The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1895-06-28
~. he is not deadY' he added, in con-

~, he is not deadY' he added, IN con-
aternntion.
"oh, wifi you not understand It
was all q Joke at fssst. l thought 1t
would be great fun, and 10 I-weil. I
am Ned Clayborn, and after titps we
became epgnged-qll In fun, too" hero
l laughed fysterically; ~ tried to
stop, but was 10 wicked could not,
and now poor Nellie will break her
heart, and-and-and-" ind Z hroke
down and began to cry In miseraGls
wny.
Unlike most men. my companion
was not In the least disconnected ct
my tears, but simply laughed loud and
long
Presently the laughter ceascd; then
heard uneasy movements In the
chair occupied by my companion; then
he get up and paced about rsstlessly.
Pretty soon a light touch fell upon
my arm, and his voice, very gentle
and kind, said!
Nellie Is here to receive your con-
fcssiop and render forgiveness"
dried my eyes and looked up, but
saw no ono but the tall young man
who was looking nj me very earsestiy'
where is she?" l askedj ready to
cry again. ~
Here" he said, holding out his
| hand.
Instinctively I put mine into 1t, and
II closed over It firmly.
~ also have a confession to make"
he said, earnestly. II Thought you
were another young fellow like hiys
self. and, wishing to relieve the te-
dium Of these long, monoton0us days,
struck up filtration. intended some
day to meet the young man and have
It out with him, when you came with
your strange confession. In short"
he ended abruptly, II am Nellie Mer-
ton. And you are Ned Clayborn?
Come, dry your eyes. Ned your Nellie
IL not broken-hearted at the turn Of
affairs"
After staring Mt him In silent amaze
ment for the space Of five seconds, the
truth Of the whole matter began to
dawn upon my confused brain. My
face grew hot with Indignation. l
snatched my hand from his and sprnng
to my feet.
you are n contemplate felloww
cried
He did not reply, but stood looking
down at me from. his superior height,
ut was d hundred times mcaner In
you, because your object was n
woman. will never forgive You II
live to be n thousand"
| Isn't that rather parndoxical, con.
sidering the fact that you thought
was u woman and yoi We're enacting
tho role Of the sterner scxf" he asked.
You might hive known" an
swered. severely.
But did not" he said.
Here Is my train" said. shortly.
"Good-by," he replied, assisting me
on to the train, despite my independ.
ence, and lifting Ills hat as II pulled
out.
Travelled back to Brandon sadder
but a wiser woman.
"You IRE n fool" said /. to my re.
Election In the little mirror us / re.
moved my hat.
A year rolled by. had entirely re-
covered from my chagrin. and buried
In the darkes, chamber OF my mem
DRY was n vivid recollection Of the
voice and manner and appearance of
the tall young operator Mt Danwood.
one morning | was arranging and
copying some night messages when
long shadow fell across my papers
A glance upward told me who 1t was
The door OF that secret md darkened
chamber OF my memory flew Jperi and
! knew that the tall young man whom
I had met u Danvers was not as vel
quite consigned to oblivion. Standing
with hat In hand and without preface
Of any kind, he said;
over n year ago you asked me to
marry you, and I consented. l have
come to-day to nsk. will you come
or shall enter suit for breach OF
9. promiseT
What could do? And. after all,
pcrhnps be would not have made me
n better husband had met him In the
old. conventional way and waited for
him TO propose to me.