Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-08-29
solo Elsie



to awaken my inclination toward you.
Never has the slightest suggestion Of
favor to you awakened within me, but
even had that been the case it must
have been instantly destroyed by your
contemplate behavior toward me.
Now let me go in peace and"
He did not let her finish the SEN
tence. THAT l shall not let pass" he
Kissed. His face, which had been liv-
i'd, now glowed and his eyes rolled.
He was beside himself with passion
and flew at her like a beast of prey.
| She fed to the window, being hope
less of reaching the door, and tried
to open it in order to spring over its
| low parapet; but suddenly her feet
cleaYe to the floor as if fettered. Out
| in the bushes, close to the pane a
terrible face was staring at her. The
death1y features were distorted to a
! grinning laugh, and the eyes that
| famed in tn young girls face were
burning deliriously. Elizabeth had
| difficult in recognizing the silent
Bertha. She shook with horror and
retreated once more. Hollfelds arms
seized her and embraced her with
brazen force. Blind with passion, he
did not observe the appariticn before
the window. Elizabeth pressed her
icy hands upon her temples and eyes
to shut out the dreadful face before
the window. She felt her enemys hot
breath upon her fingers, his hair
touched her cheek, she shuddered, but
all physical power gave way; the
out At sight of Hollfeld, Bertha beat
the WindoWpane with her clenched
fist until it broke into splinters; then
she suddenly turned her head, as
| though listening to some noise out
side; she let her hands fall, uttered
| a shrill laugh, and fed il to the shrub.
berry.
This had all happened in a few sec
onds. HollfeId looked up at the hid
eous shrek; for a moment his eyes
| sought to penetrate the foliage into
which Bertha had vanished; but it
returned instantly to the figure which
he held in his arms, and now pressed
the more closely to his breast. His
anxious caution, his hypocriticaI
effort to conceal his low impulses
| from the world, had left him entirely
| at th"t moment. He had forgotten that
| it was time for Helene to come; that
| the gardner and servants could look
| in at any moment through the wide
| II
ban of his passion and, therefore, did
not notice that Fraulein Won Waldo,
| leaning upon the arm of her brother,
was actually upon the sill. BEHIND
| them came the baroness, her long
neck stretched and the expression of
violent anger speaking from every
| movement.
EMIL" she screamed in a voice
shrill with anger. He arose and looked
about him confusedly; his arms re.
Taxed involuntarily. Elizabeth removed
her hands from her eyes and stagger-
| ed toward a chair. The baroness hard
! disagreeable voice rang like sweet
music in her ears, for it brought re-
lease. And there stood the tall, manly
figure, the sight of which made her
paralyzed pulse beat again nightly.
She would gladly have thrown her
self at his feet and prayed, protect
me from that man, whom | avoid and
detest like sin itself"
But what a look she met. Could
that annihilating CLEAN from the eyes
which but few days before had
sought her own with such a tender,
friendly expression? Was this appari-
! ton, with head sternly erect and
deathly pallor upon its brow, the man
who had then leaned over her and
said, with the wonderfully gentle res
onance in his voice, May my good
| angel meanwhile whisper to you the
| name of that miraculous realm?" He
! stood there like some evil spirit come
to revenge, to annihilate, to tread un.
d9rfoot poor, suffering human heart,
Helene, who had gazed as though
petrified at the scene within the room,
| hastily withdrew her arm from her
brothers and staggered over to Eliza
beth. She did not doubt for an instant
| that Hollfeld's wooing had been sue
cessful and the bond was sealed.
"A thousand times welcome. Eliza
| BETH" she cried in violent excite
ment, while streams of tears poured
| from her eyes! She took the youps
girls trembling hands between her
own. Emil brings me a dear sister:
love me like one and I shall be CRATE
full to you all my life. Do not be so
gloomy, Amalie," she said, pIeadingly,
turning to the baroness, who was still
standing, like pillar, outside the pa
Wilton. ct is question of the happi-
ness of Emil's whole life. Look at
Elizabeth. Can she not meet all the
demands which you justly make Of her
who is to be so near you in the fut-
ure-young, so richly gifted by nature.
of an old family with a famous
| name?"
She stopped. Mortified. 1t seemed as
though life were only now returning
| to Elizabeth's benumbed limbs, as
though she were only now capable of
compromising what was said. With
one sudden motion she had withdrawn
both hands from Helene and stood