River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1905-01-26
Returning
the Presents
By ARNOLD GoLSwoRTHY

| falling from the lines to the soggy
footpath below. The scene was not al
| together an unsympathetic one for
Sophie, since she was sad at heart that
dull, misty afternoon. Indeed, there
were signs that she had been crying;
and when Sophie cried, her nose grew
very red indeed, and a woman will not
incur risk of that sort without the
most acute provocation. In the spring
it had all been so different. David Trot-
ter, who managed the village flour mill
for his father, and who was besides
most eligible young man in every way,
had asked Sophie to be his wife, and
the earth seemed so fair to her then.
The song of the skylark had new
meaning for her at that time, and the
swallows nest that was building in the
caves over her window developed, from
a great nuisance, into pleasing and
! blessed allegory. Summer had been
spring intensified; and the brightness
of life had seemed quite dazzling. And
| now everything was cherries and damp,
| the sun was cold, and the fire of true and
only love had spluttered out and left
| Sophie with a bruised heart and g. red
nose.
Everybody knew it was David's-that
is, Mr.. Trotter's-fault; or, at least,
| everybody to whom Sophie had men
toned the matter. Sophies mother had
perhaps not quite grasped the full mean
| ing of the awful crisis in her daughters
bright young life. The good soul had
even spoken lightly of it, affecting to
| treat it as a mere lovers quarrel, and
| that at time when Sophie had been
seriously considering whether she ought
to go into nunnery or just pine away
and die in the back parlor at home
/ Sophie knew for a tact that DaVid-or,
rather, Mr.. Trotter -had been seen f1irt-
| ing with Faith DukeI, the creature who
set her cap at everybody. The thing
had been seen in the village; and after
likely bit of scandal had gone the
round of village like Dunstead, it's
own mother would not have recognized
it at the finish. David had gone so far
as to meet the creature a second time
by appointment, and that, of course,
| capped his iniquity. Everybody knows
that no self-respecting girl can put up
with goings-on like that. 1t would not
have mattered so much if he had ad-
mitted his error, and had endeavored
to earn forgiveness by a fitting display
of contrition. But David had had the
effrontery to deny the charge, and had
actually punched young Harper about
dreadfully for just casually mentioning
the matter to circle Of friends at the
Blue Anchor. Which just show you the
true character of people like David
should say, Mr.. Trotter. And yesterday
Sophie had taken her pen in hand, and
after laboriously studying the diction-
airy SO as TO be sure that she had got
the long words right, had intimated to
Mr. Trotter in cold and dignified terms
| that all was now over between them,
and he would receive per bearer the
presents he had made her, and hence
forth they were strangers for eyermOre.
| Amen.
| On other days Sophie would have
been helping her mother in the shop;
but to-day she could do nothing but sit
and watch the leaves fall. AS it grew
dusk she got up and lit the lamp. There
was her knitting on the table. The
woolly squares hanging from the
needles were the foundations of pair
of socks that had been intended for
him Now, of course, they would go to
the heaven via the parish church and
the missionary society. No doubt the
| heather would be more appreciative,
though perhaps woollen socks in the
tropics might be a little trying to the
untutored savage mind. And then
"Sophie!"
1t was the voice of Mrs. Meadows,
calling from the shop. And moment
later the good soul put her head into the
| parlor, and added:
Sophie! It's David. He's come to
see you"
Sophie started to her feet. This was
! the last straw. David-that is to say,
Mr.. Trotter-had been given to under
stand that his presence was no longer
agreeable to her and in spite of that he
had had the effrontery to call upon her
once more.
Tell him l don't want to see him,
mother" she said. after what's 'ap-
pened l don't want to speak to him
again"
Mrs. Meadows turned back to her
shop; but before she could repeat the
portentous message, David was already
at the parlor door. Mrs. Meadows smiled
significantly and preceded him into the
room. She was about to retire again,
discreetly, when Sophie stopped her i'm
| patiently.
Don't go, mother" she said, with the
| imperiousness of the spoilt child that
| she was.
David was a big, rosy-cheeked fellow
with plenty of confidence. The last
was made evident by the deliberate way
| in which he put his hat on a chair, and
| then lifted couple of brown paper par
| cells on the table. With a quiet Good
evening" addressed to Sophie, he pro-
| ceeded to deliberately unite the string
| of one of the parcels. The knot was a.
! little hard, and as no one spoke, the
embarrassing silence was becoming in
tolerable. Finally, David looked up.
You sent back the few little presents
l 'ad gave you" he said, gazing directly
in front of him and addressing the op-
posite wall straight in the eye, IAN So,
O. course, I'm bringin' back those what
you gave me-
"You could ha' sent em back, y
| snapped Sophie. There wasn't no need