The Washington herald., 1907-05-15

I TO resign, and she had dared to dream
/ she had been so sure-she had been such
a fool. She smothered the sob IN her
/ throat. and in quick sc1rn OF herself.
/ dashed the hot tears from her eyes. Then
she pulled herself together sharply and
went upstairs. With trembling fingers
/ she filled out the blank and directed It 10
/ the board.
Drab weeks followed Every effort the
professor made TO gain an audience with
Belinda failed. He had mortified and
insulted her naerantly. ana she would
see that he got no more chances 10 re-
peat the indignity. AS to Hardiman. he
was on the rack. Fool-like. he reflected
he had rushed In and frightened her away
with his maudlin. importunate lovemak-
ing-and thus lost her for good. But per
haps, after all, Il was not for him that
she cared, but the other fellow, What
dolt he had been to presume upon the
affection of a matchless creature Ike
. that. Life grew to be a bitter struggle
to him. and he began, all al once. 10
look his thirty-dve years.
il was In May-almost the close OF
school The day vas warm and opures-
sive, and lazy breeze was blowing. The
professor made his way in absent wearl-
ness toward the scho0lhouse. stopping on
tht way % get his mail from the post
Office. There were several circulars In
his box, and-hls breath st0pped-a COM
municat0n from the dead-ietter office
He broke the seal anxi0usly. an intuitlve
knowledge of what 10 contained making
his heart thump thickly. Sure enough:
Miss Belinda Maxwell.
Gresuyille, Colorado"
And this was Alabama, Unadulterated
blue-labeled Carelessness and stupidity
IL living in a place five years could make
one responsible for an ldiOtic blunder Of
this s0rt-What else had he not done?
He walked out Of the post office in a daze.
All was clear enough now. She had never
received his letter at all. only that
Wreiched, c7nfounied blank, No wonder
she had frozen the very air about him. no
wonder. out in the open air, he quick
ened his footsteps. II was already 500.
only ten minutes before the opening of
school, but he turned directly into Oak
street and forgot that be had ever been
such thing as principal Of the Green
vile High School
I'm the distance he caught sight Of a
familiar, blue taiI0r-made gown. DE
doubled his pace ana was quite up with
Belinda before she realized his nearness.
To her naughty glance. her cool drawing
away from him, Hardiman paid no at
tenton whatever, but thrust the letter
into her hands in a determined MASTER
iul way, which she could nor resist.
Hypnotized, she opened it and read the
lines through, the crimson once moved
IN her cheeks:
My darlng-I want YOU to give ND
teaching and let me do it for both. / am
not mistaken in thinking that Won viii
come TO me? Just a line, giving me the
right 10 speak. and I shall attempt TO
tell you in a different way, i'm thousand
different ways, how much worship YOU
Most earnestly. r w II"
Belinda caught her breath IN something
between a sob and a laugh. as she lifted
her eyes shyly TO his keen. appealing
apolog-zing, and at last, commanding
glance
The professor was tardy, very tardy
that morning. but he gave his excuse Of
a headache, glibly and mendaciously. and
dismissed pupils and teachers for a holi-
day
This he spent with Belinda.
Copyright 1907, by p. C. Eastmeptl