The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-07-05

| for II you do tris' fGte5 Become berverse
and mock you. If you even hint Of
what you have asked in secret some
thing will happen to mar its complete
fulfllment. l am sorry you spoke
about It at ALL" and thought her face
grew n little paler.
| | dared not speak again, and we
walked on in silence and Joined the
others in the old oaken dining room.
Mr.. Lamb asked the blessing and the
girls sat down. while the men waited
on them and brought them supper.
After a merry hour we danced again,
and the incident Of the wishing stone
was soon forgotten in the frolic of the
old Virginia reel. Miss Ellen led this
old fashioned dance with me, and
many n pretty ankle was displayed
that night IA toes were pointed and
courtesies made, and many n little
love scene, too. went on that night,
but l was too busy with my own af-
fairs to watch what others did.
When the candles had burnt down
to their sockets and Mr.. Lamb said
the band had struck, then began the
good nights. which lasted for another
half an hour. The wagons were
brought round and the horses saddled,
and soon the whole gay company start
ed like a cavalcade. Long after they
had left we could hear them singing
through the pines.
Bud saddled his horse and rode out
into the night to think Of some young
girl, thought, but Miss Ellen said no;
that sometimes when he became rest
less he would ride for hours and re-
turn always with a brighter heart
and more cheerfully take up the bur
den Of his life again. When I bade
Miss Ellen good night on the landing I
held the tips of her fingers for a mo-
ment.
you are my queen tonightr' cried
earnestly.
She let me raise her fingers to my
lips and looked down at me in sad,
sweet way. Then, laughing softly and
somehow, l felt, little bitterly, she
said:
"Your queen Of tonight will be your
cook again tomorrow"
Before l could reach her side, for my
impulse was to throw myself at her
feet and pour out my love to her, she
glided swiftly up the stairs.
Within the next week l received a
copy of the paper with my letter in it,
prominently placed on the first page,
and note in the same mail from the
editor congratulating me on the excel
lence Of it. He told me to send one or
two more from Georgia and then to
push on and write up the bayou coun-
ties in Louisiana. He liked the dia-
logues and suggested that l give more
interviews with the farmers. l read
my letter in print, and IT again struck
me that had not made it clear to my
conservative readers that it was to the
sons Of the antebellum, slaveholdirg
families that the south had to look for
its regeneration and renewed prosper
ity; that it was this element which
was rebuilding the fortunes in that
section and not the few men from the
north who had gone there to invest
money. If l dared to draw a picture
Of the Buds and the Ellens of the
south how the people of the old COM
monwealth would read the future of
this sunny land and appreciate the
struggle of its younger generation to
overcome the obstacles which they had
Inherited in consequence Of war!
A fine sense of honor had kept me
from making use of the life at the
Pines as a basis for a letter, but
longed to handle the subject as l saw
it and to make others see it through
my eyes and appreciate its beauty.
Shut in my room away from the intiu-
ence of Miss Ellen, of Bud and even
of the colonel, l argued that such a
letter could do no harm and might in
duce to much good. l do not hide from
myself even now that there was with
me a certain satisfaction in pleasing
those in the home Office, nor did con-
ceal from myself then the additional
prestige such a letter might give me
with my critics. The editor had com
plimented me on the first letter What
would he not do when he received one
written with pen guided by love and
every word of it poured from the
heart? If Miss Ellen loved me- l ar
gued, she would only rejoice with me
over my success. And then, too, she
might not see it. This last thought
brought blush to my cheek, and I
started up, determined to show her
my letter and tell her what I contem-
plated doing.
What evil genius led me to change
my mind l do not know. 1t might
have been the fatcS of the wishing
stone whom | had angcred by partial
ly revealing the secret | had confided
TO them. But at the time was pleased
to think it was confidence | had nC
right to give her until | had told her
of my love. Then, too, II |, who was
as jealous OF the family honor as Bud
or even the colonel himself, saw nc