Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-02-25
d, but she shook her head, and told

ed, but she shook her head, and told
him:
Not she was only trying to be
reasonable, and to look at things from
his point Of view.
You want a change-you are out of
sorts. You're irving to pick quar-
rel with me- he grumbled, feeling IN
tenselv ashamed Of himself, and in
5ensely annoyed with her for causing
him to feel so. 4 don't know how II
is" he went on. lever since your in
creased intimacy with that Thorburn
lot you have been very much less
agreeable and very much more dis
posed to cavil at everything l say and
do than you used II be-
1T is untrue that l cayil at every
thing you say and do, Sholto; lis
poor spirit that uses such means for an
end. I have not changed to you since
nv increased intimacy with the Thor
burns. which dates from the day MI
Thorburn rescued M poor, dear father
from z wretch9d position and brought
him home"
"A policeman would have done as
much, equally WE'LL he jeered-
Not equally well; not with such
kind. thoughtful consideration for my
father and me-
I'm sick of the subject he inter
rupted. Il have your poor, dear
father and ThorbuEE's consideration
for you thrust down my throat every
two minutes
He checked himself, in confusion,
co]oring deeply, but at the same time
there was an angry, vlndlctlTe sparkle
! in his eyes that showed he felt more
enIaged with her for being the unin-
territorial cause and object Of his
rudeness, than with himself for hav-
/ ing been guilty Of it
She looked at him steadily. ''Sh0lto,
I release you from your engagement
to me-" she said, quietly. 1T has be
come irksome to you; it frets You into
4 saying things that must be abhorrent
to the more manly part of your nature
when you reflect on them
How like a woman to punish a f.
low through lis pocket direc Y
he accidentally wounds her vanity,
he scoffed.
Punish you through your po>-
ket! You must be mad to say such Il
thing Releasing you insures you"
pocket from every possible inroad :
being made upon it by me-" she said.
proudly, but her heart ached pitifulIy
| in spite of the proud air.
"You know that old Gwenap Wit
give me the sack unless l stick to M
engagement with you"
Il know nothing Of the kind. More
over, he can't be so unreasonable as to
punish you for my fault. l break off
the engagement, not you, and God
knows" she went on, with little
gasp, that | don't do it to punish
you"
II shall not accept my dismissal,
Patrice," he said, impetuously; give
NE time to think over things and
mature some other place that may be
more agreeable to you for Capt. Kelly
I am so worried just now that I hardly
know what 1 am saying at times. My
work is new TO me, the men who are
associated with me in it are strangers
to- me. They're not of my own class,
in fact they're cads,'' he said, with his
most insufferable air of snobbish self
esteem.
Don't be rashly loyal to me-" she
| said, quietly, but with look in her
! eyes that told him the days Of her
| blind belief IN him were over. RE
member, YOU may not find it expedient
to be so when you come to think over
things Therefore, you had better not
make any fresh rash promises
81 won't let you throw me away as
if I were an old glove"
do think of some less hackneyed
simile,'' she laughed, land please feel
yourself to be as free as air and quite
beyond the necessity Of explaining
yourself to me amy more. We Will
always be friends, but l say again
release you from your engagement"
And again I say I refuse to accept
my dismissal. I have business matters
to attend to now, SO ] must go. Don't
be a foolish little woman and make
mountains Of molehills. You don't
understand the thousand and one
bothers that beset a mans path. A
man can't keep on pausirg in the bat
tie Of life to assure the woman he
loves of his unaltered feelings and
fidelity. He would soon De in the
lost battle borne down by the flying
if he did,
Fight your battles without any
hindering thoughts Of me, my brave
soldier" she said, gayly, and then he
relapsed into fretfulress and told her
that "taunting him was not the way
to increase his faith in the wisdom Of
his choice of her"
She almost blushed, and felt as if he
were taking an undue liberty with her
presently, when he kissed her on TAX
ing his leave. The feeling that they
did not belong to each other any
! longer was taking possession of her.
1t did not cause her the poignant an
guish which would have been her por-
ton had such G. conviction assailed har
a short time since, and for old times
sake she was not sorry for her own
immunity from rain.
Go Be ContiLued)