Year: 1873

TO put off the ordeal of an aecwal as long
as poss'ble-at any rate to gain time fol
one more confidential talk wilh David on
the subject, said hastily in reply to that
stammered query of his with which we
have prefaced this narration


Mother is going over to Aunt Ruth s
with father to spend the evening and she
wants me to go. bat I guess wont. I've
been working on fathers new shirts all
day, besides doing the dairy work yes
,erday, and I'm about tired out


Then she added before lie could re
ply:


Don't come until o'clock. l shall
be about through putting things to rights
by that time !"


! Of course David was not TOO oa:ase
to understand that he was specially ia
vored by this arrangement, and be SO lar
forgot lis bashfulness as to petition awk-
wardly for parting kiss, which was at
once refused in the mos. inexorable man
ner possible.


mo, you shan't There, now. Do
take yourself off, will you Z Dye think
didn't see you idgeting around En-.
Smith at Deacon Anderson's sociable last
night I've not forgotten that sir y


"Oh, now, Annie /! just one


But further appeal was broken off by
tantalizing little laugh, and when, rem
dered desperate by, this, he tried to
revenge himself, and at the very moment
when lie thought he was secure of the
coveted bliss and stopped his head trium
phantly over his struggling prisoner, the
rosy, laughing face vanished suddenly
from under his arm and was off and
away up the garden path leading to the
house almost before he could realize what
had happened.


For one moment David, who stood gaz-
ing rueflily after her, thought of pursuit
and a recapture. But before he lad time
to put his plan in execution, his tormen-
:ress, after STOPPING to give one mocking
farewell wave Of her hand from the porch
vanished inside of the door. So there
was nothing to be donebu to turn re-
luctantly tiom the gate and taking the
road homeward.


If you could have looked into tie
family sitting rooss at Squire Moore's s
shortly before eight o'clock on that same
evening. you would have had chcery
picture before you. The aftcrsuppel
clearing away was over, for the sitting
was also the room where the daily meals
OF the family were eaten. The leaves
of the old fashioned dinner table had
been let down, and the table itself GOV
cred with bright oil cloth, set against the
wall. The crumbs had been carefully
brushed with turkey wing from the
neat home made carpet, and Annie :
worl,stand was drawn up in front Of the
ample and blazing fire of hickory logs
which cracked checrily in tie old fash
ioned fireplace.


A beautifully piled tray OF red i-cheek
ed apples and plate full of cracked
wainuts were on it, in close proximity to
Annie's coquettish work basket, made of
pine cones by her own deft little hands,
and daintily lined with blue silk.


On one side of tie fire place sat Ms
Moore, fat, fair, more than forty, and at
peace with all the world. She sat sway
ing backwards and forwards at intervals
in her low rocking chair, knitting as she
rocked, and refreshing herself now and
then with a mouthful from a half eaten
apple which lay within easy reach, just
upon the corner of the table or touch.
ing in caressing manner with the tip oi
her foot sleek, lazy looking gray cat
that lay purring and blinking OH the
hearth rug before her


Annie sat on the other side of the ia
bic deftly drawing her needle in and out
of long piece Of white cambric, and
with her head as busy as her hands with
trying to conceive scme clever way oi
incidentally mentioning the visit, which
she was now momentarily expecting, to
her mother, without exciting the suspi
cion of its being prearranged affair."
She would have given good deal to
have been able to say in an off-hand
manner that she wouldn't wonder if NJ
Winthrop were to drop in, as he was in
the habit of calling occasionally on Sat
urday evening at about this time. But
she recollected, with a twinge Of con-
science, how hard she had tried the old
lady to accompany her husband on the
promised visit to Aunt Ruth's in spite OF
her forewarnings of coming spell OF
neuralgia, which had intimidated her
from venturing out into the damp night
air and also how she pleaded headache
as an excuse for not going herself. She
knew that her mother was quite sharp
enough to draw her own inference from
these two facts, and the additional one OF
her being dressed with more than usual
care to spend an evening at home.


II shall not dare to tel! her now," she
said to herself "She'd be sure to think
,h,t ,yo,.o1 20 oo, har nu. &c Tho n,o,,