Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-06-21
DAILY SHORT STORY
Concerning a Vowel.
TCopyright. 1904. 10y NJ. Wood. ]


sideiof ,the, a%enue$andfto the unutter-
abletsurprise ,of4Nhncy, who was some
thingiof !afloafertin the way of horse
flesh. ihetpermittediher totdrop into the
gait ihe vwas&wontit to term funeral"
AS asgeneEaIkthingtwhen they reached
the lbrdleSpathtini the Fgray of these
early winter Rmsornings 'Tirrell would
saySbriskly, i"Come, Nancy" touch her
with the croptand they would go gal
Looping, smartly toward the reservoir in
a fashion which, made tire occupants
oft early carsNturn about to catch
anOtherlglimpse lOf them.
There Swas nos Come, Nancy" this
morning;lno touch of thetcrOp. Tirrell
satI stifflylin'theIs saddle, gazing straight
ahead - at nothing apparently. So
Nancy tpoked ~ialOng in her shuffling
walk. herIheadkthrust out and her ears
laid Ibac31'in aImanner which on any
ordinary nothave failed
to rouset Tirrears tire.
1t waSh Il dull, cheerleSS morning.
Low hanging clouds were in the sky,
and Through Hhe bare branches of the
elms the wind whistled "a prophecy of
SNOW. Trren smiled grimly. The
morning cTres pended with his mood.
Last nigIE, Ewhen he had Quarreled
with Amy Linton, it had seemed to
hims that wlthAEery proper! dignity he
hadloffered, ableAdefeTEse of a principle;
this morning, Jas The mentally reviewed
the affair, heSStampedlhis whole course
of actiom as Jasmine.
Miss Linton, was not the sort of girl
who fiewIinto temperiOne moment and
repentedtit ithe tnextt Her anger ma
tured slOwIytand waSSdeep rooted, Tir-
relI felt ,sure the end had come. No
| more jolly evenings with her before the
library fire. no lmOreI rides4with her in
the crisp tair oflthe twintersmornings.
He shutlhisIteeth-a ndIthuew back his
head.
"Close ranks; here" hey growled to
himself, andi to the mare. s"Come. Nam
cy" He struck her smartly with the
crop. Nancy responded with side
wise spring which would have unseat-
| ed a lessA eXperiencedlTider and gallop-
ed up theipath'a at pace that sent the
blood surging to TirreH's cheeks. But
neither the pce Of the mare nor the
! chill Of the morning NOR his own de-
termination to 6orgett the whole affair
could drive .AmyAIintDn from his mind.
He could see tiser standing. as she
had last night, ongthe other side of the
library table, hert face whitej and her
| eyes fiashings fire. Her could ihear her
say again. "Therelis really nothing
more to be said, Mr.. Tirrell: good
night" and hefpictnred her to himself
as she swept from the room, her head
| poised proudlyIabove thetperfectishoul-
| ders.
Tirrells felt OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES in his
! throat.
Darn titr' he exploded and urged
the marefinto Il breakneckirun.
TirrellNwas we'll ont toward the reser-
voir andt still riding recklessly when
| he saw n riderless horse galloping
| down theSbridle path. He pulled Nancy
up. and. heading her in the opposite
| direction, he rode slowly along, await
| ing the arrival, OF the other horse. AS
! it came up ,he leanedifrom the saddle
and graspcdtthe bridle,of the runaway.
| The horse tcarriedi sideSaddle, and
| there was n white star on the fore
! head that brought Ttrrell'S heart to his
mouth. 1t was MisslLinton's horse.
! He turned Nancy, and, leading the
| otherlhorse beside him, he rode up Cthe
bride path again. They had gonejb
| q shortt distance when he espied Amy
Linton walking unconcernedly down
| the path. Tirrell heGTed sigh of gen
uine relief.
Il was afraidtyou were hurt" said
he. dismounting.
NO" she said IT was tightening the
| girth when he left rather unceremoni-
ously. Stand still. Tony, you IDIOT
she said to thelhorse.
Tim glad I happened along" said
Tirrell. He felt rather. embarrassed.
"It was kind of you to catch him.
she said
Tirrelf assisted her to mount.
MAY 1 finish out the ride with you?'
he asked.
Miss Unions eyebrowsNwere raised a
trife
IF you WISH" she saidrcoldly.
For awhile(the galloped along jim ST
lence. Tirrell suddenly drew his horse
nearer hers.
Have you any idea where 1 was
headed for?" he said in a low voice.
I'm afraid I haven't" she said, still
frigidly.
You remember the little hill just
| past the reservoir, he pursued, Lne
one where we used to ride mornings
and watch the sun sparkle the snow on
the opposite slopeY
Miss Linton regarded him steadily
for 4 moment.
Yes" she saidsQuietly.
II was going out there" he said,
"and I-er-felt-oh, hang it!-as if
were going TO n grave" he blurted
There was silence again. Then Miss
Linton spoke, her head turned from
him.
II was going out there too. IL
think 1 felt much the same"
Amy he cried and caught her
hand in his. Fer head was still turned
from him, b2S the little ear nearest him
was very red.
I'm brute" he asserted.
Ior,r1aH cnfflr