Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-29

the ceremony was performed with all due
| decorum and formality, and as much grace
| as possible under the circumstances.
After the trio had conformed with the
ancient and time-honored custom Of stating
| their opinions of the weather, and the nee
esSary and proper remarks had been made
relative to the rolling OF the ship-"Are
you travelling alone?" asked Beldon.
eyes. A few days ago, papa went to
quarry village in New England, called
Evonville, to stay one day. After he ar
! rived there heard he was sick, and, as l
I, left in two hours. did not have time to ind
an escort"
You shall have two, Miss Carson, if you
will honor u.s. said Charley, gallsntly.
'Oh, thanksl But 1 could not think Of
taking you away from your business"
Business" Charley laughed. That's
| Just what we are running away from. We
are on a rambling pilgrimage through New
England. Why shouldn't we go to EvOn-
| ville?"
''Your proffered escort, them, is thank
fully accepted" she said smiling.
AS the conversation drifted on, one sub
iect suggesting another, Charley, with
what he fondly imagined TACT gradually
withdrew himself, and, finally, making
some excuse, left them.
IL
| love-" he thought my plan will work
we'll. Beldon will have fine wife, and L
sweet revenge! He said was a fool to en-
gage myself; perhaps he will prove the
same kind of fooli'
The saccharine nature of his revenge was
not, however, reflected in mis- countenance.
His expression was anything but sweet
! When he returned he found Beldon greatly
entertained by Miss Carson's bright re-
marks. 1--WE thought you must have fallen
overheard, =" she said to him.
'You appear to be in remarkably good
humor about it, he laughed gsily.
IT'S such pleasant disappointment to
see that my suspicious were untrue"
The effect of the bow with which he re-
ceived this compliment was somewhat
marred by the rolling of the ship. 1t was
pitch dark now, only dim light from the
cabin door fell on Miss Carson's face as she
| talked, and showed the varied expressions
of her face. For two hours Charley listened
like one enchanted. When it was all over,
when nature had asserted herself, he
I thought, ''She loves him, and has true
heart. like her. Beldon is lucky
dogp'
But when Beldon asked his opinion he
said '>fDeuced fine girl-brillIant, you
know-aIl that sort of thing-give me a
cigarp'
He thought his plan was working we'll.
Perhaps it was, but Beldon did not commit
| himself.
On their arrival at Evonville, pleasant
little village with a well-kept hotel, they
found Mr.. Carson seriously iii. However,
| two days of his daughters gentle treatment,
brought him around and out of danger. 1t
was arranged, on rather short notice, that
the party, with the addition of one of Miss
Carson's friends, who would join them in a
week, should make a flying visit through
| New England and then to Europe, toremain
until winter. g.
"We'l have jolly time" Miss Carson
| said. She would not tell the name of the
friend who was to join them. f'If you know
her, you like her already; if you don't, you
will like her when you do, was the only
answer the young men received to their re-
peated inquiries. On the fourth day of
their stay the artist-Mr. Csrson-went out
70 make some sketches of the beautiful
scenery in the neighborhood. His daughter
accompanied him with her book, but soon
strayed away and was separated from her
father. Our masculine friends, firmly be-
lieving that 'the early worm gets caught, "
arose at IL and strolled out for a smoke.
Rambling aimlessly through the woods, they
finally emerged through an open space and
found themselves at the bottom of the
quarry, and in the presence of scene which
| baffied their understanding.
At one end of the quarry, which was
about 200 feet long, was huddled together q
| crowd of workmen, pale with terror, and al
most speechless; their eyes riveted in fixed
intensity on the farthest wall of the i'm
mense granite basin in which they stood.
Beldon had Just concluded one of his funny
stories, but the laugh died on his lips.
D Al.
The men looked fercely at the "city
swell, - whom they hated by instinct; but
one of them, forgettul of small animosities,
| in the supreme terror of the moment
snatched him by the arm. "Lookl" he
said, there's the largest blast in five years
it will be off in minute. God help the
| ladyI'
Charley looked. In the extreme end Of
| the quarry, on ledge some 80 feet above
the level of the quarry bed, a young lady in
white was lying asleep, with book half
| fallen from her hand. She had evidently
come down from the road, but few feet
above, and the workmen under the ledge
had not seen her. Not more than two yards
beneath her the snake-like fuse, much
longer than usual, to guard against danger
from the large blast, trailed its length over
the rocks.
He saw it all in a moment: ''That Carson
girl, by GeorgeP'
A bucket of drinking water stood near
him. Selling this, Charley was over the
intervening space and Just below the blast
at the foot Of the incline. The workmen-
strong, rough men, who knew the terrible
agency he was about to defy-thought him
mad. The silence in the quarry was
deathly; no one spoke; they scarcely
breathed; momentarily they expected to see
launched into eternity that couple-the one
so unconscious of her peril, the other so
fearlessly striving to save her. Only
the footsteps of the climber were heard,
with their CHASTITY echoes reflected from the
granite walls. The slope near the bottom
was quickly mounted, until he stood eight
feet from the fuse, at the foot of q aperpendicu-
lar wall. Here he paused moment There
was no crack or crevice in the wall; the
treacherous fire above could be seen slowly
crawling, crawling toward the blast. A
half minute more and all would be over
He was thinking how to act A ring of
smoke assembled through the air; he was
only smoking his cigar; but what a Ehiver
that other wreath sent to the heart of the
strongest who watched! A moment only he
paused, then placed the bucket at his feet
stood on it, and, stretching his body to
its utmost, reached the top. hooked his
foot in the bucket handle, and, with a
strength he had never known before, drew
himself and the bucket up, until he stood
quietly over the burning fuse. STOPPING he
poured mere cupful of water on the pow
der, and-it was all outl He had saved her
lifel
He looked for a moment at the pretty
picture above him, srrsved his necktie and
cuffs in dandifed way, knocked the ashes
from his cigar, picked up the bucket, which
was still almost full, and descended.