The suburban citizen., 1900-11-24
A. WISH :. FULFILLED.
BY LAURA ELLEN sEALE.



! student, Bessie thought.
She was so surprised that she gave
a perceptible start whe he sat down
opposite her, opened his yalise, and
taking out magazine. began idly
turning the leaves.
Half unconsciously she studied his
features. Suddenly she became aware
that the eyes were regarding her in
tently, with a somewhat peculiar ex-
preston. She crimsoned violently,
and to cover her embarrassment, hur-
riedly caught up novel she had dis.
carded a short time before. AS she
did so the train lurched suddenly and
the book fell from her hand to the
floor. She stopped quickly and her
head came in sharp contact with the
head of the young man, who had also
stopped to recover the volume.
Bessie exclaimed "Ohr' and the
young mans BEG pardonv' sounded
explosive to mean something else.
Both looked uneasily at the passen-
gers in the opposite berth, who had
seen and heard the collision, and the
look of polite amusement on their faces
caused the young people to glance
quickly at each other, when with one
accord they all burst into a hearty
laugh.
The acquaintance thus begun pro
gressed rapidly, and by the middle of
the afternoon the two were chatting
like old friends.
Bessie learned that the young man
was Frank Preston, who owned a
stock farm near Denver, but spent
only part of each year on the ranch,
the rest of the time being devoted to
travel.
The time passed all to swiftly. Bes-
sic declared mentally that she had
never spent two happier days in her
life.
What a pleasant young man Frank
was! He was so different from Harry.
OF course Harry was jolly, and the
life of every gathering in Potosl, but
he was not like this man, who had
been everywhere, it seemed, and who
knew so much of the world.
Then, too, he was not at all back
ward in showing his admiration for
the girls beauty, and she thrilled with
pleasure at this new experience, as she
was unaccustomed to such open ad-
miration as shone from the young
mans eyes.
His eyes were lighter than Harry's;
she hardly knew what color to call
them; while Harrys were the deepest
blue, fearless and steady, the strang-
er's often shifted uneasily.
As the time drew near fOr Frank
Preston to leave the train at Arco, the
station nearest his ranch Bessie was
conscious of peculiar sinking Of her
heart. In trying to analyze the sensa-
tion, she blushingly wondered If 1t
could be caused by love. She was not
certain, but at least she had not ex-
perienced anything like it at leaving
Harry. A momentary silence which
had settled upon the new friends was
rudely broken by the conductor.
''Arco Arco station! All out for
Arcow
In saying goodbye a moment later,
Frank held Bessle's hand clasped
tightly in his, and when he asked per-
mission to call upon her in Denver,
she gladly gave it.
He came even sooner than she had
hoped. In fact, he came many times
during the next few weeks, and two
months glided swiftly on in a constant
round of pleasure, the young people,
with Bessie's aunt and uncle, taking
many delightful trips to Manitou,
Colorado Springs, Pixies Peak, and
other places Of interest in the vicinity.
Into the midst of this enjoyment
there came one day telegram calling
Bessie to the bedside of her mother,
who had become suddenly very i'll, so
all else was forgotten as hasty prep
arations were made for the departure
of Bessie and her aunt that same even
ing.
1t was not until the very moment Of
boarding the train that Bessie thought
Of sending a telegram to Frank Pres
ton to meet them at Arco station to say
goodbye, but it was then too late to
do so. Sleep that night was impOssl-
BILE. She was continually thinking of
| how happy she was on her other trip
over that same road. What Jolly
time they had after their acquaintance
began head first" Frank had said,
and she smiled at the recollection.
Suddenly there seemed to be a com
motion in the car. For an instant the
girl lay still, wondering what those
rude voices meant. She was brought
to an uncomfortable realization of the
cause Of the disturbance when some
one exclaimed in no gentle tone:
"Yes, dig Up your money and watch
and get a move on you too"
Th car was in the hands Of train
robbers
Bessie was almost petriGed with
fear, but she put out her hand to
arouse her aunt just as some one said:
"NOne Of that! Kindly hand it all