The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12

turns of the wheel that fate delights in,
was Sarah turned In a moment from a
Tilted woman. soured, almost maddened by
her wrongs, and intent only on revenging
them, into a smiling. happy, adored crea-
ture whose heart was so full OF Kindness
that she wished we'll to the whole world.
Pip included, and even pitied the latter
for loving little man like John. She won
dered now that she could have looked at
John, which proves that when you take
bowls till you give her another, and often
prefers the last TO the first
Events marched with lightning rapidly
as Ted, who had twice lost his rosy
checked, blue-eyed, golden-haired divinity,
was resolute not to lose her again, and SIM
ply rushed her off her feet-a delightful
sensation after the long, slow years of wait
ing for John to make up his mind, and the
subsequent humiliation of seeing younger
sister preferred to herself.
Ted must be aboard ship in a fortnight,
and when a woman has no house to furnish
or trousseau to get, or. indeed. anything 10
do but buy one nice frock and sail away In
Ii honeymooning from worries ana reia-
tons Including three children), 1T is sur
prising how casual and enterprising she
becomes. And Sarah needed neither her
fathers fulfninations nor her mother
hints about a parents duty, but went to
town one morning, married her Ted and
had sailed with him almost before the fam
lily knew she had departed.
Possibly one reason for her alacrity was
to be found In a letter that reached John
late that night. a letter In which he real
lied how Sarah had punished him for his
Inconsistency, or his pluck. or whatever you
may please to call it, when he found that it
was Pip he loved, not Sarah. But John
was a quiet man, and when he had read the
letter to the end he only said THANK
heaven" and laid his plans for the NOR
row..
Pip had been walking In the town on the
morning of her disappearance from Dove
cotes when a little boy came UP to her,
thrust letter into her hand and ran away.
Johns clear fist stared her in the face, a
legible hand that a child might decipher Cor
imitate), but the contents of the letter sur
prised her, and she read them twice over.
MY Dear Pip" wrote John-who was a
man of few words-"Take the 1:15 train to
Liverpool street, where I will meet you and
explain why / wish you to come to town.
Your affectionate, John Warner"
1t was then III o'clock, and without mo-
ment's hesitation Pip proceeded to obey
orders; but, being afraid of meeting some
of her people at the railway station, her
uneasy looks were observed by the porter
whom John subsequently questioned, and
he oSt
ment jumped in, and on the way up told
her he was taking fortnight's holiday. 1t
was looking after his toys that had made
him catch this later train instead of his
usual one.
At Liverpool street they parted, but no
John appeared, only messenger who
handed to her a letter and promptly fdisap-
peared. But this one was even more sur
prising than the first. for it contained
money, and a request that Pip would go to
Waterloo Station and take the train for
a certain address given, and wait there till
she heard from or saw John. Meanwhile
she was not to communicate with home
(where danger menaced herr or any person
whatever, but trust entirely to him. and all
would be we'll With the money Enclosed
she was to buy necessaries and pay fol
board at the place to which he had sent her,
and she must not on any account, short OF
severe illness, write even to himself for the
present.
Pip had profound belief in Johns judg-
ment; moreover, her youthful spirits rose
at the adventure, and the conviction that
John meant to marry her off quick. with
out consulting her unwilling family. So
she went gaily enough to her destination,
which was in one of the widest and love-
lest bits of Surrey; and having made her
simple purchases I'm the town arrived al
the pleasant hotel, three miles from a
railway station, where she found de-
lightful hostess. who made the new
conner quite at home, asking no questions
for the girl was her own letter of recon-
mendation, and chance visitors there were
a matter Of everyday occurrence.
Pip was a girl with a quality Of silence
a capacity for holding her tongue, mar.
velous in one so young. She also possessed
a shrewdness that you often find in we'll
brought-up farmers daughters who early
become conversant with the practical work
ing of life. So she kept to herself giving
no hint of her situation to any Of the other
ptOpic Stdyhi6 III thC AouSc, anu was
more discreet in her conduct than are a
good many old women nowadays.
For the first week she had a really happy
time. wandering about in the glorious
weather through scenery that might have
seemed to her savage but for the grace OF
April; but with the second week, and still
no sign from John, she began to lose her
sense of the pure fun of the adventure
The two daily posts, constantly drawn
blank. got on her nerves; she read and
reread the two enigmatic letters that had
landed her here; she loved her mother. and
| longed for her often, and still more she
longed for John.
Poor Pip was getting her first stroke OF
discipline, and the rich color in her cheek
began to fade ever SO little, yet she never
dreampt of disobeying John, and writing
to him of her uneasy fears and loneliness
The bright mistress of the house OWNED
trouble in Pip's absence of friends OF
letters, even of adequate luggage, but ad-
mired the pluck of the handsome girl who
never whined for sympathy, never COM
planned, and who was now proving those
steadfast qualities that from childhood I'D