Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1907-12-19

could not have gone without asking
you, Miss Short, because-well, it does
not matter now. | am sorry | asked
you, and | trust you will never regret
your answer. You will hear Of me
again" And with a stiff bow he left
her
Eleanor, once more on the piazza,
dropped into an armchair and rocked
slowly back and forth. 1t was a beau.
tiful night, night for happiness, not
for tears. and why should she cry?
Yet tears would come to her eyes. She
did not love the man who had just left
her, and she did love some one else.
She did not want a German home nor
German husband. and she resented
his attack on the American home. She
leaned forward on the rail and sighed.
A shot rang through the stiffness Of
the night air, followed by a piercing
scream.
In an instant the conservative pa
irons of Elwood inn became a clamor-
GUS crowd, surging on the piazza from
every direction. The men rushed this
way and that. and in few moments
the lifeless form of a woman was car
ried into the hotel lobby Miss Short
had been shot in the back, perhaps ia
tally, and her slayer was still at large.
While the doctors worked over the
injured girl searching parties were or
ganized TO find the assassin. The
grounds were carefully guarded, detec-
tives were called in and went through
their usual methods Of cross question
ing the employees of the hotel, and
hours dragged by with no trace of the
man who had fired the shot Bulletins
were issued from time to time regard
ing the condition Of the patient, and
| by morning symptoms showed that
there was q chance for her recovery.
With the recovery of consciousness
/ came speech, and her first rambling
words were. "Oh, how could her'
An anxious mother leaned over her
and gently said:
"Who, Eleanor, dearT
The injured girl gasped, The count!'
and again lnpsed into Inconsistencies.
But one count had been at the hotel.
and II ala not take long 10 ma nm Iu
his room and place him under arrest
He was placed under heavy bail until
Miss Short either recovered to face
him at the trial or died.
Days interviewed while the patient
hung between life and death, but final
ly she began to pick up the broken
threads and was we'll on the road to
recovery. Her mother, sitting by the
bedside of the girl, fondly caressing
her, said:
Jack has been here every day. dear,
asking and pleading to see you, and
we have promised that he shall be the
first Can you see him today? The
poor boy is almost frantic"
Yes, mother; want to see him
whenever you say l may"
HE has been waiting in the other
room for two hours. so will call him"
A well built. brown faced man ap-
peared at the door in answer to the
mothers call and knelt down by the
side Of the girl. slipping one strong
arm about her shoulders and nesting
his brouzed face close to hers.
Dear hearth he murmured.
"Why, Jack. mother is here looking
at usw said Eleanor as the color came
to her pale cheeks.
"Your mother knows all about it.
dear. Haven't l been telling her every
day for the past two weeks? If she
don't know 1t it's not my fault You
see, l couldn't tell you, so had to tell
some one and thought your mother a
safe repository for condolences. But
you mustn't talk, dear. You are just
to get well, and then I'm going to take
you away for months and months
just you and l, dear"
Eleanor proved good patient, and
each day found her stronger than the
one gone by. Jack was in attendance
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