The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-16


 The absolute difference of feeling be- tween the man and hersel,. his isvity against her earnestness. his callous onndness to her purpose, even the commonness of his words chilled her TOT few seconds she ,vavered again Tn ner intention: but once again his comeliness and her own obstinacy Joined hands and took her back to her path. With chaxrin she felt that her words almost stuck in her throat as summoning up all her resolution she went on:
 Tt would be for you I would have 1t built Leonard"' The man sat up quick ly.
 For me7" he asked in a sort of won- derment.
 Yes. Leonard. for you and mer' She turned away. her biushes so over came her that she could not look at him. When she faced round again he was standing up. his back towards her. She stood up also. He was silent for while; so long that he silence be- came intolerabie, and she spoke:
 Leonard. am waiting." He turned round and said slowly, the absence of all emotion from his face chilling her till her face blarched:
 ~ don't think I would worry about
 Stephen Norman was plucky. and when she was face to face with any difficulty she was all herself. Leonard did not look pleasant; his face was hard and there was just suspicion of anger. Strangely enough this last made the next step easier to the girl; she said slowly:
 "All right I think understandr
 He turned away from her and stood looking out on the distant prospect Then she felt that the blow which she had all along secretly feared had fallen on her. But her pride as we'll as her obstinacy now rebelled. She would not accept a silent answer. There must he no doubt left to torture her afterwards. She would take care that there was no mistake. Schooling herself to her task, and pressing one hand for a moment to her side as though to repress the beating of her heart, she came behind him and touched him tenderly on the arm.
 Leonard" she said softly. ''are you, sure there Is no mistake? Do you not see that I am asking you" she intend ed to say "to be my husband but she could not utter the words they seemed to stick in her mouth. SO she finished the sentence; that be your wife7''
 The moment the words were spoken the bare, hard, naked. shameless words--the revulsion-came. As lightning flash shows up the blackness of the night the appalling truth of what she had done was forced upon her. The blood rushed to her head till cheeks and shoulders and neck seemed to burn. Covering her face with her hands she sank back on the seat behind her, crying silently bitter tears that seem ed to scald her eyes and her cheeks as they ran.
 Leonard was angry; his pride was hurt. Why should he have been placed in such a ridiculous position! He did not love Stephen in that way; and she should have known 1t. He liked her and all that sort of thing: but. what right had she to assume that he loved her? He was in truth that perfect selfish egotist who lives in the mo. ment and whose impelling force is his imm ediate desire. Now as he stood looking out over the landscape, with out taking in it's beauty or even notic- ing it. for his thought was self-center- ed, his own grievance mastered him. It has been hard enough to have had to reply indirectly to such a challenge: but now to have it forced on him to give definite answer yea or nay" with the added ignominy of having 1t taken for granted that he did not know even enough to understand what she was driving at. was fntoierabie! All the weakness of his moral nature came out in his petulance. He knew it. and