The National tribune., 1894-02-15

! other one WAS being dragged alter him when
cane along. shot him and his weight held
the fallen horse till they got out and hauled
him up"
But I've forgotten" she cried presently !;
"who do think was in the stage? Here it
comes!"
Presently it drew mp, and the figure of the
wel-kDown wine king emerged from it, and
/ hurried toward them.
"Juanita," he said. "Brave girl! That was
gallant shot / saw it," and. kissing her
! lightly on the forehead, lie turned to the other
and extended hIs hand.
arthur Merrill! How like your father you
! look +! Is the Colonel well 4? 1t took note to
the General before they saw their way to spar
| iRg you for a month from San Reno garrison.
] hope Juanita has properly filed my place in
my absence"
Perfectly" answered the other, "and at
last accounts father was as well as usual"
The next afternoon the young Lieutenant
lay at her feet again just under Indian Head,
whose summit she had marked as her special
perch, delighting to stand on the pendant stone
and look out to sea.
Do you believe in fRte?" he said at last.
How in fate?" she asked.
" Do you believe in two people, man and
woman. being drawn together by some strange
influence outside of them both?"
mol" she answered promptly; that is su-
psrstitioD ] hsve none"
i biD lBcilDcu 70 DeileYe IN II, he SAID i
bad heard of YOU at the garrison but never ex-
pecteJ to see you. When found was coming,
in my skepticism. thought to find you a very
ordinary person. Now, If / go away without
you, it will he TO leave my happiness behind
You say" Arthur went on. that you can
never love me. Are you snre that you know
your heart well enough to speak for the future7
i do not think that You can. You have no
close friends, no home life; you live uDnatu-
rally. Believe NE, there will come a change
you must love"
''Tell me your idea of woman's love-" she
said, eVssivey.
Arthur colored. 81 am only blunt soldier;
j will tell you as / can. II is when a woman
feels that her life is incomplete without the
companionship of the one she loves; when she
knows that he, and no one else must protect
her through life"
She spoke impztiently. "I cannot under
stand such a fesling. Ny life is complete of
itself Why should ! need a mans protection
When ! am of on Kits back ! fear nothing.
When drive my canoe across the bay, or stand
facing the breeZss on my perch up there, feel
entirely independent and unrestricted In this
life i grew up; in this life ! mnst live while
the pendant stone remains above there. Forget
me and look for another. You say must love.
i answer yOu, Never"
And rising lightly to her feet she moved up
ward along the turf toward her perch
tory summit. From that point steep but not
precipitous it rises some so feet, with vegeta-
tion IN the shape of scrub bushes springing out
OF every Granny in the rock.
At the foot OF this ascent on the bay SIDE
where she bow climbs, the cliff drops abruptly
down to the scattered rocks at the waters edge,
among which is moored Juanita's dainty boat
house. and landing with agile steps she springs
upward from rock TO rock. She reaches the
summIt-a Ieap-and the lines of her figure
stand out against the sky to her lover below as
she braces herself the pendant stone against
the breeze, looking intently seaward.
What qulvcr Was that shot through her
framei that had seemed to his fancy, as he
watched her, TO pierce his own like an electric
shockf She tottered, strove wildly for a second
to recover her balance, then fell forward down
the rock, rolling over and over, and clutching
vaiBly at bush and stone.
Five steps brought him to the foot of the
ascent He braced himself wound one arm
around dwarf pine, and by an effort circled
her waist with the other arm as sbe passed him.
For moment the strain all but tore him
asunder. The rest was easy. lie laid her
gently on the grass, 10 have her rise at once
and face him, very pale, but apparently unin-
jured.
Are you not hurt 2" be cried in amazement.
No. she answered; the bushes broke my
fall. 1t was the strangest thing how / ever
came TO fall. was standing just AS usual, aud
lhluklng OF the scenery, when somehow shook
and found that WAS tottering"
There was nothing else 10 do" he said
As they went away she was unusually grave.
aud asked that nothing be said of the IN after TO
her father.
At breakfast she gayly announced her inten-
tion OF taking a long ride on Kit.
Arthur knew better than TO protest but he
argued III for his suit. She ebatted and ioked.
while pouring out with something approach
ing abandon, a mood he had never marked in
her before.
Once out of sight the elation quickly was
gone, and, drawing Kit into a walk, Juanita
moved along with a troubled face
The accident so strange yesterday. so
mysterious. That She who had dared all periIs
IN her climbing lor years past. should totter and
| iaii from her daily standing ground II was
not fear; IL WAS not nervousness: what WAS itp
Two hours were passed among the inspira-
tions of mountain crsgs and defles. and then
Juanita turned her horses head homeward
Then something Dad happened. There was
rnmbilng noise, very lOw-another ear would
NOS have heard it-snd then distinct lar of
the rock on which they rode. Ali she remem-
bered; they were blasting In the farther valley.
or perhaps 1t was gun from steamer out at
sea.
But Kit what bad come oyer heri Was IL
death? Kit bad shifted toward the crevice at
her side, snorted, rearing, aud then. possessed
with blind terror, had caught the bit in her
teeth and rushed msdly forward along the
noun Ia n side.