Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1906-05-04

perfectly lovely! When is-John going
to be married, Mrs. Kingf" she lnquir-
ed innocently. The old lady sttffened,
but Nelly continued: Pm so happy
that l want everybody to be! Sylvy
says that Cornelia Jones is setting her
cap at Alice's father, and | hope she
gets him, so Alice can come here with
you and John. She would take the
work off your hands, and she's SO
sweet! Bht I'll be rather sorry for Mr..
White. Cornelia is such desperate
old maid ald no cook or housekeeper
at all, and he's so good looking and
well off that he deserves better wo-
man to take care of things. Well, men
are queer and she certainly must have
been awfully pretty once"
Mrs. King snortcd.
"She was never mite pretty, to my
mind. She set her cap at Johns father
when we We're girls. but she didn't get
him. Oh, must you goT
Nelly said goodby and went har way,
seemingly unconscious of the storm Oh
wrath she awakened in the widows
bosom. Johns mother knew he would
marry some day in spite of her, and
she dreaded the day,
Toward evening Sylvia went to see
Alice White, though she knew perfect
Iy well that the girl would be at choir
practice. she fingered moment on
the porch, where Alice's father sat
smoking. He was a straight, blue eyed
old man. Sylvia sat down on the steps
to rest
II been awful busy" she remarked.
Folks will get married, and that
means weddin' dresses. I'm just fin
ishin' Nelly Deans, and next 1t will be
Annie Paine's. If what | hear is so,
perhaps it'll be your Alice's before
long" The old man squirmed and
asked what she meant. He wanted no
son-in-law, though he could not object
to John.
"Why, you won't believe 1t, but that
half blind, hobbling old Judson is max
ing up to the Widow King, they say.
She's handsome and young lookin' and
we'll heeled the best cook in town and
economical too. She's good tempered,
except about Johns marryin' Alice,
and kind of hate to see her throw her
self away. But Judson's sly old
coot Anyhow, hope she marrles and
leaves John free. He and Alice have
waited long enough-it ain't right
Well, got to be goln'. You tell Alice
! was here" She walked off, 1eaving
the old man with new fear-and with
a new idea in his head. That Judsonl
He and Judson had always confiicted
He grunted and lit his pipe.
Spring passed into early summer,
and In June Nelly and Harry and An.
ME and Richard were married. Alice
sweet and grave and dark eyed, sang
at the weddings. Her rich soprano
was Indispensable. John watched her
In love and despair and began to Won
der If, after all, prudence and caution
were not sometimes vices as well as
virtues. Would he never be free to
take Alice to his own home? Would
she never leave her father to come to
| him? He went to see her much oftener
than had been his habit, and, strange
to say, of evenings her father dlsap-
peared, no one asked where, and left
them to themselves. John and Alice
were again almost the boy and girl
lovers of ten years ago. They took
twilight walks and long drives unmo-
Tested and unquestioned and were very
happy.
With surprise John began to realize
that his mother no longer nagged him
about his engagement nor had fits Of
weeping, during which she declared
that he was going to make her a stran-
ger and dependent in her own house.
Then one evening he took courage
and masterfully laid before Alice a
plan to brave everybody. Finally she
yielded, though she dreaded the ex.
PLANTATION that would have to follow
One soft September evening John,
with license in his pocket, drove to
her door and told her father he was
going to take her for a drive to Lynn.
vile, ten miles away, and that they
old man was used to their driving and
said nothing. In fact, he seemed al.
most anxious to have Alice go.
Late in the evening they returned
man and wife. John tied the horse
and went in to have it out with Alice's
father. But the old man, strangely
enough, was not to be found. They
waited awhile, and then John left her
to go tell his mother.
When lie had gone Alice sat, silent,
in the big chair on the porch, happy in
| spite of the probable trouble Johns
mother would make happy in the face
| Of her fathers certain anger. At any
| rate, nothing on earth could make her
anything but Johns wife. So she wait.
ed for John and wondered where her
father could possibly be. In half an
hour she heard Johns quick, eager
footsteps. He swung in at the gate
and almost ran to take her in his arms.
lie kissed her, and he laughed-actual,
! ly laughed-like boy. Then he ex.
planned:
Hes at my house-your father. II
seems they took advantage of our abb
sence to marry each other, Alice
| IIow's that for sly? They brayed me