The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-10-23

truly loves-even if she has to so down on he
knees to do it.
Only the masculine reader will infer from
this that Carmen was in love with Thatcher
the more critical and analytical feminine eye
will soc nothing herein that might not have
happened consistently with friendship. Foi
Thatcher was no sentimentalist; he had hardly
paid compliment to the girl-even IN the
nnspoken but most delicate form OF attention
There were days when his room door was
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 fight the
simple-mindcd Carmen, being aware-heaven
knows how-that he had not opened bis door
during that period, and fearing sickness, sud
den death, or perhaps suicide, by her appeals
to the landlady, assisted unwittingly in dis
covering his flight and detection. As she
was for a few moments as indignant as Mrs.
Plodgitt, it is evident that she had but little
sympathy with the delinquent. And be-
her earliest friend, and was true to his
memory, ns against all Americanos, whom
she firmly believed to he his murderers
So she dismissed tnc offer and the man from
her mind, ard went back t. her paintmg-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 picture
was fair but unstable, and she began to
! think seriously Of sign painting, which was
then much more popular and marketable.
An unfinished head of San Juan dc Bautista,
artificially framed in clouds, she disposed of
TO prominent druggist for so, where it did
good service as exhibiting the effect OF four
bottles of jones' l'rcCkle Eradicator, and in
pleasant and unobtru i've way revived the
memory Of the saint. Still, she felt weary
and was growing respondent, and had
longing for the good sisters and the blamclcss
lethargy of convcntual life, and then
He came!
But not Us the prince should come on
white charger, to carry away this
cruelly-abuscd and enchanted damScl
He wGs sunburned, he was bearded
like ''thc pard = he was a little careless as to
his dress and prcoccuped in his ways But
his mouth and eyes We're the same, and when
he repeated in his old frank, half-mischicvous
way the invitation of his letter, poor little
Carmen could only hesitate and blush.
A thought struck him and sent the color to
his face Your gentleman born is always as
modest as u woman. He ran down stairs
and Selling the widowed Plolgtt said
hastily:
YOU'RE just killing yourself here Take
change Come down to Monterey for n day
or two with me and bring Miss De Haro with
you for company"
The old lady recognized the situation
Thatcher was now n man Of vast possibil-
ties. In all maternal daughters of Eve there
is the slightest bit of the chaperonc and
match maker 1t is the last way o. reviving
the past.
She consented and Carmen De Haro could
not well refuse
The ladies' found the "Blue Mass" mills very
much as Thatcher had previously delivered
But he madc over to them the one tenement
reserved for himself and slept with his men,
or more likely under the trees. At first Mrs.
Plodgitt missed gas and running water, and
these several convcniences Of civilization,
among which fear may DO mentioned sheets
air soothed her neuralgia and her
temper AS for Carmen, she rioted in tho
unlimited license of her absolute freedom
from conventional restraint and the indul-
gence of her child like impulses She secured
the lodges far and wide alone; she dipped
into dark copses and scrambled over the
sterile patches of chemisal and came back
laden with the spoil Of buckeye blossoms,
berries and laurel But She would |
not make u sketch of the Blue Mass com
panys" mills on n Mercator's projection
SC ,ncthing that could be afterwards litho-
q lphed or chromoed, with the mills turn
Ing out tons Of quicksilver through the ener-
GIGS of n happy and picturesque assemblage |
of mincrs-evcn to please her padronc, Don
Royal Thatcher. On the contrary, she made |
a study Of the ruins of the Crumbled and de- |
caycd red rock furnace, with the black |
above it, and the light of diving |
camp fire shining upon IT, and the duh red |
excavations in the ledge But even this did |
not satisfy her until she had made some
and when She finally brought her |
finished study to Don Royal, she looked ut |
him little doliantly Thatcher admired |
honestly, and then criticised n little humor-
ously and dishonesty. But couldn't you,
for a consideration, put up n sign board on
that rock with the inscription, Road to the |
Blue Mass company's new mills to the |
right" and combine business with art! That's |
the fault of you genuses. But what's this |
hlankcted figure doing here, lying before the |
furnace, You ncvcrSa one of my miners |
there-and Mexican, too, by his scrape" |
That" quoth Mistress Carmen, coolly," was |
put in to fill up the forcground-I wanted |
something there to balance the picture |
But" continued Thatcher, dropping into I'M
admiration again, its drawn to |
the life. Tell me, Miss De IIaro, before ask |
the aid and counsel of Mrs. Plodgitt, who is |
my hated rival, and your lay figure and |
modelP "Oh," said Carmen, with little |
sigh, ats only poor Concho." "And where |
is Concho" "a little impatiently) Hes dead, |