The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-19
BY JAMES w. KILBURN.
The Lady of the Valley.

Copyright lso2. by Daily Story Pub. Co.) |. It was yellowing fall weather when came upon the camp, flanked by a corn
 Held. woman, whom l had seen upon the road. sat on a stump smoking. A red shawl was knotted under her arms and earrings protruded from her head hand kercnief. She knocked the ashes from her pipe, but her eyes-set deep in worn facc-looked only at the blue line of mountains behind me. sat upon anoth- CT stump, and presently she said: Will the lady have her fortune told?'' The last one you told me did not come true, l replied. and was rewarded by
 seeing that pipe removed with as much surprise as Is compatible with one of her stamp. Her eyes we"e now dark wells. to be fathomed by no light plummet. she said.
 You told me I should cross the water and marry dark man. and I've done neither.".
 There is water still there, lady. and
 the dark men are not all dead"' Twas at Tivoli Fair" I proceeded, CT was hurt. I paused, remembering all | that the day involved. There had been | robbery and arrest and 1t was said that | the gypsies were implicated. The incl dent had been forgotten, but not the per sonality of the woman who had inter
 ested me. Suddenly the name came to me. given by the woman at Tivoli. | me. Daylia? And the the talk ak we had?" There was tense contraction of tho whole figure. as though some wild. secret l thing were roughly awakened from under the frozen coverlid of winter Twas not l." she said impurturbably. .I never saw Tivoli Fair in all my nor | tai life, Some other gypsy. lady! But I can tell the lady a better fortune nor Il that!' Knowin~ that directness is not the route hv which 1nch creatures arrive l said: Perhaps so, but l should like to find Daylia Herne again. Have you ever heard of herg' She knocked the ashes from her pipe and through the veil of defensiveness there seemed to leap gleam of longing, the longing of an alien to touch once more the beloved soil.
 I've seen her. lady, Oh. yes! bad | ''i should like to know what became of | her" persisted,
 Hard to tell what becomes of the | ikes
 Do you know where Daylia went after l "Yes. yes, lady. I'm thinking it was
 the time Daylia died. She took a hard
 cold and died, Daylia did. and a good rid dance she was! Manys the time I've said to her. 'Daylia, mend your ways!' But,
 tchk! There's. no use talking to such cat
 tie! Tchk; lady. you can't tell 'em! She | was a bad lott"
 l Yet she was a good mother" said. | 'Ay. lady. she had a boy, maybe you l mind him, Dayia's boy?' l "Yes. he was a beautiful youth. What became of him when she died?' l ''He went far away. and was well rid | of her, I'm thinking!"
 | Then you never saw him afterward"' I persisted She foundered slightly | "Oh, yes. lady. he come to be fine l man. he did. The finest you ever seen! | And to think you mind the boy!' | It was needless to look at her to know | the intense. pent eagerness of every line | as she leaned forward, with hand upon
 the stump and her eyes devouring my | face
 He had curly hair and beautiful eyes, T
 said.
 'Ay. twas surely him." she breathed l But I thought him disrespectful tc l Daylia and I feared that he would break
 her heart some day. She was so good | to him."
 My companion glanced nervously over
 her shoulder, and replaced the pipe. witt
 an assumption of br1vado. No. no. lady | she died easv Daylia did. He was vel
 rid of her, too. He was a fine lad. I tel you". ...
 | arose and said that I was sorry not to learn more about Daylia. There was
 trouble at the Fair that day." I added