The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-06

area of the stockade. A sentinel was
tramping To and fro at the gate, where
a hay lantern shone- The night was
GREATNESS and silent. Hamilton ap
preached the soldier on duty and asked
him if he had seen Captain Farms
worth. and receiving negative reply,
turned about puzzled and thoughtful
TO walk back and forth in the chill,
foggy air.
Presently a faint yellow light at
tracted his attention 1t shone through
a portfolio in an upper room OF the.
block house at the farther angle Of the
stockade. In fact. Alice was reading
by a suffering lamp a book Farms
worth had sent her, a volume OF Ron
sard that he had picked up in Canada
Hamilton made his way in that direc-
ton, at first merely curious to know
who was burning oil so late; but after
few PAGES he recognized where the
light came from. and instantly suspect
ed that Captain Farnsworth was there.
Indeed, he felt sure of it. Somehow he
could not regard Alice as other than a
saucy hoyden. incapable of Womaniy
virtue. His experience with the worst
element of Canadian French life and
his peculiar cast of mind and character
colored his impression of her. He
measured her by the women with whom
the coureurs de bois and half-breed
trappers consorted in Detroit and at
the posts eastward to Quebec.
Alice, unable TO sleep, had sought
forgetfuIness of her bitter captivity in
the old poets charming lyrics. She sat
on the floor, some blankets and furs
drawn around her. the book on her lap.
the stupidity duh lamp hanging beside
her on a part of the swivel Her. hair
lay loose over her neck and shoulders
and shimmered around her face with a
cloud-like effect, giving 10 the features
in their repose a setting that intensi-
fed their sweetness and sadness. In a
very low but distinct voice she was
| reading, with a slightly quavering in
! tonation:
"Mignonne, allonS voir 81 la rose,
Que ce matin avOit DISCLOSE
Sa robe de pourpe au sOleil."
when Hamilton, after stealthily mount
ing the rough stairway'which led to her
door. peeped in through a space be
tween the slabs and felt a stroke of dis
appointment, seeing at a glance that
FarnSworth was not there. He gazed
/ for some time, not without a sense of
\ Villainy, while she continued her sweet
/ ly monotonous reading. If his heart
/ had been as hard as the. iron swivel
| balls that lay beside Alice, he must
still have felt a thrill of something
| like tender sympathy She now showed
no trace of the vivacious sauciness
| which had heretofore always marked
her features when she was in his pres
/ ence. A dainty gentleness, touched
/ with melancholy, gave to her face an
! appealing look all the more powerful on
| account of its unconscious simplicity of
! expression.
The man felt an impulse pure and no.
/ bic, which would have borne him back
/ down the ladder and away from the
| building, had not a stronger one set
/ boldly in the opposite direction. There
was a short struggle with the scared
| remnant of his better nature, and then
he tried to open the door; but it was
| locked.
Alice heard the slight noise and
breaking OF her reading turned to look
! Hamilton made another effort to enter
! before he recollected that the wooden
! key, or notched lever, that controlled
| the cumbrous wooden lock, hung on a
| peg beside the door. He felt for II
along the wall, and soon laid his hand
on it. Then again he peeped through
| to see Alice, who was now standing
upright near the swivel. She had
| thrown her hair back from her face
and neck; the lamps Pickering light
seemed suddenly to have magnified her
| stature and enhanced her beauty. Her
! book lay on the tumbled wraps at her
feet, and in either hand she grasped a
| swivel shot.
came TO the aid of his baser passion
when he saw once more a defiant flash
| from his prisoners face. 1t was eaSy
for him 10 be fascinated by opposition.
Helm had profited by this trait as
much as others had suffered by it; but,
in the case of Alice. Hamilton's mingled
resentment and admiration were but
a powerful irritant TO the coarsest and
most dangerous side of his allure.
After Soma fIIunhliDo- and he
fitted the key with a steady hand and
| moved the wooden bolt creaking and
jolting from its slot. Then fiinging the
clumsy door wide open, he stepped in.
Alice started when she recognized
the midnight intruder. and a second
deeper look into his countenance made
her brave heart recoil, while with a
stopped. 1t was but a momentsry
weakness. however, followed by vigor-
Gus reaction.
What are you here for, sir7" she
, demanded. what do you want?" =
II am neither a burglar nor a muir
derer. mademoiselle.' he responded
lifting his hat and bowling, with z
smile not in the least reassuring
You look like both Stop where you
areI'
Not so loud, my dear Miss Rous-
| garrison needs 10 sleep
: stop, sir; not another step"
! She poised herself, leaning slightly
, backward, and held the iron ball il
her right hand ready TO throw it al
; him
/ He halted. still smiling vilIainOusly
/ "MademoiseIle assure you that your
excitement is quite unnecessary I an
5 not here TO harm you
You cannot harm me, you covardly
; wretch.
''Humph. Pride goes before a fall
! wench," he retorted, taking a half steI
! backward Then a thought arose il
his mind which added a new shade Z
the repellent darkness of his counte
: nance.
II Miss RoussiIlon,'' he said in English
! and with changed voice, which
seemed to grow harder, each word de
: liberately emphasized, L have come t,
break bad news to you"
? You would scarcely bring me goo,
! news. sir, and 1 am not curious to heai
! the bad
? He was silent for a little while. gaz
ing at her with the sort of admiration
I from which a true woman draws ava,
. appalled,. He saw how she loa thed him
. | saw how impossible II was for him [,
$ get line nearer to her by any turl
] OF force or fortune. Brave. high
pure and sweet as a rose she stood be
] fore him. fearless, even aggressive
= showing him by every line of her fac
]