Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1896-02-05
mother dav. . I wanted to see you,

probably"
sT don't know that I should" mus
ingly. "Besides, 1 want you to know
Nina. She is such dear little soul,
and SO pretty. I am sure you will
quite fall in love with her."
She looked at her companion for the
first time, then quickly lowered her
eunshade, for the dignitied amazement
of his expression was too much for her
gravity. For minutes silence reigned
in the boat. The Man was wondering
if it could really be possible that the
Girl regarded him simply as one of her
many friends, and was quite indiffer-
ent rs to whether he cared more for
another girl or not.
It had never occurred to him that
other men might admire Ruth SO
much as to wish to take her from him.
de looked at her in his endeavor to
fathom it all. He looked OF her, and
then he no longer wondered. She
was really very pretty. When he
looked at her she was leaning on the
side OF the boat, her head resting on
her arm.
GLOW perfectly idyllic it is" she
finally said. "What comfort it is
to be able to sit silent when one feels
inclined, and not feel one is playing
the bore. 1t is sign of true friend.
ship, Mark. I could not do SO with
any one but you, but you under
stand" She looked ct him with a
sweet, grave smile. "We ought to be
good friends slter knowing each other
all these years, oughtn't we?"
Mark nodded. Friend always
seems to me such an inadequate, cold
word" he said. "Friends and &C.
quaiptances are the same to me"
"Oh, no; oh, mol" she cried. Gao
quaintances mean so little, they are
nothing. I have SO many, but OF
friends SO few. You are one of my
chiefest, and"
"I always thought we were more
than friends" he said.
"You silly boy, how could we be3"
she replied, with little laugh, but
the laugh did not ring true.
"Well, you know what the old
folks"
'sMark, do you know that it is near
ly o'clock, and that l promised to
be at Armstrong; at 4.3O2 We must
really go in now"
Later that day it occurred to the
Man that he had not thought of the
Irish girl for several hours. He did
not think OF her until the moon rose,
and he went out on the headland and
sat alone with his pipe.
"Rutb, do you feel inclined to come
out for stroll?" The Girl was sitting
in large basket chair in the garden
on the cliff-top; in her hand she held
a magazine, but she was not reading
it, she was looking out over the sea,
thinking, thinking OF something
which called up little smile to her
lips.
She looked so sweet and fresh and
cool, her soft white gown showing her
pretty, sunburnt cheeks, and the glo-
rious color of her hair. Mark ap-
preached her with his request almost
difidently. During the last week or
two ne had found that she did not
Jump at his suggestions with her old
old alacrity; in fact, it had taken him
all his time and oil his tact to secure
her company at all, and so occupied
had he been that he had had no time
to think ut all of the Irish girl; at
least he had only found time of an
evening over his pipe, and two OF
those evenings he had spent in think
ing OF Ruth.
To-day, however, Ruth willingly
consented to accompany him. 'Let
us go on the heather" she said, "and
you must talk to me, for I am feeling
fearfully lazy"
So they strolled along the narrow
lane inland until they came to the
moor where great stringy beds of pur-
pie and white heather stretched away
for miles and the low hedges were
draped with festoons of honeysuckle
and sold mans beard" Close to one
of these hedges they found a seat.
or at least Ruth found seat; Mark
did not want one, he Icy on the heather
beside her.
'tMark, this is On earthly paradise, "
she exclaimed, as she leaned back
against soft cushion of sweet scented
thyme. "If 1 was superstitious
should say it was too good to last.
'sI think i6 is" said Mark, rather
mournfully. "We seldom have walk
or anything together now, Ruth.
"No?" She was not prepared for
this sudden attack, and grew confused.
The Man noticed it, and determined
to make the most of it. "Ruth, dear,
you have changed lately; we are not
such good friends as we used to be.
Why is it? Tell mel"
He looked up at her, and from his
lowly position could see every change
in her face
"Don't he silly" she said, studi.
ously averting her eyes. She stopped
and gathered a handful of heather,
which she promptly began to destroy
and scatter in little showers over her
white gown. In a moment she recov-
cred and became herself again. "Get
into a more comfortable position" "
she said, smiling down at him, "and
talk to me. I must be amused" So
the Man, with sigh, lay down on his
heather couch and began to talk. In
those days he did anything the Girl
told him, and everything he could
think of to please her. Presently he
began to talk of his late visit to hol-
don, that visit on the subject of which
he had hitherto been so silent.
"And those Irish people," said the
Girl, unconcernedly, idly sticking
pieces of heather in his curls while
she looked. keenly down on his face.
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