The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1903-05-07

a man on her farm, and now that all
his children were gone and doing for
themselves he could come and take
charge of the place and run III as it
ought to be run Then he went on to
tell what alterations he would make,
what crops he would plant, what par
ticular cows he would keep, and what
ones he would sell. So he talked on
and on of all his plans, calculations,
hopes and ambitions, as if he would
never come to an end.
AS he talked, Lavinia, leaning back
in her chair, watched him in a dreamy
sort Of a way. All her life she had
a hazy kind of belief that a. man
would come some time, and now he
had come. This was the long-looked-
o man, but somehow she was not
quite satisfied. She had a lurking re.
sentiment toward fate for affordine
her nothing better after her long
wait.
Mr.. Smith had a grating, disagree.
able voice and his mouth was particu-
larry dreadful when he smiled. She
would marry him, of course, but why
had he proposed to come to the
brides home instead of taking her to
his? She could not know that a
mortgage was about to be foreclosed
on the Smith homestead.
After what seemed to Lavinia an in
terminable time the clock struck
nine, and PARROT Smith had about
exhausted every subject of conyersa-
ton of which he was master. For the
last few minutes he sat almost
nodding with open mouth and mis-
head very high.
1t was his bedtime, yet he tried to
sit a while longer, but his eyes closed
and his mouth opened so often that
he had to give it up and, concluding
that it was a "pesky unsatisfactory
thing to make love to Lavinia Brown -
got up, r~emarking something about
his horse gettin' uneasy an he be-
ieved as they both knew their own
minds there want no use putin
things off, an SO he would appoint the
day an make arrangements, an be
sure am tell the old woman that he
meant the square thing by them
both.
Its all right, amt it?" he con-
Guided, looking down at Lavinia.
II guess t is" she answered, an odd
expression to her patient eyes.
All right, then," he said briskly;
take keer Of yourself" He went into
the kitchen and began to hustle into
his things and soon he was driving
out of the yard and away.
Lavinia never moved from her
chair. She was engaged. Over and
over again she told herself she was
engaged. But through it all she won,
dered if this event brought as little
satisfaction to all women as il
brought to her. She had a pitiablH
feeling that something was lacking
in her case. She would not tell he,
mother to-night-she could not. II
would be time enough in. the morn.
ing.
When she went up to her room she
took down the little glass and looked
at herself. She had become engaged
since she had seen her reflection last
and o she looked on herself as
almost another person. 1t was colo
in the % and the wind whistlec
against the windows, but Lavinia was
not cold. Her mind was in a state
of confusion and she felt vaguely as
if some awful calamity that she hac
no power to resist, was about to be
fall her. Ordinarily she would be
asleep in five minutes after getting
into bed, but now it seemed to he1
that she could e " sleep again. She
lay hour after hour listening to the
wind and thinking, thinking, think
ing.
1t was nearly two o'clock in the
morning that Mrs. Brown became
aware of her daughter standing ove1
her wrapped in a comforter anc
wringing her hands and saying wild
ly-
Mother, mother, I can't, I can't dc
it! Mother, you tell him 1 can't, an
!, I won't, I won't, I WON'T"
Her mother put out her hand ant
patted her daughters arm.
!. There, there, dear; don't 20,
worry. Have you gone. and engaged
yourself to that man?"
5 Eyes, but I amt going to stay en-
gaged!" Lavinia cried, excitedly. "Yo,
!, tell him, mother; won't you?"
! "That's all right. I guess I have
lived long enough in the world not tx
| be afraid of PARROT Smith. I VAIN
a-goin' to let him get We anyway. He.
after this farm, an I'll tell him i
!. was left to me an I can will it tt
whom I please, an PARROT Smith:
, wife shan't have it. Go to bed, deary
1 guess we can get along by our
/ selves a while longer"
3 1t must be admitted that as Lavini;
again assembled the stairs in the mids'
l of her sensations of relief, there wa!
a feeling of regret that her mother
should think and say that her cn'
ad1nirer was "arter the farm."-Min
neapolis Times.