The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-05-09

direction OF the gates. towaru the AL
n1Ft bridge, their nearest way home.
She-meekiy now, for already she was
~sprrE-turned to look at him. Some
thlhS In his attitude. the stoop of
the shoulders, usually so square and
erect, the hands ~curiously clasped be-
hlhd his back. told her that her shaft
very thoughtlessly aimed-had struck
even deeper than it should.
L am so sorry, dear" she said gent
His look forgave her. even before the
words were fully out of her mouth. but
Win characteristic reticence, he made
no reply To her taunt. Strangely enough
she was satisfied that he should say
nothing. The look. which did not re-
proach even whilst it tried to conceal
tine nm depth of the wound go light
~ dealt, had told her more than any
words could do. Whatever Luke de
cided to do, it would be from a sense
or moral obligation, that desire for do
ing the right ~thing-in the worldly
sense or the term-Whicn is inherent in
Ehglishmen of a certain class. No SEN
tlmeht save that Of a conventional ono
or honor Would be allowed to sway her
destiny and his,
Observation-Disclosures same strained
sense OF honor and d~uty-decreed that
under certain mundane circumstances
u ma and woman should not mate.
DlflerenCes OF ancestry, of parentage,
of birth and of country, divergence of
taste, OF faith, Of belief-all these mat
Ter not one iot. But let the man be
oegSared and the woman rich, and CON
Vention steps in and says, 1T shall not
bei'
These two bowed to that decree: un-
conventional. in SO far as that they both
made the sacrifice out of the intense
purity of their sentiment 70 ,nn ,,
other. They made an absolutely world
~ sacrifice for a wholly unworldly mo-
1--WE. Luke would as 500 have thought
or seeing Louisa in a badly fitting serge
irock, and paying twOpecce for q two
mile ride in an omnibus, as he would
expect to see a diamond tiara packed
in a'cardboard box, it would be unfair
on the jeweler who had made the. tiara
thus to subject it to rough treatment:
ana 1t would be equally unfair on the
creator of Louisa to let her be buffeted
about by the cruder atoms of this
world.
Louisa only thought of Luke and that
perhaps he would feel happier I'm his
mind If she allowed him to make his
temporary sacrifice.
There Is such wonderful balm in self
imposed sacrifice.
What" she asked simply, do you
want me to say, Luke?"
only that-that you won't give me
up altogether unless
Here he checked himself abruptly.
Was there ever an Englishman born
who could talk sentiment at moments
such as this? Luke was no exception
to that rule. There was so much thai
he wanted to say to Louisa. and vet
the very words literally choked him
before he could contrive to utter them.
Don't" she said quietly, 'let us
even refer to such things, Luke. l do
not believe in this shadow, and / can
not even understand why you should
worry about it But whatever happens,
l Should never give you up. Never.
We will put off fixing the day Of our
wedding: since we ave made no an
nouncement this won't matter at all;
but l only agree to this because l think
that 1t is what you would like. / fancy
that 1t would ease your mind. AS for
breaking our engagement in the fu-
ture-in case the worst happens-well it
shall not be with my consent, Luke,
unless you really cease to care"
They had reached the gate close to
the bridge. Life pulsated all round
them. the life of the big city, callous,
noisy n cruel. Omnibuses, cabs,
heavy vans, ratified necessarily past
them. People jostled one another, hur-
rying and scurrying, pigmies and ants
adding their tiny load of work, Of care,
Of sorrow to the titanic ediice Of this
living world.
LIouisa's last words remained unan-
swered Luke had, by his silence, said
everything there was to say. They
stood on the pavement for a moment,
and Luke hailed a passing taXicab.
At the corner opposite, an omnibus
pulled up on it's way westward. A
man stepped off the curb ready to en-
ter it. Louisa caught his eye, and he
raised his hattie man who had
passed them in the park just now.