The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1885-06-05

little she knows of my solitude. lam
lonelier, more to myself, in q vast Is.
semblage than I am here when none
arc by. She Is always with me, her
brown eyes looking lovingly into mine;
always near me. and yet / cannot touch
her; always looking as she does In that
PICTURE"
The smile lied. followed by the
shadow. and his blue eyes con.
centrated their gaze upon the photo.
graph. The mind mirrored the past,
drawing back the curtain from scene
after scene, rejecting the pictures
upon the heart.
As their gate dwelt upon tho PIC.
ture, the pupils of the eyes lost all ex-
preston. the surroundings were lost
in the intensity IF that glance, and
a dim mist. The photographed form
grew taller, the features becoming bet.
ter defined, the likeness developing,
until. as if in q startlingly realistic
dream. Eleanor Duncan stood before
him, her dark eyes meeting the hard:
stony gaze of the blue, her lips tremb.
lingly m9rmuring the one word:
"Well."
''You have come." he muttered "I
knew you would, when others said
that you had forgotten me-"
Forget you? As if it were possible
to forget"
"And you have come at last" he
continued, 'to look upon the wreck
you have made. I did hot expect yo;ui,
until ny lifeless clay was placed III tie
little church, where my friends might
gaze upon the dead victim of a NO.
mans caprice, and my soul, unseen.
would stand at your side, and, in
whispers viii heard only by You. reproach
''oh. Victor. Victor. pity me. have
mercy"
"Pityp" Mereyp Listen, Four yeats
in the omnibus. You had forgotten
your purse, and 1 paid your fare.
From that hour we were friends; from
that hour l loved you. Your brown
eyes captured my soul, your smiles
laid waste my heart. They said You
were a heart-breaker, but could not
believe 1t. Poor fool, how innocent I
wasl | could not believe it. can
scarcely bellows it How, after what has
passed. You led me on, as you would
have led child. smiling on no one but
me, and at last you yielded and prom.
ised to be my wife. All, how happy 1
was! Ambition, talent, everything.
were thrown to tho winds, and I lived
tor you. l would have died for you
silencel do not speak to me. now
Was Happy; YOU smiled on whom you
pleased, but were ever ready to cast a
swceter beam on me, until Darlington
came. With him came change. He
was rakish and free; he laid siege to
your heart. and turned both heart
and head. knew him and warned YOU
of the leper's touch, but was laughed
ut, snubbed. and, in anger finally
thrown aside like Il tiresome TOW.
it was the beginning of the end.
humbled myself before you, entreated
you to turn aside, and what did YOU do
and sayp"
The lips Of the girl moved, and her
voice came like an echo from afar:
81 laughed at you, then I was an
gered. 1 said the harshest and most
cruel of things. and throwing your
ring into the street. bade you 60 and
"Ycs." he murmured, sadly, "you
spurncd me like dog-scorned nv
love Us a princess would beggar's.
We'll. you have done well. You can
look on me and say, There lies q vic.
tim Of my caprice. See what d wreck
he is; how hollow his eyes, how pale
his lips, how wasted and feeble his
form. Learned men say it is the work
OF malarial poison, absorbed in the
swamps of Mexico, but they err. It
is all my work"
II have repcnted my folly; what
more could You ask Of mep" asked the
= ''You repented! It cannot be. When
you come to my side, and. 4eneeling,
beg forgiveness, will believe. will
forgive and give you the love of years.
Come"
As he spoke the figure gradually re.
coded, decreasing in size, the mist
cleared away, and the photograph re.
sumed its former appearance. Victor
struggled as though trying to awake
himself from slumber. He rubbed
his forehead, and, signing heavily,
said:
ooh, Nell, why do you not Gomez"
A half-hour passed and a footstep
sounded on the threshold. Victor
turned his head quickly and beheld
Eleanor Duncan standing in the door
way, her face pale, her hair disheyel.
led. her dress disol dered, a white
shawl thrown carelessly about her
shoulders. Her eyes had that vacant
stare peculiar to somnambullsm, and
her step, as she entered the room, was
mechanical. She did not speak, but
moved slowly until she reached his
chair
"Nell!' he cried loudly.
She started at the sound of his voice;
her eyes had dazed expression; her
face was the picture of perplexity.
"Oh, Wet" she cried, what docs
this meanp The last remember 1 was
standing before the glass in my room,
and now am here. do not UNDER
stand"
A thought flashed across him, and
he said. grayely:
THAT unseen influence which watch
es over US has brought you here. And
now that you are here. Nell, what have
you to say?"
A moments pause, her eyes again
stared vacantly into space, and, kneel-
ing at his side, she said:
81 have repented. Forgive me as
you hope for forgiveness.
II forgive you, Nell, freely-freely
free" His voice was lost in fl
of choking, and an internal hem
orrhage covered his breast with his
life blood. He threw one arm about
her neck, convulsively, and drew her
toward him.
"Come. Nell, let US 60 where we
may be happy together, away from the
world" he murmured.
.Whithersoever thou goest there
will 60 Also"
Darlington. who had logged her
footsteps TO the very door of the room
and had renamed outside to watch
and listen, softly entered tho room.