Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-10-06

stole an upward glance at him, her
face pale, her beautiful lips half part
ed, and in her depthless brown eyes.
alive now with new light which had
been born within her, there was no
forbiddance. though she dropped them
hastily. and bent her head still lower
She had made herself an eternal part
Of him just then, had he but seized
upon that unspoken assent. and taken
her in his arms. and breathe- TO her
of the love of man for woman. the love
that never dies nor wavers nor falters,
so long as the human race shall en-
dure.
He bent still closer to her, so that
be all but EMBODIED her His warm
breath was upon her cheek. The sym
patty which was between them
bridged the narrow chasm of air, and
enveloped them in an ethereal flame
which coursed them from head to foot.
and had already nigh welded them
into one.
Il need you. Call" he told her. II
need you to be my wife. my sweet
heart, my companion. l need you to
go With me through life, to walk hand
in hand with me about the greatest
work in the world. the redemption Of
the fallen and helpless, into whose
lives we may shed some of the beauty
which blossoms in our own"
There was low cry from Gail. a
cry which was half a sob. which came
with a sharp intake>of the breath, ana
carried with it pain and sorrow and
protest. She had been so happy, in
what she fancied to be the near full
fillment of the promptings which had
grown so strong within her. No surge
of emotion like this had ever swept
over her; no such wave of yearning
had ever carried her impetuously up
and out of herself as this had done. 1t
had been the ecstatic answer to all
feet completion of every longing with
in her; yet, in the very midst of it
had come a word which broke the
magic thrall; a thought which had
torn the fairy web like a rude storm
irom out the icy north; a devouring
genie which, dark and frightening, ad-
vanced to destroy all the happiness
which might follow this first inrushing
commingling of these two perfectly
correlated elements!
Il can't!' she breathed. but she did
not withdraw her hand from his clasp.
She could not! 1t was as If those two
palms had welded together, and lad
become parts of one and the same or
ganism.
There was an instant of silence, in
which she slowly gathered her swirl.
ing senses, and in which he sat.
shocked, stunned, disbelieving his own
ears. Why, he had known, as positive
ly, and more positively, than if she
had told him. that there was a perfect
response in her to the great desire
which throbbed within him. 1t had
come to him from her like the waver-
ing of soft music, music which had
blended with his own pulsing diapason
in a melody so subtle that it drowned
the senses TO languorous swooning;
it had come to him with the delicate
far-off pervasiveness of the birth of a
new star in the heavens; 1t had come
to him as a fragrance, as radiance,
as the beautiful tints of spring bios
SONS. as something infinitely stronger,
and deeper, and sweeter, than the
sleep of death. That tremendous and
perfect fitness and accord with him he
felt In her hand even now.
Il can't, Tod" she said again, and
neither one noticed that she had un-
consciously used the name she had
heard from his mother. and which she
had unconsciously linked with her
thoughts Of him. There could never
be unity Of purpose in u.s." and now.
for the first time. she gently withdrew
her hand. 81 could never be in sym
patty with your work. nor you with
my views. Have you noticed that we
have never held a serious dispute over
any topic but one?"
He drew a chair before her. and
took her hand again. but this time he
patted 1t between his own as If It were
a child's.
Gail, dear. that is an obstacle which
viii melt away. There was time
when / felt as you do The time will
come when you, too. will change"
''You don't understand" she gently
told him. Il believe in God the Crea-
tor; the maker of my conscience; my
friend and my father. l am in no
doubt, no quandary, no struggle be-
tween faith and disbelief | see my
way clearly. and there are no thorns
to cut for me. shall never change"
He looked at her searchingly for a
moment. and then his face grew
grave; but there was no GOODNESS in it.
nor any alteration in the blueness of
his eyes.
q shall pray for you" he said, with
simple faith
CTo BE CONTINUED1