St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1865-01-05
sTcLoup, JANUARY g. 1866 s @ %

1OsAsta thb! '.iF .tsatit !; :J1$ s.sz*sE ~
:. - ....:.:.LL =
him almost frcttully,; TO let her alone
'Haugheily enough he obeyed her, join-
ing the laughing ihnskers ard laugh
ing louder than my but occasionally
stealing a look haltabgry,i half iinquir-
ing at Estelle, who standihg with her
sweet face in shadow, seemed 10 him
just then iwhatih named her in his
thought-a cold, proud, lheartless girl,
who was venting her capriccs on him
as she would not think Of doing upon
her city lover. Suddenly .lie came and
begged TO speak to him a ,noa.est@ He
nodded, ~carelessly, but continued his
chat with ths young rcd>cheeked CO.
,quctte beside him, while lEstelle wait
ed aon,e time, ind then. with d face
whose mute agony saluost penetrated
his jealous zperverscness, txl1e spoke TO
himngaio., Butinahis w,ifuliy blind
distorted frameiof mind he gave this
appeal as Il little & heeu as {; the other
When he lookedoup again .Estelie was
nowhere to be seen.- Thinking. with q
s:ifled psng Of seif:reprpach, how white
her face had looked, he resolve.l to go
TO her at once. There wan so1no una
,voidable delays, word from one, a
laugh with another-for Joe vas /.
great tavorite,< and several minutes
more were gone before he. discovered
that Estelle was not to be- found. 1als +
Remembering suddenly one or two
occasions on which she had met such
moods Of his ~ this. with a curious
'promptitude Of action he sprung to
whevc he had left the horses.'' Estelie' s
was gone;!s! jt't ,aoiIc}3Ic ah, 7fa5is; :
r. The mad; rash girl, tohattempt to
cross alone the trackless prairie that
ay between there and home. u. 4al4a /
+; Throwing himself:intof his saddle,
Joe rode'desperatelyt awny in pursuit Of
her. securing; the ,prairie ia; long cir
cults all the way till he !, reached his
own door. aud learned that ikstelle bad
not been there, ard then away again
on his srecking steed, half ,nad with
Eperplexity, ,self-reproach, and .forebo-
ding;s while Miss Hwy. who was, no
lnovices in 4 riding, amounted another
horse, land followed him with inconceiv.
able celebrity. .hdosu1"2 ua9 2d 2nitE1
;;Estelle with, all her rash daring, vas
timid, Zoe knew. Without doubt she
had mistaken the road. and it was not
impossible that she might wander ~
night, 81 What if che had got hcmmed
in among some Of those fre> that were
creeping, creeping like silded scrpent<
owe, the plain? The, poor child
would 60 wild With terror. What: /.
brute he had been not to answer her
when she spoke to him! a ,.:..;.,, -.
| 11nvoluntarily he turned his horses
head in. the direction Of ;dr,t ono blaze
| aud .hen another, piercing them with
his keen, quick eyes, az and |, si',ckceuins e at
the smell Of burning that was on the
air. E. .,. .:>
At that time the prairie; being 50
much diminished in extent By :he in-
roads Of the immense farms plucked
from its luxuriance, and for other rca.
sons, burnipg prairie iwas. not the ter.
rible raging destroyer Of earlier years,
but it vas not a pleasant thing to en-.
counter; and though the flames crep'
lower because Of the. shortnees Of: the
grass, this very grass had consistency
and toushnessnwhich gave intensity te
y the blaze, and made an atteimpt,to eros.
it far from, safe !igdo;i.t 4 n isjr1
Nothing was more probable than
that Estelle, attempting to guide h.,
course " BY these fires, viii which she, bad
passed passed on her way from home, had not
made due allowance for the distance
! they must have travelled since then
and s. sot herself ;''n ;ennta,nsled among ,,
their treachEelrou f.stnesses H 30 Az A!'. Gas,
ppattttcr p"tt. where here M the a ar'i II; notch notch 4 PC
'dsqt ond 9ndys straggle oyer II tbe pEairlS, 9.
tySI yidIi.g s i h. il very dslusiiye manner
1 + s YES s, as Joseph e ,l'4 ,lB'4pyr,'oq y,,e feared.
Is He Sans sane in gu vieY M of 9EEstlle Estelle afar of
Ha":'shh Khep the J, hpsef 1f VITA 1 which 81 She va.
l;' eoc9mpassed '. 9 100 oo three three fiery sides show
ed her shii e him a 4 ' such distance thai
be should should meyer s1I reach 81 b.. her She
appeared P lz fascinated M . ed BY BY terror riding
frapt!cally 9t rst m in @ one stdiyec direction, then
io i.ep another, , never far a in any, and a final
y St Standing a still g 4, 4 theoep par.y.ed
She was 80 overcome with fright