The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-04-21


 caught glimpse of delicate pink on the further side of the old cedar at the other end of the lawn. He paused for moment, stepping over the case then scarcely raising the upper DOT tion of his body, he crept towards the tree with feline stealth of which he would have stoutly denied he was capable-unless, indeed, some sprite had seethed him in his own craft and presented the photographer with his own instantaneous likeness, literally taken in the acti As he drew near the cedar he described a wide circle, and at last drew breath behind a pro- pitious laurel some ten paces from the tree. And then it was that a dream of loveliness broke upon the artists eyes.
 There, in light hammock of net work-there, all plastic curves and softened outline-lay his coveted model, asleep! She lay robed In palest pink, that seemed to his kindled fancy, against the deep shades of the tree, like the first wan streak ot dawn over treeless plains. The brown hair that crowned her pale, fair face showed like amber filigree against one white hand beneath her head the other hand hung lightly over the hammock's side. Long lashes fringed each cool cheek beneath closed eyelids; red lips, just parted in smile that had been checked by slumber in it's dawning, displayed one gleaming flake of white between.
 Indefinite ideas took still more defi- mite shape in Dicks brain. Swiftly and incoherently he thought of the Dryads in their wooded bowers; of "beautiful brow'd Hone" amid the wales and vines of Ida; of the fairy queen on her bank of wild thyme. Wood-nymph, river nymph, fairy queen-all faded into meagre medioc- rity beside the inexpressible loveliness here. This was no exquisite vision, no conjured fancy, but an enchanting reality that a mans eye-an artists eye-ah the hour he had yearned for had come at last A moment longer the man knelt chained to the spot |; the next, the artist stole back across the lawn as noiselessly as he had ap- preached.
 Now I do not say that Elsie had never been asleep at all (to hint half as much would be to destroy Dicks most cherished illusion), but this much is certain; no sooner had Dick slunk fairly away than the hazel eyes half opened, and the smooth face rippled over with silent mirth. Nevertheless, when, three minutes later, he sneaked back to the shelter of the kindly lau- rel, there seemed to him no greater change in the pose and expression of his slumbering wood -nymph than takes place in sculptured marble. He little knew that the wood-nymph was now, at any rate, accurately conscious of all that was taking place, and had determined on subtly sweet revenge.
 He placed the tripod just behind the bush, with the camera at such & height that the lens peeped inconspic- uously over the dark-green leaves. How his heart beat as he plunged his head beneath the velvet cloth And then-was there ever so divine an im- age on focusing glass before? Was there ever before such good reason to sit down and weep because the tints on the ground glass could not, in this era of half fiedged science, be trans mitted to the negative2 The image was inverted by refraction, of course, but to the practiced eye that mattered nothing besides Gas Jack flippantly observed when Dick made a clean breast of the whole affair to him, it couldn't have mattered in any case, seeing that Dick himself at the time didn't know whether he was standing on his head or on his heels.
 The focusing was over; the cap was in readiness on the lens. Dick drew from beneath his coat, very gin- gerly, shallow mahogany arrange ment containing one sensitive dry plate on each side, completely pro- tected from the light by tightly fit- ting slides. One plate had already done duty at MT. Partridge's; the other was destined-ha did she move? Dick slid in the mahogany arrange ment, quickly but carefully drew out the inner slide, thus exposing the plate to the lens, took off the cap for half second, and-the photograph was taken.
 He crept in stealthy triumph from the scene of the deed, taking every thing with him, and feeling like suc- cessful burglar escaping with his swag. At last, at lastl The yearned- for photograph has been taken at last 1! All that remained to be done was to develop the negative Che would do it at once in the tent), and to print the picture that should never, never fade Chat must be done secretly).
 Dick was on the point of finally thrusting head, shoulders and arms