The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-09-20

OF gray stone, with tidy bit of
ground about it, just where the moorland
road began to slope upward and become
hill track. Lizzie Lowden had long ago
made up her mind that she would take the
other side of the moor rather than pass
close by the door of Alan Grant, the game
keeper. There used to be two brothers at
the gamekeeper, and
Sandie, the younger. a shepherd. Now
there was but one, for Sandie, the "blythest
lad an the brawest in o. the glen 'the'
dainty chiel" of the ''auld folk" and the
"secret ane' in more than one maiden'sl
heart, had disappeared.
Disappeared suddenly and strangely, and
yet after the first talk had died down there
seemed little mystery in it after all. San
die had too much push and spirit, some
said, to remain long what he was--a shep-
herd in quiet glen. He had been heard to-
say that he would be taff some fine day,
and they would need to find anither to
dance Chile Callum' at the gathering in
summer and sing a sang by the winter fire. :"
And one fine spring morning his dog
wandered, with dropped head and melan
choly eyes, around the house and over the
we'll known track, and all Alan said was
that Sandie "hadna CAM hame last NIGHT,
and as his money has game, too, hesupposed
/ he was spendin 1t somewhere"
AN nae wonder, he was fair sick o. the
likes of him, twas the commonest comment
when his words were reported, for the elder
brother was no favorite Big and strongly
made, with dark face and silent taciturn
ways, he was no sympathetic companion
for his light hearted brother. 1t would be
year ago come April. and people had
ceased to surmise or even to think much,
but Lizzie Lowden thought of little else,
, though she had spoken less than any, and
tonight her heart was full Of it.
She came to paling and put down her
basket to climb. She had been running
for some distance before coming 20 it and
. stopped a moment to take breath. The
moor rose Immediately beyond, and then
dipped into sort of hollow. Beside the
paling, little below where she was, lay 9
lbiggish stone. The ground was white
though it was but q sprinkling Of snow
that covered 1t, but Just beside the ston,
/ something drew her attention. She cam,
: nearer. The color rushed into her face ant
! left it pale. The snow there was red dyed
/ crimsoned with blood, but that was MOI
! all There were marks beyond, terribl,
! CHASTITY traces. Here the impress of-eh
6 could it be2 handi There, as If SOM
:. heavy body had dragged itself or beef
! dragged up the slope, and all the way tina
Q horrible CHASTITY track
0 Whatever it was-man or beast--it la
/. Just out of sight, hidden in the hollow
. Her breath came and went in little gasps
!, Must she pass it? She would hide her eye
i and fly past, never looking, hardly stoI
Q ping till she was near home, but for me
Q ment her limbs refused to move. Their
long and low, on the frightful silence cam
{ "A moanf She was woman, and pit
v was stronger than fear. 1t was angus
il unto death that called her, and she almos
8 flew in the direction of the sound. He
Q foot stumbled on something. Almost b.
= fore She looked, with a sick, shudderin
n apprehension, she knew what it was-Ala
Grant, the gamekeeper's, gun, and-he ha
moaned.
The man lay on bank of heather. II
> hands clutched the twigs, the snow hard
= whittier than his face, his eyes staring at IL
\ sky. In moment the girl realized WIFI
had happened. He must have slipped c
the icy stone on leaping the fence, and
IL the fall his gun had exploded. He was nc
!, bleeding to death. "Alanl" she said. ar
Va he turned his dimmed eyes on her. III
life was almost out of him, but the EXPIRE
10 sion of some great mental agony, some te
- rible emotion, sprang into his face s.
= overcame her strong aversion to the ma
10 and putting one hand on his wrist wi
ey the other she loosened his coat and tn
ne yainly tried with her shawl to stanch t
- dreadful wound on his chest. The snt
had begun to fall; at first she hardly knt
it, but it was lying in heavy flakes on
|. head now 1t was wet on her own face.
was coming heavily and fast.
; A little distance from them, only #
- steps, was sheepfold with one corr
, roughly rooted in with bracken a
branches. She put her strong, young ar
around the wounded man, and with a 6
given strength, half lifted, half bragg
z him to the shelter. She made bundle
" some dry ferns and put his head on
Then she put her mouth close to his ca
"Alan,p she said, "can zee hear meP
to rim ms fast as ever can hame, an nit
er an l wull TAX We hame to your ain hous
He shook his head and pointed to his bre
pocket. She took out a small brandy fiji
and poured some of the liquid down
'tY throat. There was very little and ne drail
tt It dry. Then he spoke huskily, in qui
. gasping breaths.
'.I'll be deid man gin We come ba
Lizzie Bide, bidel I haze lain here
oors. Yell gang sune eneuch fan ye h
what hae to tell ye. Dinna start, las!
ege it's nae mair words o. luve hae tae yex
VII. kent that was nae use lang sy
Ye're mournin for Sandie, thinkin aye
sth' him-an the bonnie lads lying deid {
one. still at the bottom O. Loeb Efock.n
I'M The girl stared at him wildly-tl
al. started to her feet, shuddcring and tn
= bling. The dying man clutched at
- dress with one last effort.
ELS Il killed him. he half sobbed. !"
4 12 had words. told him he medina fash h
sell tryin to win ye. for wad had ye
la. i' my wife, fair means or foul. An he loo
in my face wi that LAUGH O. his. 1t wa,
urth the Eagles crag. l struck him, pus
day him over. He went doom, doom, ye
-tf whaur.n
al. He was Choosing. Once he tried to Q
ami his lips. His eyes sought the girls hid
lega face with piteous, hunted look. When
opal lifted her head from her hands, he was d
Y..ee Dead in the. walled sheepfold by her 5
, -, aud the snow was falling, whirling, dri'
III in the gathering darkness.
{ Lizzie used to wonder afterward She
she sat there hours or only few mini
Cup 1t seemed to be black night all at once.
a,,n. venture out into that maze OF binding
would be worse than madness. She c
r. out of the shelter through deep snow
rood feeling for the wall strained over it wi
desperate hope of seeing her N
4, and er's light. Darkness unbrokeni Only
II.