The One Girl

They were standing together ont on the moonlit terrace. Behind thein ia the distauce sounded the band playing soft, dreamy waltz music. But what cared they for dancing, and the hot, crowded ballroom? In all the world for bitn there was only one woman, aud she stood, her hands clasped in his, her brown head resting ou hisshoulder, lost in a happy drpam. "You won't forget me, darling, " he whispered, "when I am thousaiids of miles away, at the other side of the ■world, aud letters are loug in coming? You'U remeinber that lam coming back in two years, at the latest, to claim my little wife. " "Oh, it can't really be trne, Geoffrey, that you are going tomorrow: It is too dreadful to thiukof! And it'snot I that will forget. I shail think of you uight and day till yon come back. But you' 11 most likely meet with some lovely American girl- all American women are lovely, yon know - and then you'll forget all about poor little Myaie Trafford, wbo is waiting for you in England. " "When I am out on the great lonely prairies," he said dreamily, "I shall just shnt my eyes and think myself back to this night. I shall hear the band in the distance, I shall feel you once more in my arms, and I shall smell the faiut smi'll of that heliotrope you are wearing. ' ' For answer she took a piece of the heliotrope from the bosom of her dress. "Here's a little bit of it, " she said. "And wheu you meet that lovely American, and you wish that you were free and that this eveuing had never been, then you can put that little flower in an envelope, and you ueedn't write a word to put iu with it, but just address it to me, and when I get it I shall kuow what it meaus, and you will be free." "What nonsense, Mysie!" he saiá angrily. "Why do you talk like that? You know - " Oh, liere you are!" cvied a Bhrill voice. "I liave beeu looking for you tverywhere. Mr. Castleford is as cross as ever he can be, Mysie. He says you promised him the Jast two dances, and then you disappeared and no one could fiud you; while as for you, Mr. Hamilton, X think you had better keep out of the way altogether, after disappointing Lady May and gooduess knows who besides. " And Gertrude, Mysie's sister, chattered on, totally unconscious that she was a most unwelcome iutruder. She and Mysie had always been tanght that it was their duty to make a good match, and Geoffrey Hamilton, with no nioney, and juet off to America', was so entirely ineligible that she sus' pocted nothing, and ruthlessly insisted on their immediate returu to the ballroom. Ana she looked of ten at the little hoop of pearls- the pledge of her betrothal- but never put it on, except in her own room just for a few minutes Somehow as the days went byitseemed a harder matter tospeakof thateveniug to her mother, the more so that her mothpr had uot the faintest suspicion of auythiugof the sort. And so a month passed. Then one evening Mysie returned f rom a walk and saw a letter lyiug on the hall table. One glance at her owu name and the postmark- "New York" -and she gnatched up the letter, wondormg ïf any one had noticed it, then ran upstairs to her own room, andlocked the door to enjoy it in peace. Ihe tire burned brightly and looked inviting, and she drew up a low easy chair, and seated herself comfortablv as lie broke the seal of the envelope What was the faint perfume as she did po? She drew oat a pieee of blank notepaper from the folds of which a little bit of dead heliotrope slipped and feil to the ground. "Mysie, you must come down," said Gertrude. "Mr. Castleford is down stairs, aud mother says you are to come ' ' -as Mysie looked rebellions. "But you must change your dress; you can't come dowu in that. Has anything happened? ion look verv nrow " "No," said Mysie, with a strauge little laugh; "at least, nothing of importauce. I wiJl come down iu a few niinntes. " Aud in a very short time she was in the drawing room, and Herbert Castleford, as he looked at her, thonght he hadneverseenhersobeautiful. He had loved her for years, but had received so Jittle encouragement from Mysie that he had never spoken, buttonighthehad determined to put hia fa te to the test while Mysie, witli a pain at her heart that seemed almost physical in its intensity, was saying to herself that if Oeoffrey could forget so easily why so fonld she. And so it carne abont that a few hours later she returnad to her room having pledged herself to Herbert Castleford. Instead of the little hoop of pearls sha had liever woni sho possessd a bandsome diamond ring, and the doad flower and the pearls were pat f ar away out of sight to beforgotteu - if possible. Six mouths had passed and Herbert Caetleford was pressing for an early ï.iarriage. Mysie and her mother h;id goue away from homo immediately af ter her becoming engaged. Mysie complained of the cold and looked so delicate that her mother took her away tothe south of Frailee, where, soon af ter, Herbert f olio wed theni. Mysie seoined wiJling for the wedding to take place whenever they liked ïo arrange it. So matters were being inrried ou to suit the impatieut lover wheu one day Gertrude ran into the room where Mysie and Herbert were sitting. "Look, Mysie!" she cried. "Here is a lovely bunch of flowers from that dear count! Isn'the silly? And they are such beauties! Oulysmell them. Oh, Iamso ileased 1 Look ! Here are a bit of heliorope and some rnaidenhair that will ust do for you. ' ' To her surprise Mjsie turned as pale s death, and shrauk back, looking almost appsalingly at her lover, who was Watching. As their eyes met tJiere was somethiug iu his - an expression, aconsciousness, a what? Mysie did not know, but a great trembling came over her. A hundred thoaghts eeemed to pass through her mind in a moment, but of one thiug she was certain - Herbert Castleford knew all about those playful, loving words spoken out on the terraon on the never-to-be-forgotten uight. Then, leaning forward, she asked, as if they had already been speaking to one another: "How did you send it f rom New York?" "I - that is - what do you mean, Mysie? I never sent itl" Seeing that Mysie's clear eyes seemed to read him through, he attempted no more denial, but caught her hands in nis and implored her to forgive him. "I carne out to look for you that night," he said, "and I heard whatyou were saying just as Gertrude came upon you from the other side, and it was such a temptation, for I loved you dearly muoh better thau he did. It was all done for love of you, Myaie. " And she tried to wave him away, but instead feil faintinsr to the eround. When she recovered, Herbert Castleford ad gone. A few hasty lines f rom him besonght her forgiveness and told her that Geoffrey was now on bis way back to England to önd out why sbe had uot written to him ; that be hoped they would have been married before Geoffrey conld arri ve, but tbat now he wonld ?o away and never trouble her again. ♦♦ "You will forgive me, Geoffrey, von't yon," she said, "for doubting rou like that? Bnt it seemed so terribly ruel Look! Here are the euvelope and lower. " "And here is the flower you gave mp," said Geoffrey. "There'snot much differeuce certainly between thein, but as for the envelope - well, I must give you a few specimens of my bandwriting wben I go away again so that you may uot be takeu in so easijy. " "But I shall liever let you go away again," said Mysie. And that was how they arranged it. - Forget-Me-Not.