Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-01-31
090909099 0993338990 903HD0ss35A
! THE RED GIRL. !
A Little Incident of the
Great West.
BY ELSIE WHEELER.
D. ~
BY SIZE WHEELER.

orado sun can shine, beating down
into the little town with an almost cruel
intensity. Trees are a luxury in the
west, and the few small specimens out
lining the principal thoroughfare offer
but little shade. so the street, with its
rows OF low frame buildings, is now hot,
silent and deserted.
There is just one exception TO these
buildings, and that is a pretentious stone
editice. The first floor has Banking
Co." in great gilt letters on its windows;
the second is devoted to offices. and Is
consequently deserted, for the air Is
too invigorating to be wasted. and busi-
ness in Colorado is largely transacted
on the street; the third floor is the most
important of all; II is thrown into one
great hall. and here II Is that all the
balls, fairs and meetings of the town
are held. 1t is not a particularly at
tractive hall. Bare walls, upon which
the finger OF time has gleefully traced
strange dust pictures, about so chairs
and rather iingly piano, compose the
entire furnishings.
At present some Of the windows are
open, and suddenly note floats down
into the stiffness Of the street, then an
othernnd another, until the fire music"
Of "Die Walkure" is leaping and crack
ling from the piano under the touch OF
an almost superhuman master hand.
The fire seems to be dying. now the
"slumber song" sobs and sings. and
then once more the cracking comes,
until "fire" and "slumber" motive are
blended together in one glorious har-
mony Of sound.
In the street below. door after door
has softly opened and dark forms have
stolen across the street. until the un-
conscious player above has collected
breathless, admiring audience beneath
her windows.
The music comes to sudden stop,
there is few minutes pause. and then
q figure appears in the doorway below.
Such a strange little figure it is-a girl
of about 20, with thin pale face. great
blue eyes, and a slight, trail body,
clothed in a red Mother Hubbard gown
What homely little thingl" Is the
first thought, but one has only to look
into those eyes to change the opinion;
there is such q sweet sereneness and
peace in their depths, and the girl is 80
strongly magnetic, one is forced to re-
call the familiar lines, "And those who
came to scoff. remained to pray" She
is a well-known and beloved person in
the small western town; when she first
came, two years ago, her strange red
dress and still stranger music, had
caused some talk. But after all, she
was only poor, little consumptive, and
so the mothers took her and her er-
ratio ways to their hearts and wor-
SHIPPED her.
She was a sincere Christian, and the
fact that she claimed to be in intimate
communication with the angels, threw
an air of mysticism about her and
caused the timid to speak in whispers
when her name was mentioned. She
said It was they that had ordered her to
wear loose red gown, SO she unques-
tionably obeyed. Scoffers had re-
marked thatred suggested that she was
dominated by the wrong class of spirits,
but her devoted friends Indignantly
hushed such fiippant suggestions; they
did not question, they only knew that
she had sunny smile and sweet man
ner impossible to resist, and that when
she played some great mysterious pow
er seemed to guide her hands.
AS she stands In the doorway a mo-
ment she looks almost spirit herself,
her hands ore nervously clasped near
her throat, and her eyes gaze unseeing
upon the familiar faces, then aismilelof
recognition comes and her friends
eagerly crowd about her.
While she talks, her eyes have wan
dered to II great red peak that stands
alone among the surrounding noun
tains. Was ii coincidence or fate, that
out OF all the pine-covered hills there
should be but one with bleak, bare
crest Of red sand and stone.
THAT is my mountain" the girl had
said when she first arrived, and she had
grown to look upon il us something al
most alive. Now as her eyes rest on 1t
she smiles as she says, playfully: "1Iow
dreary Red Chief looks to-day! ! be-
lleye he wants me up there no keep him
company. Cheer up. old fellow" and
she merrtly blows kiss TO the unre-
sponsive hill; then. growing suddenly
serious, she turns to the people around
her. when | die, you must carry me
up there. I almost think the noun
tain was made for me-to be my tomb"
"You are getting gloomy, little girl.
The sun is nearly down, let's take a
walk before it grows too cold for you."
and the speaker, n well-knit, handsome
man Of about 40. forcibly takes posses
sion of the girl and hurries her awuy.
"How he loves her!" say the women.
tenderly looking after the pair.
81 fear he'll lose her" one remarks.
Poor thing. how white she looked to-
day!"
Meanwhile the two are walking slow
ly toward the hills; the man is talking
earnestly and the girl tries to listen,
but her eyes and thoughts will wander