Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1899-08-03
CHAPTER xII.-(Continued.)

rear you 1nu LIE Uul d SOAlJ SoAPe~-~
ion mother. IL seem to have grown Ola
and strange tomyself. The sight OF the
youngsters who have come to manhooo
since I went away has shown me my own
true state There were two pretty LAOS
from Boston over at the Lelands TINS al
ternoon, come out to pay court 10 Doiiy
and to-tO-to Sylvia"
He spoke her name as though it burned
his tongue, and to the quick sympathles Oh
his mother the whole pitiful little story
was told.
''Foolish boy" she thought, longing to
go to him and caress him and whisper that
his surmises were all wrong. But wise
instinct restrained the loving impulse.
There are truly many gallants coming
and going at our old neighbours home. And
who can wonder at it, for where are two
fairer flowers to be found? But they are
not to be had for the picking, as more than
one sutton has found to his sorrow. Dolly
Is lively child, and loves to try her pow
err on this one and on that. In this she
often reminds me Of her sister Delight
but Dolly is sweet and true at heart"
She glanced shrewdly at him as she
mentioned Delight but he showed no feel
ing.
Sylvia" she continued, lis far differ
emit She is friendly with all in her gay,
frank fashion, but has never tender word
nor loving look for any
She saw his color change and a half
sad, half-amused little smile cross his
face.
You may not know, mother, all there
is in her heart"
Il know a great deal that is there" was
her quick response, spoken from the full
ness of her thought. Sylvia has been
like a daughter to me since you went
away. Few days have passed that she
has not been over to sit an hour or two"
Il hope my presence will not keep her
away now" he said, bitterly. "It seems
to have had that effect so far"
''Davev' his mother reproyed. "This is
but the first day of her fathers and Is
rael's return. What has come over you,
my son? You used to be fond of Sylvia in
The old days, and never so ready to be sus-
picious'
And in those days she was-mother!
| told you / am growing old and strange.
Let us not speak of her any more. Come,
sit out on the step in the moonlight and l
will tell you of James, how brave he was
and how beloved in our camp"
As time went on, Sylvia still paid fire.
quent visits to Mrs. Townsend.
Il will not let him see that change in
any way on his account" she declared,
with a proud curving of the lip, whose
hurt trembling she could not wholly mas
ter. But she timed her going so as to sell
dom meet him. Sometimes on crossing
the fields he caught sight of her trim fig
ure hurrying homeward. Often her laugh,
or few merry words of farewell to his
mother reached his ears. Once in a while
he found her, bright, beautiful and win
some, sitting by the hearthstone or STIR
ring up cake or darning some fine linen
for Mistress Townsend. She always had
pleasant greeting for him, but it was
given in shy, grave way, entirely unlike
her behavior to every one else. 1t was
almost as though she were sorry for him.
And she truly was sorry for him, SO long
as she believed him still true to his love
for her sister But one day, CHANGING to
glance up at MIN Unexpectedly, she sur
prised look in the fine blue eyes fixed
upon her, which told a different story-a
story no woman can ever mistake, be it
welcome or unwelcome. Sylvia knew from
that moment that she was dear to Dave;
she knew it in her inner consciousness, in
her heart, although her sensible head babe
her doubt and give no credit to the sweet
truth, for by neither word nor act did he
make good what his eyes had so perfectly
revealed.
Perplexed and bewildered, all her wom-
anly pride aroused by conduct which in
another she would have condemned as a
trifiing beyond excuse, her yearning affec-
tons drawn out only to be ignored, she
grew wretchedly unhappy. She tried now,
in earnest, to avoid Dave and found her
self continually haunted by him. If she
went over to Mistress Townsend's at any
hour he appeared to have OWNED her pres
ence, and would come in on some excuse
He went daily to her house on one pretext
and another. She saw him at church, at
the neighbors', everywhere. He was uni
formly distant, courteous, grave, but al
ways, sooner or later, she would meet his
eyes in swift yet lingering glance which
had strange power to stir her deeply
He, love-blind fellow that he was, con-
graduated himself that he had finally set
tied on a course of action both wise and
iignifed. He would see much Of her, thus
feeding his starving love on all it could
ever hope for; he would be on friendly
terms with her, but reserved, thus en-
abling her to detect no lack of neighborli-
ness. For while this state of things
was endured by Sylvia with outward
quiet, but an inward misery that grew to
be unbearable. Like a thunderclap about
his ears, the news came of her departure
for Boston to spend month with Aunt
Salome.
A whole mouth without sight of her!
The world seemed to have grown empty
and desolate! In this sorry hour his
thoughts turned to Desire, sweet, sympa-
thetic Desire, who carried balm for the
wounds of every one. and of whom he had
several times been strongly impelled to
make confdante. He went to find her
only to learn that she. too, was at Aunt
Salome's for another of her protracted
visits.