The Prescott daily news., 1907-08-02

| could have thrown myself at her feet and declared my soul consecrated to her worship, so fair was she, so in nocent in the soft expression of her large liquid eyes. Her glance was troubled and I longed to approach her to offer my sympathies.
 Presently a man came from the house-he was about middle-aged and was dressed after the fashion of colonial gentleman. A large kind ness beamed from his face, but there was a peculiar sternness in his man. ner. As he approached the fountain, the girl arose as if to creep away. But he had caught sight of her and called. She stopped and turned to- ward him. Then her lips moved faint ly as if in protest, when he came up and took her hands in his In the mans eyes I could see the fire of deep passion and something seemed to tell me that these two in relation to each other stood as guardian and ward
 Animated speech fell from the mans lips, and the girls eyes looked up into his with strange tenderness, but this seemed mingled with a peculiar fear. And apparently she was striv- ing to withdraw her hand from his grasp, though her effort was apolo- getic
 Presently the man caught her in his arms and pressed his lips to her fore head hungrily, as if he would fill the craving of famished soul with the drop of sweetness from her fresh white brow. Then he released her. and the two turned away together a few yards to a division in the walk, where they parted, unconscious of a look of fierce vindictiveness that fol- lowed them from an older womans face which had pushed out from among the shrubbery near the loun- tain.
 This was a middle-aged face like the mans, but the features were un- favored, hard, uninviting to friendly advancement From the eyes gleam- ed the green lights of a jealous rage This older woman was angular in form, and she had a mouth and chin that denoted unyieding determina- tion.
 From this scene in the garden, with stereoptican abruptness, I was intro duced to one in the house The man was preparing for journey, which apparently was to be of some length: and the older woman was assisting in the preparations. The time was night. and the lights were not bril- liant. Eventually the man bade the woman an indifferent farewell and passed out through the hallway. Out side, he looked up at the moon for a moment Then he softly reentered the hall and crept up stairway that led to the second story Noiselessly he entered a chamber on one side of the hallway, closing the door behind him. A white figure started up from window across the floor The room was flooded with moonlight. and I saw the face of the beautiful girl. In il was expressed sudden terror that seemed half mixture with gratihca- ton. It was pain and joy, fear and delight, resistance and love- and such face,-my own heart offered it. self a willing sacrifice at the altar of such beauty.
 The man crossed hurriedly to the girls side seized her in his arms and caressed her passionately. And now the door opened for a second time, and the face that appeared, like that of the Medusa, seemed to petrify the scene before it. But presently the chime of clock in the corner broke the stiffness. There were II strokes. and I saw the tall, old clock of my grandfather, just as l had seen it in my room for weeks past the dial fig ures being clearly outlined in the moonlight The man released the girl from his embrace and recrossed the floor passed the tall woman in the doorway, and was gone. Not lip had moved in speech, but the very silence was pregnant with the tragedy of three lives
 The tall woman had come no far ther than the doorway, and had turned back, closing the door behind her, after the man had departed The girl fell upon her knees by the bedside and, with clasped hands, turned white face toward the heavens.
 And now, as the first had faded, this scene, too passed from my wis ion. But the interval of darkness seemed only to point lapse of time. though whether of hours, days or weeks I could not tell. At any rate,