The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1896-11-26
CHAPTER VII-CContinucd.)

Sh&hIEfN
he resting was of an odd kind. Ii
diove her again and again to the glass,
before which she arranged her hair
and prinked with deliucration and IN
i"iy. 1t sent her into the garden to
gather more flowers to adOrn the draw
Ing room. which was already a perfect
flower garden itself; it compelled EGr
to mount TO her bedroom and hastily
don IA certain pink cotton dress which
she had heard admired not many days
previously. Again il drove her back
to the drawing room. whittier she wan-
Gerec to ard 30. until the tinkle Of The
gate bell. rea,hils: her listening ears,
seemed to remind her Of her fatigue:
for she sank down into an arm chl.",
took W a book and was ut once "l-
gr 'ssed in is peTusal. She did not no
.ice a shadow pass the window, nor
when the door opened did she immedi-
ately 'ook up: but as Sarah announced.
"Mr. Flight. if you please, MISS she
started. the book fell to the floor, and
in that fun. clear voice for which this
poor. unwelcomr visitor had yearned
to hear again. she exclaimed:
"Oh. il is ycLy'
Thcueh this greeting was not "eas-
surfing, ii had been wrung from Hell
-er's astonisrmr nt and the next mo
ment she had risen with outstretched
friendly hand to meet him. In a mo-
mtnt he saw that she had changed.
Hope whispered that the change was
to his advantage. Her manner had al
tered; the coquettish defiance, varied
with cold disdain, with which she had
formerly met his advances, had gone;
a stercOtypad p%oliteness had usurped
its place.
Pom and bred in women is the art Of
fcave. Never did swallow swoOp more
lightly, more swiftly, more restlessly
after his evening meal than Helen flew
from subject TO subject. Her ease, ner
frank friendliness, and her command
of topic, voice and smile might have
answered Mr.. Flights question better
than any word, If lie would have been
content to read these lucid signs, and
thus have saved them both unncces-
Isary pain.
At first the sound OF her voice N d
the sight of her beauty was bliss sutfi-
cient. but soon he grew impatient OF
the chit-chat in which he "a taking Il
secondary part. He made several un-
successful efforts to change the sub
ject, and then, remembering that Dr..
Abercrombie remarks that no woman
can talk more than twenty minutes
without cessation, he ~obstiDately held
his peace and waited for the inevitable
pause. 1t came; he seized his Opppr-
tunity. and hurled his declaration mo
tile interval.
When, with a faltering voice, Helen
declared thai she could never, never,
never be his wife, that neither long
yea, S, nor his devotion, o. his pros.
p:.cts, nor the wishes of her parents,
moi her poverty, nor her unhappiness
could ever, by any possible chance,
alter one jot or title of e hetern'ina-
t.In, il matter little to hin whether sic
pitieL or hated him. Though with h"r
eyes Drumming with tears she gave
him her hands, and never drew them
away when his grasp clutched her
slight fingers, though she did not re-
prove him when he laid his lips on
them, yet, passion-blinded as he was,
he could not detect ;ny sign OF relent-
ing from her attitude.
She who, even under the suspicion of
rerroof, had Hard into hot anger and
retort, now hung her head when his
misery wrung forth some bitter re-
breaches from him, and murmured,
humbly:
II know, l know; l am so sorry; but
I didn't believe-I didn't understand.
Forgive me-"
He found it difficult to credit that
such true, deep, absorbing love as he
felt could meet with no return-that 1t
had been born only to die. He felt
that lie was hardly treated, and so he
was. But life is hard, and things go
wrong with us more often than they
go right; into each life the rain falls
heavily, and II we do not happen to
see our neighbor drenched To the skin,
we may rest assured tina: he has not
ESCAPED his share OF ducking, although
he may be dry and trim enough when
we chance TO meet him
1t was bad luck that induced Miss
Mitford's front gate bell to give 50
soft n tiukle that the sound escaped
HeIen's sharp hearing: il was bad luck
which caused her 10 stand in full
sight OF the open window when Mr.
Flight held both her hands in his and
stooped 10 kiss them; it was an n,
lucky impulse that made her Y rer-h
away those hands and dart guiltily a
ward or two asunder from the !ounG
man Wien tHc uid"h.s i'oi' so ""'
oncned and Mr.. Jones was an
nounctd.
Ii the visitor felt surprise or annoy
ance at the tableau presented to him
his name did not betray him. His
self-possession was admirable; he ever
covered He,en's confusion n Mr.
Flights awkward ~preoccupation by a
flow OF conversation, and when the
latter took his leave and the young
lady accompanied him, in answer to
his earnest petition, to he front gate
be concealed a most ir1ita
,bility under a suaye smile.
CHAPTER VIII.