Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-18

time pulling them out. They were soaked from head to feet, and in try ing to dry the switch at the camp fire it got burned. She said she did not mind the value entirely, but it was so hard to match; she had paid small fortune for that one. She really looks pretty with short curls. but won't be happy till she matches her switch again. But even with the switch there wasn't such an everlasting lot of 1t as you seem to have, and so fine and soft! :" And he touched it gently, as if it were something precious.
 Beyond the pleasure of his comph- ments Millie was recalling all the sto- ries she had read and wept over of beautiful maidens who had sold their long locks to. buy their family bread Must she do this? It was all she had No pretty clothes, no jewelry; tan on hands and face. Why, even Roy seemed to admire it more than anything else about her. If it were cut off would he ever come all the way up here to see her again, bringing into her life the touch of young companionship and the brightness of the outside world that had been more to hOr than she had realized? a5
 But, "a small fortunei" Her fathers face at midnight haunted her. At what sacrifice had he stopped? Every thing had gone to Golden Hair," the mine that was her cruel namesake. Would it not be only appropriate to give this, too?
 Roy" she said, to the enthusiass tic youth, looking at her so approv. ingly, wouldn't I be a. fright If 1t wasn't just for my hair7 Would you-would you like me without it?" His eyes opened wide.
 "You see, washed it this morning because my head ached; perhaps it is 1 too heavy. If I had it cut off, per 2 haps my head wouldn't ache. If cut it off, do you think Miss Blayre would really buy it?"
 When he heard how the father had come home, he understood about the headaches and the mercenary willing ness to trade golden locks for green l with impotent desire to help. When he met her at his sisters in Golden, to take her to the gradua. tion exercises at the hall, he looked at her twice as if to be sure she was the same girl.
 "Well, what is it?'' she laughed
 and dimpled saucily.
 ''What is it-you?" he retorted.
 'What has happened? What have you done to yourself? Has some
 thing happened?" he repeated eager ly, looking at her happy eyes spark
 ling so bewitchingly under her 1uxu.
 rious golden pompadour, "so that you
 won't need to-to--" and he touched
 the wonderful pompadour 9earfully with one finger.
 "We1l, on the principle that the
 condemned convict gets a square
 meal and his last luxury" she said
 1nischievously, "I determined to
 spend my last dollar on 8 shampoo
 not the kind I have been used to giv
 ing it up in the creek, but the regu'
 lar hairdresser sort-and a 'coifure,
 as they call what call fixing it
 and this Is one result. Do you like
 it?" And she turned her head dain
 tily as 8 bird, from side to side be
 fore his admiring eyes.
 "You look, stunningl" was his sat
 isfactory reply.
 "But here's the miracle" she wen,
 on, her eyes dancing more gladly than ever. "The girl who did mJ . hair was the conversational kind Q: a female barber"
 "Oh!" he groaned; 'I didn't know you had them, too"
 "Well, we don't mind; we don't gt so often, and it was lucky for mt this one was. While washing my hair, she asked politely: Excuse me, but don't you do something? That wasn't very definite, and didn't get her point. said I die things occasionally. Then she asked
 me if I did not work in frameshop } I did not understand her. It seem she comes from the east, and sh, went on to say that the gold-leaf hat r gotten into my hair and on my scall } just like it did back there in the hai F of the girls that worked at gildins picture frames, but she had no heard of frame factory in Denver
 When I told her did not know any thing about such work, she asked m, 5 what I used on my hair and how washed it. I told her the only fixing l it got was little soap and that ] washed it in the creek at home, be 3 cause the water was so nice and soft "'Oh!' she said, I've heard of then 3 washing gold in the creeks; placer 2 mining, you call it,, don't you?' Ant ] then it dawned on mel"
 "Flour goldl" he exclaimed excit Q edly. "The creek gravel is probabl, f full of it and the fine flour gold i ] churned up and kept floating by tn r force of the current. Your hai a would act like an amalgam plate
 The gold would be precipitated an, t collect among the strands of it an,
 deposit on your scalp. Why, there i t most likely a mine at your very door g while your poor father has beel T working so hard and putting all h l. had into the Golden Hair,' away ove l. the mountainl"
 q The Golden-Hair placer was pa. j. dirt from the start, and already