Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1900-04-07

Yet they are not so distant as they seem.
Desmond has led Monica to a rather higher
spot, where the desired scene can be more
wildly beheld, and where too they can be-
oh, blessed thoughti-dIone.,
Through a belt Of dark-green ~fir-trees,
whose pale tips are touched with silver by
the moon, can be seen the limitless ocean,,
lying in restless waiting In the bay below.
A sort of enforced tranquility has fallen
upon it,-a troubled calm-belied by the
hoarsc, sullen rosr that rises now and again
from its depths, as when some larger death.
wave breaks its bounds, and, rushing in.
land, rolls with angry violence up the beach.
Soft white crests lie upon the great seas
bosom, tossing hither and thither, glinting
and trembling beneath the moons rays, as
though reluctantly subdued by its cold i'll
fluence.
Across the whole expanse of the water a
bright path Is flung, that has its birth in
heaven, yet deigns TO accept a resting-place
on earth,-a transitOry rest, for there in the
lar distance on the horizon, where the dull
grays of sea and sky have mingled, 1t has
Joined them, and seems again TO have laid
hold Of Its earliest home.
The birds are asleep In their sea-bound
nests; the wind has died away. There is
nothing to break the exquisite stiffness OF
the night, save the mOnotonous beating of
the waves against the rocks, and the faint
ripping murmur Of q streamlet in the ash
grove
The whole scene is so rich with a beauty
mystical and idealistic that Monica draws
imstinctiyely nearer t. Desmond, wish that
desire for sympathy common to the satisfied
soul, and st'rs her hand in his. Here, per-
haps, it viii be as well TO mention, once for
all, that whenever | give you to understand
that Desmond is alone with Monica you are
also TO understand, without the telling, that
he has her hand in his. What pleasure
there can be for two people in standing, or
sitting, or driving, as the case may be, for
hours, palm TO palm (thiS is how the poetic
al one expresses it,, | leave all true lovers
10 declare. j only know for certain that it
Is a trick common TO everyone Of them,
rich and poor, high and low. | suppose
there is consolation in the touclI,-a sensa-
ton Of nearness. | knew, indeed, one young
woman who assured me her principal rea-
son for marrying Fred in hurry Erred was
her husband) lay in the fact that she feared
If she didn't She would gro,' left-handed, as
he was always in possession Of the right
during their engagement.
hl' YOU Ihc IT, NdlH bcSllOlU, lODhlllg
down upon her tendcrly, -alluding to tho
charming view spread ont before theH-the
dark frs, the floating moon, the tranquil
stars, the illimitable ocean, 'Of Almighti.
ness itself the immense and glorious mir
rOr." ,
Monica makes no verbal answer, but a
sigh Of intenscSt satisfaction escapes her,
and she turns up TO his a lovely face full Of
youth and heaven and content. Her eyes
are shining, her lips parted by a glad, trcmu-
lOuS smile. She is altogether 50 unconscious
ly sweet that it would be beyond the power
Of even a Sir PCrciyale to resist her.
MY heart Of heart says Desmond, in a
low, imprisoned tone.
Her sing, changes. Without losing bcaIl-
~, il loses something ethereal and gains a
touch of earth. 1t is more pronounced; it
Is, in fact, amused.
IL wonder where you learned all your
terms Of endcarmcnt," she says, slowly,
looking at him from under her curling
laShes.
81 learned them when | saw you. They
had their bith then and there"
An eloquent silence follows this earnest
speech. The smile dies from Monica's lips,
and a sudden tEOugltfulncss replaces it.
You never called any one your heart Of
hearts before, then?' she asks, somewhat
wistfully.
'Ncvcr-nCrcr. You believe rn"?"