The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-11-07

ceeded, and soon Hazeltine's arms were
free. .
Curtis did not even look at me, but
kept his eye on Hazeltine all the time,
only vouchsafing:
Hold thy peace, Merton! This affair
is between only God, this man, and
me-" And they were at it there in the
dim moonlight before he had finished
speaking. And a weird sight it vas to
see these two men, n fighting to save
his life, knowing he must afterwards
cope with me, the other, cool, sure, as
fine a swordsnan as 1 ever saw, stand
ing for his honor and crossing swords
with his own cousin whom he had lived
and played with through all their boy
hood, whom he now detested, but
would not hang. And under the dim
blue light Of the moon a few yards
away stood the girl, watching them
with wide eyes, silently.
I lowered about them, with drawn
sword, resolved that. honor or no honor,
this man should not escape, but re-
strained more by my instructive re-
spect for Curtis standards than by any
sense Of chivalry from taking active
part. So in my bewilderment and with
the misery of this episode in my heart
I did not fail to see late how Hazeltine
as he twisted about, gradually ap-
preached the big trees, nor guess his
PNA PSSSS 49, VA " SN"SAA ~ tAN
two lunges n then, turning tail like
any cur, darted in under them, and
hidden by the darkness made off. I
fired both my pistols at him, but he was
gone. And then I turned on Curtis:
Nov you see what your miserable
honor has done for u.s." I cried.
What manner" answered he coolly.
"It but shows him the greater das-
tard."
But what good does that do, since
our idiotic standard has let the man
go? IT will be a fine reason to give to
our general! And do you perchance
realize that neither your life nor mine
is worth a penny from now on?"
The coward!" cried Curtis quietly,
as he sheathed his sword. "Who could
have thought he would so run from q
fair fight? Fear not, mani" he added
hastily, as T made a gesture of disgust,
for by that 1 was beyond words. Fear
not! He Is not worth a thought. When
L next meet him I'll crush him like a
worm
II cannot understand you, man."
cried I, bitterly. It cannot talk Of it.
Let us go, in Gods name, from this
place." And we did.
Mistress Philipse would not speak to
me, nor look at me. And as I stepped
to her side, placing her between her
brother and myself, she crossed in
11o1lI VI III W ll1S 1dl lllC1 oluC LII GIL
that walk back she v~ouchsafed not a
word, neither to me nor to him, and
nothing happened as we walked IN in
silence, except thai we came upon Ac-
ton stationed some distance below,
brought there by Curtis when he had
arrived in the city and decided to fol-
low us at once, fearing an ambuscade.
So we came to old st. Pauls church.
yard, hard by which I judge Philippe
lived, and as Acton and I walked on
in silence, T saw her cling to her new
found brother, n heard her sob and
beseech him to stay, not to leave her
And as we passed out of earshot ]
could hear her crying softly: ooh, Rob
Rob dear, why is 1t all SO strange and
wrong, my brother dear!!"
Soon he was by us again, alone, with
the same cool, calm face, that now tc
us, Acton and me, lac a deep and
dreadful meaning in it's forever sombe1
and sad lines. Then we came to lower
Broadway, and to No. 2, where he bade
us all enter; for, he said, we should be
found at Mrs. Hodges, and there the
old half-ruined house was now free
from suspicion and deserted. There We
lay for the rest of the night. I coulC
not sleep, for my anger at the mans
escape soon faded before the wretched.
ness n misery that fate and her lack
Of belief in me a brought Upon me
I cared little whether we were taker
!, or not, for with this evening and day
: hope AND promise Of the future died.
: It was not true love that could doubt
> quickly! And, God forgive me for it
\ in my hopelessness I told myself tina,
she was not what I had come to believe
r her. And then, as I looked back upor
! it, I began to see that, feeling as She
:, did, against the American cause, anc
.. knowing what I was in the city for, sht
. might we'll think 1 had taken advant,
age of her situation to draw my man
And I put my head in my hands, as
sat there in the darkness, and criet
like any baby for che very wretched
ness of it all, for the loss Of SO man,
fair hopes, for the end of a d~ay-drean
that I had thought a reality.