Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-08-31

unbuttoninS the lapel to her Skirt
pocket.
"Unhitch the horse. please she
said. still facing the path by which the
Good Templars were coming toward
her.
Pierre fumbled in the darkness but
could not unite the knot The crowd
arrived and one holding up the lantern
exclaimed:
oh. it's her. She's wild looking
little miss. And not afraid Of ghosts
either
At the mention of ghosts the women.
and some feminine looking men. hud-
died closer to the lantern.
What do you want? demanded Madge
with fire in her eye. and her right hand
in her skirt pocket
There was a moments pause and one Of
them answered in f;l:crinS tone:
We want you-that is. want to know
who you are. You'd better come back to
the hall and explain things.
II WON'T said MadGe. decidedly.
just then the yo.ing fellow. whose face
still burned with the impact of her soft
palm. came bounding through the bushes
He had had tim, to think it over and
was getting more and more angry
Seeing MadSc facing mis- townspcoplc
he .Spr,ns into the center of the circle
OF light from the lantern and made as if
tn Seize MadScs arm.
\ heavy body hurled itself out of the
darkness. and Il brawny French American
hst came in contact with the fellow :
left ear. He crashed into the bushes
me others rctreated few steps and
huddicd together. oxford county men
prepared To make Il united rush to over
power the new factor to the scene One
Of them was constable and it is likely
th;tt. rightly or wrongly. Pierre woulu
~. It, a
hut durable little granite Jail up on the
NIL. had not Madcc ut that moment
flashed her little silver mounted revol-
yer in the faces of his antagonists. This
was an argument they had not counted
on. and an immediate retreat to the
road proved the efficacy of it.
With his pocket knife Pierre sIashed til,
bride rein of the morse and hcld her
while Madcc icaped into the saddle.
Now I'd like To see them catch me.
she exclaimed holding the impatient
creatur, in while she turned To the boy
with, But YOU What will you do?
jump up behind and I'll carry you olt
OF this dirty litti, town.
IN disappear in the bushes hero" he
said. laughing in his excitement. II was
an adventure t" stir The blood of any one
and especially a fellow with as much
blood as Pierre had.
"All right: take care "f yourscf-and
thank YOU
And with u crash of bushes and under
a
ghost among the low tombstoncs ana out
through til" eat" where her long legs
scattered the gaping crowd "f citizens I"
When at las; thcy screwed III courage
To 90 back to III" spot where the en-
countc" had taken place. there was no
sign of the boy anywhere.
Half an hour after Madgc was riding
over the soft. cool earth road that skirts
the village on the hill andi takes the
Traveller To BetHel and GiiGad without
climbing the hill. There We're great
patches oi moonlight whore openings IL
the dense pines above siftcd through She
laughed softly to herself as She thought
of the excitement ana wonder that Sn1
had created in the sleepy little shire viii
la:e Of the county. Then she was pen
sive for a long time. Smngglcr Nell
walked slowly with head down. and the
cool night breeze founc the glowing
checks of the girl and cooled her brow.
She remembered that the yong fcnow
who had saved her was handsome and
strong, and being a girl of sense She had
not failed To notice even in the excitement
"f the adventure. that he looked his in
noccnt admiratio of her. II pleased her.
hut suddenly she remembered that he was
honest looking and probably honorable.
while she-she was an outlaw and a SNUG
glCr.
\ pan. shot through her breast AT this
If She could have had the right bringing
up. she thought she might have been the
sort of woman that Il young fellow like
nef UNKNOWN rtStNtr would nbn'StiN
have esteemed She remembered her
childhood in Portland. She remembered
her blue eyed little mother who, a. long
AS she lived. had kept her husband. Fiat
foot. contcntcdly at his trade of tanner.
And then Of her death and her father $
wild sorrow and degeneration. In spite of
his drinking and his crimes he had loved
his only child. and the impulsivc little
girl had returned it with a passion that
might have moved mountains but could
not have kept O'Brien out Of the liquor
traffic. He had given his daughter a good
education. but the subtle poison of his
philosophy had dcadencd her moral sen
Sibilitics on the drink question. Sur
rounded. when out of school. by people
who drank beer and thought ii no crime
to sell il. she came mp to young woman-
hood a strange mixture of purity. moral
itv and outlawiShncsS. She was a reader
Of books and could have even stuck Pierre
when it came to talking literary lore.
The latest books were always on her
tables at home and mingled hcltcr-Skclter
with copies Of the Police Gazette and her
praNCrbook and the delicatcly scented
correspondence from her girl friends in
boston and New York.
Bessie Dopeiield. the sheriff : daughter.
would have set her down for an ignorant.
thoughtlesS wicked woman-but she was
none of theSe-she was the product of her
environment. America Is diScstinG a
mighty banquet. and though it i succeed
ing wonderfully well. it is not to he eN-
pccted that children of the second ana
third generation of those who come from
different civilizations will be the same as
the old line Puritan NankcCs-and really,
while we may hope that intcmpcrance
will pass away. let us also rejoice # we see
signs that the close -tisted. narrow minded.
mouoidercd class Of New England Yam
KEGS is passing.
In "A throb Of her better nature Madce
wished she was out of the business. Like
a reporter with high ideals and worth>
instincts who is sent to write the life oi
a bank embezzlcr-knowing his story will
break the hearts of the innocent wife and
chillrcn-she was sick of her job. Bat
the thought of her IA her. sinful and way
ward though he might be. ianSuishin9 on
prison food at 'rhomaston. stirred her an
ger again and she remembered that ht
had turned smuggier to get money to cdu-
cate her
Then she thought of his suffering when
hunted like a wolf through the country
side the night Of agony with his broken
arm, and finally his capture by young
Pierre Crotcau and Bessie DOpeheld.
II She ever met the young Frenchman
but then. would there not he time To
settle with him when she did meet him
and Jogging on through the night. her
| thoughts turned again to the young lei
| low who had 50 sallantlN rescued her
| from the enraced Good Tcmplars.
Suddenly Smuggler Nell SHE'D. hesitated,
| and whirling around in the road darted
wildly mn :; moss covered. tree hedged
| wood road leading into the forest of pines
Madre controlled the creature with diff
! Guilty and finally looking back down the
| highway SAW the hulknS form of Il big
| black bear go cantering across a patch
/