Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-01-04
DARK DAYS
BY HUGH CONWAY.
CHAPTER NIII.-(Continucd.)
EyTIC,IUN

party together. and before it was llghr
led them to the train. | believe that
by now my mother looked upon me as
rather out of my senses. She frankly
owned she could not see the necessity for
making such toll out of what might be
Il pleasure. She little knew that moth
ing could have made that journey
pleasure to me; that even finding Philip
pa,S-eyes now and again fixed on my face
with what | almost dared to think was
tcnd6i~ interest-that even the blush
which crossed her cheek when | caught
those glances-Was not sufficient 10 re-
ward her for my anxiety.
A slow. Il painfully slow train. In
Vulnerable stoppagcs. y country winch
under the circumstances would have
given me no interest even if we had been
in summer instead of winter; and then.
after nearly five hours slow travelling.
Bayonne at last Bayonne, with its
strong Notifications. BayOnne. with the
welcome Pyrenecs towering above IT. In
less than two hours we should be III
Spain.
a curious dread seized me-a PRESENT.
ment so strong that ever since then |
have lost faith in presentiments. some
thing seemed to tell me that ali my ef-
forts had been in vain; that at the from
tier there would be certain intelligence
received which would lead to our ar
rest; that Philippa, with one foot, as 1t
were in the land of refuge, would be
seized and carried back to face the hor-
rOrs and the shame of Il trial for muir
der. 1t was. as events showed, III abb
surd fancy, and only the increased ten
sion of my nerves can account for the
hold it had gained upon me.
| grew so pale, trembled SO III every
limb, that my companions were thor
oughly alarmed. We had brandy with
us. which was duly administered TO me.
After a while | recovered, and, although
the fear was still with me, sat with the
Stoicism of an Indian at the stake. await
ing what might happen at the frontier
l had done all | could. If, at the last
moment, disaster overlook us, had az
least striven by every means within my
power to avert 1t.
We have passed BiarritZ, the merry
bright watering-place. We have passed
Hendaye, the French frontier station.
We leave the towering Pyrenees on our
left. We are az Irun, where all bag
gage must be jealousy scrutinized. We
are in Spain. Nobody has troubled us
No notwithstanding stranger mas
watched us. The stoppage has been
long. for the custom house officers are
annoyingly particular in the discharge
of their duty; but our noble-looklng
courier has saved us all personal tr0u-
bile. He has done us yeoman's service
At last we are in another train, tram
which runs on a line OF another
gauge. The very time OF day has
changed. We have lost or galned W. |
forget Wholesome twenty minutes. w e
now count by Madrid time. We are
faiFlv on Spanish ground and have
saved my love. Saved her from others
now to save her from herself Never,
never shall she know the secret OF that
dark night. We will speed away to the
south-tO the sun; the color; the bright
ress; the flowers. All shall be forgotten
The dark remembrance shall be swept
from my mind | will call it a dream
[ will win Piilippa's love-the love that
| dare to believe is already almost mine.
We will live forever in bright, sunny
glowing lands. Who cares for dull, dark,
dismal England? Have we not youth,
wealth. and oh, blessed word. love?
Before my love and me lie years and
years of sweetness and joy. Shake OF
black gloom and be merry, Basil North.
You have conquered fate.
We; have passed st. Sebastian. Inc
sluggish train is YEARLY winding up the
valley of the Urumea. We are Ill wild
and glorious scenery. The railway is at
a great elevation, from which we get
now and again peeps of far-away val
legs. Yes, | could now find time to ad-
mire The wonderful scenery. which lasted
until we passed Miranda.
My mood changed with the country. L
laughed: I tested. Each of the many
stations at which we stopped furnished
materials for my newborn merrlment.
| laughed at the solmen-loOking Spanish
railway officials and drew pictures of the
dolefui fate of imaginary nobly born hi
daigOS whom poverty forced to descend
TO such employment. | grumbled not at
the sloWness of the train, although an or
binary traveller might well, when on a
Spanish line. sigh for the comparatively
lightning speed Of the much-maligned
French trains. Time was nothing to
me now. Was there not lifetime
stretching before me--and Philippa
My gayety was contagious. My mother
laughed until the tears came, and Philip
pa smiled as | had not seen her smile
since we picked ND under such sad cir
cumstances that long-dropped thread of
friendship.
Those who have travelled in Spain will
scarcely credit me when | say we had
the compartment to ourselves. We were
troubled by no cloaked Spaniard, who,
as is the wont of his kind insisted upon
smoking like a furnace and keeping
both windows shut. Our noble courier
had been given his instructions. His
arguments were yenal, and had
[ troubled about money L should
have found them costly. But they
carried the point, and no one intruded on
our privacy.
The hours went by. My mother slept,
or pretended to sleep. / seated myself
near Philippa and whispered words of
thinly-veiled love. She answered them
mott expected no answer-but her eyes
were downcast and her cheek was blush
ing. She sighed. A sad smile played
around her sweet mouth; smile that
spoke of world of regret. That sigh,
that smile. told me that she understood
me, but told me also that, ahl it could
never be. The past never forgives! But
all the same she let her hand rest in
mine: and although, considering what
had happened, ] scarcely dare to say so,
for once, for many, many months, | was
an but happy
For me that journey ended only too
soon. AT night we reached Burgos, the
capital of the old Castilian kingdom. and
I laid my head on my pillow and enjoyed
sleep such as | had not known since the
night before that one when Philippa,
with the snow-fakes falling around Ler,
St0Od OutSi1p the window of nv COTS 90