The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-06-16

MS breath and haf closed his eyes
that he might watch 1t. 1t went away.
Too weak to turn his head, he waited
till it fiuttered down again with a cup
Of milk. There was no woman IN the
district with such a hand, and full OF
the wonder of it he fell asleep.
He dreamed OF beautiful things
white flowers, white doves, white
hands. Waking stronger for long rest,
his first movement was one OF curios-
ity. A woman, in a pale blue sun
bonnet that completely shaded her
face, was pouring something into a
glass at the washstand. Was it pos
sible that ugly bonnet could go with
those slender fingers? He asked for a
drink Of water. To his joy the same
hand appeared again.
rs 1t EVENING" he asked, when she
had taken away the cup.
mo, 1t is morning." returned a voice
that was little more than whisper.
Then please will you be so klndc
to let in some lightT'
Light is not good for you just yet"
was the answer in subdued tones.
GeraIdson was not strong enough to
dispute this point, and he lay quiet,
iEwardly vexed at the bonnet. Ideas
came to him slowly. At last he asked,
brilliantly: "Will you please tell me
who you are?'
II am a nurse"
"a nursew He considered for some
time.
How did you come hereW
That is very simple. Your little
girl was crying on the trail, and /
came in and found you"
"And you stayed and nursed me-
how wonderfully good of your
mot at ALL" The voice was cold.
you would have done the same your
self"
"oh. but not in the way you are
doing" he returned, modestly.
After that he pondered for a long
time. She had happened TO be pass
ing" as though a road that led to no.
where were a much-frequented thor
oughfare. That in itself was miracle,
and her beautiful hands, her move
ments. so unlike those of a mountain
woman, were something to brood
upon.
But why did you come hereT' he
asked, after long silence. mo one
ever comes here"
Il came to see my brother"
He dared not ask her any more. He
could only suppose that which he had
been away some stranger had come
into the district. But any attempt
at connected thought was too much for
him. and again he fell asleep.
When he was breathing quietly. the
woman with the beautiful hands threw
Off the bonnet as though she were tired
Of the troublesome disguise, and lean
ing her chin upon her hand, gazed
intently at his pallid face. Still she
kept the bonnet on her lap, ready to
don 1t at the moment he should show
signs of waking, for she was deter
mined that he should not recognize
her should never know that ii was
she, Elsie Vining, who had saved him.
She had taken the initiative, come out
from the East, because mere letters
were not enough, and she had felt at
last that she must have something
more tangible than these impersonal
epistles. She had discovered him in
his extremity, and had brought him
back to life. But her joy in this was
chastened. She knew now why his
letters had been so cold. she had been
no more than an abstraction, an in
tellectual page in his life. He had not
even Thought it necessary to tell her
of the important events that were TAX
Ing place with him. He had concealed
say, rather, ignored as of no posi-
bic interest to her-that fact that he
had married and had a little daughter.
He had never even told her that his
wife was dead, as she could only sup
pose she must be. 1t was plain that
he had not cared as she had cared.
He had not remembered-perhaps had
never experienced-those moments
when they had met in Boston five
years ago, in which it had seemed TO
her so much had passed without words
between them that even in the letters
for all their impersonality-it lad APP
peared permissible to read between
the lines meanings tender and mag
netic She had taken too much for
granted. She blushed to the roots of
her hair, and hid her face in the bon
net as thought it were a VEIL Outside
the open window she could hear the
little child singing to herself. Had he
loved the mother very much, she Won
dered? Love! What had she to do
with love? 1t was high time she
should take her departure. She went
restlessly out of the room and into the
kitchen, where the nurse, for whom
she had sent to San Francisco, had
already begun a feminine revolution
in the bachelor order of things. AS
she worked, this young woman glanced
out Of the window at Margery at play
beneath the trees, remarking that the
child was the very image of her father.
The other briefly assented. and imme-
diately went out into the open air and
looked at the little girl from a short
way of. II suppose there is a like
ness" she said to herself, 'but l can't
600 itv II was stgqnRe. She thouphf