The Forrest City times., 1897-12-17
D49.393 33933ss3 THE RED GIRL. A Little Incident of the
 Great West.
 BY Fl STE WHFFT FP
"oeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesSeee
BY ELSIE WHEELER.

| intensity. Trees are a luxury in the west, and the few small specimens out
 lining the principal thoroughfare offer
 but little shade, so the street, with its
 rows of low frame buildings, is now hot, silent and deserted.
 There is just one exception to these buildings. and that a pretentious stone edifice. The first floor has Banking | Co.," in great gilt letters on its windows; | the second is devoted to offices, and is consequently deserted, for the air is
 too invigorating to be wasted, and busi-
 ness in Colorado is largely transacted
 on the street; the third floor is the most | important of all; it is thrown into one ! great hall. and here it is that all the balls, fairs and meetings of the town
 are held. It is not a particularly at-
 tractive hall. Bare walls, upon which the finger of time has gleefully traced strange dust pictures, about 50 chairs
 and a rather jingly piano, compose the
 entire furnishings.
 At present some of the windows are
 open, and suddenly a note floats down | into the stiffness of the street, then an other and another, until the fire music"
 of Die Walkure" is leaping and crack | ling from the piano under the touch of
 an almost superhuman master hand. | The fire seems to be dying. now the | "slumber song" sobs and sings, and | then once more the cracking comes,
 until fire" and "slumber" motive are
 blended together in one glorious har-
 mony of sound.
 In the street below, door after door
 has softly opened and dark forms have
 stolen across the street, until the un-
 conscious player above has collected a breathless, admiring audience beneath | Ter windows.
 | The music comes to a sudden stop. | there is few minutes pause, and then
 a figure appears in the doorway below. Such a strange little figure it is-a girl | of about 20, with thin pale face, great blue eyes, and slight. frail body,
 clothed in red Mother Hubbard gown. | What a homely little thing." is the | first thought, but one has only to look | into those eyes to change the opinion; | there is such a sweet sereneness and | peace in their depths, and the girl is so | strongly magnetic, one is forced to re- | call the familiar lines, And those who | came to scoff, remained to pray" She
 is a well-known and beloved person in | the small western town; when she first
 came, two years ago, her strange red dress and still stranger music, had
 caused some talk. But, after all, she
 was only poor, little consumptiye, and
 so the mothers took her and her er-
 ratic ways to their hearts and wor- | shiped her
 She was a sincere Christian, and the l fact that she claimed to be in intimate communication with the angels, threw an air of mysticism about her and
 caused the timid to speak in whispers
 when her name was mentioned. She said it was they that had ordered her to
 wear loose red gown, so she uuques- tionably obeyed. Scoffers had re- | marked that red suggested that she was dominated by the wrong class of spirits, but her devoted friends indignantly hushed such flippant suggestions; they did not question, they only knew that she had a sunny smile and sweet man.
 ner impossible to resist, and that when she played some great mysterious DOW
 CT seemed to guide her hands.
 As she stands in the doorway a mo- ment she looks almost a spirit herself. her hands are nervously clasped near her throat, and her eyes gaze unseeipg upon the familiar faces. then a. smile of recognition comes. and her friends eagerly crowd about her.
 While she talks, her eyes have wan
 dered to a great red peak that stands alone among the surrounding noun tains. Was it coincidence or fate. that
 out of all the pine-covered hills there should be but one with a bleak bare
 crest of red sand and stone.
 That is my mountain" the girl had said when she first arrived, and she had grown to look upon it as something al-
 most alive. Now as her eyes rest on it
 she smiles, as she says, playfully: How dreary Red Chief looks to-day! I be-
 lieve he wants me up there to keep him company. Cheer up, old fellow" and she merrily blows a kiss to the unre-
 sponsive hill; then, growing suddenly serious, she turns to the people around
 her. When I die, you must carry me up there. I almost think the noun
 tain was made for me-to be my tomb"
 You are getting gloomy, little girl. The sun is nearly down, let's take
 walk before it grows too cold for you," and the speaker, well-knit, handsome man of about 40, forcibly takes posses sion of the girl and hurries her away.
 How he loves her!" say the women,
 tenderly looking after the pair.
 'I fear he'll lose her." one remarks. "Foor thing, how white she looked to- day!"
 Meanwhile the two are walking slow ly toward the hills; the man is talking earnestly and the girl tries to listen. but her eyes and thoughts will wander to old Red Ckief, his head bathed in glory from the last rays of the sun. What is it the man is saying?
 q wasn't listening to you, dear" she said, turning to him apologetically,