Smyrna times., 1900-05-16
wv sMYKNA TIMES, AFTERNOON MAY 16 1900

Zee he offered her. He took motto of
her gray skating frock, with its edging
OF black fur, of her scarlet velvet vest |
and little hood and the white. pensive
face peering above her voluminous
boa. She fell to talking with Soma
others, and presently she flashed nm to |
him for second.
L was rude to you with my personal |
comments" she said under her breath |
speaking quickly. please forgive mo |
knew at the time that l was doing |
wrong"
Before he could get over thinking
how quaint a speech this was she was
gone. He saw her no more that night.
There was nothing, it would seem. in
this brief association to keep him walk
ing TILL dawn. There was nothing TO
make her hold her fingers close upon
her eyes as if to shut out vision. The
mystery remains always beyond ex-
planatiOn. There is no definition to
the magic word; there is no fashion in
which the necrOmancy can be account
ed for.
| The morning found him eager to see
her and found her wondering by what
means she could avoid him. There
was ice boating, and while he searched
for her he saw her flying by in one of
the skimming craft, sitting erect and
fearless while the great white boat
took to itself the wings of a reckless
bird.
In the afternoon there was a musical,
and he saw her sitting, demure and
sober, in corner where he could not
reach her, and later, at dinner, in all
the witchery of her cleaning toilet of
white, he had the sorry satisfaction of
glimpsing her as she went down TO
dinner with another man.
In the evening she seemed to fit be-
fore his eyes like a will-O'-the-w wisp. He
could never get near enough to speak.
He gave up at length and went away
angry and hurt, and the next morning
a telegram came calling him back to
town. He said to himself that he
would meet her somewhere, though he
was quite aware that her life was
much more given up to fashionable
pleasures than his own. But the win
ter wore away, and he met her no
where. He could not think of trying
to call upon her. She had not asked
him to do so. She had seemed not to
care for him after that first night, but
accuse himself as he might of having
been an infatuated fool he could not
rid himself of the idea that for a few
hours his soul was nearer to hers than
it had ever been to that of any other
human being. To be sure, their hap
piness and sweet intimacy had been
hidden under badinage and an affecta-
tion of Indifference, but they were
there, all the same.
Summer came.
81 shall see her at the lake." said
Kirkland, and he put himself in the way
of being invited up, but she was not at
her uncle's house. She had gone to the
Canadian lakes with an English fami-
ly. Kirkland concluded that he ought
to see Canada. A man really had no
business gadding off to the other side
continent. He went rowing on Cana
dian lakes and nearly lost his life, but
after a fortnight's patience he found
his way to the lodge where Miss
Blynn's friends lived.
"Iiss Blynn grew tired of our grim
solitude" said her host. "She says
: Chicago is pleasant in the summer
though | myself have yet to see the
$ time when | would call it pleasant, and
. she has gone back home to study some
d thing or other. never knew her sc
studiOus."
"Shes restless" commented Kirk
= land. 81 wonder why"
He put all shyness and sense of pro
priety behind him and determined tC
l find out why. The morning after
reaching the city he made himself gay
Il in white duck and boldly called at hel
o house. She was out on porch at the
rear of the severe looking city house
d and had made herself a miniature
country seat there with palms ant
Z ferns and flowers. The hammock wal
u moving as if she had just quilted it
l. but when he met her she was risinl
. decorously from one of the chairs tina
surrounded reading table Uttered
with the midsummer magazines.
i "YOu haven't your skates on! sh
cried mockingly, extending her hand
y Her eyebrows went up and came dow
u in funny, nervous little way and tn
i corners of her mouth seemed tremu
lous.
y "Is it necessary for me to have m
=, skates on in order to recommend my
~ :, self to your favor" he inquired.
81 cannot tell" she responded, It'll
u see how well you converse in OXfor
ties and summer ducks"
- They talked nonsense like this 10
'e half an hour, but both of them wer
desiring to keep still and enjoy the hal
- - piness Of being together again. Neithe
y had the courage to become serious. IL
. arose finally.
Il. 'T know how impertinent l hav
been in calling" he said. ut is just
u fed only by-by my temptation"
:, 1--WE can resist everything but tenn
- tation q clever man once Said," smile