Bridgeton pioneer., 1912-12-26

in this room
Tom then wrote out an l LOT
dollar to cover the cost of his enter
tainment Iayable when ! nave Ii'ue
the money to pay it" Then. NOT uHr
ing to 20 asleep again lest 1T Suouiu
be caught by some one belonging there
he went out into the night and hnislied
it in a naighbOring wood.
1t was Halloween The hrSt chill
of approaching winter had come. ana
In certain room of Il certain house
cheerful coal Gro was blazing III the
CRATE 4 girl >Ht before it dreaming
of the HaIloweens She had passed
and the childlike faith she had had
that she might be afforded III some
way Il glimpse of the man she Woulu
marry She was now twenty ana con
sidered herself altogether too old tGF
such superstiticnS Indeed, they had
given place to something more real,
something that had remained with her
ever since its occurrence.
1t happened at the time of her aunt
death Late ut night Il telegram nad
come Announcing that she could NOT
live till morning. Mabel Hinckley and
her mother had thrown few things
into suit ease. locked the doors ana
started on foot to the station. but
short distance from the house. to catch
the II O'Clock train. After week
absence they had returned and found
bit of paper OF the mantel over the
fireplace on which had been written,
Some day I'm going to buy this house
and marry the girl whose portrait
hangs on the wall in this room
due bill for dollar to pay for what
had been appropriated accompanied
the paper.
Mabel's mother had been impressed
only with the hazard of going away
from her home and leaving it TO take
care of itself. The occasion of their
departure and the bury involved had
caused them to leave window un-
locked, and they had not even taken
time to put out the fire burning i'll the
crate 1t was wonder, she said, the
house had not been ranSacked,
With Mabel it was different. y girl
must be devoid not only of romance.
but an interest in her personal appear
ance, who would not he moved by such
a note as she had found on her re
turn 1t was now three years since
1t had been received, and she had not
ceased to wonder if the writer would
keep his word Evidently he had not
thus far kept it as to buying the house,
+. for having received an offer for more
than it was worth-an offer they, could
not afford to deCine-they had sold
1t and to man with wife and a
family of children. The property had
passed out of their hands. but they
were to occupy it till the following
spring. AS for the man who had made
himself at home in it. he had not yet
come a-wooing. Indeed. not a word
had ever been heard from him.
Mabel Hinckley sat before the fire.
place on Halloween night wondering
what had become of the person who
had been charmed with her picture. 1t
hung where it had hung when he
entered the house, and as she looked at
it she mused:
"When that picture was taken | was
barely sixteen am now twenty and
much changed If he comes and
proves to be a gentleman and attrac
tive and all that, when ne sees me he
will probably not be so much pleased
with me as with my likeness taken
four years ago, Twenty is quite old
for a girl. Heigho. If he's coming I
wish he would come
The clock on the mantel struck II.
and. arising. she started to go upstairs
to bed. a mirror hung on the wall
and she paused to have look at her
face to see if she was really very
much changed. The mirror faced the
fireplace and a window beside it. Sud
denly she saw reflected in the mirror
the face of Il man at the window.
If it had rot been Halloween and
If the face at the window had been
repulSive Miss Mabel Hinckey would
have screamed. AS it was she stood
| perfectly still The eyes of the stran-
6Cl WCit lllls5 mere anu there, Unal-
ly resting on the face in the glass.
which was as plain to him as the face
| at the window was TO her When the
| two pairs of eyes met there was
momentary recoil on the part of the
man; then a half dubious. half implor
ing smile came over his face 1t was
answered by the lips reflected in the
mirror, which gave it more confidence
And why not? Surely it was Hal
loween, and what girl ON that even
ing on seeing a face reflected in a
mirror would doubt that she was look
ing upon her future husband?
| There was more in the face in the
window than this. Something told the
| girl that she was looking upon the
man who had written her that he
would some day come to marry her.
Furthermore. she saw a frank. ingenu-
ous face, and the smile it wore was
very winning.
The girl turned, advanced to the
| window. threw nm tho sash on1 ov