The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-06-26
MANS HEART
AND 4 WONAN's

EETE 80 '.ESA1S DION med I,
asshe broke or rather siu MIN,
bdly in the midst OF an aimless spntso.uiact-
1t was seven minutes till tr.is uce.
had seen TO the checking Of H. ufne.
gage, had procured her berth tlc,.a. Dag
had purchased a liberal supplv ne and
.ure for her perusal during the 10, altefa-
Now the two stood together nsany
outer gate, awaiting their turn nss a. The
ticket man. All about them were the
and clamor. the rumbling Of tr,o, e,atter
changing OF bells. the putting and bi,,.t!he
engines. Missing
But it was not the external confn..
distracted John Lansing. The tnr n,vn
of the heart may be SO miehtr 'alault
deafen ones outer ear. as to
AT his companions words T..n,,,
an effort to gather his scattered w.t. made
don't know. really. what I was pois. l
say he confessed, with an odd ,ass.o
Then his changed sndSaas;ih'
There are many things I might sa, se g
pursued. rapidly, in a low tone: ..th,, ne
which I dare not, '"nss
Her cool, startled glance checked IT..
Instantly. MN
I mean.' he stammered; 81 mean 49,.
you-that L. 'hat
"Look" she interrupted him, "you un
miss your chance" wa
Turning abruptly, he presented ho,
ticket. AS they passed out Of the eata
she glanced hurriedly at his face and SAM
the lower lip caught firmly by the lima,
teeth. His eyes. full OF a dunn . ra,s
stared straight ahead. p9'''
It was we'll for Lansing that he d,a
see the swift yearning In her eyas .b y
CULVER that crossed her features.
When she spoke to him again If v,s
with her composed, conventional sm;io
They had found her seat In the Pu,lman
and he was arranging her wraps and I'M
brella while the porter busted hinselt
with the valise and other trans.
You must not forget my various mes.
sages to your sisters" she e~njoined hin,
when h porter had vanished rrinnins
over the unusually large piece OF silver
in his palm.
"No," promised Lansing, 81 won't" HA
sat facing her, the dumb distress of his
eyes intensified. -"
She averted her own, and began hast,,,
to talk Of many things. But her sneeos
"a nervous, disjointed, fighty. As sba
chatted on a high color rose in her cheets
and her eyes burned with a ney bril-.
liancy.
D you know" he said, intensely ..
she paused for breath-"do you know lhat
this train will start In just three min.
utes? Do o know that The almost
gasred the words-"I shall never see Won
again and that"
She broke in upon his speech deter,
minsdly, utterly ignoring the Significance
Of the last part.
"only three minutes2 Well, 1 thought
there remained at least five. Now, Won
won't forget what I told you to say TO
Edith? And Margaret must know what
1a1ierhff1,14 fipoac ) - lo,- a. !,
don't believe the girls realize what a
charming visit I a and what
"Ileanor!" he cried, sharply. DON'T! I
can't bear til
Again her quick glance Of displeasure
checked him..
Forgive me-" he faltered, "I-forgo,
myself. The girls always called you
Eleanor, ard IL presumeG-but you will
pardon me. Mrs. Raynlond?'
She nodded and smiled brightly. wish
me a pleasant Journey" she cried, almost
with gayety. The spots In her checks wers
crimson now.
you. know I do wish it! You know, be.
sides, that"
"All aboard" shouted the voice OF the
conductor outside.
Lansing rose to his feet and leaned
toward her. She turned her face from
him with startled abruptness, so that her
profile a just visible. He looked, and
the repressed longing of weeks rushed into
his eyes. She could not see-would not
know. In that homer his gaze caressed
her brow, her cheek, her lips.
She glanced UP n saw the glowing
truth, concealed no longer.
Fully they faced each other, the man
and the
The train began slowly to move. Flea.
-@~tpt Lo. -; al = 80 l.. 8# 7 = x,,, 49, .ocr ~
soul to soul, with every barrier swept
aside.
But the woman recollected herself
"Goodby!" she said, almost pushing him
from her. "Yes-yes-I understand-don't
forget my message to the gir!s-hurry-
hurry-you'l be left
He crushed her hands against his face.
"Goodby!' he said brokcniy.
A moment later he st ,od on the plat.
form, watching the receding train. He
watched until only a puff of smoke re-
manned visible. Then he sighed Sharply
And I shall never see her again. On
Eleanor"
A cynical !ook crept INTO his eyes. Il
suppose she is satisfied, SO long as the con.
ventionalities have been preserved he
muttered grirn,y. But 1 could swear she
loves me! 1 saw it in her eyes-I know It.
God! If 1 could but nave kissed her
once!"
In the Pullman car Eleanor Raymond
turned a feverish face from the sight Of
other passengersn Her eyes, burning ana
tear-ftlled. ~staredSbut upon the now swift
ly moving landscape. :,
She held her right hand to her lips and
kissed the faint bruise which his fe'cs
grasp had made.
TITS all over now" she gasped, "ana
safely over. Oh, it was hard, hard! b.
I'm so thankful-thankful that he dlah.
say 1t, thankful that 1 kept him from !"
even to the last
She sighed, a slow, quivering sigh :!
can go on loving him now, loving MIN d.
an ideal-an ideal that was not SHATTERED
an ideal hat will be an inspiration TO III
always, whatever darkness the future may
hold in store"