Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-11-26

closed; there were days days succeeding these
blanks when he met her as frankly and
naturally as if he had seen her Yesterday.
Indeed on those days following his flight the
smplc-mindcd Carmen, being awarc-hcaven
knows how-that he had not opened his door
during that period, and fearing sickness, sud
deh death, or perhaps suicide, by her appeals
to the landlndy assisted unwittmgly in dis
covering his flight and detection. As she
was for few moments as indignant as Mrs
Plodgitt, it is evident that she had but little
sympathy with the delinquent And be
sides, hitherto she had known only Concho.
her earliest friend and was true to his
memory, MS against all Amcrcanos. whom
she firmly believed to he his murclcrcrs
So she dismissed the offer and the man from
her mind, ard went back 60 her paintng-a
fancy portrait of the good Padre Junipero
Sierra, great missionary, who, happily for the
integrity of his bones and character, died
some hundred years before the Americans
took possession of California. The pic ture
was fair but unstable, and She began to
thlhi seriously of sign painting, which was
then much moro popular and marketable
An unfinished head of San Juan de Bautista
artiiicially framed in clouds, she disposed of
to prominent druggist for so, where it did
good service as exhibiting the effect of four
bottles o" ]oncss Frccklc Eradicator,n and in
pleasant and uuObtiuslvc way revived the
memory Of the saint. Still, sho felt weary
and was growing respondent, and had n
longing for the good sisters and the blamelcss
1nt1, g.
He came!
But not as the prince should come on
a white charger, to carry away this
cruelly-ahuscd and enchanted damsel.
He was Sunburncd he was bearded
like 1.-THE pard;' he was little careless as to
his dress and preoccupicd in his ways. But
his mouth and eyes were the same, and when
he repeated in his old frank half-mischcvous
way the invitation of his letter, poor little
Carmen could only hesitate and blush
y thought struck him and sent the color to
his face Your gentleman born is always as
modest as a woman. lie ran down stairs
and Selling the widowed Plodgitt, said
hastily:
YOU'RE just killing yourself here Take a
or two with me and bring Miss De Haro with
you for company.'
The old lady recognized the situation.
Thatcher was now a man of vast POSSIBLE
ties. In all maternal daughters of Eve there
is the slightest bit Of the chapcrone and
match maker 1t is the last way of revivinr
the past.
Sln cons tod t,1( n,
not we'll refuse.
The ladies found the "Buc Mass" mills very
much as Thatcher had previously delivered
it to them, "a trile rough and mannish."
But he made over to them the one tenement
reserved for himself and slept with his men.
or more likely Inicr the trees At first Mrs.
plodgitt missed gas and running water. and
these several convcnienccs of civilization,
among which fear may be mentioned sheets
and pillow cases; but the balsam of the
mountain air soo;hcd her neuralgia and her
temper. As for Carmen, She roted in the
unlimited license of her absolute freedom
from conventional restraint and the indul-
gencc of her child-lilc impulses She secured
the lodges far and wide alone. she dipped
into dark copscs and scrambled over the
sterile patches Of chemisal, and came back
laden with the spoil Of buckeye blossoms,
manzanita berries and laurel But she would
not lnal,c sketch of the Blue Mass com
panys" mills on n Mcrcatdrs projection
something that could be afterwards litho-
Eraphcd or chromocd. with the mills turn
ing out tons Of quicksilver through the cncr-
GIGS OF happy and picturesque asscmilase
Of miners-cycn to please her padronc, Don
Royal Thatcher On the contrary she made
n study of the ruins of the crumhlci and de
cayed red rock furnace, with the black
mountain above it, and the light of a dying
camp fire shining upon it, and the dull red
excavations in the ledge. But even this did
not satisfy her until she had made some
alterations, and when she finally brought her
finished study to Don Royal, she looked at
him Il little defiantly. Thatcher admired
honestly, AMI then criticised a little humor-
Ously and dishonesty. But couldn't Won.
for Il consideration, put up sign board on
that rock with the inscription, Road to the
Blue Mass companys new mills TO the
right" and combine business with art That's
the fault Of you goniuSes But what's this
blanketed figure doing here, lying before the
furnace; You never saw one of my miners
therc-and a Mexican, too, by his serape."
THAT, quoth Mistress Carmen, coolly," was
put in to ill UP the forcGround-I wanted
there to balance the picture"
But continued Thatcher, dropping intom-
conscious admiration again, its drawn to
the life Tell mo, Ms, De IIaro, before ask /
the aid and counsel Of Mrs. lodritt, who is |
my hated rival and your lay figure and /.
model "Gh,' said Carmen, with little |
sigh, Its only poor Coucho" And where .
is Concho" "a little impaticntly) He's dead /
Don Royal "DcadEn "Of "a vcrtv-very /
ioad-murdered by your countrymcn." Il /
'ee-and you know hmi" ale was nv |
friend
CON-
"Pruly."
"Brt' wclledly), isn't this rather
chastity OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES of an illus
rated ncwSiapcr-Of nv proDcrtv,"