The Press., 1906-08-08

The water, laughing and tapping, in
vited. The day was giddy May, and.
the invited young Lorena, moreover,
owned all the folly normal to nineteen
So altogether it would have been a mir
acle If things had gone exactly as they
should. A proper young woman of
course would have reckoned chances
before barring her feet and dancing
1oyously in midstream, where the peb-
bles lay smoothly bedded in fine sand
and cleaning jewel-wise wherever a
sun ray struck through the ripples.
Lorena did not let herself remember
that the ford was but fifty yards higher
up or that this special shallow reach of
the creek lay between the two lakes
that gave the finest fishing. They were
not true lakes, of course-only water
mirrors, still and deep, impounded by
dams of the winter foods building.
Lorena did not love them. They were
SO placid they reminded her somehow
Of Johnny-and whatever did that put
her out of temper.
She loved glitter, motion, excitement
long and half the night after, footing
1t as lightly, as featly, as wind blown
thistle seed. If only she could dance
alone! But since that was out of the
question she naturally preferred part
ners who kept step and were nimble.
Johnny was neither, yet all the time
she had been engaged to him he had
felt it his right to say, if she did not
dance with him, she must dance with
hardly anybody else.
And not at all with Granville Gore,
the very prince Of partners, who was
handsome and slender and light heart
ed, with money in both pockets and
trick of spending it with both hands.
Johnny hated him, without reason so
far as Lorena could see-at least he
gave her no reason-only said, 'If you
are goin' ever to belong to me, Lolie,
you must be barely civil to that fell
low" ~ ;
Somehow the emphasis on the last
word always made Lorena shiver when
she recalled it. How could she help
it, when Johnny was toward other folk
the soul of kindly justice? Still she had
felt that he was unfair. If he really
knew anything he might let her know
1t likewise.
If Johnny could have brought himself
to tell her the break might not have
come. But he was too proud and mas
terful for that. His wife must believe
in him enough to understand that he
had reasons for any and everything.
Besides he was afraid Of seeming en-
v1ous and jealous Of a man so much
richer and better looking. Moreover,
he did not really know much that
could be told categorically-it was
Cores general air and manner, con-
Joined to words dropped here and there,
that made Johnny certain he had no
real reverence for anything feminine.
A girl, any girl, was fair game to him.
If she hadn't sense enough to look out
for herself he was not bound to look
out for her. Yet Gore was not distinct
" Vicious rather, Unfortunately vaih.
He did not mean worse by womankild
and girlkind than to make love to them,
then ride away. Marry! Not he! NOT
the finest girl alive! rs r. E
If Lorena had known that! Il I'm
knowing 1t, she had thought great
many times and a great many things
Of the fascinating Granville in the
three months since the break. He had
been away for two of them, and since
he came home she had seen him only
in crowds. But he had used his eyes so
eloQuently as to set her heart wildly
futtering. But, oddly enough, it had
huttered even more when by chance
she had encountered Johnny, in his
working clothes, driving his wagon, to
mill.
They had barely nodded to each 9TH
er, and she had ridden fast afterward,
but not fast enough to get away from
q sense that Johnny, old Johnny, al
though his face was impassive, had
turned to look after her as long as she
was in sight
Today she was not thinking of him
hardly even of Granville. Wading was
such pure JOY. The water came above
her ankles. She lifted her skirts light
" in both hands and balanced to her
shadow upon the ripping stream. Such
Q funny shadow-dancing grotesquely
even when she stood still.
Rapt in contemplation of 1t, she did
not hear footsteps or anything until
q throaty, chuckling voice cried: ooh,
no! A mermaid! Gore, If the variety
is indigenous, understand, shall settle
In your sneighborhood just as soon as
I can buy place."
Lorena flushed scarlet. She let fall
her skirts needless Of water-heedless,
indeed, of anything but escape. There
were men on either bank, also one in
wading approaching her midstream.
Gore was the farthest Of them-a Gore
she had never seen. He looked her
over as though she were a part, a curl
GUS part, of the landscape with which
he had no sort of acquaintance.
It was the man in wading who had
spoken. He was striding on toward
her, his rod over his shoulder, a broad
grin upon his fat, red face Her sum
bonnet, her faded print frock, above
all her present case, had nearly made
him believe her some hoidenish milk
maid rather than mermaid
Didn't 1 tell you fellows the finest
fish were here in the shallows~ he bel
lowed at the men on the bank "Never
YET made such a CATCH" he added,
making to fling an arm about LOrena's
waist
She evaded him, springing to one
side and trying to gain the bank, but
the spOrtsmen there set up a laughing
shout which warned her not to trust
them. Desperately she fed upstream,
cutting her feet on sharp stones, but
never faltering. 1t was not easy to
run against the current-the rock bot
tom was slippery in places and her
wet skirt hampered her terribly
Still she kept out of reach until she
was twenty yards off the ford The
fat faced man, laughing and painting
after her, caught her there and said as
be gave her a resounding kiss: 'yPon
my soul, Undine, it was worth it. I
haven't had such lark since / was a
boy"