People's voice., 1899-09-28

when he sci I'D the torafor.a IL hollow
of the low scat Irorrht h,a lnees and
his chin together il an attitude thatwas
pathetically inadequate to the require
ments of the case. Once or twice he
had tried to rise, but Hester had pro-
tested playfully, saying that he must
consider himself an invalid, If only
for that afternoon. To add to his en-
barrassment, she left her own chair and
began to saunter up and down the ver-
anda in front of him, shipping dead
leaves from the ivy on the railing as she
talked.
He watched her furtively while the
EAR of idle talk ran smoothly over end
less stretches of track wherein there
were no crossings or switches, until
the subtle intoxication of her beauty
began to make his replies irrelevant.
At last she stopped just opposite his
chair and leaned over the railing to re-
cover wandering spray of ivy; while
she stood there with her back toward
him, he broke of in the middle OF SEN
tence and said abruptly: Miss Hes
ter, love you very much"
She recovered herself instantly, and
he saw the suppressed laughter in her
eyes as she turned toward him. He
was on his feet in a moment. Miss
Latimer, ! beg your pardon-indeed ]
dot wasn't at all what l meant-oh,
horrors, what am l saying!-I did mean
It, only didn't intend saying 1t just
that way. Please don't laugh at me;
It'll break my heart; I'm dreadfully in
earnest, II l do talk like an imbecile.
Hester, dear, do you love me Just q
little, and will you be my wife?"
He was holding her hand now, and
looking down into her face with an
appeal in his eyes that quite stonei
for the halting speech, and she hid he
face on his shoulder, saying: "oh, In
so gladl"
"Glad of what, Hester?" he asked,
drawing her closer to him.
Her face was suffused with bushes
when she raised it shyly to his, but TIN
merriment still twinkled in her eyes,
"Glad that you fonud it impossible to
be quite correct; you don't know
how much it makes me" the last two
words were whispered to the lapel of his
coat, but he heard them and folded
her in his arms. After the rapturous
interval, he asked: "And did you thinl'
] was very conventional"
81 used to; the people in your stories
always seem TO do just the right thing
st the right time. Tell me, did you
e7er make one of your heroes say any,
thing like-like you did few minutes
ngo?"
Heaven Forbid" he answered fer
vently; "but then one can always imag-
Inc better things than he can do"
There was another eloquent interval,
end then she looked up again. "Was
that what you meant to tell me the
night you went away?"
Partly; but there was something
that prevented me-something that,
perhaps. should have made me keep
silent to-day. You remember what we
were saying about personal courage;
i thought then that l was born cow
ard, and I'm not entirely sure of the
contrary yet"
She held him off at arms length and
looked at him with loving pride kin
ding in her beautiful eyes. "Itislikey you
to talk that way, after what you did last
night-father has told me all about 1t;
and, besides, saw you try to save that
mans life at the risk Of your own-and
after he had tried TO kill you, tool"
THAT was nothing but common hu-
manity," he answered quietly. "You
don't know how had TO cling to that
tree there to keep from running away
Just before the Bynums rode up"
81 don't believe n single word Of IT,"
she asserted calmly. as he led her to a
seat on the wide rustic settle at the end
Of the veranda; and then a sudden
CLEAN of common sense came to him in
the thought that perhaps it might be
wise not to argue the roint with her,
then or ever.
They were married in the little
church in Tregarthen a week after the
trial Of Jed and Eudd Dynum, and the
Ludlows gave them a wedding break
fast in the cozy little dining-room Of
the house on the hill before they start
ed on their journey rorthward. Ring.
brand was in his room, hurriedly pack
ing his valises. and Ludlow ran up to
tell him that there was still plenty OF
time in which TO catch the train.
"When are you coming south again,
Hugh?" he asked, pacing the HOor Of
the small apartment with his hands in
his pockets.
"Oh, don't know; whenever Hester
gets homesick. suppose"
"Well, can't promise you a fight
nr a wedding the next time you come,
but we'll try to keep you interested in
some way. BY the way, Hugh, IT was
generous Of you not to prefer charge
OF murder against those fellows for
trying TO ~ you in the cave"
ut was quite unnecessary; a thirty
gear sentence is severe enough to sat
;sfy more vindictive person than l
ever aspire to be. Besides, you for
got that it was JEFF who did the shoot
Ing, and his fate was sufficiently hor1
rible." i
"It was, indeed; and that makes me