Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-07-06
HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

That Miss Foster was different from
and more charming than all the rest of
her sex might have been proved from
any of the fifteen men to whom she
had been engaged in the last two years
since she had come back from school
beginning with Cadet Ferris and end
ing with Cady.
That Capt. Foster was exactly like
all the rest of mankind, and little de
served the blessing he had in his
daughter, was manifested by his
drawing from his pocket Il letter, and
saying rs lie gave it to her, by the
bye, Kitty, this came for you yester-
day while you We're riding with Cady
and l forgot to give it to you"
Miss Foster looked at the postmark
and at the almost feminine chirog-
raphy, and knew that the letter was
from Fort Bowie and from Gloucester
She laid 1t beside her plate and fin
ished her breakfast. Afterward she
took 1t up to her own room and read
1t. Then she sat with folded hands
and looked, unseeing, at the photo
graphs of the fifteen upon the wall be-
fore her. She was very white.
The most astute woman will fire.
her game upon honor in man. When
that chances to fail, her calculations
are set at naught, and the bottom falls
out Of her universe.
And Gloucester's honor has failed
He wrote-I<itty read it again-"So
you are engaged to Cady. That means
little to you; but it may mean much
TO him. Therefore, to prevent his be
ing made the fool that | have been,
have taken the liberty of sending him
by this mail the letters you have writ
ten to me within the last month-foui
In number-that he may know with
what manner of woman he has to
deal"
Now, fourteen times before Miss
Foster had not been in earnest. But
this time she was. Unfortunately
the fact that she cared greatly fol
Cady had not prevented her from
writing to Gloucester more affection
ately than prudently, in order to keeI
him-tother dear charmer who was
away-upon her string, SO long as II
would hold him without swapping
And the letters, sent while she was ac.
tually engaged to Cady, were going tO
fall into his hands. 1t was Il desperate
situation. But, with all her blue eyes
and curls, and bewildering ways, Miss
Foster was the woman to meet It,
After some time she rose to her feet
and set her lips. 1t is a pecularity OF
Cupids-bow lips that they can set, up
on occasions. She knew that Cady had
not yet received those letters. And
she determined that he never should
She would rob the stage.
Guard mounting was just over and
the stage was not due until noon. Kit
ty set big hat a-tilting upon hel
curls and walked down to the post.
office. Fate, with her partiality fol
the brave and fair, willed that the post
master should have left his desk. Miss
Foster pushed open the gate and went
behind the rail. The keys to tile mail
bag hung upon their hook. She put
them in her pocket. When the post
master came back she was placidly
marking his clean blotter with the
letter stamp.
''If you please, Mr.. Jones, want
this letter registered"
An hour later Miss Foster reined up
her horse on the top of rise and
looked across the fiat stretch of grease.
wood, and cactus and sage. Far away
n tiny spcck was crawling toward her
along the white road. 1t was the
stage. She had been born upon the
plains, and she had an unfailing eye
for its distances. There would be
fully half an hour to wait. She cast
about for some way of killing time
and found a deep, wide fissure in the
patched earth. 1t appealed to her dar.
ing. She put her horse TO run and
jumped it time and again until he was
winded. Then she rode again to the
crest of the slope. The stage was near
She dismounted, felt of the girths
and sat down, hugging the tiny noon.
day shade of a tiny mesquite bush, fol-
the sun was burning down from a
hard, blue sky. A big red ant was
carrying n beetles wing many times
larger than itself. Kitty watched ii
until she heard the clatter of traces as
the stage climbed the other side of the
slope Then she commended her soul
to heaven and brought her quirt down
upon the horses fianks.
The stage driver drew up his stock,
and the one passenger put out his
head and shoulders and gazed at the
slender gray figure rising alone in the
midst of the prairie.
"Whatever, Miss Kitty"-the driver
stopped short. He saw the horse graz.
ing off bunch of stunnpy grass, hun
dred yards away. Kitty went step
nearer and laid her hand on the wheel
She had seen that there was no wo.
man in the stage. A woman would
have upset all her calculations. She
raised her big blue eyes. The men
who could have resisted them were
few. Those in the stage listened now