The Holly chieftain., 1902-08-15

~
the count aside an4 a&afnly eovsrsd
him With ap:sspi wAfls hs asksd few
Que4tioas In 8 low voice-
Then he vent direct 70 . carriage
that had esc.osd in5nry. ~ though
directed thither, and dragged there
from IN fndividual Who came forth
very unwillingly.
Quickly this party made An effort At
defense. bat was ret upon BY several
OF the narauders, disarmed and made
prisoner.
TAsa sharp commands were givsn.
the arAsd men fell into line. and vhiis
the tzaveisrs still huddled about the
Arss. ths mystsrious force vanished Is
strangely ~ It had come, among the.
tress and rocks that marked that
mountainous section.
Meanwhile Mark Aerrick was also
ensaged in pla1tng with fortunes
Whsa Jones' sst such . charming
example Of mans nobility. ~ rushing
hither ard sy0n. pulling unlucky pas
sssagsss out Of their predicamsat, the
younger man. urged o, By aAmiiar mo-
ttyes. started In the other direction.
He worked like Trojan, for the
cries that came from the lips Of fright
sned women gsve him the impression
that the catastrophe might be even
more serious than ~ yet appeared.
Among the women was one who
seemed more deeply interested in
watching the quick. nervous actions of
young Merrick than In lamenting the
loss Of her nnery. as some of the other
damssls we're doing.
This self-possessed young person
was. petite in figure. and wholly angel
ic in appearance-in fact. she was no
other than the girl from the Trans
vaal, the owner Of unnumbered dia-
mond mines. Little Miss Millions.
on course Merrick was doing his best
to make the ladies comfortable.
He invaded carriage, secured all
he. could, and having lugged it to the
IRE. demanded an owner, who eagerly
put in claim. \
All was proceeding wall when for
the first time he set eyes upon the face
OF Constance Dare.
AZ before. when he had seen her In
the Parisiain carriage. her appearance
gave him a shock. for he stood quito
still, holding his breath, and passing
in doubt whether he were really awake
or dreaming.
Then he was thrilled by the con-
sciousness that her eyes searching
about hither and yon for something,
had become fastened ON him.
She raised her hand as II involun-
tarily-she beckoned eagerly that he
approach, and as one in dream Mark
Merrick walked on to his fate-he
could not have had the power to re-
fuse even though sure destruction lay
under his feet. For Love Is mightier
than cold Reason. and there was that
in his past to warrant blind obedience
when that little hand bade him no
longer hold back.
Once he started Merricks reluctance
vanished. and the blank look OF
amazement upon his face also gave
way to eagerness.
And 80 he came to where she stood,
this girl. who had once before been
such a factor in the molding Of his
life
Constance had extended little hand
he did not see 1t. SO eagerly were his
eyes drinking in every well remember
ed lineament Of her features, with the
mocking memories they stirred into
life dancing before him.
She smiled now. smiled with pleas
ure, and the rosy nush had crept down
to her very neck.
"MArk-Mr. Merrick-how strange
that We should meet again and under
such stormy conditions. It seems
fated that we can only come together
under the shadow Of danger"
Mark found his voice-and her
hand.
Dear Heaven, but am glad to ses
you, Constance. You come to me ~
one from the dead. have mourned
you ~ gone from this world, and
even now have hard work to believe
my senses" he said. pressing her hand
In both his own.
"You are . little glad then?" she
asked. .ds
"Giad-I am-well. never mind what
my condition Of mind is. You can
surely Judge Of it by the look in my
eyes. God be praised for sparing you.
It is wonderful, marvellous even. Il
cannot dream how II could have han.