El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-05
CHAPTER VIII.

| How long she had been asleep she
could not at first guess, when she found
herself starting up in terror, with a
| feeling that she had been rudely awak-
ened; that something was amiss. She
fancied there had been, or had she but
| dreamed it, that sound as of pistol shots?
Had the boys come home from the
dance, and was Jim
She sat up in the hammock, listening
breathlessly, her hands involuntarily
pressed against her beating heart. The
moon was now high in the sky, and
sibilant whisperings sounded among the
trees a. the breeze bent the yielding
branches hither and thither. The vine
leaves rustled softly in the murmurous
silence, and the dark wings of a moth
stirred gently "a pendulous spray of the
wild cucumber bloom. Edith, shivering
a little, for the night had grown colder,
presently assured that her fears had
been but the outcome of a troubled
dream, was stealing softly TO her room
when her steps We're arrested by far
off sound as of something falling, crack
ing and breaking as it fell. And then
of sudden she became conscious Of an
oppressive smell of smoke. which had
been i'll her nostrils all the time. Fire,
That was it. The wind had risen, and
was it the barns?
She almost flew around the corner of
the house, looking up the hill but all
seemed still as the dead in that fair
landscape of gray and silver. She fan
cied that she heard "a sound of horses
feet i'll the distance, but she could
scarce feel sure of that as she listened
more intently, and in any event what
could that signify? When might one not
hear such sounds at X 6 ranch? She al
most laughed aloud now i'll reaction
from the unreasoning panic which had
possessed her Never had she seen moon .
light more glorious She could almost
distinguish the colors of the many flow .
ers that starred the turf AS she strolled
up the hill q little way TO look at the
remains of the bonfire. Dense clouds of /
smoke were still curling up from the
coulee, and now and then a burnt out !
branch fell TO the bottom. This natural I
ly explained the noises which had awak-
ened her The cracking sounds might
well strike IA pistol shots upon a dream
er's ears.
She was turning to retrace her steps
when she stopped short, startled anew
by certain something which seemed
tionless by the corral gate She was no
coward, and she jumped at once 60 the
conclusion that the boys had come home
and had been unsaddling their horses.
This explained the sound of horses feet
to which she had listened But while
now broad awake she was not fright
ened, she had no wish to meet anv of
them here, feeling how singular her
conduct must appear to any one who
might encounter her wandering forth
alone at such an hour of the night
And so she stood STILL biting her under
lip yexedly, while she studied the mo-
slonless blot against the gate, uncertain
whether her nerves We're playing her
false again or not. There was hut a mo- o
nent of doubt before her questioning
scrutiny was answered by an abrupt
movement on the part of that other
igure, which had evidently been turned
II observation upon her. She drew back,
her breath sharply, TO see that
t was Paul Brown hurrying toward her
With a long, swinging stride.
Miss Ellery-is it really you1'' he
'asped increduously rs ne came I'D to
'er Il started to go up to the barn,
ancylng that l heard some sort Of "a
oise not quite regular, when happen
d to catch sight of you Perhaps it
vas you heard going by the bunk
ouse, but could not be sure when |
rst saw you that it was not a ghost. "
Only ghosts have any business
broad at such ali hour Of the night.
ave theyI" she said, her tone icily re-
entful, which being the case I think