Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1878-07-03

-3-Na-E~
AWkatl eolag u leavs u 10 taks care
II oauuslsaY5 I'D Blanche. "Wt
80 ~ = bslp buoy n up whom the
sol I han rsturn tonight. I have
- ~ q lbsing ah.snt from such IN in.
~tsretiDg adventure" he replied. "That
y can positively see the gentleman
- sesking Just i've minutes. Good
aftesnoon, ladies" and he bowed him.
solf outOf the room gracefully.
"1hetDi I Am not surprised at thil
Action On tAe patt Of Redmond Clarke"
sid Louiss. He will not come back
no to.ighk I.y, = I have said b.
aKhy, LOUISE, this move Of his has
nofAine tod with the superstitious tale
~ hnv0 iust heard"
AIb6lioye IL has.v The secret desire
y think and believe high and lofty
things Of his name, drove her to sudden
anger st any suspicion of the opposite.
" Whoever knew one Of these blue-eyed,
blonder mustAched mon who had . spark
of true courage" and she looked any
thing but q feeble character herself a.
rho paced tho floor rapidly, her eyes
hashfng indignantly with the intensity
0f passion 70 which abe had wrought
hefielf.
stake care = said Blanche, warningly,
In . how voice. You remember Hamil-
ton Belmont saved my life At the risk of
his own. He WA non Of your heroic
looking men,"
You viii hnd that Redmond Clarke
- not asecond Hamilton Belmont. If I
could know tor ! certainty that he ran
akAy from any danger, threatened or
real, / should never again allow him to
touch oven my finger tips. / should
feel 20 humiliated that such q man had
ever dared to ask for my love-"
Don't judge too harshly-too hasti-
~" said her friend. gently. You knew
that Redmond Clarke and Louise Rand
were fitted to make each other happy
could the latter have the mists of doubt
cleared from her wilful eyes
Clarke had really intended to return
to the Coca@ett House a. he promised,
, but the gentleman whom he sought was
absent, and the last stage left before his
return.
Ashdale was . primitive, unambitious
town. Its only connection with the
great world was the regular stage. Its
hills and valleys had never yet echoed
with the shrill whistle Of the locomo-
tive.
He paced backward and forward on
the piazxa of the quiet little hotel where
he was to pass the night, under the
poetic skies OF 4 fine evening, thinking
Of Louise Rand. Her .haughty impe-
riousncn had . charm for him. He
smiled TO himself a. he thought, "She
will thoroughly believe nov what she
suspected when ] left her, that / should
not return tonight" He was prouder
than she. There was q depth beneath
that indolcnt exterior she had not sound
ed; and because she had doubted him
she whom he loved-he would not deign
to i~nconvenience himself to gain her APP
proval. A man with less inherent
haughtiness would have acted differ
emily.
ne retired early and was soon in a deep
slumber. It did not prove refreshing.
A feverish, restless dream wreathed in
and ont Of his brain. He saw Louise
suspended ever = waste of waters cling.
ing to something that threatened every
moment 10 snap with her weight, and
siac be engulfed forever. Then the scene
shifted, and he saw a. plainly o. if it
were reality the building where he had
left her enveloped in fame, and amid the
cries Of frantic men and women, Louise
in her white night robe ut . window
where the hamee were rapidly closing
round her, reaching out to him with wild
shrieks for help. He woke with the
agony Of the scene. Precipitation was
starting from every pore. He sprang
out Of the bed and threw up q window.
The night was sweet and fair as when he
retired, with the added glory Of the full
moon, in the fuller light OF which the
stA1s were paling their modest bright
pess. Over the landscape were flung
lengthening, sleeping shadows Of tall
trees, shrubbery, and home-like cottages
in their Enclosure.
The scene Gained, sobered him, but
did not dissolve the hurried impression
Of danger. Was his dream = warning?
He tried to smile and put it away as the
offspring of q diseased Imagination. But
the vivid horror Of the scene stood be-
! fore his vision with too much of reality,
and he turned TO dress with quick, nerv-
GUS haste The moon shone directly into
his room and its light was all sufficient.
He was only four miles from Woodville.
He could walk that distance. He could
not rest with this horrible impression
upon him-something might be even
now happening. He let himself out
noiseless NJ the front door, and CON-
msnced Z rapid walk. The church clock
tolled the hour-twelve. He would
reach there in less than an hour. What
if he should find his dream realizedf He
was . good walker, and the distance be-
tween him and Wo0dville rapidly les
sencd. As he drew near he began to feel
. reaction-indeed, almost inclined to
turn back. He came suddenly upon the
village, lying serene and lovely under
the moonlight. The Cocaasett House,
to which his gaze was directed, loomed
up large and tall among the quiet cot.
tages around, and some stately elms
threw their protecting shadows over it,
white walls.
Ali what u thatf The horror Of the
dream is repeatedf . broad, angry sheet
LOT flame suddenly bursts from the win
dowsof the east side Of the building! 1t
- mo Ia from the room occupied by the
two gfrlA
"Merciful heavenrs burst from his
lips. Tho fire must have made teExible
hoadWay inside" He rushed up the
steps and rang the bell violently, while
his voice sounded on the stiffness with
the most horribly ominous words one can
lhcar IN tho deado / night:
"Firel Fret"
The house was reused in a moment.
Partly dressed persons of both sexes
rushed wildly along through the halls,
which were filed with ~suffocating smoke,
Tho fire had the upper hand. There
was but little time 70 save aught but
precious lives
Redmond, who had at once opened the
door with his latch key, rushed up stair
TO the room which his friends occupied
but Wa Mortified to find the passage il
hameA GOOD God,n hegroaned, "hox
ahalf 1 rescre themr' He rushed Out