The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-11-24

question:, hearing that trouble has come
to thee, TO make thee a proffer Of friend
ship"
ITO kick a man when he is down. 1
should suppose" muttered my father.
Thy troubles are common talk" re-
sumed Mr.. Saxby, therefore IL is not
idle curiosity which impels me to seek
thee. but a ~neighborly desire to befriend
thee"
ITO think that the business of the Ar
dells is common talk exclaimed my
father. throwing himself into a chair.
well, go on, friend neighbor, with thy
tale"
1T is a hard matter to touch upon
with delicacy," returned Mr.. SaXby, "but
between neighbors it is best TO speak
plainly. Friend Ardell, thou are in need
of money. i have money laid by me.
and thou art not of the community of
Friends, yet art thou my neighbor. and,
if thou art content, 1 will lend thee suffi-
Gent for thy present necessities. The
rules of our community will not ALLOW me
to take a pledge of thee beyond thy
word. This is my offer; ii is Tor thee 10
accept or reject it at thy pleasure"
You and your money go to perdition,'
roared my father, beside himself with
rag ~springing from his chair. You tell
me, with you SNUG face and canting
ways, that / am not of your sect. You,
a Quaker, you dare to tell me that you
will venture to do a kindnesS TO me even
though / belong TO the established
church. This is too much. 1t is enough
to be Inundated by the offer of your
money; your Christian brotherliness is
too much Out of the house with you.
Not another word"
While my father thus ragged On i
looked up to meet Hugh Saxby's glance.
He must have read in my eyes the con-
triton 1 felt at the insults being heaped
upon his father by mine, for his eyes
softened as he looked at me. and a look
of pity came in them, almost amounting
to tenderness, / thought.
The .Saxbys, father and son, left the
room as soon as my father had done
but the effect of their visit
stayed with him during the remainder
of the evening, making him moody n
restless, and he again sought consolation
in the wine cup.
The day of sale having arrived, the
land was sold, the purchaser being Mr..
Saxby, which made my father doIbly
sore with him, for, said he. see how the
sneaking rogue would have lent me
money upon it and got it for -he mort
gage; thereby doing the Saxbys yet more
injustice
Our affairs being thus somewhat easAd.
I made further reductions in the house
hold, and we would even yet have rlace
a good showing upon what WIS lelt CT
the estate if it had been free from tett.
But unfortunately it was not, and my
1 III O1a oSollA ~ fHO
again losing great SUNS of money at
cards, some more of the estate was SD.
Mr.. Saxby being again ihe p~IrchastI.
We were thus reduced 70 a small mousse
hold, living in a corner of our great man
sion, with only a pitiful nundrei Or Two
acres of land round the house and that
not of the best soil and cumbered with
debt.
Being no longer in my Former high
social position and no longer d young
girl, but a woman grown, l was wont
to walk to and from the village for the
purpose of ordering provisions for lie
house or to church, and thus frequently
met with Hugh Saxby, with whom 1
now spoke at our meeting, and by little
and little we would walk together. I
finding him a most agreeable compar-
ion, and noble and leI:cate in mis-
thoughts. Thus it CHANGED chat on the
18th of September, a day OF horror. but
n,ix ed with loving memories . promised
to meet him at a point in the woods a
mile or so distant from our house (my
first tryst with HIM, where he would
give me some cartridges which he In
tended to shoot that day.
I walked slowly to the appointed spot,
thinking pleasant thoughts in the sweet
September afternoon, for / was some
what early, hearing his gun
once or twice in the distance, and sat
down upon a fallen log to await his
coming. Nor had l long to wait, for
presently his spaniel Fan came running
up to me to fawn upon me, and imnie-
diately he himself appeared, with apollo
gies for keeping me waiting, though 1T
was not yet the time set for our meet
ing. We sat awhile enjoying the fair
evening and counting his bag OF game
until the frightening Gadow warned
us that the sun was Sinking; SO, gather
ing the birds which he hal snot, We
proceeded towards my homo, the spaniel
running along by our side, seeming Tor
game.
While thus slowly walking and in
pleasant discourse we were surprised to
hear the spaniel barking most ~furiously
in a thicket by the side of the path.
Hugh Saxby called to her, but she diSre-
garded his command, and now a savage
growl in the underbrush froze the blood
in my veins with terror. At the same
instant q huge bear. coming out of the
thicket, stood in the path before us. Now,
the nature of these beasts is not to mo-
lest people, but rather to fee than to
court battle except first attacked, when
they become very fierce. This bear, hav-
ing been disturbed at his supper of ber-
ries in the thicket by the spaniel, which
still continued to bark and snap at him,
seeing us before him.. began 20 think that
he was being attacked, and rose upon
his hind legs with a terrible roar. Hugh
Saxby placed himself before me-, though
armed only with his fowling piece and
a hunting knife in his belt. directly in
front of the monster. and leveled the
piece at his breast.
Run, Theodora,' he commanded me,
calling me by name for the first time.
Run; thou canst escape while 1 engage
the bear"
Nay, Hugh, / will not run. leaving
thee in danger / replied, calling him
also by name, and using the thee-thou
/ had learned from him. / stepped to
his side as / spoke and put my hand
within his arm. He turned his face to
me one moment. and in that glance our
troth was plighted. 1 knew that he
loved me, and my joy in being loved by
him and pride to see him so calmly face
i this danger nerved me for the coming
struggle.
stand benin me then" he said, again
fixing his attention on the enemy, land
pray to God for deliverance."
1 obeyed him in so far as to stand be-
hind him. but the excitement or my
heart was too great for nIe to pray.
The bear, from being some ten PAGES
from us as at first, was now approached
TO two or three PAGES, roaring and SHOW
ing his fangs in a most frightful manner,
until ii seemed to me that his shaggy
breast was pressed against the muzzle
of the gun. Through all my terror l
could not but admire how my lover Il
n - 80 ~1-l cfood 1iEo q Sfaflla