The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-02-27

yes, and flashes of flame. 1 fear the
workmen's cottages behind the great
factory under the church hill, ARE burn
ing. Come and look-quick!"
He was at her side in an instant.
"An alarming fire." he said, gravely,
"and we are poorly provided to meet
it-only two weak engines worked
manuafly. 1 must 60 there at once. :"
II will 60 with you, " said Flora; and
before he had exchanged his slippers
for boots and drawn on his overcoat
she was ready.
They went hand in hand down the
steep hill road to the village; and 81
lent1y, for they were absorbed in watch
ing the flames that spread with fearful
rspidity, now sweeping upward in
tongues of flame piercing dense smoke.
Fire! How terrible it is! That ele-
ment never intrusted to brutes, and
given but charity to man, but confided,
one might think, to demons sometimes.
If ever, then certainly to demons to-
night.
They found the immediate scene
plunged in excited confusion-men
working desperately with their incom-
plete engines; promiscuous bands of
people giving improvised help; men,
women and children from far and near
gathering, and rushing in augmenting
throngs to the tumultuous scene.
| Flora almost directly became sepa-
rated from her husband. People she
scarcely knew came and engaged her
in their terror-stricken talk; but she
was not bewildered. Her swift intelli-
! gence comprehended the moment and
the moments need, and she thought,
with the quick instinct of her kind
soon; they will need refreshment Of
some sort: Coffee, good strong coffee,
will help them best"
She put her thought into instant act.
She looked around her for Mark, but,
not seeing him, she started alone, flew
up the hill path to her house, and Or
dered coffee to be made and hamper
fuls of sandwiches; and, leaving her
own people busy, she went to houses of
several neighbors and aroused them to
the same work. Then she returned to
the place of the fire, followed speedily
by all she had ordered from home; and
a table was spread near the stations of
engines, where it could be reached bv
the fremen whenever relays of men
gave relief to their fellows, as from
time to time the most vigorous strength
yielded in the desperate fight.
r 4 81
greve had driven down to witness the
intense scene. Mark was there to help
them alight from the clarence; he as
sisted his mother to secure q sheltered
spot of outlook. And then, in response
to her haf-expressed desire, he offer
ed to conduct Lady Alice to a nearer
point of view.
She chung to his arm confdingly,
though with a perceptible tremor,
shrinking from the crowd and clamor.
He found snOw-clad knoll left in the
eddying current of the throng, close by
the tumult, YET apart, and there they
paused, gazing forth, and not uttering
a word, until, drawn by the subtle
magnetism of the beautiful presence,
Mark turned from the "madding
crowd and concentrated his glance
upon Lady Alice.
There she stood in her picturesque
costume, the plumed hat with its back
ward wave cresting her ringleted fore
head, the ermine-lined cloak opening
from her slender, brightly -draped fig
ure Ike half-folded wings; her exqui.
site, little hands, gloved smooth,
like velvet, resting, one on his arm, the
other, with the mold of a Venus,
against her breast; and her delicate,
clear-cut face, brilliant in the blaze,
but not flushed beyond the quality of
its own pure tint, like diamond which
no common flame can touch with the
least mark of fire.
"How strange and wild this isr' she
murmured. Zone can realize how
Nero, in his mad carnival, used an en-
erald to soften the fierce rage of such
burning sight"
"You need no material medium"
said Mark. admiringly, "to keep you
from scorch and glare. You have a
magical precious stone; you look upon
the wild rage and the fierce heats of
life, too, always through an emerald"
He spoke in a voice whose tlattering
information could not be mistaken, and
was not lost upon the delicate ear that
heard; but thereafter his eyes moved
restlessly, and he presently proclaimed
the object of their search by exclaiming,
"Oh, there is my wifer'
"Where?" asked Lady Alice.
If ever one thought of Marks heart
responded to his mothers sigh that a
jar upon her taste was made uncon-
sciously by Flora. it was at this mo-
ment when he directed the calm cold
glance to her place, and her image
came into emphatic contrast with that
of the serene and polished Lady Alice.
Perhaps the very indiscretion of his
wife in awakening attention to her un-
attainable model augmented the
keen perception of the difference. Who
knows what accidental stir may mar a
mans most perfect fidelity? If ever
one discordant clash swept across the
complete harmony of Marks devoted
admiration. it was at this moment.
Flora was pouring coffee at one of
the tables surrounded by firemen.
Her gloves were cast aside; the hastily
| adjusted hood of her cloak had fallen
upon her shoulders; her face was
flushed-yes, even heated, over-heated;
her motions were quick, angular, inn
pulsive. She was speaking, not with
condescension, but with familiarity, to
these rough men. She was not only
pouring the coffee, but handing the
cups, and this not in stately profile,
like our we'll known picture of the ideal
chocolate-girl, but with the sharp earn
estness of a self-forgetful server. The
men drank eagerly, but not uncon-
sciously of the rare attendance. Mrs.
Mark Congreve was evidently winning
gratitude touched with chivalric adj
miration, but not disturbed or abashed
by any stunning sense of superiority.
Is that-your wifeP" asked Lady
Alice, in her measured. modulated, de-
liciously low-toned voice. II did not
recognize her."
Mark yielded for an instant to weak
misgiving; then his love rallied.
Eyes, there is Flora," he answered,
heart and sOul-helping. NV wife