The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-04-21
CHAPTER ".
WHICH MAY BE PASSED OVER
LIGHTLY

When l came back to some clearer
sensing Of things, l found myself abed
in Il room which was strange and yet
strangely familiar Barring great
oaken clothes press in one corner, a
raree show of curious china on the
shelves where the books should have
BEEN and the face of an armored SOL
der staring down at me from it's frame
over the chimneypiece, where | should
have looked to see my mothers por-
trait, the room was counterpart of my
old bedchamber al Appleby Hundred.
There was even faint odOr of lavender
in the bed linen: and the sense of smell,
which hath ever a better memory than
any other carried me swiftly back to
my boyhood, and to the remembrance
that my mother had always kept a
spray or two of that sweet herb in her
linen closet.
AT the bedside there was claw footed
table, which also had the look Of an old
friend: and on it a dainty porringer
| filled with cuttings of fragrant sweet
| briar. This was some womanly con-
cet, | said to myself; and then
laughed. though the laugh set a pair
| of VOLTS jaws at work on my shoulder
| For you must know that l had lived the
full half of King David's span Of
| three-score and ten years, and more
and what Womanly softneSs had fallen
to my lot had been well got and paid
for.
closed my eyes the better to remem-
Der what had befallen, and when
| opened them again was fain to wonder
If the moment of back-reaching stood
not for some longer time. In the deep
bay of the window was a great chair
of Indian wickerwork and l could
have sworn it had but now been
empty. Yet when ] looked again a
woman sat in it,
Now of a truth ! had seen this wom-
ans face but twice and once it wore a
smile OF teasing mockery and once was
full of terror but l thought | should
live long and suffer much before the
winsome challenging beauty of it would
let me be as | had been before l had
looked upon it..
shaking the thirst of my eyes upon the
sweetness of her, and so saw her then
as few ever saw her. / think with the
womanly barriers of defense all down
lis hard test and one that makes a
blank OF many Il face beautiful enough
in action; but though this lady's face
was 10 the full as changeful as any
April sky, it was never less than tri-
umphantly beautiful.
, had said her eyes We're blue, but
nov they were deep wells rejecting the
, soft gray of the clouded sky beyond the
I window panes. l had made sure thai
her lips lent themselves most readily tt
: knocking smiles scornful OF any wit les.
trenchant than her own; but now these
mocking lips were pensive. and witt
} the rounded cheek and chin gave hel
2 the look of sweet child wanting to be
kissed. had said her hair was brigh
IN the sunlight. and so, indeed, it was
t but lacking the sun it still held the dull
ulster Of FURNISHED copper in its masses
: and her simple. care-free dressing O
n IT at time when les grandes danes
z were frizzing and powdering and add
!, ing art to art to mar the woman
e crown of glory, gave her yet more tn
I look of child
Q Lastly, l had called her small. an,
= certainly her figure was girlish besid
l. those grenadier DANES of MARI
e Theresa's court to whom my old field
y marshal had once presented me- Blu
i when she rose and went to stand in tn
windoW-haS marked this; that no
any duchess or margarine of them al
e had more queenly bearing, or, wit