Arizona republican., 1895-02-13

l AO0 are right. We had better go back; your new friends will be expecting you" |
 'Why will you be so perverse and so cruel, Robert?"
 "At least I am not cruel enough to forget you. But that, you could ac- count kindness, I suppose"
 Indeed, would rather have you for get me than think so unkindly of me. had hoped that we might always be good friends" [ q think" replied with unpardon- able brutality, ''that you had better invest in a lap dog. They are much more managea ble."
 "You are right" she said, with icy sweetness; 'and they are at least grate- ful to their friends"
 Forgive me, Alice" I stammered; | ''I did not mean to be such brute.'
 ''Let us forget everything but that i we are very good friends" she an- swered after moments pause. And I want to put your friendship to a self ish use this very minute.'
 You know very well that I would gladly die for you"
 ''Oh, my wants are not so exorbitant as that" she answered, lightly. II merely want your advice, as my oldest and best friend, in a case where I can't trust my family to judge impartially. I think you know MT. Hamilton-Mr. Richard Hamilton, I mean" And I fancied that she blushed trif1e as she mentioned the name. 1 answered with very bad grace that 1 had the great honor of a distant acquaintance with the young gentleman in question. 1 L"I fancied so. Now, the long and short of the matter is, that my people are very anxious to have me-marry him; and Aunt Mary in particular has her heart set on it..
 ''He seems to me very desirable parti, indeed,' said, coldly. q sup pose you hardly need my congratula- tions."
 "He, too, is so silly as to want to marry me" she went on, without seem ing to notice my rude speech, land I have promised to give him an answer this evening. And what"-here she seemed strangely embarrassed, and be- came deeply absorbed in the figures on her fan-''what answer shall I give him?'
 What answer?" cried, as her mean ing flashed over my dull comprehen- sion, ''why, tell him that you are en- gagged, of course!''
 Just what happened next is rather hay in my mind-almost obliterated by the direful catastrophe which so soon followed. 1 dimly remember kissing her upturned face as we stood in the shadow of a great South Amer lcan cactus, that screened us from all observation, and drawing her toward divan that we had occupied on the memorable evening when we had been engaged before. We knew all the strongholds of her aunts house per fectly.
 How absurd to think that we ever quarreled," observed, presently.
 ''Oh, don't talk of that horrid time any more! have nearly cried my eyes out over it. Let's just remember that we have loved each other all the while" UT d llOluoHG llSFe Was SllGnCG.
 ''Alice!" I said, severely, as sudden thought came to me; what were you intending to answer"
 That" replied Mistress Alice, se- renely, you will never know"
 ''There, that dance is finished, said; ''the rabble will be out here in a mo- ment."
 'There is no hurry" she answered, with the delightful sang .trOid of wom- an-kind under circumstances that are trying to masculine nerves. :'We can see anyone who passes the turn of the stalrcase."
 ''Ahl now it is time,'' she said, laugh ingly; land I will see if I can fix my self up little. You have put my hair in shocking state of disorder. Ugh Whats that?"
 sprang to my feet, aghast. On her , delicate pink corsage was large and gruesome stain of black, that was slowly but surely spreading over the entire front.
 'I-I-Pm afraid it's inkr' I said, in , quavering accents of despair. Ink! Where in the world should ink come from?" Her voice had a 5 hard, sharp quality, that had heard l once in awhile before. Evidently her } ladyship's mood was fast losing its f suitability, and I felt some tremors of . fear.
 r I knew altogether too well where the ink came from. With an awful cer- , tainty I looked at my once immaculate : white waistcoat; it was now a grue- f some soppy mass of Smiths blue-black commercial writing fluid. The emer- t gency was frightful. Was there an l outside exit2 And then the dress