Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-12-24

AOohh1A
marry you'll .... Oh, the artfM viii
lainv'
Zana spra4lg to her feet, her dark
eyes literally blazing with wrath "He
is not" she cried p~assionately. Good
as you have been to me, l could kill
You for saying so!'
"Oh. you foolish, misguided childi"
walled the warin-hcarted hostess, en-
tirely ~disregurding this outburst. "My
heart bieeds for you, poor lamb! To
abandon your home, your father, your
country in order to follow q heartless
fellow, who has now deserted you a
second time"
Zana stared at her with burning
eyes, but she said nothing.
Cant you see that this pretence of
getting a special license was merely
Il trick to enable him to get away
from you and secure at least two
days start, should you be mad enough
to follow him again? Why, bless your
poor little heart, the thing is that
clear u policeman could see through
it,"
Zana's breath came and went in
short, quick gasps. The fierce, set
preston on her face gradually died
away, the fire in the dark eyes was
replaced by their normal soft lustre,
and she stood, with lowered, clasped
hands, like some prisoner listening to
the sentence Of a judge. When the
sounds ceased, she ~snuddered, anu
turned upon the landlady a look of
such agonized despair that the good
woman fairly recoiled.
For heavens sake, don't look like
that, my DEAR" she cried. 81 can't
stand it,"
Then the wells OF the big, womanly
heart Overfiowed; she caught the
stricken girl in her arms and wept
over her. But Zana did not weep;
perhaps her grief lay too deep, per-
haps the fire of her late ouSburst had
dried up her tears.
Listen" she said gently, olsen
gaging herself. 81 have heard you,
and every word has been like a dag
ger in my heart. Now hear me. 1
believe Ernest Norton to be entirely
innocent of the deceit you seek to lay
at his door. 1 cannot tell you why. 1
cannot argue the point, and I admit
that appearances, so far, are against
him. But | would rather doubt the
existence of my own soul, nay. of the
Almighty Himself, than doubt his
honor and truth"
That's all very well and, I daresay,
does credit to your heart, il not to
your head, my DEAR" rejoined Mrs.
Baxter, recovering her composure in
the face of the young girls forced
calmness; "but facts are facts, and
not to be got over. Goodness knows, /
encouraged you to hope as long as l
could, and If you had not told me
yo1r story I might perhaps do so still;
but after what I've heard from you
l feel it would be cruel to argue
against my own convictions. As sure
as I am a living woman, Ernest Nor
tor has deliberately deserted you,
despite his mock promises to make
you his wife,"
"And so sure as there Is a God
above retorted Zana with something
OF her former fire, Ernest Norton has
been debarred from keeping his prom
Use by some cause beyond his own
control. He may have met with an
accident which has temporarily de-
prived him Of consciousness. He may
be . . dead! But l would stake
twenty lives, If I had them. that, at
the present moment he is not alive.
well, and she master OF his own
actions"
There was more of the practical than
of the pOctical in Mrs. Bakers cpmpo-
| s.tion, and these concluding words sig-
gested an idea which had not previ-
0usly ACQUIRED to her. In her profess
SIGNAL experience she had known many
eases Of gentlemen temporarily incl
pacitated from attending to business.
Does he drink she asked. giving
emphasis to the query by q suggestive
uprising of her little finger. II mean.
does he ever drink to ~excess?" she
added, seeing that Znna had mot
grasped her meaning. "Recause, you
know. gentlemen will sometimes go
upon a BIT VI a spree. especially after
q long voyage"
NO. was the prompt reply. II have
seon some az The officers of the g:irri-