El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-19
CHAPTER XIII.

hall, in five slow, changing strokes, was
ringing knell for another dead hour
as Edith Ellery, dressed for drive,
came gingerly tripping down that great
oak staircase whose exquisite polish was
of a sort to almost audibly cry a warn
ing to unwary feet. Never could the
girl have looked more lovely than now,
as she settled herself in corner Of the
high backed seat in the shadow of the
stairway, her cheeks flushed as though
they burned to rival the smiling, red
Tipped mouth, her brown eyes shining
with sort of scintillant glow, like bits
of polished gold stone. 1t was in nat
ural reaction from the gloom which had
lately SO heavily oppressed her that
now, for the moment, she was almost
riotously happy. She had forgotten to
reproach herself for her weak and vacil-
lating attitude toward Marshall Wood
bury. She did not care to think what
the future might hold i'll store. She only
exulted i'll the thought that within the
hour, when once her fateful message
was flashing over the wires, she could
feel that she had finally severed the last
knot of that foolish tangle into which
she had Numbered. She could have
shouted for gladness in the mad sense
Of freedom that was hers once more.
She idly picked up newspaper, but
she was too excited to read. The strik-
ing of the clock had suggested a new
idea, reminding her Of the difference in
time between DenySr and Boston. Mar
shall Woodbury. by this time must have
left his office for the day, and her mes
sage, if directed there, could not reach
him before the next morning. In her
Impotence TO have the matter settled
beyond question she debated if it would
not be better to have it follow him to
his house, and yet, hesitating, with a
whimsical smile-it seemed that she
could scarcely take any question serious
ly just now-she reminded herself that
he might perhaps prefer not to have his
good nights sleep haunted by such
words, fidgeting uneasily as she saw
herself confronted again with the vexed
question of just how much this man
really cared for her. In truth, it had
been a certain jealous distrust of the
real depths of his love which had held
her back in the first instance, when she
had been most disposed in his favor, a
haunting conviction that there had been
more of cool reason than of passion in
his oh q eT and te lew vas sae
she decided that the telegram should
follow him to his pillow if perchance
it might go through directly. There was
satisfaction of sort in her belief that
she was not, after all, to hurt him over
much, but her womans heart was still
capable of touch of unreasoning sore
ness that, since he had presumed to call
himself her lover, he had not loved her
little more.
1t was this slight, unacknowledged
pique perhaps which lent a flavor of al
most vengeful zest to the feeling with
which she repeated over to herself the
words she planned to send him, check
ing off the number carefully with her
small gloved fingers. for, like most
women of little acquaintance with that
time and labor saving device of modern
communication. she was impressed with
vague conviction that to send more
than ten words by telegraph was some
how forbidden by law, while to send
less would have been an impossible at
front to that passion for getting the
worth of her money innate in every
woman's heart. But to convey her
meaning clearly i'll such meager phrase
and in such terms that its sentimental
purport should not be patent to every
callow operator who listened to the
clicking of the words between that point
and Boston seemed a matter deserving
of all serious consideration.
Cannot see you here. Useless and
painful Will write. - The words camo
within the prescribed limit certainly,
but there was room for one more, re-
garding with puzzled frown the little
finger of her left hand, sticking stiffiy
away from its fellows, as though bound
to call attention to the fact that it had
been left out in the brief scale. And
then, had any one been watching, he
would have seen strange light flash
into the eyes which had been absently
regarding that paper upon her lap, while
all the bloom as suddenly faded from
her face as if the hand of death had
fallen upon her, She was staring dizzi]y
at n column whose flaring head lines
her rigid fingers seemed to be pointing
out, as though moved by the fates to
compel her attention:
Discovery of an Organized Band of
Horse Thieves In Wyoming Startling
Developments. Arrest of the Ringleader
of the Gang, Paul Brown, a Man Hith-
erto Held IN High Esteem Among the
Cattle Men. Fears That He May Be
Lynched. -
So far she read uncomprehendingly
duly going over the lines a second time
before the full meaning of the words
seemed clear TO her, but then, with
smothered cry, she caught the sheet
closer to her blanched face, hurriedly de-
vouring the finer print which followed:
CHEYENNE, July s, IS.
For some time past the cattlemen of this sec
ton have suffered severely from the depreda-
lions of rustlers, who seemed to be working
in a regularly organized band, scattered In
different parts Of the state, passing the stock