The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1903-09-09

1 good hun,ur, reveled in the purchase
and making of a real white satin frock.
But the day Of the ball Ellen could
hardly keep her mind on hel work. Her
glance would wander toward the sky
scraper where he was working. She
felt that he was whiStling, his move
mentS were so brisk. And John vas
trying, with the best intentions, TO
marry her off solely TO maintain the
honor of the Mulvihill family. She
hal thought of a day when she should
marry. when the skyscraper was done
perhaps and he become a contractor,
Size would not wear those nasty high
stocks which she designed for other
women, but dresses turned in ut the
neck and edged with soft lace, and he
would tell her that she had the throat
Of a lily. Young husbands in novels
always said that.
At night John led her the length of
the hall with pride stamped on his face
and his walk. Men were introduced to
her and asked her TO dance, but she be-
came possessed of a strange terror and
slipped back among the wallflowers.
Mrs. Mulvihill watched her with rising
anger. What was the use of worrying
over n real satin dress for a stupid girl
like Ellen?
Ellen was thinking of TriXie and
how late they would reach home and
how loud the music was when she
heard a hearty voice ut her elbow:
Sure, I'd he glad to meet the sister
of John Mulvihill, an it's odd
knew you had one"
She swung around. and suddenly the
lights in the room leaped into bewildcr-
ing flames. the dancers mingled
strangely as in n broken kaleidoscope.
In the confusion one fact stood forth
clearly. There was just one man in
the world who could stand like that,
one man who had such a pair of shout
ders. and he was the man who wrought
every day in the skeleton of the sky
scraper.
She heard her brother say it was
Dennis Gallagher, president Of the
Shamrock association. That al
quite real to her. OF course he would
be the president. Then John drifted
away, and Gallagher sat beside her.
1t was quite awhile before she glanced
up into his face. She was trying to
,o,I;,o tl,n honrtiful trrtb-tbnt tbnV
were no longer parted in midair, but
sitting side by side in a noisy, heated
ballroom. She was glad it was noisy;
otherwise he might hear her heart
beating.
When she looked into his eyes she
started, and the color came and went
prettily in her cheeks. Dennis Gala
CHER smiled. He had seen girls look like
this before. But Ellen was utterly in
gcnuous in spite of her twenty-five
birthdays. He did not speak, and final
ly she said almost breathlessly:
Il thought they would be blue, an
they are brown-no, hazel"
So of course it came out. She didn't
NEAR he should know all, and he didn't
know adjust enough to make him lin
ger through two dances and set John
Mulvihilrs heart swelling with pride.
A month later Ellen dropped into the
quiet, shadowy church on her way to
work. There were so many ''all halls"
to say this morning. and the church
was quite empty, so with clasped hands
and eyes full of happy tears she looked
into the benign face of the Woman Of
Many Sorrows and murmured:
BLESSED Mother, do | deserve so much
happiness? Am | good enough for
him? He is comm every Wednesday
an Sunday night to see me, an by
an by it will be every night. He said
so. Every day an every night we will
he together so long MS we live. You
who have suffered much, teach me to
be strong an brave for him."
And all that day Il man working far
above the din of the mighty city looked
across the gap to the great factory
building where he knew she bent over
her work. His heart sang within him,
and his blows fell full and clear, for a
wonderful light and happiness had
come into his life.