The Red Cloud chief., 1880-11-11

Another momeutary pause occurred.
As II some of the party had gone back
- close the door. Cherry. sill crunched
low on the seat. discovered tina. the rain
had ceased. aad ihrpu1h the yiniow
caught n CLEAN OF stars. Sire feared 30
raise her heal for any farther obsersa-
tons lest she should be discovered. -.
frightened and bewildered. she tried
10 comprehend he- situation. II was
q particularly unpleasant one The
carriage had evidently been stolen. and
she was being borne away in IT.
she knew not whittier or by
who'd These persons, aware III it,
unwonted presence in Uncle Mats
shop. md coyeting it, silver trappings.
perhaps, hal seized the opportunity to
steal il. never dreaming that IL had m
occupant IL they should find her
there
Cherry ~shuidered as she thought Of
! a.. Those who could commit such q
crime would scarcely hesitate tO con-
ceal IL ~ the cost Of one frail life
wholly at their mercy. How utterly in
Their power she was she realized more
lAsie ~ GiG aaAa4l-t sDAAI4 - a
I Miss Fosilby's luxurious carriage. but
il could scarcely have seemed more
terrible had il been Il hangm7n's cart
! bearing her to certain execution. She
leaned forward with a thought Of call
ing for help, bot who would hear her
except those whom she most dreaded?
Then came a wild impulse to spring
from the moving vehicle and at;emptto
escape; but that also was abandoned as
futile. and she sank bick 20 await the
issue in trembling suspense.
1t might he miles before they reached
their destination, but. IL nothing be-
trayed her presence before. dayligh.
must surely reveal il. How many hours
would there be first, Oh IL thew OILY
knewi Aunt Barbara. Uncle Nat. or
John-poor John, How he would won.
der and search. Would he ever know
she wondered. She half forgot herself
in "A strange pity for him. That little
home" she had spoken II only last night
could never be now. And she could
have made il such a bright little nook.
Life was very sweet even the old
homely work and ways that she viewed
so ~s,ornfully that day; and il hers were
III tuu uDN 81 lCiilutlt -liiC Elll u
glamour it had missed mattered little.
but the truth n love it might have
held were priceless.
IL seemed an interminibie time that
paSseiin that strange iourneying before
there came another halt, and a slight
SCUM ~ of taking down bars and I'M
fastening a gate. Then. by the Uneven
motion. she could tell that the wheels
had passed from the beaten road on TO
rougher ground; aud at last they stood
still. IL had come now. the supreme
moment. There was a breath OF prayer,
a wild longing To look into John eyes
once more. and then she collected all
forces OF mind and body to do or bear
as she might.
Again she hearda whispered c~olloquy.
4 low triumphant laugh, and then all
noise died away. The carriage door
remained closed. but a dim light shonc
upon her, an she saw that she was OPP
posite the window of a house-a cur
tanned window. across which shadows
fitted as of persons moving within. a
sudden hope arose i'm Cherry's heart.
1t was possible that her captors had all
entered the house. and there might be
a chance for escape. She could scarcely
increase her peril by the attempt, and
hurricdiy but silently she sprang 10 the
ground. No one was near her. and she
flew with such speed as only despera-
ton could lend back i'm the direction
from which she fancied she had come.
As she reached the gateway and passed
ont upon the road another figure uucy-
pectedly confronted her. and she drew
back in breathlesS terror.
"HeIloa,' exclaimed Il startled but
CHEEKY voice.
With that word she threw herself into
his arms.
"Oh, John, john"
"Why. Cherry, did / Brighten you
SOP / was only walking up street in n
woful hurry, with no thought of meet
inc anybody, least of all YOU. until
nearly ran over you. Have YOU been
spending the evening with Mrs. Muir
ray?'
Mrs. Murray" Cherry looked back
at the house she had left. and its out
lines slowly grew familiar, 1t certainly
was the parsonage. "Oh, l don t
know. | thought it must be some
dreadful place. I've been stolen and
not quite murGeredr' she cried. hys-
tcrically. And John. listening to her
story. grew as bewildered rs she.
Il should have thought no one would
be so insane as TO steal that carriage
with a hope of selling it; and to select
Rev. Mr.. Murray's as n place to bestow
their booty"
He paused, then laughed as a sudden
light burst upon him. CHERRY it's
All-Halloween!'
All-Halloween, And the village boys
always celebrated the occasion by
stealing gates. carrying off signs, and
working all manner of mischief. Cher
nv understood it all at once. They had
doubtless considered it n magnificent
joke to leave Miss Fosilby's carriage in
the minister's yard.
And it isn't nearly morning. John?"
at is only nine o'clock; | was just
going home from the Office"
..Ohr' said Cherry, with a long
breath, and 4 tone that said unutterable
things.
Cherry" said John. as they paused
ut Aunt Barbara's gate, "this is the
night to try fortunes, you know, with
hot lead or"
4 Ogn. L tnOuHnt L WIS ABOUT 10 Try
mine with cold STEEL interposed Cher
ry, s~huddering.
"But, Cherry"
'..Yes. [ know. 1t came out all right.
John formed the initials j. A. as
plainly rs possible" she added, shylv.
John informed Uncle Nat of the
Whereabouts of the missing carriage:
and the next day Miss Fosilby called
upon Cherry in that same respondent
e4uipage-
The blacksmith informed me that
you first learned where my stolen prop
erty had been bestowed: 1 did not
quite understand how, but | am greatly
obliged to you," she said, graciously.
And about that other matter wetalked
of one day. have quite decided that l
should like you for a companion
THANK you,'' said Cherry, demure-
ly, but [ have accepted that situation
with another person, ma'am."
Miss Fosilby's uplifted eyebrows
seemed to ask who else in the sphere of
Cherry's knowledge could offer such a
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