Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1897-01-07
MY LORENA.
By Mary Kyle Dallas.

had seen Lorena? 1t was very hard to
believe it. had but to close my eyes
and we sat together on the bench that
cncircled the old oak tree again, hc,.
head upon my shoulder, my arm about
her waist.
Up in the sky the moon shone, and
the light filtered down through the
leaves and touched her milk-white
hands, and the lace upon her muslin
sleeves, kissed her cheek or her brow
or her soft, fair hair. Lorena was so
sweet, SO lovely
blue were her eyes MS the fairy fax,
Her cheek like the dawn Of day"
Longfellow describes her better than
could, though the Shippers Little
Daughter was child, and Lorena was
seventeen. My Lorena had called her
then-mine.
And yet, on the day when news came
from Fort Crimson, telling Of ghost
dances and threatened uprising amongst
the Indians, 1 went away without a
gOOd-by from LOrena.
We had had a quarrel-the cause:
kiss I1orena had given cousin.
She declared that u cousin was like
brother, that she hi always kissed
Tom, and always would l said that
she should not Had I not seen Tom
Allison's face when he took the kiss?
But she would not promise never to
give him her lips again, and had de-
clarcd that I ought to apologize, and
thot I ,nnSf rot oomo IN 600 hnT mill
did.
When that dispatch came I scrubbed
hurried note:
May not come and make up before
go? You know the Indians may scalp
me. [ have only four hours to stay
here
And had sent it by Mrs. Fleets boy,
telling him to wait for an answer. l
saw him run away in the right direc-
ton He was a willing little fellow.
Besides, [ had paid him well to make
haste. But he brought no answer back.
And so rode out to the fort with an
aching heart. Lorena did not write to
me. She sent me no message. 1t was
months before I came to Bluff Village
again-I had been wounded and had
been very near to death. And then l
heard that Lorena was married to Tom
Allison, and away with him ''some-
where in the Eastern states, where
Toms people live" her grandmother
told me- And the old lady predicted
that they would not be happy, and
could not see why Lorena married him.
Cousin though he is, we know nothing
at all about him." she said. "And now
he has separated us, and the house is
like a desert" The poor old soul was
very unhappy, and soon died, whitening
away as the aged sometimes do when
the young desert them.
l seldom went to Bluff Village in
those days, and after a time I resigned
from the army.
Business interests took me to New
York, and l spoke Of that city as my
home-but what real home had I?
lived at q fine hotel, knew plenty of
people, I met lovely women-many far
more regularly beautiful than Lorena,
but none whose charms touched my
heart Parted as we were, her pres
rnce had not flown; she seemed always
uear me.
Nearer than ever, somehow. that
night as I sat at my hotel window,
smoking a cigar and looking down on
Broadway, busy even at this late hour
1T was past II o'clock-bright with
electric lights, echoing with the tread
OF the throng returning from the the
alters, with their voices, their light
laughter.
Up above them all I sat. as utterly
Isolated as though I had been in the
heart Of forest; never had 1 been
more completely alone.
1t was one of those moments when
we become aware that wealth and
1Hnn nnf1,i,7rr 1yith tho
sympathy of one true heart
Were there tears in my eyes? fancy
so. Men thought me lucky, envied me.
Each heart knOWeth it's own bitter
ness"
Twelve o'clock-the throng was less
-one-it had drifted away, the res
taurants We're closed, now and then g
little party sauntered by, or one man
hurried past, as lonely men always
seem to hasten at night.
A policeman appeared and vanished,
Il wagon full of empty milk cans rat
tied by, space of silence followed,
till sat beside my window, thinking OF
the past.
Some spell seemed to bind me there
thinking, thinking, thinking.
But suddenly my waking dreams
were dissipated, the past vanished. me
present became reality again, as the
cry Of Murder" reached my ear. 1t
was uttered by woman's voice.
Murder-lnurder-m - mur-der!
And with that last utterance ending
with a wall, silence fell.
Opposite the hotel was a druggists
shop, over the store were artists stu
dos.
Some of these artists I knew We're
women. Some lived as well as painted
there
At this moment all the house was
dark save where IL light shone III Il
window Of the third floor
A moment more, and the iron door
Which was let down at night, opened
A man-the janitor Of the building.
| fancied-ran out into the street, ha!t
clad, and evidently bcwildered WIN
horror
He shouted for help-no one seemed
to hear him but myself.
In a moment had seized my hat