Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-07-19

six months he had known the unsur-
passable luxury of wanting and of
knowing what he wanted. Now, all at
| once, he saw this to be a world in
which dreams come more than true.
Shepler and the party were to go
through the mine as a matter of sight
seeing. They were putting on outer
clothes from the store room to protect
them from the dirt and damp.
Presently Percival found himself
again at the bottom of the shaft. Dur
| ing the descent of 1900 feet he had
| reflected upon the curious and inter-
esting fact that her name should be
Milbrey. He felt dimly that this cir
cumstance should be ranked among
the most interesting of natural phe-
| nomena-that she should have name,
as the run of mortals, and that 1t
should be one name more than an
| other. When he discovered further
that her Christian name was Avice the
phenomenon became stupendously be-
wildering.
They two were in the last of the
party to descend. On reaching bottom
he separated her with promptness and
guile from two solemn young men,
copies of each other, and they were
presently alone. In the distance they
could see the others following ghostly
lamps. From far off mysterious re-
! cesses came the musical clink of the
sledges on the drills. An employee who
had come down with them started to
be their guide. Percival sent him
back.
i've just been through; l can find
my way again"
Yer WELL" said the man, with the
exception that it don't happen some-
thing-yes?" And he stayed where he
was.
Down one of the crosscuts they
started, stepping aside to let a car Of
ore be pushed along to the shaft.
do you know" began the girl, 81
am so glad to be able to thank you for
what you did that night"
I'm glad you are able. I was be-
ginning to think l should always have
those thanks owing to me-"
II might have paid them at the
time, but it was all so unexpected and
so STUDENT ratified me, quite"
81 thought you were horribly cool
headed"
II wasn't"
Your manner reduced me to a
groom who opened your carriage
door,"
But grooms don't often pick strange
ladies up bodily and bear them out Of
pandemonium of waltzlng cab horses.
I'd never noticed before that cab horses
are so frivolous and hysterical."
And grooms know where to look
for their pay"
They were interrupting nervously,
and bestowing furtive side looks upon
each other.
"If I'd not seen YOU" said the girl,
glanced at you-before-that evening.
| shouldn't have remembered so WE'LL;
doubtless I'd not have recognized you
to-day" :
81 didn't know you did glance at me,
and yet I watched you every moment
of the evening. You didn't know that,
did you?"
She laughed.
"Of course knew 1t. A woman has
to note such things without letting it
be seen that she Sees"
And I'd have sworn you never once
so much as looked my way"
Don't we do it well, thought
"And in spite of all the time I gave
to study of your face, lost the de-
tail of it. l could keep only the effect
of its expression and the few tones
of your voice l heard. You know I
took those on a record so l coul4 make
'em play over any time I wanted to
listen. Do you know, that has all been
very sweet to me, my helping you and
the memory Of it-so vague and sweet"
Aren't you afraid we're losing the
others?"
She halted and looked back.
mo; I'm afraid we won't lose them;
come on; you can't turn back now.
And you don't want to hear anything
about mines; it wouldn't be at all good
for you, I'm sure. Quick, down this
way, or you'll hear Pangburn telling
some one what a stope is, and think
what a thing that would be to carry
| in your head"
Really, a stope sounds like some
thing that would get you in the night
I'm afraid"
Half in his spirit she fled with him
down a dimly lighted incline where
men were working at the rocky wall
with sledge and drill. There was that
in his manner which compelled her
quite as literally as when at their first
meeting he had picked her up in his
arms.
AS they walked single file through
the narrowing of drift, she wondered
about him. He was western, plainly.
An employee in the mine, probably a
manager or director or whatever II
was they called those in authority in
mines. Plainly, too, he was man OF
action and a man who engaged all her
instructive liking. Something in him
at once coerced her friendliest conf
dence. These were the admissions she
made to herself. She OWNED him.
moreover, to be a blend of boldness
and timidity. He was bold to the poin,
of telling her things unconventionally
of beguiling her into remote under
ground passages away from the party;
: yet she understood; she knew at once
that he was a determined but unspoilet
pant1aman. that under no Dr0yocat iOr