Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-05-08
81 Will Send, Her.
tIOriginnl.l

ing them to mankind he kept them for
his own occasional amusement. Once
and only once during the ten years fol-
lowing his graduation there was a
chance for his reform. AT Nice one
year during the carnival he met girl
who might have awakened in him an
ambition. There was a love affair, but
in its ncipiency the girl was taken
westward by her parents. while Mer
riam went eastward. AS soon as they
had separated Merriam knew what he
had lost Why he had lost her he never
told his dearest friend. 1t was sup
posed her parents had other plans for
her.
But lie did tell his dearest friend of
his disappointment. Strangely enough.
that friend was an Alpine guide. Mer.
riam spent many summers climbing
the Swiss peaks. always with the same
guide, Herman GOertZ. The dangers
they passed together. the solitudes in
which they camped, brought out con
fdence that could have been elected ir.
no other way The guide had occasion
to love his employer. On one occasion
Goertz slipped, hung by the rope over
a precipice and was pulling Merriam
over with him. He called on Merriam
to save himself by cutting the rope,
but Merriam was made of sterner stuff
and hung on till the guide got a grip
on the ice. and they were saved.
The two parted at last in snow
storm An avalanche began to move
slowly, taking Goertz with it. Merriam
could not see him, but heard him say:
Herr, farewell. l will send her to
YOU" A week later the guides body
was found thousand feet below, head
down in the snow.
| Returning to America, Merriam tried
to amuse himself. One day while at
the seashore, strolling alone on the
| and enveloped him. He was walking
slowly, guided by the sound of the
| breakers, when form doomed before
him and in another moment resolved
| itself into woman. She stopped, and
Merriam stopped.
"You here" he said under his breath.
Eyes, and your
| 81 supposed you were in Egypt. l
was told by friend that he saw you
at Cairo not three weeks ago"
81 was. l reached America last
week."
"Strangev'
'That we should meet in this way?
l should think so. How small the
world is after all! But there is some
thing stranger still. Do you know that
felt premonition of meeting you
here?"
"In the fog?"
Eyes" III
"That is remarkable" Then he add
ed musingly, ~ premonition that YOU
would meet n1e-in fog" 10y
There are gray hairs-a fewlin
your beard. Let me see; 1t is ten
years since we met in Nice" =.
"And parted"
II couldn't help that" M
'Not very well. you so young. Had
you been thirty instead Of twenty it
might have been different. Who sent
you here?"
"WhO sent me?"
Il mean why did you comeY'
IL took fancy to walk down the
beach"
"And took fancy to walk up"
"And then the fog rolled in. and we
didn't nthnp until hoJnan-
ed to come near together. After all.
it's simply coincidence"
Merriam was silent.
what are you dreaming about? I've
heard you have been spending most
of your time climbing mountains. You
seem now to be looking from some
high peak and wondering. as Professor
Tyndall did from the top of the Mat
terhorn, whether the broad eXpanse
before him had contained the nebulOus
cloud from which the universe was
evolved"
"No. l am listening to the voice OF
friend going to his death. There was
snowstorm. | couldn't see him. AS
the avalanche took him he babe me
farewell through the flakes. And now
you come to me through the mist"
She placed hand on his. Don't
wear that uncanny expression. You
seem to be standing between the nat
ural and the spirit world. Go back in
fancy to Nice. Say again what you
said then"
"And receive a different answer"
"All is changed. l am alone in the
world"
| Two expressions were lowering on
his face contending for precedence. the
one she had called uncanny gradually
receding before the other, sudden
hope
"And receive different answerw
he repeated.
"Yes."
If one had been listening to this dia-
logue between two persons he could
further except the plashings on the line
of foam.
Then came a soft yellow light from
above, and the mist slowly melted
| away, revealing the ocean, tie cir
cling gulls, the dunes, the cluster of
hotels and cottages both up and down
the beach, connected 10y curved white
line of foam. Idlers were scattered
here and there, and some fishermen
| were Bleaching n boat.
my world has cleared" said Mer-
riam. "Now | shall begin to live. /
muSt do oomafbin,r for Won The, <l,o