Courier Democrat., 1904-08-25
snd ber eyes were gray. rney were
very earnest, and yet they sparkled and

and ber eyes were gray. rney were
very earnest, and yet they sparkled and
laughed to him companionabsy. and
sometimes be smiled back upon her.
The Cndine danced before him through
The looely yeara on fair nights in his
walks and came to sit by his fre on
winter evenings when be stared alone
at the e1bera
And tonight here in Plattvilie be
beard voice be had waited for long,
one that his fckle memory told him be
had never heard before. But listening.
be knew better-he had heard it long
ago, though when and how be did not
know. as rich and true and ineffably
tender as now. He threw sop to his
conmon sense. Miss Sherwood is a
litt)a thing" (he image was so surely
tallp. with q bumpy forehead and spec
tac:es" he said to himself. "or else a
provincial young lady with big eyes to
pose at you" Then he felt the idicu-
!ousness Of looking after his common
sense On g moonlight night in June;
also. be knew that he lied
The song had ceased, but the musician
fingered, and the keys We're touched to
plaintive Larmonies new TO him. He
had come to Plattville before "Caval.
leria Rusticana" won the prize at Rome.
and now, entranced. be heard the in
termezzo' for the first time. Listening
to this, he feared to move lest he should
wake from summer nights dream.
\ ragged little shadow fitted down
the path behind him. and from q so!i-
tary apple tree standing like a lone
ly ghost in the middle Of the neld
came the ''Woo.' of a screech owl twice.
It was answered-twice-fro clurlp
OF elder bushes that grew in fence
corner fifty yards west Of the pasture
bars Then the barrel Of q squirrel rifle
issued. lifted out of the white elder bios
SONS. and lay along tue fence. The
ed, and Harkless saw two white dresses
come out through the long parlor WIN
dows on to the veranda. 1t will i,e
cooler out here" came the voice Of tie
singer clearly through the quiet. What
q night.'
John vaulted the bars and started 10
cross the road. They saw him fro.l
the veranda. and Miss Briscoe called
to him in welcome. AS his tall figure
stood out plainly in the bright light
against the white dust streak of tire
leaped from the elder blossoms. and
there rang out the sharp report of
rife. There were two screams from
the veranda. One white figure ran into
the house. The other, little one with
gauzy wrap streaming behind, came
flying out into the moonlight straight
to Harkless. There was q second re-
port The rife shot was answered by
a revolver. William Todd had risen
up, apparently from nowhere, and.
kneeling by the pasture bars. fired at
the fash Of the rife.
"Jump fer the shadder. Mr.. Hark-
Iess!" he shouted. Hes in them el-
ders- Fer Gods sake, come backw
Empty handed as he was, the editor
dashed for the treacherous elder bush
as fast as his long legs could carry
him, but before he had taken six
strides hand clutched his sleeve and
q girls voice quavered from close be-
hind him: Don't run like that, Mr..
Harkless! can't keep up"
he wheeled about and confronted a
vision, dainty little figure about five
feet high. flushed and lovely face,
hair and draperies disarranged and
flying. He stamped his foot with rage.
"Get back In the house!' he cried.
"You mustn't go!' she painted. "Its
the only way to stop you"
''Go back to the housee' he shouted
savagely.
~Wih you conner
Fer Gods sake" cried william
Todd, ''come back! Keep out of the
road!' He waS emptying his revolver
ct The clump oR bushes, the uproar Of
he 0sins blasting the night Some one
screamed from the house:
'Helen. Heleny'