The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-27

BY Bret Harte

| of the Clay family. 1t was known in
the district that Clay had flown across
the state line, his daughter was be-
| Tweed to have Joined him the next
day, and the house was supposed to
be locked up. 1t lay off the main road,
and few passed that way. The starv-
| ing cattle in the corral at last broke
bounds and spread over the woods.
And one night stronger blast than
usual swept through the house. car
ried the NOTE from the table to tho
floor, where. whirled into a crack in
the flooring, it slowly rotte1.
But though the sting Of her fathers
! reproach was spared her. SalOny Jane
/ had no need of the letter to know
| what had happened. For as she en-
| tered the woods in the dim light of
/ that morning she saw the figure OF
| Dart gliding from the shadow of Il
| pine towards her. The unaffected cry
of joy that rose from her lips died
there as she caught sight of his face
! in the open light.
You are hurt" she said, cIutehing
his arm passiOnately.
| No" he said. But I wouldn't
mind that if"
come back last night when 1 heard
the shoOtin'. but l did come,' she went
| on feverishly. II ran back here when
l heard the two shots. but you were
| gone. l went to the corral, but Your
boss wasn't there, and thought you'd
| got away
Il did get away" said Dart gloom
| lily. Il killed the man. thinkin' he was
huntin' me, and forgettin' | was dis
guised. He thought l was your fath-
err"
Yes said the girl joyfuily. Gle
was after dad. and you-you killed
him" She again caught his hand adj
miringly.
But he did not respond. Possibly
there were points of honor which this
hOrse-thief felt vaguely with her faith
er. Listen" he said grimly. Others
think it was your father killed him.
! When l did it-fOr he fired at ne first
I ran to the corral again and took
my boss, thinl1in> / might be fOllered
l made clear circuit of the house,
and when I found he vas the only
one, and no 2 was fOllerin, I como
back here and took off my disguise
Then 1 heard his friends find Kim in
| the wood, and / knew they suspected
| your father. And then another man
| come through the woods while 1 WAS
| hidin' and found the clothes and took
! them away" He stopped and stared
! at her gloOmily.
But all this was unintelligible to
! the girl Dad would have got the bet
ter of him eff you hadn't" she said
! eagerly, so what's the difference"
All the same" he said gloomily, II
must take his place"
She did not understand. but turned
her head to her master. Then you'll
go back with me and tell him ailf"
she said obediently.
Yes" he said
She put her hand in his, and they
| crept out of the wood together. She
foresaw a thousand difficulties. but,
chiefest of all, that he did not love as
she did. She would not have taken
these risks against their happiness.
But alas for ethics and heroism. As
they were issuing from the wood they
heard the sound of gallOping hOOfs, and
had barely time to hide themselves be-
fore Madison Clay, on the stolen horse
Of Judge BoOmpointer, swept past
them with his kinsman.
SalOmy Jane turned to her lover.
And here / might. as a moral ro-
mancer, pause. leaving the guilty, pas
s!Onate girl eloped with her disreputa-
bic lover. destined to lifelong shame
and misery, misunderstood to the last
by a criminal, fastidious parent. But
; l am confronted by certain facts, on
winch tnlS romance Is DdSe0. A month
, later a nandbill was posted on one OF
The sentinel pines, announcing that the
property would be sold by auction to
the highest bidder by Mrs. John Dart,
daughter of Madison Clay, Esq, and It
was sold accordingly. Still later-by
ten years-the chTonicler of these
, pages visited d certain stock or
breeding farm" in the blue Grass
Country" famous for the popular rae
, ers it has produced. He was told that
the owner was the best judge Of
horse-fiesh in the country" Small
wonder" added his informant, for
they say as a young man out in Cali
tornia he was hOTse-thief, and only
saved himself by clipping with some
rich farmers daughter. But he's n
straight-out and respectable man now.
whose word about horses can't be
bought; and as for his wife, she's a
! beauty! To see her at the Springs, ,
; rugged out in the latest fashion, you'd
, never think she had ever lived out Of
New York or wasn't the wife of one OF
/ its milliOnaires."
] Copyright, 1898, by Bret Harte.
Printed by special arrangements with
Messrs. HOughton, Mffin & Co, the
/ authorized publishers of MIR. Harte' j
Works.)