The age-herald., 1898-09-25
By FRANK PRATT
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which looked to me very much like that of
 a dear''
 "A whatv' exclaimed the boys in chorus | bounding out of their chairs in excitement.
 "A dear" I repeated. Down by the 1 river, north of the old dam, saw the track l of dear as plain as anything I ever saw l in my life"
 | "Deer!" said Fred, scornfully, "I'll bet it l was a calf"
 | Now look here,' I commenced with show l of indignation; but there was no time for 1 altercaton Each fellow grabbed a gun. I Frank whistled to the dog and away we l rushed up the river to the spot indca ted. I enjoyed the race hugely, but was far be- l hind when we reached the little clearing. Now, show us your deer track" said they with increasing skepticism, for they
 had serutinized the ground and seen noth- ing but the imprint of my own number sevens.
 In silence and with becoming gravity I pointed to the woman's foot print sur rounded by the barrier of twigs.
 Fred was the first to break the silence. "Well I'll be jiggered" he said. Fred had a strange habit of being jggered whenever he was surprised. Your dear seems to have but one foot,' he added. '"That is what bothers me- I replied "Of
 course the presence of girl in this vicinity is surprising. We have been here a week anu nave seen HO SlB1 Ol one Dt1OTe buI l what did she do with her other foot? | Where did she come from and whither did | she go?'
 | The possibility of her having but one foot l suggested itself and was rejected with | scorn. Finally Will rose from his knees l where he had spent several moments exam | ming the print at close range. and was l evidently preparing for a speech
 @6tand back" said George, "give the pro- l lessor a chance. He knows more about la dies shoes than we do." Will had once clerked six months in a shoe store and we all felt him to be author | ity on such subjects. He needed no urging 'Our brother was right" he said loftily, waving one hand toward me, ''it certainly | is the track of a dear. The question has | been raised where she came from It Is 1 easily answered. She must have come out | of the river. There is absolutely no other | explanation possible unless she material | ized on the spot. But whither did she van | ish? That is more difficult, yet think not l insurmountable. The step points toward .io i -HLuf-s she went in that direction, sne was a tall young woman wItrI light hair, blue eyes and rosy cheeks, full of health and vigor, and she wore brown skirt with shirt waist"
 We looked at the speaker In mingled as- tonishment and admiration.
 How in the world do you know?" ask ed, "did you see herr"
 otc HeI! NO, ne Sd1u. On a DuSn, about ten rods this side of the house is a brown raveling. It was evidently torn from a piece of cloth"
 q didn't see it, said Fred.
 "No, do not suppose you did," rejoined Will, "but I did"
 "That raveling was torn from my trous- CTS last night" explained George. Did you notice any cuticle?"
 A trife like that did not upset the speak CT, he was made of sterner stuff.
 "You observe,' he continued, that our theory fails for want of confirmation If the raveling belongs to Georges trousers it could not have come frsm the young lady's dress. Let us analyze the situation. It stands to reason that if she was still there on one foot we would see her..
 There was no disputing that point.
 What follows? If she had stepped in any direction, except one, there would be an- other track. Where, then, must she have stepped?"
 Back into the water" I ventured.
 Exactly. It is not reasonable to suppose that she came in balloon. As young wo- men do not go wading in the water with shoes on, we may safely Say that she was in a boat.
 'Now, we will state the case briefly as far as we have gone. Some young woman, between sundown last night and sunrise this morning, had the audacity to set foot on our domain. She came in a boat and having stood on one foot, how long we do not know, went away in boat She wore number three shoe, was rather tall, quite heavy, weighing in the neighborhood of one
 hundred and forty pounds-fairly good weight for girl of eighteen. She is a
 healthy, vigorous sort of person, dresses well and is rather proud of her feet, in fact Is inclined to pinch them." 'Is she beautiful?' earnestly interposed George. "Tell us that she Is beautiful "A woman is always beautiful until prov ed otherwise. Moreover, a healthy girl of eighteen must be beautiful. It is so written in the book of nature. I tell you, boys," he continued tragically, "the girl who stood with one foot on that spot left it's print on my heart"
 "He says his name Is mud" explained George if addressing an audience. "You astonish us, old man." said l. "Tell us how you develop your theory
 "It is easy enough" he replied carelessly as if unraveling mysteries was his chief business in life. gro get started right. is very essential; the rest follows naturally Now, if that had been her raveling we would be able to paint her portrait almost, but George is ungallant enough to claim it and therefore we must draw on our imagin- ation for her complexion and the texture of her dress. Observe the foot print closely. It is made, would judge, within the hour. It must have been done by a narrow width three shoe, or four at the outside-a new shoe with long pointed toe. You will mo- tice that the toe did not leave mark. Note also that there is space between the ball of the foot and the heel, showing that she had high inStep. It is almost universally true that tall people have high insteps, while short people are inclined to be fiat footed. l judge. therefore, that she was tall. The clearness of the print shows that she must have been rather heavy. If fur 
 been pressed down to the ground on each side of the inster, She must weigh al least one hundred and forty pounds and Is, there fore, plump well as tall. The fact that she was out here in boat before sunrise
 shows that she is young and fuil of vigor. I If fhar thai cha