The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-11-07


tunely, as it seemed, just as Jack wa
seeing her off the door-stone of the of
flee, Dr. Earle drove up, and compre
hending the situation, offered to TAX,
Mrs. Hastings to her own door in his
carriage, If she would graciousfy ALLOW
/ him five minutes TO see the head mar
! in.
When they were seated in the car
riage, a rare luxury in Deep Canon, anC
had driven half n mile in embarrassed
silence-for Mrs. Hastings somehow fell
ashamed of her husbands dependence
on this man-the Doctor spoke, anC
what he said was this:
"lour life is very uncOngenial tC
you; you wish to escape from it, don't
you ~
"Yes, wish to escape; that is the
word that suits my feeling-a very
strange feeling il is"
Describe il, said the Doctor almost
eagerly.
"Ever since left the railroad, in the
midst of a wilderness and was borne
away for so many hours into the heart
Of a still more desert wilderness, my
consciousness of things has been very
much confused. l can only with diff
Guilty realize that there is any such a
place as New York; and San Francisco
is fable. The world seems Il great bare
mountain plane; and am hanging on
to its edge with my finger-tips, ready to
drop away into space. Can you account
for such impressions ?''
Easily if / choose. May | tell you
something ,"
"What is it?n
'I've half mind TO run away with
you"
Now, as DIR. Earle was rather young
and very handsome man, had been very
kind, and was now looking at her with
eyes actually moistened with tears, a
sudden sense of being on the edge OF a
pit-fall overcame Mrs. Hastings; and
she turned pale and red alternately.
Yet, with the instinct of pure woman
to avoid recognizing an ugly thought,
she answered with u laugh as gay as she
could make it:
"lf you were a witch, and offered me
half Of your broOmstick to New York, |
don't know but l should take it-that
Is, If there was room on il anywhere for
Jack"
''There wouldn't be-" said The Doctor
and said no more.
The old fever seemed to have returned
that afternoon. The hills glared 50 that
Mrs. Hastings closed the cabin door to
shut out the burning vision. The
ground-squirrels, thinking from the ST.
lence that no one was within, ran up
the mahogany tree at the side, and
scampered over the canvas roof i'm glee.
One, more intent on gain than the rest,
invaded Jacks outside kitchen, knock
ing down the tin dishes with a claug,
and scattering the dirt from the turf
roof over the flOur-sack and the two
white plates. Every sound made her
heart beat faster. Afraid of the silence
aud loneliness ut last, she re-opened the
door; and then a rough-loOking man
came to the entrance to inquire il there
were any silver leads up the ravine.
Leads she could not say: prospectors
in plenty there were.
Then he went his way, having salts
fed his curiosity; and the door was
closed again. Some struggling donkeys
wandered near, which were mistaken
for "Diggers;" and dreading their gilt
tering eyes, the nervous prisoner drew
the curtain over the one little sliding
window. There was nothing to read,
nothing to sew, no housekeeping
duties, because no house to keep; she
was glad when the hour arrived for pre-
That night she dreamed that she was
a skeleton lying up the cailon-the sun
shine parching her naked bones; that
DIR. Earle came along with n pack train
going to the mill, and picking her up
carefully, laid her on top of a bundle of
wood; that the Mexican driver covered
her up with n blanket, which so smoth-
cred her that she wakened, and started
up gasping for breath. The feeling of
suftocation continuing, she stole softly
to the door, and opening il, let the chilly
night air blow over her. Most persons
would have found Mr.. Hastings house
freely ventilated, but some way poor
Alice found il hard to breathe i'm il.
The summer was passing; times grew,
If possible, harder than before. The
prOspectOrs, who had found plenty Of
Heads" had spent their "bottom dol
lar in opening them up and in waiting
for purchasers, and were going back to
California any way they could. The
capitalists were holding of, satisfied
that in the end all the valuable mines
would fall into their hands, and caring
nothing how Jared the brave but un-
lucky discOverers. In fact they overshOt
themselves, and made hard times for
their own mills, the miners having to
stop getting out rock.
Then Jack lost his situation. Very
soon food began TO be scarce in the cabin
OF Mr.. Hastings. Scanty as it was, IL
was more than Alice craved; or rather
it was not what she craved. If she ate
for a day or two, for the next two or
three days she suffered with nausea and
aversion foranything the outside kitchen
afforded.
The summer was gOing-was gone
Mrs. Hastings had not seen DR.. Earle
for several weeks; and, despite herself
when the worst fears oppressed her, her
first impulse was to turn to him. 1t had
always seemed so easy for him to do
what he liked
Perhaps he was growing anxious to
know il he could give the thumb-screw
another turn. At all events, he directed
his steps toward Mr.. Hastings house
on the afternoon of the last day in Aug
ust. Mrs. Hastings received him at the
threshold and gave him the camp-stool
the only chair she had-in the shade
outside the door; at the same time seat
ing herself on the doorstep with the
same grace as if il had been silken
sofa.
She was not daintily dressed this after
noon; for thatluxury, like Others, called
for the expenditure of a certain amount
OF money, and money Alice had not
not even enough to pay Chinaman for
doing up' one Of her pretty muslins.
Neither had she the facilities for doing
them up herself, had she been skilled i'm
that kind Of labor; oreven to do yourown
washing and ironing pre-supposes the
usual conveniences of laundry, and
these did not belong to to the furniture
OF the outside kitchen. She had not
worn her linen lawn since her visit to
the mill. The dust which blew freely
through every crack OF the shrunken
boards precluded such extravagance.