The Ely miner., 1907-12-20
THE BETTER
CHOICE
BY G. v. Gregory

pectantly She raised her eyes ques.
tioningly
Fathers bought farm in Dakota
he went on, ''and he wants me to &c
out there and run it for him next
year." He paused, but she did not
reply.
"Well?" he asked at length.
''It will be a very good chance for
YOU"
"And you?"
"Pm getting on very well teaching
school,"
'But l don't want you to teach
school, Nancy" he pleaded. Think
| how much nicer it would be to have
little home of our own"
81 don't want home of my own"
she replied, turning her head away.
Have you forgotten your promise?"
he asked, note of mingled pain and
surprise in his voice. You told me
once you loved me-" There were
tears in her eyes as she looked al
him imploringly.
II know | promised, Jimmie" she
scarcely realized what it meant"
"But, Nancy"
| She checked him with an appealing
! gesture. 81 don't love you, Jimmie.
I've tried and tried, but l can't.
don't believe ever did" Mechanical
ly she drew off her ring and held it
out toward him. He made no move to
take it, but rose abruptly and walked
| over to the window. For a long time
he stood there, gazing at the whirling
snowflakes outside, and when he
finally turned and came back his face
was so changed that the girl in the
big armchair hardly recognized him.
He came and stood in front of her
chair, steadying himself moment be.
fore he spoke. Think of these four
years, Nancy" he said. "'rbese four
happy years, and that one particular
evening long ago when we were out
| on the lake and the moonlight turned
the waves to ripping silver. Oh,
was happy then. 1t all seemed too
good to be true. To think that you,
the dearest girl in all the world, had
promised to be mine and only mine
1t seemed like glorious dream. Yes,
it was dream, and am just begin
ming to waken." His voice broke and
he buried his face in his hands.
Don't, Jimmie, please don't" she
sobbed. Don't you see that l can't
help it? You'll find some girl out
there, Jimmie, nicer and a truer
| girl than am"
81 never want to see another girl"
he replied. "Good-by, Nancy, 1 hope
you'll>be happy"
| In moment he was gone out into
the storm and darkness with an awful
loneliness freezing his very soul, and
back in the house q fair-haired girl
leaned her head on the arm of the
old chair and sobbed herself to sleep
Slowly the weeks passed away. The
bleak winter with it's sleet and snow
had gone, and the beautiful summer
flowers were fading one by one to
make room for the gorgeous colors of
autumn. Nancy had been attending
summer school and was coming home
again-home to the little white school
house and the dear, exasperating
children Somehow the thought of it
did not awaken any of the old en-
thusiasm. She used to think she
loved to teach, but now-well, she
was almost afraid she was beginning
to hate it. She kept thinking of
him and remembering his many
little acts of kindness. How good
he had been and how manly!
There was a sharp shrek of the
whistle and the passengers were near
ly thrown from their seats as the air
brakes were suddenly thrown on.
Then there came crash, and outside
the cries of excited men mingled with
the hiss of escaping steam. The pas
sengers hurriedly climbed out and
ran forward. A stock train had
broken a truck and in stopping to re-
pair it had neglected to put out sig
nails to warn other trains that might
be approaching. The caboose was a
total wreck and the passenger engine
badly damaged. The train crews,
with the help of some of the passen-
gers, set to work at once to remove
the wreckage. Before they had gone
far they came upon body of man,
crushed and bleeding, but still alive.
Carefully they cut away the timbers
that held him, and carried him out
and laid him on the grass. A well
meaning old gentleman attempted to
lead Nancy away from the gruesome
sight, but too late. She had recog-
nized the blood-stained features, and
with a frightened sob she sprang for
ward.
''Jimmie!" she cried, as all unmind.
full of the wondering crowd she knelt
beside him and threw her arms about
his neck. Jimmie, don't you know
me?" Slowly the eyes opened and
the lips parted in a wavering SMILE
Tenderly she bent over and kissed
them. Il love you, Jimmie she
whispered. '1'm just beginning to
realize how much / do love you
You're not going to die, are you, Jim
mie? You'll live for my sake, won't