The Lamar register., 1903-07-01

ton he slackened his pace. and said,
pointing to a bench:
Shall We sit here?"
Eleanor seated herself. She had
OWNED from his manner what was
brewing. and she would fain have pre-
vented him from speaking; but it was
obvious that he wa; determined to
have his say He was standing be-
fore her with his hands still clasped
behind his back. His face reflected
grave resolution. his eyes were bright
with the stress of excitement. Still
the voice in which he now began was
composed. though clear:
"A fortnight ago. Miss Baldwin,
did not know of your existence; to.
day there is no one In the world to-
ward whom l feel as l feel toward
you. i am young man Just starting
in life, poor and struggling. without
influence. and dependent solely on my
own endeavors in order to make my
way. l am well aware that a woman
such as you can afford to be indifrer-
ent to the love of man like me.
remember well that on the first even.
ing of our acquaintance-an evening
every moment OF which Is precious to
my memory-you said that you would
make none but a brilliant match.
Moreover. what have | to offer you
except poverty? Even II you would,
we could not venture to be married,
for have not the means with which
to support you. You see | recognize
the hopelessness of the situation. And
yet l am bold or fatuous enough,
whichever you may call it. to tell you
of my love; to tell you what a bliss
ful influence your presence and So
ciety have been to me during these
two short weeks | told you on that
same first evening that | had never
been in love. l know now both its
rapture and its anguish. l know. too,
how the gall of Jealousy can in an
instant blot happiness from the heart
and bleach the glory from the sun
shine. You are going away-far away,
very likely. and in another fortnight
l can scarcely hope to be remembered.
Well. you have my secret-one which
l did not intend to part with; and the
worst of it is, the telling of 1t cannot
avail me, as l well understand"
AS Struthers finished he seated him.
self on the bench beside Eleanor and
covered his face with his hands.
For few moments she was silent,
then she said:
You may be sure of one thing. Mr.
Struthers: I shall not easily forget
you. This fortnight has been a very
pleasant one to me. and largely SO be-
cause of your presence. | am very,
very sorry that you feel as you do.
and that cannot help you. am your
friend. but 1t is not love that feel
for you"
Il had no idea that you loved me.
No; l have merely opened my heart
to you because could not help it.
Still l shall never give up hoping
against hope" he added. lifting his
tear-dimmed eyes to hers. "You spoke
once of your life-work and asked IL I
would ever give up mine for the sake
of woman. My life-work for the fu-
ture is to win your love. Only tell me
truly before I cease to trouble you"
he went on. that there Is no one else
whom you love. There was something
in the look of that man who came to
take you to drive with him that forced
the iron into my soul and made me
feel that l had in him a rival. Does
he love you, too? You cannot deny it,
see."
Il do not love Mr.. Page. shall
never marry him. even II he asks me-"
Thank you for that And now all
that remains for me is to make the
most of myself. to win a name and
fortune and success. in order to rem
der myself in some measure worthy
to be your husband. l shall hope
you cannot prevent me from that; and
the day may come when | shall dare
to speak to you again of my love.
which time will only make stronger
and deeper. I see you shake your
head. That will not deter me. Some
day shall win you from yourself"
Again Eleanor shook her head sadly.
1T is true" she said, that | cannot
prevent you from hoping against hope.
but warn you that it is at your peril.
Poor Aunt Emma! She has done her
best to win me from myself. Why
should you hope" she asked. with
sweet smile, "to succeed when she has
failed?"