Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-04-11
There was only one letter for Miss
GlendoWer that nirh4 Ii haran.

f $500 = A AAD-A TOA Az AlN Il IL again.
Just one more week, and you viii be my
wife, Audrey. Think Of it!r
She had thought; was thinking now.
She was also wondering how Mesquite
would take it.
So they rode homeward. As they
Hoped across the wide stretch of white
desert fats that reached TO the sand
hills, shutting the ranch from sight,
the twilight fell, and with it came
sharp gusts of wind that now and then
brought a whirl of desert dust. Harder
and harder it blew. Then it fell upon
them In its malevolence, to catch them
to hold them in its uncanny clasp
an instant-and then. releasing them,
go madly racing off into the farther
twilight. moaning in undertone as it
went Then heat lightning struck Wv
idly at the horizon. and the air every
where became surcharged with the
electric current of a coming desert
sandstorm. They heard its roar COM
ing up the valley. Audrey Glendower
felt her nerves a-tingIe. This. too.
was al experience. In sheer delight
she laughed aloud at the excitement
showing in the quivering horses
their ears ~nervously pointing forward.
their nostrils ~distended, as with long,
eager strides they pounded away at
| the wind-blown levels.
Then the storm caught them at its
widest. Suddenly a tumble weed-dry
and uprooted from its slight moor
ings somewhere away on the far side
of the fiats-came whirling toward
them b~roadside in the vortex of a mad
rush of wind in which without warn
ing they were in an instant enveloped.
As the great. rolling. ball-like weed
struck her horse. Miss G~lendower took
a tighter grip on the reins and
steadied herself for 4 rush
into the duststorm and the darkness.
The wild wind caught her. shrieked in
her ears. tore at her habit as though
to wrest it from her body. dragged at
the braids of heavy hair until. loos-
ened. the strands whipped about her
head, a tangled mass of singing
lashes.
She was alone-drawn into the
maelstrom of the maddened element:
alone-with the fury of the desert
storm; alone-in the awful darkness
it wrapped about her. the darkness
OF the strange storm and the darkness
of the coming night. The fright
ened, furious horse beneath her terri
fed her less than the weird. rainIess
storm that had so swiftly slipped in
between her and Mesquite. CARRYING
her away into its unknown domain.
Where was he? Aside from the mas
tering fear that was gaining upon
hn- - - L.
age, was a consciousness that more
thar all else-more thai everyone
else in the world-it was Mesquite
she wanted. Had an army ridden
down to her rescue she would have
turned away from them all to reach
out her arms to the boy vaquero.
Perhaps it was because she had seer
his marvellous feats of daring in the
saddle flor Mesquite was the star
rider of the range), and she felt in
st1nctively that he could help as none
others; perhaps it was because of the
past days that had so drawn him to-
ward her; perhaps land most prob
ably 1T was because he had but just
been at her side. However it might
be, she was praying with all her soul
~ MS ~ AAAA ~ NCAAIC " 1CI
while mile after mile she rode on.
unable to either guide or slacken the
pace of her horse. His pace had been
terrific; and not until it had carried
him out of the line of the storm.
and up from the plain into the sand
hills did he lessen his speed. Then
the hoofs were dragged down by the
heavy sand, and the storms strength
all but spent-was left away back
on the desert.
She felt about her only the softest
of west winds; the dust that had
strangled her was gone, and in its
place was the syringa-like fragrance
of the wild, white primroses, star
strewing the earth as the heavens
were strewn with their night bios
sons. Just above the purple-black bar
of the horizon burned a great blood
red star in the sky. It danced and
wavered before her-rising and fall
ing unsteadily-and she realized that
her strength was spent, that she was
falling. Then, just as the loosened
girth let the saddle turn with her
bride rein, and
All, she was lying sobbing and ut
terly weak, but u%nutterably happy,
on Mosquitoes breast - Mosquitoes
arms about heri She made no re-
sistance to the passionate kisses the
lips laid, half fearfully, on
her face. She was only glad of the
of it all; just as the sweet
of the evening ~primroses $50
like the fragrance of jasmine, Or
tuberose, or syringa) sunk into her
So she rested against his
breast, seeing still through her closed
eyelids-the glowing, red star. She
was unstrung by the wild ride and
the winds that had wrought on her
nerves. It made yielding so easy.
At last she drew back from him,
and instantly his arms were I'M
She was free. Not a second
Of time would he clasp her unwilling
w. Neither had spoken. Neither
resetting the saddle, when he
took her again in his arms and lifted
her, as he would a little child, upon
her horse, did they speak. Only
the ranch buildings-outlined
the darkness-showed dimly
before them, and they knew that the
ride was at an end, did either voice
was uppermost in their minds.
"Yo' don't Yo' amt Oh, my
yo' amt mad at me are yo'?"
"No, Mesquite" came the softly
Hhisnered answer r..