Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1893-07-13
CHAPTER NV.

sleep.
sleep. Then the bridge the storm,
Raymond! No. no! it was all true. Oh.
where am |: Who are you allow came
l here. in this strange place.
You are among kind. true friends.
dralc-kintl. true friends. and you must
not &c, excited. the doctor says"
kind-hrarl"d. mothrrly old Mrs.
Blake. the farmers wife. Strokcu :tln>
Dranr'S brow as she spoke. ana he~
star,lrd charge sank back among the
pillows. moaning with weakness. mySli-
| ticLtinn. and anxiety.
y long sleep. indeed. hal it been: for
two weeks had passed away since hon
est Farmer John had dragged her from
the Snowtlrift 1T his cottage door. ra>
for the doctor and. with his Soliti1ou>
vie. had worked al night long to
revive her wcll-night exhausted vital
| ily.
Since then. in dose and drlirillln. tho
| poor child had lain. and this waS ;hc
lllS' AWAKENING to consciousness
Sh" listened With Il Sh,lducr to tn"
"'ory thn' her mo1hrrly nlrSr told her
of their Enling her ,nat weird snowy
Right. SHE cried softly rs she told hc.'.
| too, how they came To love hrr benny.
| less. flirndl,>s they would gladly make
room for her in their home and their
| hearts, b""rfl only i short year since
| by III" death of their own darling child.
| They asked her no questions as she
grew stronger daily. and Edna did not
rnlghlcn them. 1t seemed as if Il pail.
never to be lifted. hung over her young,
life. She remembered all that the
messenger her father had sent for her
! had imlnrt, to hcr--llal he alone had
| placed her at the seminary years agonr.
and with him had persisted The mystery
| Of her young life. all hopes of cs1ah-
fishing her identity. of finding her
| father. She had been cast upon the
world alone. with no claim upon her
past life and tn" mystery of her true
identity was Il mystery still.
No claim. save o:lr-Raymunl. HOY
heart beat an''ioUsly as she thought of
him. How he would worry over her
sudden departure. her strange silence.
She must write to him, to her dear
friend Beatrice Mercer. at once. No.
she rcn"nIb"icI.u all her guide had told
her 10 must never communicate
! with any Of her old friends until she
saw hrr father. 1t might mean peril
trouble for him. Oh. how the per-
pl"yilic> of her situation frctird her.
a week passed by. She was Strong
once more. All one day Edna reflect
ed seriously. That NIGHT, Glancin% low
in-ly ut The faces Of her kind friends
she told them of her resolve.
You nave been like an own father
.ll.d mother to me. she n'urmurcu.
gratefully. Il can never forget you-
nrycr cease to love you. butt am
going away.
Going away. sighed the kindly Mrs.
blake.
Yes: ! must see Sono friends Ihrp
I will return. then may b" glad Of
yo;r happy Happy home. Please DO
not question n"'. but must go.
Reluctantly they badc ncr @oo1-0y
the next morning. The farn:er drove
her over to the railroad station. In
the new garments with which her Oil
torn and hc'lrag@lcd attire had been
replaced. NJ one recognized nor as the
Supposed vic!iin Of The bridge disaster
III event strangely that MI Blake had
net heard Of. Edna lad Il few dollars
in her pocket She bought ticket
taking her half way to Hoprdale. kiss
cd tn" fathcr!y farmer gOnd-hy. prom
ised to write or return within few
At the terminus she sold her watch.
This gave he:' ample means to cOnlilu4
her journey. Ali Tie way she was
thinking Of what she should do Some.
thing in the memory Of her guides
strange warning about The mystery
that clouucd her fathers life impellcd
her 10 secrecy in all her movements,
| and when she reached HOpcdAlc at
noon she trusted to her attire and 4
| heavy veil to conceal her identity.
She haunted the vicinity Of the semi
| nary. She would try to get word to
Beatrice. Finally, she addressed a
strange student" The reply to her
questions chilled and discoilccrtcd her.
Miss Mercer had left th," seminary two
| weeks previous.
Then ItHynond-sh, must find him
now. She could tell him everything.
| While he cndolvOred to GET some race
| Of her father, she would return to the
| BlahcS and maxi iler Eomn with them.
| it WAS just when she finally rang at
| the dCcrbell of the Marshall residence.
A servant informed h.: that Mr..
| Marshall was not at hone. He had
gone to the hotel with his father. the
| colonel.
What shall I do? Oh. I AN So fear
LUZ OI IIlIhluS iHlStdhe, Dul luuSt
see Raymond. Who else can l appeal
| to i'll my unCertainty:
I'ublously. uEd"cid IDLY, Edna aalked
| towards the village hostelry. 1t was
quite dusk, and She was very tired
when she reached the place.
Mechanically. almost, she assembled
the stairs leading to the ladies' par!cr.
| and sank to u cushioned chair. think
| ing wondering hOninu Shr was dining
'viar vas emineutly proper, Ind for
| the best.
Footsteps on The stairs brought her
to her feet. If it was servant, she
would ask her to try and fad Mr. Ray
mOnd Marshall and his father, and
send them to !ler-but it was no serv-
| ant. The familiar form Of DIR. Simms
passed the door. and following him was
clerical-loOking man. and the former
was saying: