The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-22

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thing in him at once coerced her friendli-
est confidence. These were the admis-
ions she made to herself. She OWNED
him, moreover, to be blend of boldness
and timidity. He was bold to the point Of
telling her things unconventionally, Of be-
quilting her into remote underground pas
sages away from the. party; yet she un-
derstood; she knew at once that he was
determined but unspoiled gentleman;
that under no provocation could he make
a mistake. In any situation Of loneliness
she would have felt safe with hin1-'as
with a brother"-she thought. Then,
feeling her cheeks burn, she turned back
and said: 5'. g., -. = "a
Il must tell you he was my brother
that man-that night"
He was sorry and glad all at once. The
sorrow being the lesser and more conven-
tional emotion, he started upon an aWk-
ward expression Of it, which she inter-
rupted.
"Never mind saying that, thank you.
Tell me something about yourself, now.
really would like to know you. What
do you see and hear and do in this
strange life?" .s'
'"There's not much variety" he an
swered, with a convincing droop of de-
preston. For six months I've been see
ing you and hearing you-seeing you and
nothing worth telling you about" .- ..
Despite her natural caution, intensified
by training, she felt herself thrill to the
very evident sincerity Of his tones, so
that she had to affect mirth to seem at
ease.
Dear, dear, what painful monotony;
and how many mon have said it since
these rocks were made; and now you say
it,-well I admit"
ho
sun. you know
mo; not even new excuse for pla-
giarism, Is there?'
''Well, you see as long as the same old
thing keeps true the same old way Of tell
ing it will be more or less depended upon.
After few hundred years of experiment,
you know, they hit on the fewest words
that tell the most, and everybody uses
them because no one can improve them.
Maybe the prehistoric cave-gentleman,
who proposed to his loved one with a war
club just back of her left ear, had some
variation of the formula suiting his SIM
pie needs, after he'd gotten her home
and brought her to and she said it was
all so sudden;' and a man can work In
little variations of his own to-day. For
example"
"I'm sure we'd best be returning"
For example, could say, you know,
that for keeping the mind active ana the
heart working overtime the, memory Of
you surpasses any tonic advertised in the
backs Of the magazines. Or, that -'
II think that's enough; I see you could
vary the formula, in case
"- have varied it-but don't forget I
prefer the original unvaried After all,
there are certain things that you can't
tell in too few words. Now, you -"
"You stubborn person. Really, I know
all about myself. I asked you to tell me
about . 1ss,s.e o. sase'. s
+ And I began at once to tell you seV--
erything about myself-everything Of In
terest-which is yourself"
II see your sense of values IS gone,
poor man. 7 shall question you. Now
you are a miner, and I like men of
action, men who do things; I've
often wondered about you, and seriously,
I'm glad to find you here doing some
thing. I remembered YOU kindly, with
real gratitude indeed. You didn't seem
cided you weren't. Honestly, I am glad
to find you here at your work In you,
| miners clothes. You mustn't think we
forget to value men that work"
| On the point Of saying thoughtlessly
'But I'm not working here-I own thc
mine,'' he } checked himself Instead he
began a defense of the man who doesn'1
II
example, he continued, "here we are a.
a place that. you must be carried over
| otherwise you'd have to wade thru q foo
of water or go around that long wa!
we've come. 1--WE rubber boots on, and 81
I pick you up this way" He held he
lightly on his arm and she steadied her
| self with a hand between his shoulders
"And staggering painfully under m,
burden, wade out to the middle of thi
| subterranean lake. He stopped.
"You see, I've learned to do things.
could pick you from that slippery stree
and put you in your carriage, and I ca,
pick you up now without wasting word
about it, 81,
But you're wasting time-hurry, pleas
and, anyway, you're a miner and uset
| to such things"
He remained standing.
But I'm not wasting time, and I'm no
a miner in the sense you mean. I owl
this mine, and I suppose for the mos
part I'm the sort Of man you seem t.
have gotten tired OF; the man who doesn'
have to do anything. Even now I'm thi
close to work only because my, grand
father wanted me to look over the prop
critics my father left"
But hurry, please and set me down.
mot until I warn you that I'm just a
apt to do things as the kind of man yo1
thought I was. This is twice I've pickle,
you up now. Look out for me;-nex
time may not put you down at ALL
She gave a low little laugh, denotin,
unruffled serenity. She was glorying Sc
cretly in his strength, and she knew hi
boldness and timidity were still justly bal
anced: And there was the rather aston
ishing bit Of news he had just given her
That needed a lot of consideration.
With slow, sure-footed steps he reache,
the farther side of the water and put he
on her feet. 49,. ~--.-
"There, I thought I'd reveal the dis