The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-06-26
A MANS HEART
and A WOMAN'S

edly In the midst of an aimleSs sentence.
1t was seven minutes till train time.
He had seen to the checking of her bag
| gage, had procured her berth ticket. and
had purchased a liberal supply of litera-
ture for her perusal during the journey.
Now the two stood together near the
outer gate, awaiting their turn with the
| dcket man. All about them were catter
and clanlor, the rumbing of trucks, the
changing of bells, the putting and kissing
| Of engines.
| But 1t was not the external confusion
that distracted John Lansing. The tu1nult
| Of the heart may be SO mighty as to
! deafen ones outer ear.
At his companions words Lansing made
an effort to gather his scattered wits. II
don't know, really, what l was going to
say" he confessed, with an odd laugh.
Then his manner changed suddenly.
There are many things might say" he
| pursued, rapidly, in a low tone: things
! which I dare not
Her cool, startled glance checked him
| instantly
I mean" he stammered; Il mean that
| you-that l.
Look" she interrupted him. you will
| miss your chance
Turning abruptly. he presented her
ticket. AS they passed out Of the gate
she glanced hurriedly ut his face and saw
liie low el up CtioSill lliiHiS W Tie uppei
| teeth. His eyes, full of a dumb pain,
stared straight ahead.
1t was well for Lansing that he did not
see the swift yearning in her eyes, the
culver that crossed her features
When she spoke to him again it was
with her composed, conventional smile.
They had found her seat in the Pullman,
and he was arranging her wraps and UNI
brella while the porter busted himself
a ND ut fyor
You must not forget my various mes
sages to your sisters she enjoined him
when the porter had vanished grinning
over the unusually large piece of silver
in his palm.
mo" promised Lansing, 81 won't" He
sat facing her, the dumb distress of his
eyes intensified.
She aVerted her own, and began hastily
to talk Of many things. But her SPEECH
was nervous, disjointed, fiighty. AS she
chatted on a high color rose in her cheeks
and her eyes burned with a ney bril-
liancy.
DO you know" he said, intensely, as
she paused for breath-''do you know ihat
this train will start in just three min
utes? Do you know that The almost
gasped the words-"I shall never see you
again and that
She broke in upon his speech deter
minedly, utterly ignoring the significance
of the last part.
only three minutes? Well, T thought
there remained ct least five. Now, you
won't forget what I told you to say to
Edith? And Margaret must know what
delightful times l spent in her studio. !
don't believe the girls realize what a
charming visit I had and what"
Eleanor he cried, sharply. Don't! 1
can't bear TIL
Again her quick glance OF dsp,easure
checked him.
Forgive me- he faltcred, 'I-forgot
myself. The girls always called you
Eleanor, and II presumed-but you will
pardon me, Mrs. Raymond?"
She nodded and smiled brightly. wish
me pleasant journey she cried almost
with gayety. The spots in her cheeks 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 was just visible. He looked, and
the repressed longing OF weeks rl.5hed into
his eyes. She could not 5ee-would not
know. In that moment his gaze caressad
har brow, her cheek her lips.
/ She glanced up and saw the glowing
gtruth, concealed no longer.
{ Fully they faced each other, the man
and the woman.
!. The train began slowly to move "Elea-
nor! he cried again 1t was the cali of
soul to soul, with every barrier swept
aside
But the woman recollected herself.
Goodbye she said, almost pushing him
from her. ''Y es-yes-I understand-dont
forget my message to the giris-hurry-
hn lore
He crushed her hands against his face.
'Goodby!" he said broken!y.
A moment later he stood on the plat
form, watching the recedng train. He
watched until only puff of smoke re-
manned visible Then he sighed sharply.
And shall never see her again! oh,
Eleanor!"
A cynical look crept into his eyes 81
suppose she is satisfied, SO long as the con
ventionalities have been prescrved." he
muttered grimly. "Put l could swear she
loves me! l saw it in her eyes--I know it !!
God! if I could but have kissed her.
once!"
In the Pullman car Eleanor Raymond
turned a feverish face from the sight of
other passengers. Her eyes, burning and
tear-flled, stared out upon the now swift
ly moving landscape.
f She held her right hand to her lips and
kissed the faint bruise which his fierce
grasp had made.
Its all over now she gasped, land
safely over. On, it was hard, hard. But
I'm SO thankful-thankful that he didn'.
say it, thankful that 1 kept him from ii
even to the last"
She sighed, slow, quiyering sigh. II
can go on loving him now, loving him as
an ideal-an ideal that was not shattered;
an ideal that will be an inspiration to me
always, whatever darkness the future may
hold in store.''
ethical Properties OF Words.