Year: 1876

odd sensation it must seem But the
spell which MI. Arnold had cast over me
was not to be broken by Ben's silly word;
and moods Sometimes | wondered if ii
We're really my duty to tie myself down
| for life to such being as Ben. He would
never be anything else than rough, free:
hearted sailor, while Mr.. Arnolds sim
plest expressed thought seemed to lift me
up and transport me to a new world
Surely it was my duty to be with him as
much as possible. since all the rest of my
life, if Ben had his way. was doomed tc
such commonplace level. SO saw very
little of him while his vessel was being
made ready, and Mr.. Arnold and l spent
our days in wandering about the shore OIL
exploring the rocks, straying far enough
away from home to give us perfect and
complete oneness in our isolation. We
stood together in the sunlight and the
moonlight under the solemn cliffs whose
rugged front had braved the drifting waves
TOR years. We dallied idly with the days
Doth of us forgetting the ineXorable march
OF time, and feeling as if all the world
were an Eden and we alone in it.


And Ben's vessel was ready to sail. In.
deed. he would leave, when the tide serv-
ed. the very next day, he said one even,
ing, as he dropped i'll for smoke with Ia
ther and place at the table, as usual
Mr.. Arnold had gone away for one day tc
make some preparations about speedy
departure too; but still Ben had not relax
ed the grave, injured air that Of late he
had assumed toward me. also had very
little to say to him; and before the soft
summer twilight had faded quite away ,
our guest returned. He brought dainty
volumes in blue and gold of Jean Ingelow
and Miss Proctor and begged my accept
ance of them with that ready and defer
ential grace that was his greatest charm
And all the time Ben sat silent, as ii ne
had nothing to occupy him but the filling
Of his pipe, OF watching us as we bent
over the books, talking Of poetry and
things that Ben could never understand
at last rising and proposing a smoke out
| had dropped my head upon my hard,
dreamily looking beyond the open page,
and seeing something else besides the ten
der words there written. when | felt his
hand upon my arm


II wish you read German he said, $50
| could have brought you Goethe to-day.
| should so love to have you study and un-
derstand him, | wonder you didn't take
it up when you broke loose from all these
surroundings and went away to school"


'Father thought I'd better learn Eng
lish''--a sudden blush sutfusing my face
as | remembered how little he and Ben
cared for my scant knowledge Of even
that one language.


You must understand elective affinity
by intuition, Them he said, softly, ''tor
some subtitle, magnetic influence has
drawn me to you ever since that night l
woke to find you at my bedside; 4" and
then, as looked up, 4 triumphant glow
flushed his face that | had never seen
there before. "Darling !" he whispered.
you love me a little, don't you?" his
eyes still searching mine. | could not
veil them and hide the tenderness, so l
looked steadily down, uttering not word.
up to him II was sure he cried, eXult-
ingly.


In the early dawn Ben came to me to
to say good-by. He knew where to find
me, and that | would be alone in the still
ness Of the breaking morning. And he
drew me to him, all pride and coldness
gone now that the supreme moment Of
parting had come.


Il may have been hard on you, Jetty
OF late, he said, "but it was like taking
my life to see you a-trilling with that
stranger. And now Pm going away, and
we've had nothing but cold looks betwixt
us too long, Say you forgive me, Jetty,
and love me just as we'll as ever. l can't
part from you in anger, dear Only tell
me you love me as you did before Mr. Ar
mold came


II can't tell you that, Ben" | stammer-
ed "Iou've waited too long to speak,
and now-now it's too late


lie took away his hand, turning his face
from me with a groan. "Jetty Jetty !!
you say this to punish me. Think again
think well. It's hard to turn one off
that's been allowing you more than twen-
ty years for q stranger who's only known
you few weeks Twenty years It's a
long time, my lass-think of it minute. y


/ did think OF it. For one moment the
honest face lifted to mine brought before
me all that l was losing the next the re-
membrance OF the night before, the whs-
pered words, Darling, you love me a lit
tle,' the one swift glance that was as q
seal to our love. obliterated all the past,
and cried out, ooh, Ben do1't talk to
me so-don't like you-why shouldn't |
like you ?-you've been so good to me all
my life but | wish-I wish | might never
see you again"


If you'd said anything but that, Jetty,"
he whispered, in dazed broken kind of
way, staring at me incredulously. God
knows what weight of agony held him in
that dead helpless pause before he spoke
again. Il havn't one word to upbraid
you with, dear. When two people have
been to each other what we have, it's a
good-by forever or not at all. You don't
know what this parting is to me-you're
such child how should you?" And
then he pushed past me, and rushed out
OF the house


For q minute or two after he was gone
| stood leaning against the windows, with
frightened, plying feeling in my heart,
conscious that even Ben's dull nature had
been tried and wounded sorely. Then l
went up to my room and made some un-
reasonable excuse about headache, so l
might avoid fathers or Mr.. Arnold's ques-
tions. After time heard them both 90
out. Then | rose from my bed, dressed
myself and went up to the tower, turn
ing the glass toward the Betsey Jane,
watching the little boat go to and from
the shore for the last time. | wanted to
see her off; so shut up the glass, tied on
my bonnet, and went down to the beach
with desperate haste, though with no es-
pecial aim. | was full of inward wrath
and modification. | wanted to get away
and think. Ben had been very cruel to
leave me in anger, yet conscience said all
the time, "You only are to blame" as |
stared moodily seaward toward the vessel
with spread sails that was slowly drifting
away. | did not observe any one near me.
The soft sand gave no echo Of footsteps.
and it was not until q shadow tell across
my path that turned and found myself
face to face with Mr.. Arnold.


"Why have you staid away from me SO
long.n he said, reproachfully. II have
been looking every where for you. Didn't
your heart feel that | wanted you?" grace
fully drawing my arm within his. Come
up on the rocks with me, won't you? We
have SO little time to ourselves, remem-
ber.'


'tBut there are davs and days and days