Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-03-28

'It's . month to-day" he said,
rather irrelevantly, since came to
the hall"
Elaine nodded her fair head.
yes" she assented, "and it's q
month to-day since ! came to the
vicarage. .
Cyril pulled his mustache thought
fully. His remark and her answer
did not seem to have done much
toward advancing things in the way
in which they ought to go. What on
earth, he wondered. had he better
say next.
81 meant to stay fortnight when
l came" he hazarded. presently.
$50 did l." returned Elaine. with
a shrug OF her slender shoulders.
ALIAS for the frailty of human
resolutions Deadlock
Been such jolly weather, don't
you know" said Cyril. desperately
and disjointedly. Country life not
so bad, after all. Thought should
hate it when left town, but, what
with tennis and boating and fishing
and-and one thing and another, l.
well, I-well, don't you know
He broke of, foundering helplessly.
Elaine lifted her face little so
that the uncertain light fell full upon
it,
Il thought I should hate it, too,
when left town." she answered in
her cool, level tones; but what with
tennis and boating and fishing and
and one thing and another She
also broke off at that point and filled
in the blank with little sigh.
Another deadlock
Cyril began to wish that there were
no such things as women in the
world, which, considering the amount
of amusement and food for thought
that they had from time to time af-
forded him, was distinctly migrate
full on his part.
He gave Elaine quick, furtive
glance. She looked very pretty in
the soft twilight, more than pretty,
but her dreamy beauty did not stir
his pulses to-day as it had done yes
terday. Yesterday she had seemed
to be beyond him. to-day she was
within reach. He had but to stretch
out his hand to grasp that which he
had hitherto so ardently desired
and 10, the knowledge that it was so
killed the desire. Such is human
nature. and above all, mans nature.
But il Elaine looked even prettier
than usual, she was also looking
graver, and the uneasy frown dark
ened on Cyril's brow. He feared
that she was one Of the girls who
misunderstood him, and that she
would make a scene when he told
her that he was going away. He had
lived through more than one scene
in his life time, had had anger, tears
and reproaches heaped upon his de-
voted head, and he was not ambi-
tious Of repeating the experience.
He was sorry that things were as
they were. His was the fault, he
knew, but he could not help adding
the saving clause that it was fault
OF temperament, not of intention.
His regret was genuine enough,
and he called himself plenty Of un-
pleasant names mentally, for he was
a kind hearted man and a good sort
as men 60. He never deliberately
intended to do harm-though, un-
fortunately, that had no bearing on
the fact that he did considerable
amount.
Evil is wrought by want of thought
As well rs want of heart"
well, it has been pleasant
month anyway" he said at last,
urged thereto by desperate feeling
that he must say something at all
hazards.
Yes" Elaine assented, dreamily;
very pleasant"
Her serene, unconscious eyes gazed
straight before her into the hay dis.
lance with rapt, far away express
sion. She was all in white, and she
looked like a tall sweet, May lily,
with her slender, swaying form, her
pure, pale face, in it's framework of
rufIled golden hair There was some
thing ideally poetic about her fair,
cold loveliness, something that
seemed to lift her above the level of
the ordinary woman to a higher plane
that was all her own.
And like all pleasant things"
Cyril went on, in the same desperate
way, lit must come TO an end,
suppose All pleasant things come
to an end, don't they?'
Elaine nodded, gravely.
Eyes, the copy books say so-and,
of course, they are right"
"Of course they are right" echoed
Cyril.
Elaine turned the calm light of
her gray eyes full OH his face.
81 suppose, she said, you mean
you are going away"
Cyril was somewhat taken aback;
he had not expected her to jump at
conclusion quite so quickly, but
all the same he felt rather relieved.
Yes" he answered, II am going
back to town tomorrow / did
good deal of thinking last night and
I--well, / came to the conclusion
that things were getting little be-
yond me.
He made his speech in exactly the
right tone and with exactly the right
expression on his face. He had made
it so often before that he knew to
nicely how to do it.
Elaine's eyes had wandered of to
the distance again. 'Ah!" she said