Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1892-11-19


friends. he lightly exclaimed, stumbling
after some way to reach his old ease with
her. 81 feel guilty of accepting my own
invitation to make this visit"
"Why, am sure my letter was q
model Of
Eyes, know. he interposed, laughing
a little; "you urged me most eloquently,
indeed, but fear you did not mean all
you wrote.
His voice had ring of cruelty in it,
as if pain lay at ITS root. He was
aware that she was setting herself to re-
sist any attempt on his part to assume
the old intimate relation.
Eyes, meant all wrote" she said;
and, although she smiled, there was an
unmistakable chilliness in her tone al
really thought you ought not to come"
Why" he asked, putting up his hand
to stroke his mustache.
II hardly know" she replied little
nervously. "l thought you might re-
gret it. You would be sure to be dis
appointed.
why should be disappointed" he ex-
claimed; "and if ain to be, the sooner !
know it the better.
you are disappointed, you know it
now" she quickly said, looking mp into
his face; you must not try to deceive
yourself"
THAT would be impossible. 1t is you
who persist in binding yourself. Sup
pose we quarrel" he went on, lightly
chatting; lit would break up this ice be-
tween us Goodness is not natural in
this climate. is it?'
He wondered mt his own artificiality as
much as at her merciless directness.
There is no ice. she gravely an
swered "You imagine it, AS you iinag
ine--a good many other things"
DO T." he exclaimed "Ah, you know
too well am not here mistaking myself
You know
Come, shall not listen Let us talk
as we used to-of what you have seen, of
what you have read. In your letter you
said there was something about Chateau
Chenier you had forgotten to tell me.
And SO she drew him away from him.
self
When their talk was over and she had
left him he sat for "A long while in "A state
OF doubt 1t WAS hard for him to believe
that she would thus tura him adrift. and
yet he could discover no good reason why
she should love him. He somehow felt
as if he had allowed the golden time to
go by, and that now she had slipped
away beyond his reach.
Again and again he rose. shook him
self and resolved to go TO Rosalie with
his love and his eloquence and win by
the sheer torrent of his passion; but his
resolution lapsed feebly and he returned
to his moody silence.
After all. cannot endure this rich.
Intoxicating climate" he one day said to
Adelaide: Il am too coarse and crude for
its retinements of heat and bloom and
fragrance. must 90 back in time to
see the yellow blossoms on the prairies.'
81 am homesick too" she replied; "a
breath of mountain air would be sweeter
than all the sea breezes the Atlantic can
afford. The dogwood trees are in bloom
all over the foothills now, and | recall
the odor of the sassafras buds"
Were you in the mountains during
the war?" he idly inquired
mot exactly in the mountains. Our
home stood in the Oothcaloga valley, but
within full view of the Pine Log and
Johns mountain ranges"
"Ah, | recollect that valley-a lovely
stretch of undulating, rich red lands with
a strong brook or rivulet meandering
through it. We had some desperate
skirmishing in that region" He did not
note her sudden pallor, II shall never
forget one place" he went on; ~ great
rambling mansion whose walls were COW
cred with trumpet vines and Virginia
creeper; a picturesque old home, set high
on a knoll among broad armed oaks and
gum trees We had to burn it 1t was
the only house ever burned with my
own hand. Some rebels had taken refuge
in it, and they fought like fends. Even
the women of the family were armed.
A girl actually blazed away at me with
pistol as smashed in the door. She
slightly wounded me on the head, and
was preparing to shoot me again when
pushed her off with my bayonet tell
you she was vixenr
"If you should see that girl do you
think you could recognize herr" said
Adelaide, her voice peculiarly even and
steady He was not looking at her, and
so did not observe the change that had
come over her dark face His careless
ness of tone and manner had struck her
like insolence, even brutality.
"Oh no. he replied. "ehe was Of
about your size and appearance, turn
ing toward her "but | can't recollect
much about her, save that she seemed
bent on killing me-"
"And YOU burned the houae2",