The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-03-02

"a SSA
Elsie, John Fielding is waiting
for you downstairs.
Elsie looked up to see her mother
in the door and dropped the warm
cloak she was about to put on. She
was a quiet. gentle girl, so unas-
Stunning that her dark prettiness was
more unnoticed than it deserved to
be. 1t had been long since John had
come to see her in the old friendly
fashion of the time before Rose Lisle
moved TO their town. The girl gave
another touch to her smooth hair.
Her mother stood watching her and
then remarked:
MRS. Dent told me today that
John and Rose have been out for over
a month. He has just come home.
If a quarrel with Rose is all that
sends him to you. / should think
that Elsie wheeled impatiently.
Mother, John and have always
been good friends. and / shall not
question any motive that brings him
10 see me. / shall always be the same
10 him. You can't expect man so
deeply in love as he is with Rose to
be regular in his attention to his girl
friends. And no one could help low
ing a beauty like Rose. She's good,
too"
Elsie greeted John as if she had
seen him yesterday and soothed his
evidently overwrought mood with a
gentle. half laughing tact. He was
tall and blond, with fine blue eyes
which tonight were clouded, and his
face was little careworn. Some
times he gave random answers as if
he had not heard what she said.
After half uneasy hour of the March
twilight he turned to her in awkward
masculine gratitude for her patience
with him.
''Elsie, am I keeping you in? l
have not thought to ask if you were
going anywhere" She smiled and
bethought herself that inaction was
not good in his present mood.
II was going for a walk and can
go as we'll another time. was going
quite by myself. You know 1 am
never afraid
mo, I never knew you to be afraid
from the time we were children at
school until now. I have always
liked you for that. But would you
mind letting me go with you for the
walk? We used to like pushing the
wind together. Shall we go?''
Elsie put on her cloak and little red
cap, and the two young people start
ed away.
Rose lived not far from them, and
as they passed the house both could
not avoid what they saw. From the
broad front windows the light stream
ed brightly. The shades were not
drawn. Rose sat at the. piano. and
over her in rapt attention stood Nor
man Cady. John almost dragged
Elsie past, though he said nothing.
He did not know that he gripped her
arm till it hurt and that he was walk
ing at pace that would have put
less healthy girl than Elsie utterly
out Of breath.
1t was a raw night, with a sharp
wind. The moon was high and cold,
and the sky was streaked with flying
clouds. The road was good, and they
walked on and on, out of the town
and along the river road. The girl
was unwilling to disturb her compan-
ions silent mood and swung gladly
beside him. Al length they reached
the boat house and a great pile of
rough logs in sheltered corner. John
stopped here and proposed resting.
Elsie" he said, 81 must have
tired you all out. lam selfish brute
to drag you about like this. I was
trying to get away from myself byfe.
minding myself what staunch friend
you have always been. l had not in
tended to tell you my troubles, but I
think I must if you will let me-"
"Tell me all about it," she replied
in the matter of fact comrades way
that made condolences easy.
"All right, but you must not try
to help me. No one can do that. I
simply need the relief of words before
I settle down to forgetting as fast as
I can"
He hesitated. A man finds it hard
to conf6e.
''Is it about Rose?" She tried to
make it easier for him.
''Elsie, loved her almost from the
minute saw her. Everybody must
know it, for I didn't hide my prefer
ence, and when I want anything uu.
der the sun it is my way to do my
best to get it. wanted her. Soon
made her my friend and then-well,
/ thought she loved me, though we
had not spoken of it in words. About
month ago / wrote and asked her to
marry me. I told her everything a
man tells the girl he loves. asked
her to send me a note in answer ana
added that should interpret her fail
ure to do so as a refusal, though ]
was over-confdent enough not to
dream of such thing"
He looked off across the river and
drummed his heels against the logs.
ELSIE" he went on, "she did not
send me a world. Not one word
And that very night she was heart
less enough to smile and nod and
blush at me at a concert where we
were and seemed to think I would see
her home the same as ever Then
the next time we met she did not even
speak p
"Are you sure she received it Z"
Eyes. I sent it by my brother
and he put it into her own hand. He
L.