Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-12-25
unit, you, Renold; and now, good

that led almost perpendicularly to her
little chamber under the r~afters, and,
with one foot on the lowest step, she
tulhed her head, looking over her
shoulder to say good night.
mo, but you must not CO." said he,
and,he arose and went to detain here,
Selling her by the hand. Then for an
instant the maid struggled, and some
how, by chance it seemed, in the dura-
ton OF that struggle the maid became
embraced by his strong arm, so that he
perceived the exceeding suppleness of
her slight figure; and as her fair head
for the time of one breath rested upon
his broad chest, and he caught the
glance, half modest, half amused, from
her uplifted eyes, then the strength he
gloried in seemed to depart from him,
and the maid, slipping gracefully,
quickly from his OBTAINING grasp, fled
up the stairway.
The strong man stood there a moment
like n bewildered, and then he heard
the father laughing heartily.
Captain" said the old man, "with
all your strength the girl seems strong
er than YOU"
"'TrulS she did give me the slip.
My headis in a whirl, and my heart
doth best. What strange power hath
the mad? know it not except with
her. Bid her come back, neighbor
Lee"
"Not tonight, Captain. The girl, 1
surmise, is better alone. She hath said
nay, 1 think, tonight, to young Mat
thews's a7owal, and it panied her to see
his grief"
"Yet Matthew is we'll favored"
"Not for her, I trow."
81 wondtr if Matthew ever felt, her
soft touch, and her head resting for an
instant on Ills breast, though by acci-
dent. If 81, did it unman him, and
take his strength away? 1 will not wait
here longer ncighbor Lee. I am
strangely at unrest. 1 wonder if the
fever is erecting in my veins. I burn
80 hotly. l will go into the cold air
without"
With mighty strides the strong
limbed Captain went down the highway,
for he was beset with stranger and more
| peculiar excitement than he had ever
known.
"Hath the maid the power of sorcery
that she bewitches me?" he unused.
"she doth unman me, and I have no
strength of mind o body under her
glance and voice. Yet strange it is,
tits plcasurabh. Truly it is. I lie not
unto myself. IT'S pleasurable. 1
know not the mystery of it. And
when she struggled to free herself,
and I did not perceive her soft touch,
with so much Of strength withal, I tin
gled, truly I did, to my finger tips; nor
was it painful; and when in the struggle
her head did rest here on my chest for
an instant, I knew not myself at all, but
I was unknown and plant as a vine.
Yet 1 did like it. Truly 1 did, though
so slight a thing is she 1 could have
grasped her in my big fist, thus, and
crushed-no, had I her in this hand, I
trow, had she wished it, my fingers
would have been powerless."
Then the strong man unused and was
perplexsd with fascinating perplexity;
Then when the bedtime came he read
his Billie, read the story of Ruth again
and then repeated his evening prayer.
Suddenly he arose from his knees, his
face aglow with excitement: The
Lord hath instructed me! The Lord
hath instructed metz he said. cit
shall be done tomorrow" And with
that determination he slept peacefully.
Next morning, an hour after sunrise,
| while Betty Lee sat at her loom, weav-
ing busily, she heard some n calling:
'.Bctty! Betty Lee?
There at the gate, in full uniform,
| with cockaded hat and sword in his belt
and astride his horse, hi%gh-spirited as
himself, she saw the valiant Captain
Marvin.
Come here, Betty. I have a COM
munication to Make" said he.
She obeyed him now, going close be-
side the horse and looking up to that
mighty Captain with inquiring glance.
He took his hat from his head, and,
bending to her, said: ''Betty Lee, the
Lord hath commanded me to marry
you"
She searched his eyes a moment and
saw the truth in them; then, the rich
color tingling her cheeks, her eyes now
downcast, she hesitated a brief moment,
and then in low but clear tones said
gently: 'sThe Lords will be done, Rem
old"
He quickly leaped to the ground, and,
putting both hands beneath her Shout
dcrs, lifted her lightly till her lips met
his, and then, still holding her thus sus-
pended, said: "We shall be called in
church the next Lords Day, Betty"
"Your will is mine, hereafter" she
answered gently, and then with a smile
added, ''but put me on the earth again,
Rcnold."
'Your word is law to NE, Betty. 1
obey" He set her gently down again,
and then, smiling, said: "Now under
stand I why l have been like a reed in
the wind before your wishes. But it's
very sweet submission, Betty. Truly it
is, and will be while / live"
And the tradition runs that though he
became u man of great authority, yet
he said truly then that her Majesty
would compel sweet submission from
him while he liyed.-N. J. SWn.
There is in the extreme north Of
Utah a magnificent subterranean reser-
voir of tirst-class soda water, bubbling
e~ffervescing out Of the ground in such
quantities that all America might be
supplied. In the extreme south, on the
road to Orderville, is an exquisite circu-
- 11.1.I Ma g, 1,>,-, s,,4 S,n %D %G-