The Washington herald., 1906-12-23

wrong, even while you were saying #.
but 1 could not stop you You know
you cannot change what is fixed, and /
must marry Mr. Plummer."
Harley laughed Joyously. Later he did
not know why he was SO confident then,
but the air Of the mountains and a new
| FIRE, too. were sparkling in his veins. and
/ at that moment he had no doubts
You will not marry Mr.. PIummer. F"
he repeated, with energy. and II is not
you that Will break the promise. II is
he that shall give 1t back to you"
For the time she felt HIS faith, and her
/ face glOwed, but her courage left her
/ when the King" who had been ahead
( with the candidate, dropped back toward
/ the rear and Joined them.
King" PIummer, too. had begun that
return journey with feelings OF exhilara-
ton. Everything in the trip from Crow s
/ Wing appealed to him, because il vas 90
/ thoroughly in cOnsonance with his early
/ life in the mountains. The adventure in
/ Queen City had stirred his blood, and
{ around him were familiar things. He.
1 too. wished that an organized band Of
/ bandits would come. because in his
/ younger days be had helped 20 hunt
I down some Of the worst men in the
mountains, and the old fighting blood
/ mounted as high as ever in his veins.
/ He had seen that Sylvia was entirely re-
covered from the alarms of the night at
/ Queen City. and then. because he felt that
/ II was his duty, and because there was a
keen zest in it, too, he rode on ahead with
/ the candidate. to whom he pointed out
\ dim blue peaks that he knew. and to
/ whom he laid down the proposition that
those mountains were full Of minerals
and would one day prove a source Of IL
I llmitable wealth to the nation.
/ The cTispneSs Of the morning, the vast
eNpanse Of mountain. and the feeling Of
I deep. full life made the Kings" blood
/ tngle. His years Of hardship, danger. and
Joy-and he had enjoyed his life greatly
swept before him. and he laughed under
/ his breath; life was still very good. After
a while the thought Of Sylvia came to
/ him, and he smiled again, because Sylvia
I was truly good to look upon. He rode
/ back toward her. and then he received a
/ biow-a blow square in the face, and
/ dealt heavily.
| King Plummer's was not a mind
trained TO look uDon the more delicate
shades OF life-he dealt rather with the
obvious; but when he saw Harley and
Sylvia he knew. Mrs. Grayson's warning.
which ct first he had only half accepted
I mad come true. and II had come quickly.
! lis instant impulse was that OF the print
tive man 10 raise his fist and strike down
this foolish, this presumptuous youth who
/ had dared TO cross the path Of him, the
/ King Of the Mountains; but he did not
raise H. because King PIummer was
a gentleman; instead, he strove to con-
ceal the fact that he was breathing hard
and deep, and he spoke to them in a tone
that he sought to render careless. but
which really had an unnatural sound
sylvia gave him glance that was half
rear, and had the king taken notice
It would have filled him with deep pain.
but Harley. who alone of the three re-
tanned his self-possession, spoke lightly
Of passing things. The feeling of ex-
ulting strength was not yet gone from
him; in the presence Of this man of great
achievement he was not afraid. and.
moreover, the desire to protect Sylvia.
TO turn attention from her. was strong
within him.
FOR these reasons Harley carried the
whole burden OF the talk. and carried il
/ Well Neither of the others wished To
interrupt him; Sylvia being full of these
new emotions, half joy and half fear.
that agitated her, and Mr., Plummer try
ing 20 evolve from chaos a way TO act.
Although the King had suppressed
the muscular manifestation, he was none
the less burned by internal fire. Sylvia
was his; it was he who had found her
IN the mountains; it was he who had
given her the years Of care and tender
ness, and by every right. including that
OF promise, she belonged TO him. Nor
was he one to give her up for fancy.
de had seen the look of love on her face
when she spoke to Harley, but she was
only girl-from the crest of HIS years
the king thought that he saw the
truth and knew it-and as soon as this
campaign was over, and the Eastern
youth had disappeared. she would for
set him.
Mr.. Plummer regarded this youth out
OF the corner of his eye, and while he
pited him for his ignorance Of life, he
was bound to admit that Harley was a
handsome fellow, TALL well knit, and with
an air Of self-reliance. Evidently there
was good stuff in him. and he would
amount 10 something when he was
trained and mature, although the King
concluded that he needed a great deal
of training. But he could not fail 10
feel respect for Harley's presence of
mind. his calm. and his ease. The youth
showed no fear Of him. no sign of ap-
prehension. and the mountaineer gave
him credit for it.
Sylvia was glad when they stopped in
one Of the lower glades to rest and eat of
the food which had been so amply pro-
vided for them. But she was proud OF
Harley and the manner in which he had
taken upon himself all the burden. His
conduct went far to justify in her eyes
his confident prediction, and, secretly ap-
proving, she watched the ease with
which he bore himself among the blunt
mountaineers and the handsome manner
in which he affiliated. She noticed that
they seemed to think OF Harley as one
Ike Jimmy Grayson-that is, one OF
themselves-and they never considered
him raw or green in any respect
Her confidence in Harley and the mo-
mentary elation returned as they stood
there in this cup in the mountsin-side
and looked out upon the expanse Of