air of a man who has lucidly explained an abstruse problem in
thermodynamics.
“ Oh I ” And Miss Bessie, with a toss of her head, settled her
self into the corner by the window in a way that threatened dan
ger to the springs of the car seat. There was no more conversa
tion, but her nimble thoughts were busy; and before she alighted
from the train at Oakton, the college station, she had shrewdly
guessed the cause of Fred’s preoccupation. At heart she was
sincerely sorry for having caused him the pain. Of course she
was not sure, but she had told him it was 1 ‘ what people said. ’ ’
Fred had listened interestingly till she came to the word ' ‘ en
gaged,” and then suddenly everything seemed a blank. It was
as if an icy hand had been laid on his heart, aud for the first time
he knew that he was in love with Carrie Warrington. He had
never imagined it before, but now when the idea of her being
another’s suddenly burst upon him his whole nature rose in rebel
lious protest and he recognized it at last. He knew now why he
had always looked forward so eagerly to his evenings with her,
why he had always gone to her with his trials and troubles and
why her sympathy had nerved him to greater and better effort;
why in fact this whole summer her face and the memory of her
voice had been with him, and why he had just now been so ea
gerly looking forward to seeing her again. But with his new
found happiness came the blank, sickening thought that while he
had, all unconscious, wasted his time, another had carried off the
prize. She must be his —he could not live without her; and yet,
if not already, it was only a little while till she would be en
gaged to Archie Custer !
In the light that had suddenly dawned upon him, Fred saw
things in a different light that fall. Of course he occasionally
called at Warringion’s, and Carrie was all graciousness to him ;
but to'his jealous eyes there was something wanting in her man
ner, and little kindnesses that he took as a matter of course in his
own case were magnified into patent demonstrations of affection
when conferred upon his rival. Custer’s attentions were very
marked; of course, everybody saw them and drew the natural
conclusions, and Fred would have to bear the boys’ talk about it
and keep his secret in silence. Thus the term dragged out its
weary way.
From his Freshman year, Stockton had been a regular player
on the college football team, and this season, in game after game,
The Free Lance.
[May,