Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-02-18

. man old enough TO be- her father, and |
who was now widow of twenty-six, |
lovely As dream, good a. an angel, and
rich as Young widow j. practically sup
posed 10 he. into the bargain.
And added e. all this. Lady Hilton had
only just confessed 10 him that Of which
he had never had the remotest suspicion.
namely, that she had loved himself and
him only, ever SINCE she had been Is, and
that it was only when Bernard had gone
svay that she had married in her despair
tue first good man who had asked for her
land in marriage. who happened TO be
poor old Sir Thomas Hilton.
Il was but small and Insignificant
drawback 10 all these attractions that
there should he small rosy checked.
cur: headed Sir Tom. aged O. who went
to bed early, remained for the greater
part Of the day liscreetly out Of sight
under the care Of his nurse, and made his
presence in no WAY unplcasantly con-
spicuous to his futare stepfather.
Yes. certainly. Mr. Bernard Harding
was much to he envied individual, and
should have been perfectly happy man.
Yet, was hes
Why was il that at that very moment
as he stood still and looked over the
moonlit country. every acre of which was
familiar to him from his boyhood, why
was it that something, he knew not
what, came flashing back with headlong
haste out OF the dim vistas OF that past
which his Constance had said was to re-
main forgotten for evermore, a some
thing which set his pulses beating and
brought with ii so vivid and acute a sense
of reality, that involuntarily his lips
parted and there fell from them one
word, clearly and distinctly as a cry for
help into the silence of the summer
night: "Myra"
Then Instantly. as IL in answer to the
word, came low mocking laugh to the
right of him, down somewhere in the
darkness of the meadow. dying away and
away in front Of him along the road into
the strange semblance Of family echoed
words:
"Myra is dead--dead-de the weird
wailing voice that had begun in laugh
ter seemed 10 say. and from afar hol
low whisper ont of the shadows repeat
ed yet once again:
Dead d-dead-dead.'
The horse started violently, and swerv-
. ed across the road.
For a moment Bernard's heart stood
still, half paralyzed with an unknown
fear.
"Ah. am fool" he muttered. =
]. must be strangely nervous tonight Il
twist the cry of a screech owl into human
3 l n 4 a 4
He shivered little and dug his heel
, into his horses flanks.
For some minutes he trotted on quick
y ly down the road; soon he almost laughe,
himself out of that vivid fash Of resur
I, rected memory. why should that hav
risen again TO haunt me tonight of al
@ nights of my life?" he murmured. "Fo
= 50 many years have forgotten it. VIII
y need have remembered il now"
!. He was riding along straight fia
mile OF road at the foot of the hills. q
= either side Of the hedge lay the hop ga
~ dens. In one the hops had been ha
ID gathered. and the cleared ground wa
u numbered with fallen poles and Stripe
V binders On the other side the hop pole
p garlanded with bloom and graceful fol
lf age, stood erect and dark in long serrie
ranks of strength and beauty.
= Fantastic lights and shadows sh,
through them, investing them with a
). sorts of strange shapes and similitude
y Here company of giants seemed no.
=. - ding their heads together. there despai
y ing maiden tossed her long arms wild
TO and fro, or again, group OF be-
!, backed old women crouched and cha
- tered together under their mantling Dir
!, - peries. And all the color was drench,
= = out of them by the witchery of the nigh
- 80 that there was nothing TO be seen sa'
the whiteness of silver in clear reli
he against the blackness of ebony.
hs Suddenly, as he rode along, the figu
he of woman sprang forth out of the de
shadow of the hedge. and stood in t
he road before him.