Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-12-25

house at the end Of the avenue Of
elms. on the upper soad. which VAS In
plain sigh; from Ter own windows.
across the fields. .rid rumor was not
able 10 say r.ael!s how much else he
sides In the mejr polls from whence
be brought his Wol,h. She had seen
him many times and he her. She
knew-of him what the gossip Of the
town had 20 say. of which she picked
up her share somehow. despite her
Isolation, and she had no doubt that
be knew all about her rs well. They
were simply old nelghoors.
Nevertheless her imagination few Ia.
rta1fly and nnocently 10 all sorts Of
delightful possibilities as she allowed
him TO help her Into the sleigh and
took the r~ins In her hands while the
green STUFF was tucked away behind
the seat. She told him laughingly
where she had picked II AID spoke
her thanks for the freedom OF the
woods that was rendered her at once.
Then she fell silent, the unwontedness
Of her situation commencing TO on
press her She answered her neigh
boris further friendly remarks with
monosyllablcs, wondering meanwhile
with painful esrnestness what people
talked about. what they ought 10 say,
under such conditions. At length she
said what was uppermost In her mind
rs a child might have done.
Il never was In a sleigh before"
"YOu were never In II sleigh before"
repeated the man beside her. us Il he
hardy credited what she said. How
81 thatT' Then, Il beg your pardon"
But Miss Christina was unconscious
Of any rudeness.
Father never owned one" she said
The man drew his breath In softly
Had no one else ever taken this young
old lady. with the still unfaded hair
driving except her fatherf be wondered
"Do you ike itf' he asked.
ayes" replied Miss Christina.
They were rapidly nearing the gate
Of her home. "Shall we not go onr'
asked the man, adding considerably
something about the unusual quality
Of the sleighing.
Miss Christina assented without a
trace Of shyncss. She was growing
more natural and ut her ease every
moment. The possible and the real
were blending 30 harmonlously that
there was less and less room for self
consciousness. Even romance ceases
to be romance while II Is In process Of
occurrence; It becomes then merely de.
lightful matter, Of course.
Not even the knowledge that at every
village window eager eyes were taking
note Of the fact that the owner Of the
! great house ON the hill was out riding
with Crisc hany stebhins could dim her
pleasure. She was talking presently as
frankly as IL to an old acquaints nee
! and listening with delight TO the un
folding Of new fairy tales, which hei
neighbours descriptions OF cities and
sights abroad were to her unaccustom
ed ears Touched by her naive inter
est, he exerted himself gladly and be
came entertaining beyond his wont.
They had passed through the vii
lage. re-entered II by another road ana
left it FOR the open country again be
fore Miss Christina gave thought Il
the passage of time. She was com
pietely under the spell Of adventure
/ The trees whlrlins past gave her ;
sense Of pleasure In their shapes aDt
relations TO the landscape quite new
the very fields she saw at differen
angle and from higher up than whe'
she traversed the road on foot. Tn,
man at the reins turned the horse int
n crossroad that led to higher ground
and Miss Christina caught glimpe'
Of dark blue. She uttered a little CT.
Of pleasure For the moment she ha,
almost forgotten the man at her side
He was watching her with absorbe'
interest. II didn't know you could sc
the ocean here" said Miss Christina
with the satisfaction OF child. The
have cut away the trees since was Il
a carriage" She stopped abruptly. re
membering that It was IN her mother
funeral procession she had last riddle
over this road.
Suddenly she missed her mothe
afresh. For almost the first tim
since the poignancy Of loneliness ha
begun to wear away she thought wit
real shrinking OF the empty house t
which she must return. ..
II ought to 60 back" she said. "Tr
like the dog one Of our neighbors use
TO have when we lived at Bristol 70
a little while. She kept him tied u
all the time. She said II made him s
uneasy If she let him run. wa
thinking I didn't want to 60 HON
now"
The man looked at her sharply, bu
there was no trace Of significance
her face or manner. She was speal
Ing her thoughts with perfect uncor
seriousness Of how they might strike
listener. A change came over tn
mans own face; an expression Q
whimsical tenderness took possessio
Of It, He had done manly odd an
reckless things in the course OF hi
somewhat lonely life. He was goin
now to do perhaps the oldest an
most reckless Of all
Suppose ! were to say. Do not 3
back at ali--go On with Inc always"
he said, bending a little to catch Mis-
Christmas answer.
She sat looking straight ahead. Sh
was not in the least surprised nov
She was not even conscious that he
heart beat at ali-the quicker. 1t wa