The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1896-04-09
NO fear of that, Miss Nancy" l said,

GU are Nlllt SHOW = llpSt lltlliii <
FRIEND, l thinki' inquired She. looking
me straight in the face. Did il ever
strike you that he had-a liking for me-
Ever strike me- cried /. Il know
all about it,
He never told me-" %rejoined Nancy.
Il guessed it. though" And she hung
her head Il little lower, and blushed
quietly our If sight.
Miss Nancy" cried /, this: world
would 60 on better than it does II women
would only speak their minds, and not
say no when they mean yes. \ girl ought
to be proud at winning such a young
mans heart"
u have not won it." she said. shaking
her head. He has fallen in love with a
young woman who lives in that hocrii old
farm UP the hill"
Has he indeed:" said I. feeling in
honor bound to know nothing.
YES size proceeded deliberately land
he is going to marry her"
"Whew..' | exclaimed. raising my eye
brows. How do you know that"
Il guess it." she replied, land l am in
a most difficult position. I have found
out something about Miss HARDWARE
j tIdt II llt o'i4'NN Ia - AthAN
which Willie ought to know. And yet. if
l tell him. he will think me jealous. Per
haps | am Jealous" she whimpered; and
when | encouraged her to speak on. she
told me the whole story about Gracious
Me. Then we talked things over for an
hour or more, and | resolved 10 lay the
discovery before Will in a complete and
convincing form.
Il doubt if Hardware is her rea, name
she remarked. Il forgot to mention that
the wound on Clocks head was bound up
with Il lady's pocket handkerchief with
a name in the corners. Barnitt."
"Barnitt"' | cried, recollecting all of a
sudden that this name had occurred in
the conversation which / had overheard
between Vanity and her father. Her
handkerchief-with the name Barnitt
upon ito. there is som deep, deep vii
lainy here
! wrote a line TO Will. asking him to
come over and see me in the evening. and
| also made another ARRANGEMENT. which
will discover itself as | proceed. Then |
carefully thought the whole NATTER OYER,
and felt myself ready. When VIII au-
peared we stepped into my little parlor,
where I asked him to sit down.
For, mark what | say. Wil." cried /.
Before you rise from that chair you will
hear something to make Your ears Jingle:
something to surprise you. Will-to alarm
you; something to make You thankful that
other people are wide awake. while You
are dreaming in Delilah's lap-Delilah's
lap. VIII. What DO you say 10 that
He showed less astonishment than
expected, but he read my meaning.
Hereupon | related the whole story Of
Gracious Mes adventures. Withholding
the facts which connected Nancy with
the affair. He listened attentivel:, his
c~ountenance fell visibly: and when ! de-
scribed Vanity perched on the strangers
knee, singing the French song. and kiss
ing him. VIII WINGED like a man cut with
a knife.
where is this man-this Clock: a
drunken scoundrel. | dareSay.." he cried.
Can ! speak to him myself"
THAT you can" | replied: here and
now"
Gracious Ne was sitting in my kitchen
at this time by arrangement. and when /
called at the top of the stairs he came
shutting up. | must say. when he entered
III pdIIoi' l. l'4l dsui4lltI u I4!lI, IIt tOoh-
ed the very image of low %villainy.
And then Gracious Me told the whole
story, as only such a human toad as he
could tell it; and poor Willie. his face
was painful to me.
We dismissed Gracious Me-. 1t was
wonderful what a change this short in
teryiew had worked in Willie. He looked
SO downcast that l heartily wished we
could both part without another word.
Doctor" he said. rising from his seat.
'doctor-I-I loved her. Oh. how ! loved
her.
Not her, LEAF boy" cried I, Some
thing you thought she was: her you could
not love. Willie. this girl is either mar
rieH or not married. In either case she is
wicked
you annot be sure of that burst
out Willie. she told me there was a
dark mystery in her life. This man may
be Il brother, or Il relative"
He is her husband. VIII: she is going
to run away from him with you. Let Us
see.' said l. crossing over to a little
chest of drawers. "One link in the chain
is missing. What is this young woman's
real Christian name: Not Vanity, | sup
pose
NO; Susan"
"Then." said I. opening the drawer.
''the link we wanted is found. Here is
the pocket handkerchief with which she
bound up Clocks head. and her name is in
the corner"
Holding the handkerchief in his trem.
bling fingers, Willie searched out the par.
ticular corner and read her name.
WILL | said. when l overheard that
long talk between her and her father she
spoke of two persolS-Charles Hardware
and Joseph Barnitt. OF both these men,
l continued, she spoke in almost equal
terms Of intimacy. Both We're said tc
watch her. She feared both"