Sistersville oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1896-1901, 1898-03-09

at his best speed. Miss Stella Kept ner
eyes on him as he dropped lower and
lower, till ne disappeared entirely.
XXI.
MISS STELLA ACCOMPLISHES HER
JOURNEY.
Once more Miss Stella leaned back
and enjoyed the serenity of the morn
ing with it's soft sunshine, its gentle
breezes, it's caressing zephyrs, and the
ehirrup and twitter of happy birds.
Now she wondered why she had neg
ected to learn from Tom Coyne just
how long she had been away and what
had transpired among her friends in
the interim. Tom had spoken of her
disappearance as thing of long ago.
She grew anxious to get home. She
was overweight with anxiety to re-
turn. She looked forward to the two
Dr. three hours that must elapse before
her rescue with depression; it would
be so long; so long! 1t was horrible
% be there alone! The birds made her
more lonesome; SO did the breeze by
the way in which it set the bushes to
trembling! Everything made her lone
y. How dreadful it was to lie there
with rot living fellow creature with
n call.
Then she thought of the dead with.
m Now she could recall as one re-
calls a dream, how he had taken care
IF her. She remembered how she had
depended upon him; how faithful he
was She recalled his. constancy, his
care, his kindness of heart, his gentle
less, the sweetness of disposition that
made the uncouth old man tender,
ireless and watchfuJ nurse. She
hought of him with affection and Wept
again.
There was no violence to her grief;
she was too weak for violent emotion
She was only lonely and worn out;
worn out physically and mentally. Yet
his calm morning administered a
palm, the balm of nature, which
brought quiet and rest strangely con-
radicting her sorrows; and in some
nccmprehensible way it sent thrill
If peace and content and gladness
through her soul.
She was annoyed by her inability to
make a satisfactory guess at the time
If day. She was unable to measure
The growth of time; she could not tally
he treading minutes as they passed.
Sometimes she imagined that Tom
Coyne had been gone long enough tC
have made the round trip many times;
hen she would invent causes Of de-
.ay and grow fearful that they woUlc
postpone her rescue until the nett
lay. Again she would convince her
self that Tom had not yet had time
% reach Minersvale.
Confidently, hopefully, doubtfully,
lespairingly by turns, she watched foy
he coming of her friends. She always
ooked in the direction taken by Tom
Coyne who had gone as the bee flies
regardless of roads with their wind
ngs and turnings and deviations.
While Miss Stella kept watch down
he hill toward her right, the party she
watched for approached from the road
which lay quite in the other direction.
She did not think Of their coming
rom thence until Bell Morton rushed
lpon her like whirlwind of affec-
ion.
ooh, Stella, Stella, Stella! Dear"
Bell"
That was all that was said. They
,lung to each other and wept in their
badness, Miss Morton lowering and
iuttering over her friend like mother
bird over her endangered birding;
while Miss Stella chung to her in salts
led silence, supremacy content in her
presence.
Miss Morton and the astonished
lriver-who had not been informed Of
he object of their drive-assisted Miss
Stella to the carriage, which could not
De brought quite up to the hut, and
hey Immediately started for home.
On the way they met the dead wa
gon" and the coroner and his jury go
.ng after the body of the Prophet, for
Tom had thoughtfully told the official
hat he had found the dead Prophet
while hunting rabbits, not limiting at
his more startling discovery. The
coroner took his jury out to view the
scene, intending to hear Toms testi-
nony on their return to town.
During the ride homeward Miss Stel-
a related her strange story as far as
she knew the details. From Miss Nor
:on she learned Of the long search by
he people and the longer search by
The adjhtant; OF the despair OF he
friends of their vain surmises; of the
rumors of her discovery all over thu
country; of Captain Zen:th's trio t:
New York; of the coG:eSS'cG7 q = II.
md Miss Letson; finally Of the O. 81 9
nope and of the reluctant aJa&10i
,,an4 of tba caarch