Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1902-03-14

"Forgive me. Hazel"
"You have been disappointed? she
asked, without looking up from the
motionless water of the pool.
81 have been disappointed, he re-
piled.
The woman dug her heel in the soft
earth, faint flush spread slowly over
her face and her lips parted, once or
twice, before she spoke. Finally she
said:
"And you do not believe love you?"
81 do not believe you love me-" the
man repeated "At least, | do not be-
leve you love me as you once did"
For an instant the woman raised
her eyes to those of the man. There
were the twin glimmers of defiance
and denial in them. But the man.
blind with passion. saw only the
CLEAN of defiance. Then her eyes wan
dered to the valley outspread, like a
panorama, before them, and she re-
manned silent, conscious that the man
broke the stiffness.
Hazel" he asked, very softly, do
you-love me as you did,"
Her eyes flashed darkly into his.
There is doubt in your mind that
no simple words of mine can ever re-
move" she replied. "You have pre-
sumed to pass judgment upon me be-
fore I have been given even the for
mality OF a trial, and now you ask,
you expect me to plead guilty to the
Indictment"
"And you-"
Refuse to give you an answer.
prefer to adopt the policy most wisely
followed by the accused the world over
silence"
"Then," he said, warmly, "since you
do not deny the accusation it must be
true"
The woman raised her eyebrows
slightly and made sudden swinging
upward, as much as to say, "As you
please, sir" But she did not speak.
Her continued silence irritated the
man as no words could have done. He
bit his lip and his face grew red and
white by turns. Her head was bowed
slightly. so that the sunlight, glisten-
ing on her hair, gave 1t the appearance
of a crown of Furnished copper. The
beauty Of 1t dazzled him, and. with
anger and pain throbbing in his heart,
he turned away, filled the BUCKET at
the spring, and started slowly down
the path, leaving her sitting silently
under the trees, gazing after him. her
face flushing and her eyes flashing
When he reached the bottom of the
hill, the man placed the pail Of water
on bench beside the door of her
home and passed on, through the yard,
to the road beyond. And then. with
a savage swing, he started toward the
town. two miles away.
Not once did he glance back. But
had he done so, he would have seen
the woman running as fast as possible
down the winding, fern-choked path,
her hands outstretched toward him, a
CLEAN of sorrow and remorse upon her
face, the light of affection In her eyes,
and a name-his name-upon her lips.
But, never pausing, never once
slackening his pace, he pushed onward
the sting of life's bitterest sorrow in
his heart.
At bend in the road, where a white
cottage stood between two giant pop
lars, a little girl sat upon fence post
reading from a gorgeously colored
book. And as the man walked past
he heard the childish treble faltering
over the words:
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown.
And Jill came tumbling after
And Jill came tumbling after" the
child repeated; "and Jill came tum-
bling after"
Suddenly the man paused and. turn
| ing. looked back-far up the road to
where house nestled at the base Of a
hill.
eyes" he said to himself lack did