The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-05-03

on sInt 0lu Uclgn suAAAS - ~ - : II
| had in his mind just what he WIS go
| ihg to say-he had been tehearsing
II all day-but when he was beside
the little gifl he had loved since
chila66od, looking iutosher big. IN
noeent blue eyes, ID suddenly BE-
came speeches. so far as proposing
went.
Jane was In her usual mood quiet
ane connding, telling hiaI the hap.
penings Of the day. But Charley had
some thing else on bis mind, some
thing that he wanted to say. and
most OF her news fell on deaf ears.
Jane noticed his abstraction and,
thinking that he was not interested.
became silent 80
For . long time neither spoke
then
"Dld you know that Ned Burleye
cousin Violet, from Chiago, was COM
ing to spend the simmer with
them?" she asked.
NO"
Ned says she is a dream"
Stuck up, I'll bet"
HE says that she will have all the
fellows In town in love with her be-
fore she has been here two days
81 know one she'll not have,
Charley declared. a.
That night, after he had gone. she
stood before her mirror, critically
studying the reflection therein. Jane
vas not what one would term pretty.
Her features were regular, but her
ace was covered with mass OF tiny
lTeckles.
Ned's 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 red
lips, beWItchlng dimpleS and dancing
eyes played havoc with his heart. He
wondered what on earth he could
ever have seen in that freckle-faced.
red-haired Jane,
Charley continued to call on Jane
same as ever, but there was 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
fortitude that was pathetic had not
oharley's eyes been blinded by. the
aashing charms Of the frivolous VIC
let. !.
So passed the summer, and when
tall came Violet began talking otyre5,
turning to- the city, and Charley
awoke to the fact that for himflfe
would become an empty void after
sshe, had gone. Then he asked her to
marry him. ~
She threw him saucy look, low
esfsd her eyes dempF spd aid she
would consider Il. Charley had new.
eF made. a study OF human anture,
eSrecially people ii yiolet's stamp,
and so fooliShly went about IN q
dream Of ecstasy.
When the day for her departure
arrived he had not received his an
swet, and she promised to write to
him az soon as she had spoken to
her mother on the subject. a.5si,-
During the following week Jane
saw nothing o: him, as his time was
all taken up IN dreaming OF the fu-
ture, aud in going to and from his
house TO the post once. 5.
Family he was rewarded by re-
ceiying a dainty missiye postmarked
Chicago. He did not open 1t till he
was safe from observation. then he
tore It open with a wildly beating
heart. A moment later be was star
Ing at the sheet in amazement-it
was not his letter at all, but was
written 10 a girl in New York.
Violet had written two letters and
had put them in the wrong enyel-
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
It 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 had
such lovely hair, too. And Just
think, It was the only poo I got all
summer; not much like the exDeri-
ence we had at the seashore year
ago. Well, I've written him a nice
little letter Of regret In which told
him that my ma won't let me, It
may wake him up"
It did wake him up. 1t showed
him a type with which he was who'll
ly unfamiliar, and tauEh; him les
son that he would remember the rest
Of his life. And while he was think,
Ing Of what he had Just read there
came intrudinE into his mind a pair
Of big innocent blue eyes, AMI he
imagined that he saw a look OF sad
ness In their depths. Then he lore
the letter into fragments and ground
II into the earth, with HIS heel!
When he sa dntered Into the yard
Jane was sitting on the old bench
under the elm. When lie dropped
down beside her he had no idea what
he !was going to say, or how. he was
going to explain bis conduct Of the
past few weeks; in fact he had ex.
pscted that she might ignore him. as