The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-12-18
CHAPTER v.-(continued).

aAloa nao opened the envelope ad-
dressed in Jack Lathom's handwriting,
but she did not draw out the folded
sheet, waiting until the servant should
have left the room. A letter from
her lover is such a sacred thing that a
woman instinctively wants to be alone
to read it. In her eager impotence
1t seemed to Hilda that she had never
known Martha so provokingly slow.
She stood staring out into the win
try garden, deep in day dream. She
could recall every look, every tender
infection of his voice, every word he
had spoken that night-Jack Lathom,
who two nights ago, out in the wind
and the darkness, had taken her in
his arms, crying with that masterful-
ness that woman loves in a man she
cares for: Il give you up to no man
on earth!" And her eyes grew
strangely soft and tender-though
only the robin who was hopping about
on the frozen snow on the window
sill saw the look; and he would have
been vastly more interested at the
sight of a handful of crumbs.
And Jack had been jealous of Philip
Hume! Hilda gave a low laugh to
herself at the thought; laugh liquid
and clear like the note of water fall
ing into deep still water-as though
Hume!
Hilda had not seen Jack Lathom
since that night-what long, long time
the intervening day seemed to look
back ont! She had expected to see
him last night. and there had been a
feeling of disappointment for her not
to find him waiting as she came away
from the sewing meeting in the school
room. Hilda had been sure there
would be letter from him this morn
ing, telling her why he had not come;
now she was waiting for Martha to go.
that she might be alone to read it, as
impatiently as the hungry robin on
the window sill outside was waiting
for his usual breakfast of crumbs, with
growing sense of injury at being for
once unnOticed.
The unconscious Martha departed
at last; when five minutes later Ste
phen Ruthen came into the room, his
sister was so absorbed as not to be
aware of his presence until he spoke.
She turned with little start and a
deepening of color, thrusting the letter
away in the bosom of her dress.
"Oh, good morning, Stephen" Then
note of sudden concern came into
the gray, fresh young voice. "Why,
Stephen, how i'll you lools!"
Her brother forced smile.
ooh, nonsense, Hilda; I'm all right.
At least-well, I didn't sleep very
we'll; but it's nothing" Stephen
spoke with an effort, and turned away
under pretense of glancing at his let
tiers. He hardly wondered at Hilda's
startled expression; when he had
looked int othe glass that morning the
sight of his own face had startled the
rector. He felt conscious of her scru1
tinizing eyes, and he turned with a
sudden touch of irritability unusual in
him. "You don't seem convinced,
Hilda; really there's nothing the mat
ter with me-nothing at ALL"
Hilda sat down at the table and be-
gan to pour out the coffee. She re-
allied that further reference to the
subject would only worry him, and she
refrained from referring to it again,
though she could not help feeling a lit
tie anxious-Stephen looked so pale
and haggard, 3 unlike himself this
morning. He sat pretending to be en-
IN, hSc,
Her own thoughts slipped back to
Jacks letter, to a sentence in it that
bad puzzled her:
II shall see you tonight, sweet
heart" he had written, "but that is no
valid reason, is it, why should not
write you a love letter all the same,
although we shall have met before
you get it? I think you will like to
wake up tomorrow morning to find a
letter waiting for you-the very first
love letter have ever written to you,
dear!"
How strange it was: Jack had writ
ten that intending to see her last night
had posted it expecting to see her.
It was strange he had not come. Per-
haps, Hilda told herself, he had been
detained at the last moment, and
would come this morning, following
his letter.
Hilda almost wished she had not
said that their engagement was to be
a secret for the present; she felt that
she wanted Stephen to know Of this
wonderful happiness that had come to
her: she had never had a secret from
Stephen before. But it was best to
wait. 1t would take so little time for
Jack to show his father and Stephen
that he was not idler they had thought
him; that now that he had promised
his father to settle down to hard work
at the mills he could keep his promise
Hilda had no doubts of it.
Stephen Ruthen was unusually silent
at breakfast that morning. The few
desultory remarks he made cost him
an effort: then he pretended to read
his letters as an excuse for not talk
ing. But he could hardly have said
what was in the letters after he had
read them. He was tortured on rack
of suspense.
~ AZ