The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1901-11-01

the more trying when, having forgot
ten 10 ask for his mail at the postoffice,
ne was obliged to go back, and saw
that particular letter lying among the
Others, face up, with the inscription
wan Buren, til ST., Chicago, ILL
nols,' in Elizabeth's clear hand on the
only end of the envelope to be seen.
"You seem to take your time about
attending to the mail, he said savage
ly to the venerable postmaster.
"Mebbe l do, young man," said the
postmaster, mildly, as Hildebrandt
flung out of the office with his letters.
"Why didn't We answer him accord7
in to his folly, JONAS, added an indig-
nant spectator.
"sick folks hadn't ,anght to be quar-
relied with as though they was respon-
sible, said the postmaster. cam he
looked sick if ever man did,"
On Saturday Hildebrandt really
packed his satchel to go. But the I'M
in securing some specimens, and being
in that state of mind where 3O-mile
tramp seems most desirable of all
things, he stayed.
On Sunday you cannot, of course,
! offer pressing business necessity as an
excuse for departure. Neither can you
reasonably complain if another mans
tiancee chooses to spend the day on the
mountain top, reading in the sunshine
and-presumably-writing to him. So
Hildebrandt impatiently got through
the day, longing for Monday.
On Monday evening, though he re-
garded himself with establishment and
disapproval, he was not yet gone. This
was likewise the case on Tuesday and
Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Lying inlhis tent that night, looking
out into the darkness, he considered
the matter. 1t certainly seemed suf-
ficiently ridiculous for business man
whose foreman was writing him dis
tracted letters to come home, and who
had really no rational excuse for not
doing so.
The night was very dark. A whip
pOorwill called from somewhere down
in the hollow in rapid and breathless
iteration. Over nearer the cabin
sounded a screech OWLS wierd, tremul-
Gus cry. Elizabeth must hear those.
1t gave him tingling sense of being
in the same world with her-a very
little world. He looked out through
the opening of the tent to see
the white birch tree there, but to-
| night there was no ray of moonlight to
reveal it. On brilliant nights he
watched the tree almost reverently.
1t was SO graceful and strong and self
reliant-so white and lofty and beau
tiful-it was like thought of Eliza
beth. He determined to go on Friday.
Now 1T cannot be reasonab bly, account
ed sacrifice on your part to betake
yourself away on what would have been
in any event the last day of your visit,
therefore Friday was the only day left
to him to prove his resolution. And
SO jealous was he in his longing to
serve her that he walked in to the vii
lage after the mail though he knew
the hated Chicago letter must be
among it. There was a letter and a
package, and he went, little past
noon, to give them to her on the noun
tain top, and to say goodbye. Strug-
Cling far upward among the fern and
scrub oak, he caught sight of her sit
ting on great flat rock, her hands
clasped idly about her knees, her eyes
fixed on the clouds.
81 am not going to pretend that ]
came by accident. Is not that some
thing in my favor?" he said pleadingly.
"Indeed, l like it much better, said
Elizabeth, heartily. "Will you not
sit down?'
He flung himself down in the fern at
her feet. "You are about to tell me-"
said Elizabeth, ''that you, too, have
fallen in love with my beautiful noun
tain path"
"On the contrary" he declared, 81
am about to forfeit your respect for
ever by telling you that don't care
fig for the woods in themselves This
mountain-side would be only a barren
patch of waste land to me if there
were not people here | cared about,