Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-12-23


as that McCready had unfolded that
afternoon; he must have felt the shame
of it. Thank Heaven, she had not IN
herited his temperament! It was to be
a moral monstrosity. one OF natures
most pitiable freaks.
She had worked herself into such a
passion that she seemed hardly capable
of coherent thought. Suddenly realiz-
ing that this would not do. she seated
herself by the window, steadily gaz-
ing out at the flame fringed clouds rim
ming the western hills. She must be
calm to think what was to be done, for
action of some sort appeared to her in
evitable. The idea of appealing to her
father she impatiently abandoned as
useless. Far rather would she get
warning to Neil himself; but where was
the messenger who would serve her
purpose without danger of betrayal?
Could she wait until her father had re-
tired for the night and go herself? Two
miles of lonely mountain climbing
might have seemed a startling PROPOSE
ton at another time; but now. in her
intense preoccupation, she had not :,
thought for her own safety, scarcely
even for the conventionalities to be vi
L,
though, it seemed the simplest, surest
way; and she only faltered, thinking
what she might say if brought face to
] face with Harvey Neil, how to express
her warning without too darkly reflect
| ing upon her fathers connection with
| the matter, while there was the more
| troublous doubt as to what might be
| Neil's thought of her coming. 1t might
| imply-too much! And then, worse
| than all else, she might. after all, be too
! late. The night shift went on at IL
o'clock. Some other plan must be de-
vised; but what could she do? Despair
| ingly she wrung her hands as she
looked up at the hills now growing
| dark in the shadow-''the hills whence
| cometh my help" The words came to
her mind, as vagrant thoughts slip in.
but half recognized, in moments of
keen excitement; and she repeated
them over with a vague sense of COM
fort, until gradually their meaning
seemed luminous. All, there must be
help! God could not mean that she was
to sit helpless while that great wrong
was being perpetrated. He would show
her the way!
And a moment later her faith seemed
of the servant who brought her supper.
| THAT Chinaman was up for your pas
wash this afternoon" the girl observed,
pausing for brief enjoyment of the quid
of chewing-gum in her mouth, as she
| leisurely disposed the tray upon a table.
| "But you was out, n so I told him he
must come again.
"Oh, yes; the Chinaman. Tell him TO
come right up, please" Dorothy ex-
| claimed, ready to clap her hands for joy
! at this solution Of the dilemma. Hop
Sing might be trusted with a note; 2
| carrier pigeon could not be more IN
swervingly direct in executing the
| trust, nor more silent about it after
ward. She knew Hop Sing only by
| sight, but this was enough to assure her
| that he was the one for the mission.
In a moment a few words had been
written, conveying the warning in SIM
| plest phrase, the note unsigned, but so
| expressed that she felt its sincerity
could not be questioned; and then, hur-
| riedly pinning on her hat and Selling
| her purse, she flew down the stairs.
She could not wait for the girls mes
sage to bring the man to her; she would
go to the laundry herself.
Hop Sing. squirting water through
his teeth upon pile of rough-dried
clothes heaped up on a table before
him, looked up with the mechanical
smile Of his kind as the young lady ap-
peared in the doorway. You wan
washee? Fifty cent Dozen" he beam
ingly exclaimed, as she hesitated to eX-
plain her errand.
81 want to send a note-thiS note
to Mr.. Neil at the Mascot mine," she
breathlessly returned, showing the en-
velope. You know Mr.. Neil?''
Hop Sing looked family puzzled, but
his smile was unchanging. you wan
Misser Neil washee?'' he jerkily ejacu-
lated, mechanically going on with his
work upon the clothes before him.
where you tickey, eh?''
mo; oh no. she despairingly muir
INJURED, glancing back at the door.
Somebody might be coming in at any
moment. ut is this note for Mr.. Neil.
1 want you to take it to him.
Hop Sing smiled rather more broadly,
looking somewhat less like a craven i'm
age. ''Misser Neil wan washee
Where tickey, Ell? Loss tickey, eh?''
he chirped, with an air of having solved
the problem, adding with series of
little mods, while his beady eyes
frightened, heap mans lose dam tick
ey. Too thin. No go. No have tickey.
no get washee.'
"O-h!" poor Dorothy walled in ut
ter hopelessness, turning to the door.
But she would not give up; this was her
only chance. She must make him I'M
derstand. She turned with an inspira
ton drawing a silver dollar from her
purse. Hop Sing looked interested. cit
is for you-you shall have tiff you
Will carry this note to Mr.. Neil at the
Mascot NINE" she said, speaking very
slowly and impressively