The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1886-07-24

to hear from you? Oh, Paulal"
The cry went from my heart to hers; |
know i'll knew it then. Again she placed
her hand in mine, and her eyes filed with
wonderful sympathy and compassion.
"The way in which | am going is not of
my seeking" she said; yet my Judgment
approves it. | have promised silence and
secrecy; my word must be kept. This may
not be final parting; hope-nay, | be-
lieve-that it will not be. Good bv!"
Her hand was removed: the KEY ratified
in the lock-the cruel door opened and
closed, shutting her from my sight. Gone
-gonei
CHAPTER X
To say that l walked on to nv dark and
lonely Office dazed, and without thought or
reason; that | threw myself on nv bed
without undressing and passed night In
which sleep was utterly absent is to state
the exact truth. Morning came at last, and
l rose unrefreshed and wretched The
events of the evening were together so
strange that they defed explanation. The
sudden collision with Beaumont; the unex-
pected and gratifying meeting with Paula
her speedy disappearance, as she had an
nounced it to me, declining to reveal where
or why she was going; these things made
for me an unfathomable mystery Could
Beaumont after all, be at the bottom of it?
No; she had said that he had nothing to do
with her flight, if flight it was, as il seem
ed to me: and that she was the soul OF
truth / verify believed If not Beaumont,
then, who was the cause of her disappear
ance? She could not tell me whittier she
was going; she had promised. Promised
whom? Could it be possible that there
was a lover behind all this mystery? A
fierce pang of jealousy shot to my heart,
and l ragged for a moment like a lion
chatting behind the bars. 1t was well that
/ was alone in my office at that early hour;
any one who had seen me might well have
reported me mad. But calmer reflection
soon taught me that this sudden fear was
groundless. All her actions toward me- all
her words. were significant of affection I'M
expressed, which waited only for the prop
er time to give it voice. Her last words
came back to me with comfort in them:
This will not be a final parting; | hope
nay, / believe-that it will not be-" Bless
ed wOrds!-let me treasure them III my
heart; let me get what small consolation
from them ! could.
But with the light of this new day there
came to me a powerful, an inexpressible
longing to see her once again. Not to
speak to her; the farewell she had given
me forbade that; but TO liuger furtiyely
where she might pass. and, before the
rivers and mountains should divide Us, to
see her face again. | bathed my throb-
bing temples, made hasty toilet, and hur-
ried to the railroad station. for the first
train departed a few minutes after seven.
Screened by a newspaper which was held
before me, l watched every person who
entered the train. 1t departed-and she
did not come.
Some coffee in the morning some tea at
night, was all the sustenance | took on that
wretched day. For once my calls were
neglected; | haunted the station before the
departure of each train. Let me make this
record of my misery as brief as may be-
She was not at the station that day; she
had not departed by the railroad The day
passed, the evening wore on, and / paced
the streets moodily. A sudden wild
thought came to me- | clutched it as the
drowning man grasps the straw. That |
could take any hope from the idea will
show the feverish condition of my brain
1t occurred to me that perhaps she had
changed her mind Perhaps she had de-
ferred her departure for day; perhaps she
had postponed it indefinitely; perhaps
Thus | tormented myself, until madden
ed by my own thoughts beyond endurance,
L decided to put an end at once to sus-
pense. Going boldly to The boarding
house, l inquired for the landlady, and
was shown into the parlor. Mrs. Marsh
soon came in, and with as steady voice as
l could assume, l asked for Miss Burton
The good woman's face fell as she heard
the request Miss Burton had gone she
said.
Gomez" l repeated, With simulated as
constituent
The surprise and annoyance of Mrs.
Marsh Mt what had occurred in her house
now burst all bounds, and with SO good
listener as |, she at once poured forth all
she had learned about it. 1t was the
strangest thing that had ever happened in
the house, she declared, and but for the
fact that Paula was such a good girl, she
should think there was something decided
ly wrong about it. Her room mate had
bad headache In the night, and Paula was
attending to her. The sick girl remember
ed that she did not go to sleep until after
three, and that Paula had not then gone to
bed Nor did she 60 to bed at all that
night; the morning found her absent With
her had gone a large sachel, into which,
from the appearance of her trunk for Mrs.
Marsh had succeeded in opening it with
one of her own keys, she had placed many
articles of her wardrobe. One brief note
she had left for her room mate, bidding
her good-by, and hoping ere long to meet
her again, and explain everything; and an
other for Mrs. Marsh, inclosing the small
balance that she owed her. And this was
all-absolutely all-that was known OF
Paula Burtons strange fight. Not per-
son had been found who had seen her later
than three o'clock of that morning, In the
silence and darkness Of those early morn
ing hours she had disappeared, and the
Har1tb he Of hol 4
her.
Sick at heart, and more wretched than
before, | rose to go; but one thing remain
ed for me to do-to give some explanation
OF my reasons for wishing to see Paula
The sharp eyes of Mrs. Marsh had asked for
that explanation as plainly as words could
have asked, and the face of pretty
Rosa Hudson, the roommate, who had
entered the room upon hearing who had
called, her eyes red with crying, was mute
ly asking the same question. [ think l
satisfied them that | knew no more of
Paula's disappearance than they, although
| am conscious of uttering several false
hoods-as, for instance, that had not seen
her for two days. / jumped to the conclu-
sion that Paula would not tell her room
mate of her street adventure of the previ-
Gus night, and / guessed rightly. Miss
Hudson heard my statement that / had
not seen Paula for the last two DAYS with
out questioning it; and | was glad to know
that the knowledge of that adventure was
confined to one other person in Berkeley
besides myself; one other, who would not
be likely to mention it. Not for uncounted
gold would l have had it known to the pub
lie now, when in connection with her
strange fight, it would be certain to reflect
upon her good name. For the rest, in
vented some wretched falsehood for the
comfort of these two women, to the effect
that, since l had ceased attending Paula
professionally, it had occurred to me that
she needed tonic, and that my visit nov
was for the purpose of leaving il. L even
took vial OF some harmless mixture from
my pocket-case, and left it, with the hope
land how the expression of it wrung NV
hearth that Miss Burton would return IN a
few days. Then | took nv leave. and
soon that day ended the wretchedest day of
my life till then.
lTo BE CONTINUED
Brieflets.
NO, AJAX, the rooster is not a spring