St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-07-27
LOVES MISTAKE IN A DUST STORM
How Mr. Saumarez Proposed Under the Biggest OF
Difficulties to the Wrong Woman.
BY RUDxARD KIPLING.

OVCruedu dIlu tiIO ifSh1H'hS oP"A
like water from sluice, all ways at
once. There was no danger, Oh COURSE,
unless the horses broke loose.
was standing with my head down.
ward and nv hands over my mouth,
hearing the trees thrashing each other.
[ could not see who was next me TILL the
flashes came. Then / found that was
packed near Saumarez and the eldest
Miss Copleigh, because she had pagrl
round her helmet, and the younger had
not. All the electricity in the air mad
gone into my body and was qulverlng
and tingling from head to f0ot--eXaety
as a corn shoots and tingles before rain;
1t was grand storm. The wind seemed
to bepicking up the earth and spltchlhg
it to leeward in great heaps; and tue
heat beat up from the ground IKE the
heat of the day of Judgment.
The storm lulled slightly aftef the
first half-hour, and eeard- a despalflng
little voice close to my ear, saying to
itself, quietly and softly, as if some lost
soul were flying about with the wind:
sob, nv God!" Then the younger
Miss Copleigh stumbled into my arms,
saying: "Where is my horse? Get nay
horse. l want to go home. want to
go home. Take me home"
| thought that the lightning and the
black darkness had frightened her; SO
said there was no danger, but she must
wait till the storm blew over. She
answered: sit is not that! 1t is not
that! l want to go home! U take me
away from here! -,
| said that she could not go till the
light came; but l felt her brush past me
and 90 away. 1t was too dark to see
where. Then the whole sky was split
open with one tremendous tiash. as II
the end of the world were coming, ana
all the women Shrleked.
Almost directly after this felt
mans hand on my shoulder and heard
Saumarez believing in my ear. Through
the rafting of the trees and bowling or
the wind did not catch his words at
once, but at last heard him say: i've
proposed to the wrong one! What shall
/ do?" SaumareZ had no occasion 70
make this confidence to me-. l was
never friend of his, nor am now; put
| fancy neither of US were ourselves
lust then. He was shaking as he stood
with excitement, and l was feeling
queer all over with the electricity. L
could not think of anything to say ex-
cept. "More fool you for proposing IN
dust Storm" But l did not see how
| that would improve the mistake.
| Then he shouted: "Mhere.s Edith
Edith Copleigh % Edith, was tne
younger sister. | answered out OF my
| astonishment: ''What do you. want with
her?' Would you believe it, for
| the next two hours he and l
were shouting at each other like
| maniacs = he vowlng that it was
| the Younger sister he had meant to pro-
nose to ali along. and | telling him till
nv throat was hoarse that he must have
| made a mistake! | can't account Tor
this except, again, by the fact that we
| were neither of us ourselves. Every
| thing seemed to me like bad dream
| from the stamping of the horses III the
| darkness to Saumarez telling me the
| story of his loving Edith COpleigh from
| the first. He was still clawlng my
shoulder and begging ME to tell him
where Edith Copleigh was, when an
other lull came and brought llgnt WIN
it, and we saw the dust cloud forming
on the plain in front OF us. so we Knew
| the worst was over. The moon was low
down. and there was Just the glimmer
of the false dawn that comes about an
hour before the real one. But the light
was very faint, and the dun cloud roared
like bull. fa2f -
wondered where Edith COpleigh had
gone; and as l was wondering saw
! three things together: First, Maud
/ Copleigh's face come smiling out OF the
| darkness and move towards Saumarez,
who was standing by me. | heard the
girl whisper George" and slide her
arm through the arm that was not claw
! ing my shoulder, and saw that look on
her face which only comes once or
| twice in lifetime-when woman IS
perfectly happy and the air is full OF
trumpets and gorgeous colored fire and
the earth turns into cloud because she
| loves and is loved. At the same time !
saw Saumarez'S face as he heard Maud
CopIeigh's voice, and fifty yards away
from the elump of orange trees L saw
brown holland habit getting upon
| horse.
Unjust have been my state of over
excitement that made me so quick to
meddle with what did not concern me.
| Saumarez was moving off to the habit:
but pushed him back and said: stop
here and explain. I'll fetch her back!"
And 1 ran out to get at my own horse:
| had perhaps unnecessary notion that
everything NEST be done decently and
in order, and that Summaries first care
was to wipe the happy look out OF Maud
| Copleigh's face. All the time l was
! linking up the curb chain L wondered
how he would do it.