The Argosy — page 214: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

200 How it Happened, like Louis Carter? No one ever saw him the worse for crink. How could you possibly even think it of him ?” “TI have every right, at any rate, to ask what he was saying to you,” Fenella interrupted, angrily. ‘You shall know all about it at once,” Frances answered, looking up. ‘When we came to the old bridge he was asking me to marry him.” Fenella looked unspeakable things, but her anger choked her voice for the moment. “ And you said ?” I asked. ‘‘ What could I say that would have been half hard enough? I tell you he was not himself. He must have been drinking. He stumbled twice, and nearly fell down; and his eyes were blazing at me in such a terrible way. I asked him how he dared to say such things to me, after all that has passed, and I told him I would sooner die than marry a man that anyone could say had been mean and dishonourable.” ‘You said what you had no right to say,” I remarked, angrily. “I never met a more provoking pair of girls in my life.” “‘ He was not sober,” she insisted, passionately. ‘“ He could not walk steadily.” “You stumbled twice as you came up the steps here,” I said, dryly, ‘and yet you are quite sober. I don’t consider girls should say such things, or ought even to let themselves think them, of men—especially of good men, like Louis Carter—unless there is no possibility of mis- take about the matter. My idea is that there has been some most extraordinary misapprehension in this affair from the very beginning. Perhaps he thinks that Fenella is the elder, as I thought at first. He may have intended the valentine for you.” “Oh!” exclaimed Fenella, interrupting me indignantly. “Then pray, what can you make of all the things he said to me? of all the times he asked me if there was any hope for him?,” “ Perhaps he did not understand how jealous you are,” I answered, coldly. ‘He may have believed that you knew and understood his admiration for Frances. His questions probably referred to her.” “You may think what you like,” was the angry reply, “ but from the commencement he paid attentions to me, and to me only, even before he knew Frances. He may have turned off to her now. It is always the way. She set to work to charm him from me, at once, with her beauty, and of course she has succeeded. It is easy for her to have things as she wishes; but he is a mean, wicked, dishonourable man, and I congratulate her upon what she gets in him. But I will have my revenge some day.” Matters were going too far, and I took pattern by Frances, and began to cry. Fenella was soon in tears also, and then we presently a all round, and forgave each other, comicbooks.com