Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1875-04-08
THE LONG CHASE.

1
former years, and friends later in life
Miss Diana Davenport was an &C
knowledged queen in society when
first knew her, and it did not take long
to discover that Phil loved her, and
had always looked upon Phil as mar
ried man, when one night he burst into
the room, flung his hat in one corner
his cane in another, and, sinking into
a chair, covered his face with his hands
and gave vent to a groan of half-sup-
pressed agony,
"Why, Phil" said, fastening over
to HIM "are you hurt! Has any acct
dent occurred 2"
looked at him from head to foot,
expecting to see the blood TOW from
a recent wound.
'sThere are no limbs broken, Hal, y
he said. looking up with face so dis
torted and pale I scarcely knew it for
his own "only the heart, Hal. I have
got my death blow. DIANA belongs
to ancther!"
"Married :" I gasped.
"Just the same. She's been engaged
to colonel in the army for two years.
They are to be married this fall"
"Why, what morstrous' But
Phil put his hand on my arm.
"Don't, Hail." he said, pleadingly, 81
can't bear it; besides, l think she
scarcely knew the danger we were in
till it was too late. I believe she loves
me, Hal, as I love her, as I shall al
ways love her, to the last moment of
life"
sCan nothing be done :" asked.
"Nothing," he replied, with an &C
cent of despair. "Only let us get away
from here as soon as possible let us
hasten our plans for travel. I beg of
you, Hal, put as many miles between
me and her as you can"
A fortnight afterward we were upon
the ocean.
One night he sat outside the tents,
in Africa, whittier we had gone with a
bunting party on tour, Phil and l,
and smoked long and contemplatively.
He held an old newspaper to his
eyes for moment, then dropped it and
started to his feet looking about him as
if bewil1ered.
"What is it Phil?" I cried, rushing
for my rife-'a lion a serpent :"
He sank back upon the smooth bit
of alkali that served him for a seat,
picked up the newspaper again, and
read, in a trembling voice, that Col
onel John Talbot had been killed on
the American plains by the Indians.
'That rather rough for Talbot" /
remarked, "but can't exactly see how
it affects u.s.
"Colonel John Talbot" repeated
Phil, IN an impressive whisper, sis
the man to whom Dianna was en-
gagged"
"A widow" murmured, with the
accent of Weller.
Phil looked at the date Of the news
paper, and found it had been printed
only fortnight after we left the old
collegiate town.
81 might, after all, have been first
man." remarked.
Nothing now would do but to take
up the thread of life for Phil where il
was SO rudely snapped asunder.
GAIL these months Of travel, Hal,
be said, with the peculiar sel6shness G.
lover, shave been merely existence
for me, not life. Let me 60 back, my
friend, to the air l can breathe, the ali
that is shared by DIANA"
Phil was obliged to submit to DIES
tiny. Life was dearer to him than i
had been of late, and he was not pre-
pared to strike off into the wilderness
alone. / noticed for the first time h
was prudent in the hunt on the follow
ing day, that he began to make vir
tue of patience. For my part, | wa
sorry for Phil, but, nevertheless, tn
pachyderms had wonderful fascina
ton about them.
After the pachyderms came lion
which were not quite SO interesting