Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-06-22

Thank you! You are most consid-
crate! But shall be additionally
obliged if you will tell me In what re-
spect can have so far forgotten myself
as to lead you to think me likely to ap-
preciate anything of the kind. l as
sure you, Mr.. Freeman, have never
cared for anyone; and nothing have
seen since l left home makes IL prob
able that l shall begin now"
81 am sorry to hear that" said Free
man, slowly drawing another cigarette
out Of his bundle, and beginning to re-
roll it with detected air.
"Indeed"
Eyes; the fact is, 1 had hoped that
you had begun to have a little friendly
feeling for me. 1 am moro than ready
to reciprocate."
81 hope you will spare me any insults,
sir. l have no one to protect me, but
81 assure you, / mean no insult You
cannot help knowing that think you
as beautiful and fascinating woman
as l have ever met; but of course you
can't help being beautiful and fascinat-
ing. Do l insult you by having eyes3
If so, am sorry, but you will have to
make the best of it."
With this, he turned in his seat, and
calmly confronted her. Beautiful she
certainly was, at that moment; but it
was tho beauty of an angry serpent.
She had pencil in her hand, with
which, little while before, she had
been sketching some of the heads of tho
passengers in her little notebook She
was now handling this inoffensive OBJ.
jcct In such way as to Justify tho
fancy that, had It been charged with
deadly poison in its point, instead of
with bit of plumbago of the
III quality, she would have driven IL
into Freeman's heart then and there.
! ISIS " no insNAt," SAID she, IN q SSt5A-
liant voice, ITO talk to me as you are
doing, when you have just told me that
you love another woman and are going
to meet her?"
Freeman's brows gradually knitted
themselves in frown Of apparent per-
pleXity 81 must say / don't under
stand you," he observed, at length. ~
am quite sure 1 have said nothing of
the sort. How could I?''
IF you wish to bubble about words,
perhaps not. But was not that your
meaning?"
mo. it wasn't You are the only
woman who has been in my thoughts
to-day"
"Mr. Freemanr'
"Well?"
'YOu have intimated very clearly
that you are engaged-married, for
aught l hnow-to a woman whom you
are now on your way to meet"
At this point she stopped. Freeman
had interrupted her with a shout of
laughter.
She had been very pale. She now
flushed all over her face, and jumped
to her feet.
''Sit down." he said, laying a hand
on her dress, and aided by lurch of
the vesseD pulling her into her seat
again, land listen to me. And then
shall insist upon an apology. This is
too mucbr'
81 shall ask the captain-'
you will not, l promise you. Look
here. When 1 was in Panama, l met
there fellow l used to know in New
York. he told me that he had re-
Gently crossed the continent with Prof.
Meschines, who used to teach geology
and botany at Yale college, when he
and / were students there. The pro-
fessor had come over partly for the
fun of the thing, and partly to look
for specimens in the line of his pro-
fcssion. My friend parted from me at
San Francisco; the professor was go
ing farther south"
"What has all this to do with the
woman who
''It has this to do with it,-that the
professor is the woman! He Is over
sixty years old, and has always been
a good friend of mine; but 1 am not
going to marry him. l am not engaged
to him, he is not beautiful, nor even
fascinating, except in the way of an
elderly man of science. And he is the
only human being, besides yourself,
that know or have ever heard of on
the Pacific coast. Now for your apol-
ogy!'
Grace emitted a long breath, and
sank back in her seat, with her hands
clasped in her lap. She raised her
hands and covered her face with them.
She removed them, sat erect, and bent
an open-eyed intent gaze upon her
companion.
After this pantomims, she exclaimed,
In the lowest and most musical of
tones, "Oh! how hateful you arev'
Then she cried out with animation, 81
believe you did it on purpaesP' Finally,
she sank back again, with q sofa
laugh and sparkling eyes, at the same
time stretching out her right arm to-
wards him and placing her hand on
his, with whispered, There, thenr'
Freeman, accepting the hand for the
apology, kissed it, and continued to
hold it afterwards
"Am not little goose?'' she muir
INJURED.
''You certainly are," replied Free
man.
''You mustn't hold my hand any
more"
''Do you mean to withdraw your
apologize
"N-no; but it doesn't follow that
''oh, yes, it does. Besides, when q
man receives such a delicate, refined,
graceful, exquisite apology as this,''-
here he lifted the hand. looked at il
critically, and bestowed another kiss
upon 1.-THE would be q fool not tc
make the most of it,
L