Still
she pretended not to see. Then I took
of my belt and shoes and placed the
contents Of my trousers pockets in a
neat little heap in tho bottom Of the
boat
Virginia's eyes met mine, and she
said TREMENDOUSLY, "What / you going
to do, George?"
olive for the ring, Virginia"
Can you swim?"
"No."
/ couldn't resist this hb, It would
have spoiled it all if I had told her that
I. at Elton, had held the school cham
pionship for three years in succession.
"George, dear, can't we let the men
dredgo for it?'
"H)w should we vor remember the
exact spot where it went down? No, "
this with aslight touch Of melodrama
- must take the risk. And, Virgie.
IL i should not-not como up, don't you
- Ill H. a. III .-.u-.N -