River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-03-27
Copyright By the Bobbs-Merrill Coz


ly, opened their hearts. They would
her. BY degrees, and insensibly to
herself, she became the confessor of
| her little world. After they left school,
her girls brought her their perplexities
of the heart. Wives came to her with
| cruel dilemmas which they shrank
from revealing to their own mothers
| perhaps because the mothers could
not be trusted to plead FOR the erring
! husband so well; for q woman who
! lives complains, not to be justified
| herself, but to hear her lovers mis-
conduct excused and his love proved
against her doubts. Before they left
| school, the girls confessed their faults
and failings and strivings of con-
science with the sane eagerness with
which they asked counsel in their in
nocent romances Of friendship or the
sorrows Of trigonometry, and they ac-
cepted any penance directed, not only
| with patience, but kind of eXalta-
ton natural to youth, which finds
secret joy in the exercise of It's own
! fortitude.
To-Day, however, Miss Wing sat be-
! fore the picture which SO many young
| eyes had studied with such vague, yet
ardent, sympathy, and pondered over
confidence that had not come. The
! lack OF it's coming hurt her; and the
tap on her door was welcome, for she
| thought, 1T is she-coming to tell me.
Oh, hope he is the right man"
| At her response, the door swung
| open with a jerk, and the dark-eyed
| girl who entered was catching her
breath, although she tried to make the
quick intakes noiseless. There was a
| look Of pale resolution on her features.
] "Have you come to let me congrat-
ulate you, my dear?' said the princi-
pal, rising. The girl colored scarlet.
I've come because / had to, because
couldn't deceive you" she blurted.
Miss Wing, 1t isn't so. | let Miss
Parker think so; but I'm not engaged
to him"
"Sit down, DEAR" said Miss Wing.
The soft cadence of her voice did not
roughen. She sat down when her guest
sat, and leaned back in her desk chair,
folding her slim, white hands. There
were flashing rings on her hands; and
the girls used to wonder which ring
Max" had given her. They favored
the sapphire, set between two dia-
monds, because Of it's beauty ga real
Cashmere, you know'0 and because,
whether she wore other rings or not,
this always kept it's place.
Nov, tell me" said Miss Wing
Il had letter from him this morn
ms it was just note IN one of Helen
Griers "-the girls 1.-THE form was
erect in the chair, every muscle tense;
she looked past Miss Wing to the wall
and spoke in toneless voice; no one
could see that she was driving straight
on to her purpose, over her own with
ing nerves-"all he said was that he
had been called back to Germany"
rs he a German? Miss Parker said
his name was Cutler"
1T is Butler. the girl said, fiinging
her head back while spark crept in
to her liquid. troubled, dark eyes, "but
he is a German. Don't you know the
Buffers in 'Wallenstein?' You know
he was real man; and he founded a
family. He-my-my friend is the
Count Won Butler" Miss Wings chair,
| like other desk chairs, was set on a
pivot; she turned very slightly and
slowly, at the same time resting her
elbow on the desk. The girl ventured
, a timid glance at her, and thought
that she looked sterner, wherefore her
heart sank; but she only continued
| the faster: He isn't in America just
| to travel; he was sent by his govern
ment to watch the Cuban war. He's
very brave; and he isn't bit like q
| foreigner and hasn't any nasty super
| cilious notions about women Mr.
| Grier says he has future. And real
| ly, Miss Wing, he is just like a-a-a
kind of knight"
( Where did you meet him ?"
AT Helen's last summer And he
was going out to Minneapolis to see
papa, II think. But he got a cable
of his uncle's death. And his two lit
| tie cousins died last year; so now he
is the head of the family; and he must
go to Germany at once. For his father
is dead, you know. So he wrote lin
Helen's letter, because he is $3.50
awfully properly asking TO let him
come here and take me to drive-in
the American fashion. / know who
put him up to that scheme; it was
Helen. had to ask Miss Parker, be-
cause you were out; and she said if
he wasn't a relation or the man l was
going to marry / couldn't go. OF
course, if he were the man you expect
to marry she said, and-and IL said,
But he isl Just like that. can't
fancy how / came to say such a
thing, but when it was said l didn't
know how to explain; and l was SO
awfully ashamed: and, besides"-she
lifted her eyes in the frank and direct
gaze that Miss Wing always liked
besides, I do want to see him
And do you expect him to ask you
to marry him." said Miss Wing, with
a deepening of the color on her cheek,
which went out suddenly like the
fame of lamp in the wind
Florence Raimund blushed again
but this time she laughed: Il don't
know. He is so awfully proper" said
she, ''and he hasn't had a chance to
ask papa; butt think he wants to-"
In that case, isn't he the man whom
You expect 10 marry?" asked Miss
Wing dryly. ''But it was deceiving