St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-23

ABOUT it una approaches pathOS," was
her musing comment.
Fred laughed.
He does put 1t rather neatly" he
vouchsafed, 'but he's only acowboy,
Dolly; and. besides. this is only his
first; who knows what mine OF loving
tenderness we may yet d%evelop?"".
The young girl shook her head.
You, perhaps, not me-" she re-
turned. II shall write no more"
but, Dolly, think of the"
u know-the fun" Miss Halsted in
terposed. But it's not fun to him,
and | refuse to continue"
nevertheless another letter was
written. and in Dolly's delicate chirog.
raphy. Nor did Fred'S subsequent eX-
preston OF satisfaction arise wholly
from the epiStle itself, rather from the
young girls SuoServience to his wishes.
AS before. a lapse Of ten days brought
the reply. So, also, did each such sue
ceeding interval for several months
thereafter. And they certainty yielded
no small fund of entertainment. The
writer, albeit he Invariably answered
b. return mail. was by no means of a
love!orn dispositions; he strayed into
%anecdote, thence to humor, and with
results, in a crude way. infinitely
amusing. Fred, too. it has since been
asserted. soon viewed the correspond
ence from another standpoint; indeed.
it did permit him to visit Dolly with a
frequency prohibited by convention
ality.
But it must be confessed that Mr..
Witham speedily began to chafe under
HE Restraint of cOntining words to a
, mail bag. Each letter contained its ap-
! peal that he be permitted to visit the
city. Nor were his plants without a
certain element of the pathetic. His
ranch was sixty miles from civilization
and refinement; that sixty miles he now
traverSed to receive-only a letter.
And he's scarcely to be blamed.
Dolly" Fred once observed. ''rhink of
what his longing would be had he seen
your W features instead OF Mile.
Clos" Then he contemplated the
girls fair face with a smile. aud. turn
ing away, hummed a bar of something
o a letter that never came"
Meantime, however, there arrived a
day when the newspapers again had
occasion to publish jake Williams
name 1t was only a brief notice, tele-
| graphic, and r%ecOunting the destruction
by fire of Quemadura Flat. the settle
ment wherein that gentleman received
his mail. lie mad b ell present at the
time-preSuuably awaiting the custom
airy leiter-and mad generously donated
500 to those rendered homeless.
AS the item met Fred's eye a change
came over his face, ana, clipping it
from the paper, he conveyed it to Miss
Halsted.
I'm rather sorry. after all. Dolly,
that we selected such a man for a fool"
he said, with il seriousness, to him, un.
usual. HE certainly appears to have a
heart and a big one"
IA-Il I-@A
ically.
ITS the dollar, not the sentiment.
with you, Fred" she ~astutely returned.
Fred made no reply. Possibly his
respect for gold was a characteristic ad-
hitting no denial.
But the u girl was again peruSIng
the report. and in the last line she EN-
countered four words previously unno-
ticed: Mr.. Whitman badly injured"
Her face was slightly paler as she
looked up.
He's given more than his dollars,
Fred" she said, in a low tone.
Fred looked grave. At the same time
there was depicted i'll his expression a
vague sense OF relief.
"Well. that lets me out" he returned.
so tell the truth, Dolly, | was begin
ming to wonder how we could eXtricate
ourselves gracefully"
But Fred erred, and that g~ravely, in
believing he was to escape thus easily
from the correspondence which he had
begun. Three days later he was again
! summoned into Miss Halsted's pres
ence, and that young lady met him with
a lool, of blank dismay. She had re-
ccived another letter from MIR. Whitman,
and of a character vastly dissimilar to
those OF earlier date. Moreover, a small
package accompanied the letter. Within
repo cd a ring whose glistening stone
was worthy to grace even Dolly's taper
fingers, and he writer was following
the ring.
"Here!" the young girl calculated.
almost tearfully. He's coming here ~
Fred knit his brow; manifestly he
was disconnected. and he took the letter
from her hand. But there was no loop
hole for misconstruction. The writer
was no longer an appealing swain, suing
for favor; he had met with an accident
had narrowly escaped death, and by
it was warned that delay frequently en-
tailed disaster. At the closing state
ment, however, Fred exhibited some
slight relief. Mr.. Witham did not intend
"roping Il wife" as he would "a steer
~unannounced. He would await Miss
Weldon's pleasure at the Palace hotel.
And We'll have to meet him there,'
Fred declared, III 4 tone of desperation.
Wei" the young girl exclaimed. I'm
not Miss Weldon"
well. l will, them" Fred returned.
but what will [ tell him-that you're
sick, dead, or have left the city?."
Miss HalSted shook her head.
THAT would only mean procrastina-
ton. with an explanation still to be
made" she said. obviously.
No; If you are going to meet him
if you dare to meet him-tell him the
truth"
Fred WINGED. 1t had mol previously
occurred to him that an encounter with
MIR. William might entail bodily dis
comfort.
"Do-do you suppose he'll fight?" he
Queried, half a5seiitly.
II hope so: you deserve it." was the
young girls reply. Then she paused,
and her eyes sparkled mischievously as
she noted her companions detection.
No; L don't mean that, Fred" she
added: II would not like you to gel
hurt. But YOU must sec him."
And will, Dolly" was Fred's ear
nest rejoinder, his love for her sex tend
ing toward Capitalization. ''For you I'd
interview that gentleman who buys mis-
shoes at the farrier's."
Rut ,ynrds ~ rnt aotin,e TI,o 81