, 1900-12-21
keene'S Tunnel.
BY PRINCE T. WOODS.

Di Tnl4SSE /. "OoDo.
copyrighted 1900: Daily Story Pub. Co..
The rain had poured in torrents all
day Sunday and that night the resi-
dents of Cedarville were lulled to
sleep by the never ceasing patter, pat
ter and drip. drip of the storm. Mon
day morning the wind veered suddenly
into the north and blew a fine. light
snow into the faces of the children
who were hurrying t. the district
school on the mountain road. BY
noon he NOW was falling SO thick
and fast that a big bob-sled was sent
UP from the railroad for all the able
bodied men who could work to keep
the tracks open.
There were only. two young men in
the village who had work enough
OF their own to keep them at home.
Sherman Keene, the village black
smith, and DR.. Abner Coulson. Not
that DR.. Coulson was particularly
busy, he had only made his appear
ance in Cedarville a few months be-
fore, but he could hardly be expected
to participate in a snow-shoveling
bee.
The wind rose steadily all the after
noon and the storm settled down into
a genuine blizzard. Long before dark
1t was apparent that the men who had
gone to help clear the railroad could
not return that night. Keene closed
the smithy early and made things
snug at home for the comfort of his
| wiInnaI pp,tLa, ,,J b;,,-nlf Than
he made his way with difficulty
through the storm to some Of the
neighbors, whose men-folks had gone
with the bob-sled party, and helped
them with the evening chores. On his
way home he looked in at the widow
Morse, who had come to the door to
greet him. and had seen that she was
provided with plenty of wood and wa
ter against a wild, stormy night. He
would not have stopped had Nannette
been at home, but she had not yet re-
turned from the school on the noun
tain road, where she guided the youth
full minds Of Cedarvllle through the
tangled paths Of "readin', writin' and
'rithmetic."
Ia hight, Will Lie Blol hoWlCu
fercely without, Sherman Keene sat
in his comfortable armchair and Qozed
before a great fire of blazing logs on
the hearth in his sitting-room. Widow
Keene had long since sought her bed.
Keene dreamed of Nannette, and in
his dream she was always in danger,
what, he could not make quite clear;
h,,& tho., rvo, o-,, ln-o, ,p-an&b,-p
wrong with Nannette. The dream was
most persistent, it would not leave
him.
Nannette and Keene had grown up
together in Cedarville. They had been
lovers, according to village gossip,
since they played together as children
in the %sandheaps in Mother Morse's
garden. Since DR.. Coulson came to
town there had been a growing cold
ness between the two. The doctor
had been very attentive to Nanette
Sherman Keene resented this and had
demonstrated with Nannette, but the
little school teacher had taken offense
and in words more hasty than wise
had sent Keene about his business, re-
minding him that she was still mis-
tress of her own actions. Keene had
avoided her since hat time and she
perhaps to show that she did not care
had encouraged the attentions Of the
gallant doctor. At all events, it waa
with DR.. Coulson as escort that she at.
tended many Of the socials and enter.
tainments that winter. keene loved
Nannette with all the deep feeling o.
his sturdy manly nature. but he fell
that she had been in the wrong In
their quarrel and feared a haunting
repulse II he should attempt to rein
state himself. II Nannette preferred
the doctor rather than himself he
would not try to interfere. II Nan
nette cared only for him, surely she