Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1894-09-27

tinct in large cities. Wherefore she
trusted-and believed-that he would
accord her communication that conf
dence befitting her own sincerity.
Fred contemplated this last bit of fiat
terry with a smile of complacency.
"He'll not swear at his cattle for 6
week after that" he observed. Then
he consigned the letter to his pocket.
Quemadura Flat was isolated from
railroads and ten days elapsed before
an answer was received. A brief note
from Miss Observation-Disclosures by the
way, to "AIisso Dorothy Weldon-ac-
quainted Fred of its arrival, and within
the snug precincts of her dwelling he
found that young lady considerably
amused. Mr.. Witham's reply was GER
tainly in keeping with the advertise.
ment by which it had been preceded.
"My Dear Miss Weldon" it began
'"Thanks for your letter. Thanks, too
for your picture. | also thank God
that l have been permitted To receive
them. Perhaps that sounds like q
stampede of fervency, but Pm more ac-
customed to stampedes than to writing
letters. Therefore when / tell you that
l like your points you can back my
Words
And thus launched upon the sea of
spOndence-involved in four pages
of very "unfashionable" paper-he
continued. He reiterated all he had
previously published, and added con-
siderable in unimportant detail, of
which reference to certain bankers in
Los Angeles comprised no small part.
Nor was Fred's allusion to cowboy
chivalry without it's effect, for in con-
clusion he went on:
Gas to your own right to your brand,
no further remarks are necessary. |
have seen your face ION paper and [
have heard you talk--I know the yelp
of a sneaking coyote, and | never vet
failed to recognize the jeweled hide of a
rattlesnake. That's all.'
With this, however, Miss Halsted
appeared less agreeably diverted.
'"There's rough, Quixotic credence
about it that approaches pathos," was
her musing comment.
Fred laughed.
'He does put it rather neatly" he
vouchsafed, ''but he's only a cowboy,
Dolly; and, besides, this is only his
| first; who knows what mine of loving
tenderness we may yet Develop"
The young girl shook her head.
turned. III shall write no more"
"But, Dolly, think of the
81 know-the fun" Miss Halsted in
terrupted. "But it's not fun to him,
and | refuse to continue"
Nevertheless another letter was writ
| ten, and in Dolly's delicate chirogra-
ply. Nor did Fred's subsequent ex-
preston of satisfaction arise wholly
from the epistle itself, rather from the
young girls subservience to his wishes.
AS before, lapse of ten days brought
the reply. So, also, did each such sue
ceeding interval for several months
thereafter. And they certainly yielded
no small fund of entertainment. The
writer, albeit he invariably answered
by return mail, was by no means of a
lovelorn disposition; he strayed into
anecdote, thence to humor, and with
results, in a crude way, infinitely anus
ing. Fred, too, it has since been assert
ed, soon viewed the correspondence
from another standpoint; and, indeed,
it did permit him to visit Dolly with a
frequency prohibited by conventional
ty.
But it must be confessed that Mr..
Witham speedily began to chafe under
the restraint of combining words to a
ll1dlIOdS. LIdCll lCOICI us dE)-
peal that he be permitted to visit the
city. Nor were his plants without a
certain element of the pathetic. His
ranch was go miles from civilization
and refinement; that 80 miles he now
traversed to receive-only letter.
"And he's scarcely to be blamed,
Dolly" Fred once observed. "Think
Of what his longing would be had he
seen your own features instead of Mile.
Clio'sw Then he contemplated the
girls fair face with a smile, and turn
ing away, hummed bar of something
about a "letter that never came"
Meantime, however, there arrived q
day whenmthe newspapers again had
occasion to publish Jake Witham' :
name. 1t was only brief notice, tele-
graphic, and recounting the destruction
by fire of Quemadura Flat, the settle
ment wherein that gentleman received
his mail. He had been present at the
time-presumably awaiting the custom
airy letter-and had generously donated
$500 to those rendered homeless.
AS the item met Fred's eye a change
came over his face, and, clipping it from
the paper, he conveyed it to Miss Hal
sted.
"I'm rather sorry, after all, Dolly
that we selected such man for fool, u
he said, with seriousness, to him, un-
usual. "He certainly appears to have
heart, and big one.o
Dolly smiled, albeit somewhat satir-
ically.
"It's the dollar, not the sentiment
with you, Fred, F." she astutely returned
Fred made no reply. Possibly his re.
spect for gold was characteristic adj
hitting no denial.
But the young girl was again perus-
ing the report, and in the last line she
encountered four words previously un.
noticed-"Mr. Witham badly injured u
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 in his expression 8
vague sense of relief.
"Well, that lets us out" he returned
"To tell you the truth, Dolly, L was be.
ginning to wonder how we could eXtri-
cate ourselves gracefully"
| Rut Fred erred and that prayely in