The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-06-15
~ have something Of the greatest

1 sStSs
Importance to say to you.
|, I Did he:imagins IT or did, she nestle
closer to himf he must have been mis-
taken, and to show that he was quite
sure he edged away from her assmuch
,as the somewhat narrow confines Of the
sleigh would allow r..
i: what do yeu:wisti to say. ME- Phil
ipsf" - ~ ~
Mister Phillips. ;Ah, then she was
offended. To be sure she had always
called. him that, but after his last re-
mark it must have an added ssignifi-
canoe. s.' &,ss7.., - - So
'T-er-do you like sleigh ridmg7"
s,3s"t'Why, of course, or else Iweuldn't
have COME.
q. Did she mean that as slap at him :?
Was, it-only for the ride and not for his
company that she had Gomez Oh, he
could never make AN avowal of love
after thatT He knew his place. This
beautiful girl was not for faint heart
ed 'caitiff like himself =
"Nun-nun-no, to be sure not L
er-thought that was why you came. y
Mildred turned her gazellelike eyes
upon him. "I'm afraid don't under
stand you"
That settled it. If she didn' under
stand him when he talked Of nothing
in particular, he must be very blind in
his utterance. and he could never trust
his tongue tocarry such a heavy freight
as declaration of love. No, there was
nothing to do but postpone it. After
all, her house was. the best place for it.
The horse sped on past mantled
meadows and through pine woods full
of filtered moonlight, and Mildred
drank n,the beauty of the scenes and
wished that it were decorous for wom-
en- to propose.
The night was ravishing, the sleigh
bells jingled tremendously, the horse
swept on with steady, rhythmic stride,
and under the influence of sweet sur
roundings Mildred at last said pointed
ly, SIS it SO that more people get en-
gagged in winter than in summer?' She
blushed as she spoke. It was unmaiden-
ly, but he was such dear gump. Now
he would declare himself. But she did
not know the capabilities for self re-
preston of her two year admirer.
He said to himself: "What slip,
what a delightful slipl If I were un-
principled, 1 would take advantage of
it and propose, but would bitterly re-
proach myself forever, whatever her an
swer was" So he said, in as matter of
fact tone as he could master, when his
heart was beating his ribs like fright
ened cageling, II really can't answer
offhand, but I'll look it up for you.
edo. Write letter to the newspa-
per-"
Her tones were as musical as ever,
but Littlewood thought he detected
sarcastic ring in them, and he thanked
his stars that he had not yielded to his
natural desire to propose at such an
inauspicious time.
'What was that important thing
you wanted to sayf" asked Miss Far
rington after several minutes of 81
lence, save for the hoofs and the run
ners and the bells
'Oh. it wasn't Of any Importance I
ing of something else
81 think You have gone far enough,
said she innoeentfy, looking over her
shoulder in the direction of home. May
be the return would loosen his obdurate
tongue.
His heart stopped beating and lay, a
leaden thing, in: his breast. Had he,
H. i Q
Oh, why had he come out with this
lovely being, the mere sight of whom
was enough to make any one cast all re-
straint to the winds and declare in
thunderous tones that he loved her?
- think that we'd better go back"
he said, and turned SO quickly that he
nearly upset the sleigh. Your mother
will be anxious.
Eyes, when one is accountable to
ones mother, one has to remember time.
/ suppose it is different when one is &C.
countabie to a.
''Father2" said Littlewood. asininely.
"No. that wasn't the word want
ed"
"A-a-aunt2'
Could Mildred. love him If he gave
many more such proofs of being an alb
ject idiot3
"No-husband is what I want"
Littlewood's brain swan. He had
been tempted once too often. This naive
girl had innocently played into his
hands. and now the Rubicon must be
crossed, even if its angry waters en-
quilted him. -
pardon me, Mildred"-
he did not say Mildewed this time-ssif
twist your words into another mean
ing, but if you-er-did--er-want
husband-do you think would dor"
A head nestled on his shoulder. lit
tie hand was in his, and when he pass
ed the Harrington mansion neither he
nor she knew it.-Charles Battell Loo
mis- in the Chicago Record.