Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1890-03-29

l4ASAC " oo Si4tAS SIII11o- ASAto" bAO Ult
me of the train because could not find
mv ticket. No, I've had enough Of the
s9ears, thank you, Mrs. Porter I'd r,the,
walk :"
And nothing would dissuade her from
her purpose.
What was sixteen miles TO Andrea
Bonels daughter, born and bred in these
mountain fastnessesz Like AtaLanta Of
old, she sped swiftly and lightly along.
walking for the most part on the track
itself, as being straiglater and more di-
rect than the devious woodland paths.
Just beyond the tunnel where. she had
waited that morning, she came to a deep
glen or cut, about an eighth OF a mile in
ength. Here the narrow line Of rail wa
blocked by hugo stone which, loosened
by the violence of the storm, had fallen
from the crumblv side of the -precipice
above.
Theresa Bonel stood stu and looked
al it
"A landslide, eh ;" said she TO herself
Right here around the curve, too where
the engineer can't see it until he comes
directly upon it. | wonder how my little
sneering friend would like this"
Her heart beat with a species Of ex
utation-she felt that he morning S in
suit would be avenged at last There
was still enough of the blood of Ponce
de Leon and Fernando Cortes in her ma
ture to fill her unframed soul with tr.
umph at the prospect Of SO speedy re-
venee as this would be
=! could avert it if pleased, she sale
to herself, but won't, | wonder if the
fox dreamed Of such thing as this when
he put me off the train this mornlngn
She overcame the obstruction By
| scramblmg lightly up the side of the cut.
| grasping wild grapevine here, steadvine
| herself there by the sharp outline Of {
| rock, until she stood on the top.
at can't be long now until the trai,.
| comes, she pondered, her heart beating
| like trip hammer.
| All Of a sudden, a swift revulsion cam.
| over her nature. She remembered, as il
lightning flash of memory, Mrs. Porter
| words of no longer ago than that morn
! ing.
| is this forgiving1" she asked herself
| wringing her long. olive o-ark hands
.Ie this doing as ! wouldbe done bg?'
one minute Of silence and hesitation
and then she speed once more down til,
steep pathway, and pilinc together
heap OF light brushwood and such odds
and ends Of docavinG boughs as had beer
sheltered from being drencned by rock
| tis.ures and dense spruce foliage, sci them
in blaze by means Of the matches witt
which she had thou9htfully provided
herself to light the way through the tun
| mel and then sat down to feed the fam
and keep If futtering upward like rec
torch OF warning.
Long and weary seemed the time o
waiting. Half dozen times IN A minut
she changed and rechanged her mind
vet there when the train swept aronnC
the curve, famed up her danger signal!
Slowly II came t. 2 paust, then, OF
either side. swarmed of the passengers
eager to see wnat was amiss. Fore
most ar- them came the conductor
swinging his lantern in unison with his
swift steps. =.
Il was Paul Oar er.
The strangest thing Mrs. Porter
old her husband, afterward. ''He re-
urncd from his Eastern journey,it seems,
sooner than he expected. and he took
.he train back himself that night. And
{ hat strange. dark eyed semi-Spaniard
lad it in her heart to let the train be
wrecked, bv way of being revenged for
israel Favn'S ill-consdered insult Of the
g morning. 1t was no fault of hers she
aid, that the Lord mad let those rocks
side down Mummy Mountain on the
rack But all. of a sudden there
: dashed across her mind word OF
{ or two | had let fall in the morning.
] ahout our being willing to forgive