Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-04-25

When Charley sauntered into the
yard and dropped down beside Jane
on the old bench under the elm, lie
had in his mind just what he was so
ing 10 say-he had been rehearsing
Il an day--but when ne was beside
the little girl he had loved since
childhood. looking into her big, in
nocent blue, eyes, be suddenly be-
came specifies so far as proposing
went.
Jane was IN her usual mood; quiet
ana confdlng, telling hin the hap
peningss OF the day. But Charley had
something else on his mind, some
thing that he wanted 10 say, and
moss Of her news fell on deaf ears.
Jane noticed his abstraction and,
thinking that he was not interested,
became silent.
For long ume neither spoke
then:
did you know that Nel Burley's
cousin Violet. from Chiago, WAS com
ing TO spend the summer With
them?" she asked.
No"
Ned says she is a Z
Stuck up, III bet"
"He SAYS that she will have all tha
fellows I'm town in love with her be.
fore she has been here two days
Il know one she'll not have"
Charley declared.
That night, after he had gone, she
stood before her mirror, critically
studying the reflection therein. Jane
was not what one would term pretty.
Her features were regular but her
face was covered with a mass or tiny
freckles.
Ncds boast thar all the boys would
be at her heels had not been In vain,
and much to James discontinue,
Charley was one of the foremost. To
him Violet was a revelation, her rel
lips, bewitching dimples and dancing
eyes played havoc with his heart. Hd
wondered what on earth he could
ever have seen in that freckle-faced,
red-haired Jane.
Charley continued TO call on Jano
same as ever, but there was a differ
ence in his attitude toward her. He
looked upon her now as simply a
friend of childhood and she accepted
the changed condition of affairs with
a fortitude that was pathetic had not
Charleys eyes been blinded by the
flashing charms of the frivolous Vio-
let.
SO passed the summer, and when
fall came Violet began talking of re-
turning to the city. and Charley
awoke to the fact that for him life
would become an empty void after
she had gone Then he asked her to
marry him.
She threw him a saucy look, low
cred her eyes demurely and said she
would consider it. Charley had new
or made study of human anture,
especially people oi Vioiot's stamp,
and so foolishly went about in a
dream of ecstasy.
When the day for her departure
arrived he had not received his an
swer. and she promised TO write to
him as soon as she had spoken to
her mother on the subject.
During the following week Jane
saw nothing of him, as his time was
all taken up in dreaming of the fu-
ture, and in going to and from his
house to the post Office.
Family he was rewarded by re-
ceiving dainty missive postmarked
Chicago He did not open it till he
was safe from observation, then he
tore it open with a wildly beating
heart. A moment later he was star
ing at the sheet in amazement-it
was not his letter at all, but was
written to a girl In New York.
Violet had written two letters and
had put them in the wrong envel-
opes. He glanced over the pages
until he came to the last paragraph,
then his face paled and, an angry
frown settled on his brow. He read
Il over twice.
"And Minnie" 1t read You ought
to have seen what proposed to me.
use to amuse myself in picking
hayseed out of his hair, and he bad
such lovely hair, too. And Just
think, it was the only pom ! got all
summer; not much like the experi-
enco we had at the seashore a year
ago. Well, I've written him nice
little letter of regret in which l told
him that my ma won't let me It
may wake him up"
1t did wake him mp. 1t showed
him a type with which he was who'll
~ unfamiliar, and laugh. him n les
son that he would remember the rest
of mis- life And while he was think
ing of what he had just read there
came intruding into his mind pair
of big innocent blue eyes, AMI he
imagined that he saw look of sad
ness in their depths. Then he tore
the letter into fragments and ground
II into the earth with his heel
When he sauntered into the yard
Jane was sitting on the old bench
under the elm. When he dropped
down beside her he had no idea what
he was going to say. or how he was
going to explain his conduct Of the
past few weeks; in fact he had ex-
pected that she might ignore him, as
he deserved.
But she didn't.
And Just how It happened he
hardly knew. Tut he suddenly real