The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-01-04

as thought | did. For her the in
complete marriage was n bond not
to be set aside by any decree of court.
and | ought to have known it from
the beginning. Bad as he was Wy
kamp was still her husband, and did
her an injustice by daring to hope
that his added sin would make her
forget it.
1t was in the latter part of Septem-
Der that the Gleniyat dam was COM
pleted, and the great canal with it's
laterals was ready to receive the
water The turning on" was set for
the first day of October, and there
was to be some fitting celebration of
the event. A rude barrack for the
accommodation of the invited guests
had been built on the slope below the
engineers camp, and there was to be
q stockholders special train from
Denver, and barbecue, and after
ward brass band auction sale OF
some of the choicer tracts of the
company's land.
The morning of the last Sunday in
September dawned bright and clear.
A hunting party coming from North
Park had stopped over night at the
i. settlement, and one of it's members.
a young clergyman from the east.
held religious service in the school
, house. AS l learned afterward. the
young man had no lack of hearers.
Anything in the way of a religious
meeting was a novelty in the seques-
tered valley, and the settlement
turned out almost to o man. Wini-
fred went with Mrs. Setter; Angus
was there with his cowboys, and
there was even a goodly sprinkling of
! the workmen from the engineers
camp.
For reasons of my own which were
not grounded in any cynical preju-
dice, l did not go. 10 tell the truth.
. l was growing anxious about Setter.
, There was a mystery connected with
, his movements reaching back to a
, certain evening when l CHANGED to see
him coming down from the northern
, gulch beyond the hog-back with a
burden which he carried as one car
, ries sick child. The following
I morning / had found new-made
grave-or at least place where
= something had been freshly buried
, in the embanlsment of the great
canal; and when my morning stroll
, up the gorge beyond the hog-back
t ended at the door of Wykamp's pow
t der magazine. l had warned Angus
3 to be prepared to prove an alibi at
Il ;oI1f n
corollary to all this l watched Setter
bcagle-wisc.
On the Sunday morning, therefore,
small thing kept me from going to
the schoolhuuse with Winifred and
Mrs. Setter. 1t was fact brought
out by my field glass. On the higher
slopes of the hog-back had CHANGED
to descry moving specl making its
way westward toward the upper can
yon; in the object glass of the binoc-
ulur it defined itself as man zig
tagging across the ridge with heavy
burden of some kind on his back. 1t
was Setter, and the mystery might
then have pointed to it's own solution
if had not been so deeply engrossed
in Macphcrson's affair. The time fol-
the trial was drawing near and if
watched Setter like q paid shadowe1
of men, it was chiefly because
feared he might disappear before the
J. critical moment. This going aficld
with q backload had the look of it
.. Doubtless he was preparing hiding
y place somewhere in the mountains tc
T which he could retreat at need.
The schoohouse meeting had be
h, gun when | lost sight of the moving
spcck and lighted my pipe to weigh
le the promisings of an attempt to fol
|: low Setter. From my chair on the
ID porch i could hear the singing quite
* distinctly above the murmur of the
,e river in its bed across the road. The
u autumn storms were delayed, and the
10 weather for a fortnight had beer
cool. In consequence the water was
low and it's thunder was softened un
til the cataract pouring over tn.
waste weir of the completed dam wa:
clearly audible. Up among the west
10 crn peaks the clouds were gather
~ ing; and I remember thinking thai
20 Wykamp must be relieved to know
II that the season for cloudbursts wa!
10 fairly over for the year.
.. The thought had scarcely take1
~ shape when the man himself cam,
- riding by. AS once before, anxiet.
'n was in his face, but this time his gaz'
~ was not upon the river. 1t was fxee
40 upon the cloud wraiths hanging owe
=. the western peaks, and he rode as on
. ~ who let's his horse find out the way
=. The hither shoulder of the hog-bacl
- had scarcely hidden him before
:. heard stir in the house and the gen
~ tie closing of door. A momen
w later saw Nan making her wa.
=, acros' .qe upper field, and though
y 1 divlt, 4 her purpose. She had see1
~ the engineer pass the house; hat
20 guessed that he was on his way t.
w. the dam, and had taken this chance
10 her last chance it might be, of find
=. ing him alone to plead once again TO
y. justice.
IA 1t seemed pity that the cir
" should have to fight such q hopeless
- battle alone. know not, nor shall
:. ever know, if she believed that he wa
" free to marry her. But such poo
- amends as money may make SHOULD
~ at least be hers: and at the apex O
~ this thought l determined to follow
v. her, and to do what man and law
Ia yer might do to help her.