The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1883-04-19

But she felt the PAIN no more than il
they had been dainty rose.petals, show.
cred upon her by the evening breeze,
for some strong, awful purpose was ma
turing in her nind--an oyermasterinq
passion that held her whole being in its
iron clutch.
She knew that to reach the right road
Olga Darlington was to cross the tiny
foot-bridgc that SPAWNED the little creek
nearer the house, and her whole ain
was to reach there tirst. And she sue
ceeded.
1t was quite dusk as she hurried dowr
the shelving banks of the little, roaring
"The planks are old and rotten!" she
said to herself, excitedly; ''They shook
and ratified when I crossed them THU
noon, and will make sure that Ole.
Darlington shall come between me and
my lover no more!'
And as she crossed the little bridge
she deliberately stopped, and with hel
delicate hands tore up plank aftel
plank behind her, and tossed them into
the water with dull, splashing sound
They were not large; but had they beer
five times their size. Juliet would have
torn them away from their Wondering
BEAMS, SO supernatural seemed hel
strength.
'There!" she said, half.aloud. "Long
ago, when was little child, a man was
drowned at this very place, and I re-
member hearing them say that the wat
er was deep, and I know the spot is
lonely"
And the next minute she was gone,
hnrrying affrightedly away, as if some
insane horror were following upon her
footsteps.
Mr.. st. Laurens was waiting for her,
and same down the piazza-steps to meet
her.
"You are late tonight, julie"
Eyes, l know" she said, as she push
ed her hair away from her forehead,
were the cold perspira ton stood in
great beads. "I-I didn't walk very
fast"
"And you look tired and heated.
The long walk has been too much for
you. Come, sit on the piazza beside
me; have story to tell YOU"
"A story?" she repeated, mechanical
eyes; about little Olga Darlington.
She is not a widow, after all, julie"
"Not widow, after ALP
"No? And how do you suppose I
found it out? My cousin-you know
Hal-he wrote me from California; and
what do you think, Julie, but Hal is her
husband! You see, there Was some alb
surd misunderstanding between them
almost before the honeymoon was over.
Hal always was hot-headed fellow, and
in this instance his absurd jealousy
made a'fool of him, and she, in her pas.
siOnate anger, ran away and left him.
Somehow, he heard she was in this part
of the country, and wrote to me about
her, and of course the moment read
his letter I knew that it was Olga. She
is the happiest little creature in the
world, to think he really loves her still,
and next week she goes to San Francisco
to meet him. What do you think OF me
as 6: diplomatist, lady fair?"
His handsome cOuntenance was fairly
radiant with pleasure as he looked into
Juliet's face. But she did not see the
gaze. Her own eyes, wide-open and di-
lated, were fixed on vacancy, and her
face was deadly white.
Mercifu1 God in heaven, what had she
done? What, in the wild, unreasoning
of her jealousy, had she tried to do?
Was she a murderess? Was the red
mark of Cain upon her brow?
Had the wealth of hundred worlds
been hers, she would have given it to
undo the work of those few mad min
utes on the lonely bridge. Yes, she
would have died in all the bloom of her
youth, and hope, and beauty, to have
wiped out that brief time in her life-to
have atoned for the wild remorse that
gnawed at her heart all through the slow
creeping hours of that dreadful, sleep
less uight.
When she arose the next morning,
she looked as if an illness of months had
passed over her heai
''How badly you look, dear!" her Sis
ter said. II told you yesterday it was
too far to walk through the hot sun for
the ferns. And did you not know that
Olga did not come home last night?
is it not?'
''Strange!'
And as Julie closed her heavy eyes,
and shrank, almost fainting, away,
seemed to her that she saw tho beauti-
full mignonne face lying among the ]eaty
stems and snowy petals, SO cold and still!
All, heaven! so long as she lived, that
face Would haunt her waking or sleep
ing!'
And then she suddenly started up
from the strange. hysteric sleep that had
corue upon her as she lay upon the
lounge, more like dead than a living
girl-started up at the sound of her Sis
ter's voice, and to see Olga Darlington
standing in the midst of them, with
cheeks and soft dimpling
smiles.
II was afraid you would be alarmed at
my absence, but when passed Red
gate Farm last night, the kind souls
there insisted upon my staying till
morning, it was so dark and the rain
was 80 near. And how lucky it was that
I did! for when we cot to the bridge this
we found the thunder-shower
in the night had raised the stream and
washed away nearly all the rotten old
planks."
And then Julie arose, went to Olga,
and caressed her with strong, tender
force that Olga could not understand.
ooh, Olga, we were SO frightened-sO
frightened! Thank God-oh, Thank
God, you are safe once more! Dearest
Olga. Laurens has told me all, and am
so glad-so thankful. / think am the
happiest girl in all the world this morn
iDgp
And if ever woman spoke from the
bottom ola rejoicing heart, Julie Carr
did that moment.
The next week Mrs. Darlington went
out to San Francisco to join her husband
and month later Mr.. St. Laurens was
married to Julie whose unwonted gen.
tleness and sweetness rather astonished
all who knew her.
"Something has changed her very
MUCH" her sister said.
But no one ever knew what that
was that had wrought its
lifelong alteration on jules undisci-
plined, passionate nature.-Ohio Satur-
day night.
Mr.. Stephens Dogs.
From the Cleveland Leader.
H. 80