Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-09-06

was set ringing with the grewsome mu-
sic for which he had waited so long.
For a moment he sat petrifed, his flesh
tingling, and the chills ripping up and
down his back like electric shocks. This
feeling quickly passed. yet it was with
q new thrill that he became convinced
the music was issuing from the foot Of
the very tree in which he sat. He
peeped ove the edge. At the sight be-
low he nearly cried out.
A single ray of the moon lighted,
with a spectral glare, the face of a
woman-a beautiful. ethereal face, with
great shining eyes. turned heayenward.
That was all. The rest OF her figure,
If figure she had. was lost in the gloom.
Her SOU seemed TO pour from her lips
in the song that now mounted star
spaces above, now sank to a lullaby in
her throat-a wonderful. pleading,
touching song. not n word Of which
her entranced listener could under
stand. Then it ceased, and the face
vanishe6-went out.
A little later-Bentley never knew
just how much later-the song arose
again, 20 yards away. he judged. Yet
AC Add lOt htdih HCl NOV ShdhAAS
off the spell binding him. he began to
climb down, hanging motionless to
the trunk when the music paused, lest
he be heard. Reaching the ground, he
picked his way toward the singer.
avoiding every noise which might be-
tray him. and screening himself in the
black shadows. When within five yards
of the edge of the bluff. he stopped.
There she stood-tall and graceful, her
long black hair streaming down lei
back, her white hands clasped before
her. He could distinctly see her slen-
der frame shake. her throat Dalpitate,
her bosom rise and fall.
A twig snapped under his foot. She
stopped in the middle of a note. as it
WERE, as suddenly as though her vocal
chords had parted.
Madam, who are you?" he called, in
a voice he could hardly believe his own.
She stood as still and unresponsive as
the dark trees around her, her eyes
glistening like a frightened fawn's.
Tom scarcely breatheG. Then he be-
came aware that she was slipping away
from him, before his very eyes, as noise
lessly as a shadow. He moved forward
slowly, one, two, three times. The
bluff was behind her; in a moment she
must surrender, or make a dash to
right or left.
She did neither, and his hair began to
rise as she apparently foated out on
the air above the river. Then the ex-
PLANTATION came to him. He had for
gotten the narrow formation of rock
which stuck out from the bluff like a
spur. She had unwittingly ~retreated
upon this and was trapped
MADAM, if you go further you will
fall" he cried out, warningly. "Idon't
want to hurt you. 1 simply want to
know your name and who you are"
She stood upright on the tip of the
spur, silent and rigid, statuesque in the
flood of moonlight Then, to his dis
may, she gathered herself for a spring,
and cas- herself off. She struck the
river, 80 feet below, with a loud. quick
splash. The water closed over her and
all was still. But only for an instant.
The next moment he saw her swim
ming for the opposite shore, as graceful
as an otter.
Bentley had taken that leap himself
when a boy, and after a momentary
hesitation he decided to take it again.
He struck the water feet first, without
injury, and then with powerful strokes
bore down upon his prey. She landed
first, however, and without an in
stants pause began to climb the wild
grape vines on the face of the cliff, GO
ing up hand over hand, like a sailor.
She had climbed scarcely 20 feet
when the vines gave way under her
weight and precipitated her to the bot
tom again with stunning force. But,
quickly up, she sped down the shingly
shore like a hare, Bentley painting close
beside her. A rift in the wall, half
choked with broken rock and scrub
oaks, offered escape, and she turned in.
With wonderful feetness and sureness
of foot, she scaled the rough obstrue-
tons, until her way was barred by a
great sheet of slate that lifted above
her like a wall She turned upon her
pursuer with wild eyes. His blood was
up and he fearlessly closed in upon her.
She %cleverly lodged him, passed him,
and sped back down the rift.
For a rod or two after emerging
from the gap, she kept to the bank;
u ACA pu1SAS1 SdlLGO 1dpICkf upOu
her, and, her strength apparently be-
ginning 10 fail, she took to the water
again. But Bentley was something of
a swimmer himself, and when the
strange creature mounted the opposite
bank. her long hair dripping and spark
ling in the moonlight, her pursuer was
scarcely ten feet behind; and before she
had covered 2 PAGES more his arms in
closed her.
She submitted without a struggle.
Gasping pitifully she fell to her knees
and raised her hands imploringly, her
beautiful features ~quivering In an
agony of fear. Then her dumb lips were
unsealed and she poured forth a tor
rent of incoherent, unintelligfble words.
All superstitous fear gone. Bentley
looked down upon the wreteBed WON
an with profound pity. a great bruise,
received in her fall, no doubt. stood
out upon her forehead; the nails of her
delicate fingers were cruelty broken.
and the fingers themselves torn and
bleeding. The silk gown which she
wore was rent in a score of places. and
her slippers were literally slit to pieces
and dyed crimson with the blood of her
~lacerated feet.
After a little, she allowed him to
lead her along by the hand. To save
her feet, he almost carried her up the
steep ascent to the road. Their way
barred near the top by a shelf of
rock five feet high OF more. Bending
over, he signed to her to use his back
as a step, which she did, without hesita-
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