The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-06-18

Ter, MS patience gave way. They were
partially screened by a big lilac bush.
Dolly" he said, slowly, straighten-
ing up with a jerk, 81 can't stand this
L won't stand it. You've known for
months l couldn't live without you,
and for weeks you've succeeded with
all sorts of fendish devices in shut
ting me up when l tried to tell you.
You have to listen now-if you won't
I'll shout it out before all Of London
at present bounded by your lawn. /
can't believe you'd waste so much time
%torturing me If you didn't care-a lit
tie bit-about me! Tell me, dear"
His voice died away q~uestioningly
and his face vas pale with intensity.
The girl caught her breath and her
color fled as she looked up. This was
the moment, the fatal moment she had
been putting off as long as possible.
when the decision was forced upon
her! She knew what that decision was,
but the imp Of perversity ruled in her
heart that day; she saw the captains
eyes struck with helplessness as she
hesitated and at the sight was on the
verge of giving up, but emotion sud-
denly deluging her, made her hysteri-
cal-and she laughed. Then she was
filled with rage because he did not
comprehend, instead of standing there
as though smitten into stone. She
dropped her parasol and fed, actually
ran down the sloping bank to the riv-
er's edge, behind the shelter Of the
willows. There she flung herself down,
held her miserable little face in her
hands and cried hard. Her heart was
b~roken-but 90 was his, which was
worse. She cried the harder. This
was the punishment for coquetting and
refusing to know ones own mind.
She never heard anyone approach,
and gave a little Shrek when she felt
a hand on her shoulder.
"You are not glad to see me?" asked
her was Kretzsky, the Hungarian. He
carried his violin under his arm.
Dolly sprang to her feet. How dare
you?" she struggled between sobs.
What do you mean by talking to me?"
The Hungarian's eyer were fastened
on her face. With one quick step he
was at her side and caught her to him.
"Mademoiselle weeps?" he murmured
in her ear. "Ah, why? l love you
since 1 saw you in London! Come
away from this land-come with me,
and l will make my violin tell you what
I feel. We will be happy-and there
are no tears in my country to sparkle
in your eyes. 1 love you!"
Breathless, half-faint from terror,
Dolly barton beat with her small fists
against the gold-embroidered coat of
the Hungarian. His eyes blazed with
insanity and the Wilderness of his face
was terrifying. Suddenly he laughed
fiercely. "They see us!" he cried, but
what care we, my beauty? What is
the world to us? We will escape them,
say?"
Dolly's eyes were closed and she was
fast drifting owe the border of con-
seriousness, but she heard, as in a
dream, the fierce voice in her ear. we
will go across the deep river" he said,
"away from them, and l, your husband,
will sing to you all the hours on my
violin. Hurry, hurryi"
Half-carrying. half-dragging Dolly
barton, whose white face rested help
lessly on the gold ornaments of his
shoulder, Kretzsky, the mad Hungari-
an leader, dashed down the bank into
the water. 1.-THE other shore!" he
shouted, 1.-The other shore!' There was
a splash and a ripple among the lilies;
the water touched Dolly's little feet
and crept to her knees, but her captor
hurried on, knowing that a hundred
spectators were tearing down the bank
after him.
Capt. Lytton once broke the sprint
ing record of his regiment, and that.
aided by another fact, was the reason
he was able to spring like a tiger on
Kretzsky's back and choke him into
submission. He seized Dolly and
knocked the Hungarian into the water
all in an instant, and was back on
shore before the dowagers on the bank
could do more than scream once. The
unfortunate Hungarian would have
finished his career by drowning had
not Samuel Darton, Jr., in his wrath,
close on the trail of the captain, de-
Clueu LH6 ldle was lOO BOOu lOT HlIu
and dragged him out for future consid-
Grafton.
And on the bank, Dolly, wet, scared,
speechless, came back to consciousness,
found Capt. Lytton bending vel her,
and, totally unmindful of the forbid
ding dowagers and some twenty-five
excited men also about her, held out
her hands %piteously and was promptly
gathered to his heart.
But while the interested crowd saw
this, 1t did not hear the captains
tremulous jest some hours afterward
when the tragic side Of the affair was
beginning to wear off-"Your-almost
first was doomed, wasn't he?"
And a pale, meek but happy Dolly
barton, with no wickedness in her
eyes, acquiesced thankfully.
u-l nT-atl--