The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1920-06-12
THE ANSWER
sy FLORENCE suRRiLL.

=
20. 1890. by MeC.S~c Newspaper syndioats.l
Nell Mackenzie was the biggest.
broadcst lad In WInsbury. with the
crlspest dark hair and the clearest
blue eyes, He had that combination
of strength and bOyIshness which wonl-
EN- love. and could easily have been
very much of a Indies man had he
not been us bnshful as he was hand.
some. Girls udored his 1.-the virility.
and he received an early Invitation q
MI Of the Winsbury merry-makIngsal
But the presence Of the other se1 In.
variably turnel Nell from living.
laughing Hermes to frozen statue.
And to make things worse. he was
very much In love with Cecily.
Cecily WINS wee bit of lassie.
honey -colored ms to hair. violet.hued as
to eyes, npple-blossomy as to cheeks.
A pretty mir of dignity tried to con-
tradlct her littlc-girl figure. and she
was. according to an enthusiastic
friend "just sweet !" And II she had
the appearance of tinted marble
Venus she must have had some Of the
attributes also. for none Of the many
suitors Winsbury md other towns Of
fered had made the slightest impress
sim on the cool little heart under her
dainty Inces. She accepted their de-
yotion sraciously. was the merriest and
most fun-loving Of the younger set. but
always with fastidious reserve that
let none further than the rest.
Tint is. until Nell began shyly to
show his henrt. With him she never
coquetted, his invitations. she never re-
fused, toward him she showed sweet
and simple liking; and soon the big,
dark lad and the small. fiowerlike girl
were seen together very often indeed
setting out for country walk or
drifting through the rhythm Of .
waltz.
But this very friendship puzzled
Neil It was so different from her
treatment of other lovers; and 1t never
occurred to him that her feeling for
him might he different also. To his
mind her laugh was the most joyous
thing OH earth. and herself the dear.
est But he feared to tell her lest II
end their friendship: 10 they were pals.
through the sparkling January days
and the wistful April ones, with no
hint Of anything deeper.
When June came he could stand It
no longer. He decided to take the big
chance. tell her. then II she couldn't
marry him, go where his profession Of
engineer promised success. How should
he ask .Ceclly? He never could bare
his heart with those purple eyes GA
him: n letter was 20 impersonal and
cold; there should be no third party's
laundering. and these were the only
orthodox methods Of proposing. un.
less -s,-
Nell rushed to the nearest music
store. purchased a blank record and
had 1t on the victroia at home before
the glow of the wonderful inspiration
had time to dull. Into the little disk
he spoke his Observation-Disclosures
ycarning. tender. as he could never
have expressed It to her In person.
Visionng a star-eyed girl in the shad-
ows, lie told how he Cared for her with
the simple. honest love Of Clean
heart, how enger he would work to
make her happy; but II she didn't.
couldn't love him. she was not to feel
the lenst bit grievcd nor blame herself
at all. for how could a girl like her
love great. clumsy thing like him7
SONY please let me know as soon a.
you cnn, dear; and II 1t Is mo- there II
q position waiting out West, where
work will keep me man. When your
answer comes I shall either telegraph
that cannot accept-or start at once.
Oh, CecIIy, Ceciiy, shall stayr
The tiny parcel which meant %
much In life and hopes Of Nell Mac.
kenzie was dispatched by special mes
senger,. and m anxious boy faced the
hours that must pass before an an
swer came. He could see Cecily re-
ceivc the record and run merrily to
fry It through at once. as she always
did new one; he could see her look
of amazement-but there his vision
failed. Did her face grow tender or
sad or frightenedf
Scarcely two hours had gone before
ring Mt the doorbell revealed an.
other messenger hoy with parcel
Mackenzie tore 1t open and found-just
his record.
He slipped the record into place and
started the machine. How strange to
hear his own tones! He smiled, half.
sadly and half-whImsically at the pas
sion Of the words. The plea came to
an end: "Oh, Cecily. Cecfly. shall 7