Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-12-25

sIt is already late. and am very
weary, but you can sit moment.
Dinah, bring forward q chair"
Dinah did as she was bid, but fingered
near her mistress. She knew from her
voice that she was annoyed at this unusual
call.
The stranger wae tall, and what could be
seen of his face was handsome, but heavy
growth of hair covered all but his bronzed
cheek bones and brilliant eyes. His fore
head was covered by heavy curls. He
seated himself with the air of one quite at
home, and looked around the room.
1T is very like you" ne said.
She started. Who was this that dared
trouble her in her retreat? She only
said:
What do you know of me, sir?"
More than any one in the world,
Dolly!"
The tones were tender now, or she had
lean it be you bring me tidings of
his.o
Again he said "Dolly," but this time it
was uttered in tones so unspeakably low
ing, that she could only cover her face
with her hands and murmur:
"How dared you to open a tomb so long
time closed, Arthur Preston? have bur-
led you and all the past in deep grave,
because 1 love you, Dolly. Because
have searched the world over for you. Be-
cause can not live without you. Why did
you ever flee into this wilderness and give
me no token?"
"Why did you break your vow to me
and marry a woman at the Pacific?"
why! Because1 never did. There has
been some great mistake. Dolly. There
Preston; it was he that married. 1 had a
long, terrible fever; when | came to my
self, received no letters from you. I
said to myself: She is true as STEEL and
went farther into the mountains. At the
end of six months I went again to the
coast. In all that time had heard moth
ing from you. / could not leave then, for
wanted money to make you happy. I
struck luck, and became a rich man. Then
l came back, to find you had fled into some
unknown region-none knew whittier. The
only trace l could find was through your
banker, and followed the clew that led
me here. Last night watched you frolic
with your dog. She does not care, she has
forgotten me- l said, and cursed the cap
that covered your pretty brown hair. To-
day saw you the center of all the country
people in the county, but I saw, too, that
your face was sad. 1 knew then that you,
too, were wretched, and I could not wait
till morning to tell you was near.'
She had been more than woman to have
listened to his. pleadings unmoved; and
when at length they separated, it was to
give her night of unrest, with wide-open
eyes, bordering the question of duty or
happiness. He settled it for her next
morning.
''You are mine, Dolly-mine alone. At
ter all these years of waiting, to whom
else do YOU belong; but this noun tain life
that you have learned to owe, shall live
also; and every year I promise you we
shall come back to Nemesis to celebrate
the beginning of the years as Miss Doro-
thy's Day."
When She had gone, and wall of lam
entation went up from the mountain over
their loss, Simon Gravitt said to his wife:
Never tell me what's going to happen
again, Susanna, for you don't know"
the times will never be the same again,
and we shall never have another genuine
Miss Dorothy's Day. More's the pity
Mrs. Margaret B. Peake, in Chicago In