The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-05-18

girl is the one in Ave thousand tfof
that sex is certainly mi Fe impulsive),
why then-but pshaw! he isn't"
The brewer knew humanity passing
we'll, and watched his experiment with
confidence. Old Schouler was wild at
the disappearance of his daughter; the
little world in which the Schoulers
and Mrs. Sears moved was in tur-
moil; but-old Richard Dumble's
world had wider orbit! No suspicion
attached to the old man, and the world
or that part of It that fretted over
the young peoples affairs, had to fall
back upon the theory Of an elopement.
Deserted by the world, ministered to
by grim, close-mouthed servants, sup
piled with the comforts and amuse
ments of normal young people-Edwif.
with books and gymnasium apparatus;
Henrietta with music, the latest novel,
embroidery-the two prisoners passed
their days in maddening proximity.
The corridor was far too long to per-
NIT the tender whisperings that lovers
commonly use; indeed, there was al
ways the believing wind as rival in
any exchange of VOWS. But there was
the language of signs, and eternal
trust that could be expressed in a
clutching at vacancy.
Books Knocked the young man-what
did they say but that love was always
rewarded in the end Music, such as
she knew, spoke to Henrietta of love
that blossomed in free young breast,
and here the blasts that whirled up
that precipice face turned her plaintive
notes to thin wailing. The grim
faces of the servants, passing in and
out, silently, except for the jangling
of the big keys, oppressed the spirits
of both. A sort of desperate restless
ness possessed the lovers-they paced
their rooms, in and out of those corri-
dor doors, up to the line beyond which
it were death to pass; and great des-
pair came upon them.
Winter gave way at last to spring,
and even on the bare mountain top,
where the world stretched away from
their view thousand feet below, the
new balm came to renew the lovers
passion. Not once mad Edwin taken
pen to write his defeat, not once had
Henrietta failed to gain courage from
fresh sight of the man who loved
her. Sometimes, in a lull of the ever
lasting mounting storm, they had
called to one another TO be brave and
faithful.
The earth was released from the grip
Of the snow, and young leaves came
out to clothe the trees on the beauu-
full New Hampshire hills. At last the
little lakes that dotted a broad green
valley shone up to the prisoners like
bright jewels on a warm, full bosom.
Life, throbbing, new, eternal, woke
the fame of love to white heat. The
DEGREES of man seemed impotent, un-
real. Heaven sent love, the cry of man
to maid, and Of the spring to young
hearts, swept the lovers reason and
fear tosthe winds. A great cry rang
out from the boys lips:
My love, do you rear death?" And
the answer, keyed 10 an eXultant pitch,
rang back:
MOT with you, my sweetheart"
"Ah- then come" With the words,
Edwin sprang forward to meet the on
coming rush of the mad girl. One
step over the white Cead line, and the
floor was creaking like thin ice. Two
steps, and it was swaying like a show
mans net. With the touch of hand
to hand, the frail foundation splintered
and fell with a crash, in which were
mingled the terrified scream of the
girl and the exultant cry Of the in
fatuated lover.
"Sir, my master bade me give you
| this paper, whenever you appeared
| here" Dazed, uncomprehending, Ed
win Dumble glanced up from tangle
of broken beams to see close-but-
toned, deferential servant at his side,
extending to him square folded pa
per. His eyes sought wildly for Hen
rietta. She was lying near him in an
incongruous heap, looking about in a
panic of wonder.
The youth opened the paper and
read:
'If you are the one in ten thousand,
and risk death for the girl, you deserve
her Go and be married and come to
me at once. l hope you will not be
hurt by the splinters.
RICHARD DUMBLE."
"Splinters-" What kind of an after
death dream was this? Then young
Dumble looked up to see the gaping
hole in the corridor hardly six feet
above the sawdust-covered ground on
which he sat!-New York Evening
Post.