The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1895-04-06
A PRETTY PAIR.

Cyril Danver's hands were thrust
deep in his pockets. and a vexed
frown clouded his handsome face,
while from time to time he uttered an
impatient cxclan alton. It was evil
dent that something had upset his
mental eqnilibrium-but what?
Well, as a matter of fact. It was
nothing very new. 1t had happened
before, and would probably happen
again; though he registered a mental
|~yoW now-as he had done on every
Similar, occasion-that it never, never
never should.
10 state the case, as it stood, he had
just. discovered that he had grown
tired of the girl whom but a little time
ago he had thought was the only wom-
an in the world for him. He had made
the discovery so often before that it
mad lost the charnl Of novelty. and now
aroused Il certain amount Of resent
ment within his breast-resentlnent
NSoAASl OlIlC Ill SelGIdl LUZ UCluS
unable to produce woman in particu-
lar fascinating enough to retain his
rowing fancy. Why on earth, he won
dercd irritablX, We're all women made
SO they charmed you UP to a certain
point and palled upon you afterward?
For Elaine Dering the present dis
turber OF his peace, was somewhat
different. from the other women whom
he had loved and left. A slim, fair
haired girl, with a pale, spirituelle
face and rapt gray eyes, she seemed
a being of different clay from the or
binary fin de steele maiden. Simple,
child-like and unworldly, he felt it
was impossible to attribute to her the
thousand-and-one small vanities, jeal-
ousies, coquetries and caprices that go
to make up, the sum of the modern
woman's existence. :"
No, she vas no modern cOquette, no
up-to-date irt, who. could play a man
at his own game and give as good as
she got. She was innocent and trust
ing, and he wished to heaven he had
left her alone. 49,.
The hunter instinct was strong with
in him, and he was untiring in his
pursuit of shy game. So long as the
object of his desire eluded him, he
threw his whole heart and soul into
the chase; but when once uncertainty
was emerged into certainty, and he
knew that he had co%nquered,i in that
very moment victory and vanquished
alike lost their charms for him. Like
SO many men, he cared only for that
which he thought he could not have.
Until the previous evening he had
felt sure. of Elaine. Up to that
time she had been shy and elusive and
a trifle cold, and the state Of her feel
ings toward him had been a subject
for speculation. On the previous
evening the mysterious glamour of
the twilight hour, and the subtle fas-
cination of her serene gray eyes, had
combined together to get the better of
him. In one moment he had aWOke to
the fact that he loved her madly, and
desired her above everything on earth,
and in the next to the fact that she
loved him, and was to be obtained.
That was the climax, and now-after
the climax the reaction.
No wonder that Cyril looked moody
and uncomfortable as he wended his
way toward the hawthorn r e that
had been the silent witness of SO many
meetings and partings. -,1&a.
He was first at the trysting place,
but Elaine soon joined him, and the
moment he saw her he became con
scious Of some subtle change In her.
He could not define 1t, but he felt that
it was there.
He threw his cigarette away, and
StrOlled on by her side as usual, but
the situation had lost it's piquancy,
and he soon began to cast desperately
about for some means OF getting out
of; 1t. 49,.
It's a month to-day" he said rather
%irreleyantly, since 1 came to this hall"
Elaine nodded her fair head.
Eyes," she aSsented, land it's q
month to-day since l came to this vicar
age" .z.., ~ -,
q meant to stay a fortnight when l
CAME he hazarded presently.
80 did l." returned Elaine, with a
shrug OF her slender shoulders. "Alas!
for the frailty Of human resolutions
Deadlock! .&..~. =. = ~.
been such jolly weather, don't you
know" said Cyril, desperately and dis
jointedly. Country life not SO bad,
after ali. Thought L should hate it
when / left town, but what, with ten.
mis- and boating and fishing. and-and
one thing and another, l-welI, I-weil,
dering helplessly. -. ~ Il ..afs,% !
Elaine lifted her face a little, so that
the uncertain light fell upon it.
II thought 1 should hate it, too, when
l left town." she answered in her cool,
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