The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-08-27

l.
= The. dance Is beginning again. exclaimed
Gertrude. quickly. Come, we must not 1889 q
And wilder tt,at, syertbe dance went On. The
young men warmed with the strong wine. ffr |.
ieked and shouted and fairly screamed. until
the noise threateaed TO drown heJnusic. Arnold
no longer felt banpy In the confusion. ard Ger
rnfle TOO had become silent ahd serio,is. But
with the others the finn only SEEMED to inerenHe.
and in pspse Of tbe dance the magistrate oatne
pp, gave the young fellow hearty slap OF. ths
That's right, r. Painter; let your logs
move lively this evening. Wevs time enough
Ing @ Such lo,ns f lace % aS6nts 18Th Is That t t for tho
dance. do you Think Curne: move lively. It's
beeinuing again. must go and hunt up my
old woman and have the last turn with her.
Get into place. Come; the. must ians are pull
Ing out their cheeks again. And with shout,
he went Oft .lhJwing through the noisy crow,l.
Arnold had thrown his arm around Gertrude
Tor the dance Just beginning, when she sudden
" ireed herself, grasped his arm. aud whls-
peged softly:
''Colnef'
Arnold had no time to ask whore. she urged
htmso hurriedly aud seiretly to the door Of the
Where are you going p two of her friends
cal edout
oh. I'm coming right back" she answered,
shortly. and in u low seconds she and Arnold
stood oitsiie in ibe cool evening air.,
Whfsa are YOU going. GertrudeF
Comu Again she grasped his arm, and led
where sh' stepped in. returning with bundle.
What lre You going to dor Arnold asked,
astonished.
Gomez WAS all she answered. and walked
with him pas all tire houses, until they had lett
the outer wallis ~ thevilIHg behind. They had
beeu following the brtad, hard. travelled street,
but now Gertrude turned off to the left, AMI
went up little hiD. from which onecould eosily
k sysr ao II e1s the 9shy d ehgd bs9 wad9T1h 10y hs Of
hand to Arnold. and said. with feeling
Greet your mother for ne. and firewell,"
Gertrude |, cried Arnold d.astonished and per-
The uiahtf Haye said wots 10 offend your
No. Arnold, sail the girl calling him for the
lirst time by his naae: but pist because boz
cause love you. you must go
But will not leave you. still ltss I'm this way
to go back to the village al hlon. II, the dark
You do not know how dear you are to me, how
heart. You do not know how, 80.
you have. heard the clock strike twolve--it 9 IN
lack hardly ten minutes Dow-eo o back o the
door o, the tavern. | will wait for you tbei,.'
And meanwhileY' 5il '
Stay hero on this spot. Promise me that ye,,
will not move step. to the right nor left until /
shaI have done striking twelve
prutiise IT, Gertrude: but then
Then come. said the girl. and giving him
"Gertrudef' cried Arnold. in sorrowful.
Giertr,,,le hesitafed q moment. tlen suddenly
threw her "rn,S about MS neck, and Arnold fet
only for an instant; in the mex she had h,rn
herself away. and he stood dazed and cotnpjgts
iy overcome yet, remembering his promise he
remained on the spot where she h'.d ssft him.
Now for the first time he noticed tha,wjtbin a
few hours the weather had chsnged The wind
howed through the trees. The SKY, was co,ered
with thick drifting elenns; mn reW Dig dreus
The Iiphts ~ the tavern shone brightly through
tho darkness. and as the wind blew from that
way the sound Of the instruments was borne to
him i'm ntful gusts. But this did not last long
Hs, had bpeu etVn1tnQ DniY few tUiUIItaE
when the old church bell beganto strike twelve.
and at that instant ihe music 'topped. or was
ragged SO Hercely over the whob hillside that
Arnod had 10 bend down to avot being thrown
upon the ground
the bundle that Gertrude had broght out Of tho
house. TWAS his knapsack andporM9lio, ard
n his surprise he stood 1p ,l sga9. Iht hour
where in The village could hH anyloDger see u
light The dogs that had jpst b 10y been bark
ing and h9wing . wefa stu anP aIi'iek damo
The ii Q is up Arnold murmned softly to
him elf throwing his knapsaek owe his shoGI.
der, 'und ! must see ocr,rpde ,oe oncepore, Tor
dancers will be going home now. and the mag
stratc won't keep mo over night. Htay at the
Hyern hes gesaes ,Ya II e1"d ,s ia nsyef ''n9my way
He came cautiously down from, the tile slope
that ne tlad "soendsd With Gertrude; qsscting 70
among the bushes. Tho ground ms soft
and, marshy. Sith his thin boots 9 saak
posed posed The The rad to lie grew thicl alder
bushes. liz d5nld not fave gone over 3 r's1 |
in lhe darnkf4s, for ne would have felf bard
IT, and ne could not baye missed tn H. |
sought ABOUT IN anxfou77 haste t,t"it but al ya,
1ss earth The ee aEss9 Efgwsz s vent ss on faR seRs
| thebushcs grew. and ne ives pierced ot,verl /
sideby thorns, his clothes torn 70 piecdant
| his hands scratched until they bied 4
Had hestrayed otr to the right or lott ~ sol
! paased by the village2 He feared wandingt
| tin further out of the way. ard so remhedt
upon atoIerably, u dry sDot, waiting until thpld
| bell should strike one. But 1t did not stke
| not u dog barked, and no sound OF bumafife
| reached b IN. In pain and anxiety wet throgh
and through. and shivering with cold ne wtk-
cd his way back 10 the higher ground wMe
| Gertrude had lett him. From there he made W
| more attempts to penetrate tbs tbicket. but dte
| uselessiy Tired to d atb. and oppressed b.
| by a vague terror he Stunned at last the dat.
weird valley. and sought sheltering tree undr
which to pass the night ,,
| And how tediously the hours dragged pl
| ehjyrring with cold, he could not catch m.
ment's sleep all night long; From time 70 TN
be th ught he could catch the harsh tones OF tb
bell. but only to be. AZ so often before dissp
AT last the first faiut light glimmered in VI,
east tho clouds had passed away. Lhe hoastns Y, y,
cesf ana faTt III saf thT 1r,es '''
| The light in the east grew broader AID
brighter. and he could easily distinguish tle
tree-tous. but he looked in VAN for the 01
church tower and the weather beaten ROOT,
| Nnthing but wild alder thicket, with here an
there a stunted willow lay before him. l5l =
4 At Inst he came to the stone on which he ha
sketcbed Gertrude. That place he would nay
Recognized among q thousand, the old AID
bnsb' with ts stifi branches. marked II 80 plain
". He knew now exactly how he had come ~
where eGermeshauscn must liei so keep1nR
q rictly in the same direction, he walked bac
Il ye brlskly through the valley which ne ha
f1lnwsd yesterday with Gertrude. he rscoe
nized the slope over which the mountain ms
had hung, and only the alder thicket separate
him from the first houses Now ne had reaene 2
! II. forced his way through, and-f?und himse
hack in the same swamp where he had Doe
wading about In the night. \,
Tired 10 death, he threw himself down undf
tree. He took fromout his portfolio Ger rude
uicture and wi h bitter longing dwelt upon tl
dear faes Of he maiden that had taken sueh ia'
suddenly he heard behind him a rpstling !
the foliage. then dog barked. and as no spran
un quickly. there stood, not far OH an old gam
: keeper who was looking curiouslY at such
strange, wild looking individual 30 resDeetao
1.Tnak 1odi" cried Arnold. reioiced to me
human being. and then laying the leaf back
his portfolio. he said. " You're just the man
|. wanted to see. Herr Keeper. for believe ~