Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1903-02-13
CHAPTER XII.

EDrlDg-llke uuyS, Tie ltuIileTpu lONpTS were
already serenading their ladies; primroses
and crocuses were springing to meet the
first smile of their god. And June was
decidedly growing less wan and white,
her step was more elastic. Grief was still
her master passion; but, already, Time
was doing for her what he does for the
young, and indeed for the old, too, only
more slowly, And Tom had bravely aided
Time.
"Should you be very angry if I were to
say something to youT" he asked June
one day.
mo-" answers June, placidly, with a
tolerably good intuition of his meaning.
II have been afraid to say a word yet"
he utters, still much p%erturbed in his
mind. "B%ut-but-oh, my darling, will
you some day come and live here for good
and all?-do you care enough for me to
marry me-"
June does not answer in words, but she
gives a little pressure to the hand which
holds hers.
After that, what could any man do
under the circumstances, especially a man
madly in love, but snatch his darling to
his breast and cover her face with kisses?
June trembles violently; this time it is not
from horror or disgust, but because the
sudden remembrance of Dallas kiss
.smites her, and with it the awful neces-
sity Of confessing her shame to Tom. In
a moment she tears herself from his arms,
and, starting up, rushes over to the fire.
place. He dares not pursue her; already
he is accusing himself of indelicacy to
her grief; the moment Of delight is being
-.-.L.I L. @~a ,n1rnn CO
quence!
At last, making a tremendous effort
over herself, June goes back to the sofa
and sits down at q little distance from
him.
81 have something to tell you" she says,
in a trembling voice. mo, do not come
near me, do not touch me, until you have
heard it; perhaps, afterward, you will not
want to-"
A feeling of stupefaction comes over
Tom. What can she mean? e.,
Then June turns her face from him and
begins to cry piteously.
"Oh," she sobs, chow can 1-how can
! tell your
what do you mean?" cries Tom, at
his wits end, unable to believe a breath
against her, but unutterably panied and
mystiied by her words and her agitation.
"Do you remember" she says at lest,
"~when-when your cousin was here in
the summer"
Dial! What is this? Tom feels liter
ally turning to stone. He cannot speak.
"You went away for a day or two, and
and | saw a good deal of him, and ]
~fancied"-oh, poor, poor June, the agony
.nf +h;. oa,po,,;n,t -ssthot I wna In love
with him and he with me, enthusiastically
checking herself, and speaking in a strain
eed, unnatural voice-'he kissed me-"
Tom is dumb; If any one had plunged
the knife up to the hilt in his heart, hi
does not think the agony could be dead
lier. June, this model Of purity, on whose
'spotlessness he would have staked nj
soul, kissed by Dallas!
She has buried her face in the soft
cushions and is waiting with a beating
heart for Toms answer. There is a huge
long silence, and then a voice, distorte'
out of all likeness to Toms, says:
"And-you-let him!"
Silence, utter silence. -.
1t is enough. She does not deny II
And, after giving her a full minute il
which to reply he gets up and walk
away, and June hears the door close upo
him.
She has lost him, lost the truest, bray
est, kindest heart that ever beat. She !
quite sure now that she loves him, tina
she would ~joyfully have been his WIZ
that she has lost the chanc Of immens
happiness, and that n blank, lonely LII
spreads itself out before her.
She trembles ut the bare thought Q
meeting him again. How will she loo
him in the face after this?
Mrs. Ellesmere is not surprised Mt Dill
ner to remark that June's eyes are re
from crying-that Is not an infrequer
event-but she is surprised, very muc
surprised at the change in Toms maj
ner toward his beloved one. The e'
IRENE tenderness which has characterize
It ever since June became an inmate {
the Hall Is gone, and Is replaced by
careful and studied p~oliteness. Tom
mother hopes and believes that June III
been refusing to give him any denni
hope or to discuss the subject OF ma
riage. The change In Toms manner nj
in one way n beneficial effect on Jun
Il makes her angry. She reels that |
Is unjust, and she resents injustice mo
than anything else In the world. enc M
told him this shameful secret OF her o"
free will. He Is welcome to give her
II he chooses, but he has no right 10 ire
her in a way to arouse the suspicious
others. June's conscience being gun,
she fancies that the impression his Q
havior may give Is that 1t Is he, not Sd
who has broken the tie between the'
But Door Tom has no Idea Of giving q