The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-09-16

couch for him TO rest upon WarHleu
into life and rapture by his rays, and
uttering, in the Joy of his caress, a
low, varied, blissful, inarticulate sob
Of deep, estate. pleasure.
When they found themselves out
on the scented heather, away from
all human h%abitation, the young nan
set his boy on his shoulder, that he
might see far over this strange new
land, and on they walked, choosing
| haphazard to follow a narrow path
that wound among the bracken, not
paying much heed to whittier they
were going, but happy as the birds
and brooks are, and as free from
care as the empty sky above them,
as unconscious for the moment OF
anything beyond as the heath on
which they stood.
Leslie Somers held his boy on his
shoulder with one strong hand, while
with the other he carelessly swung
the rope he had taken from the fish
ing boat on the beach, and had for
gotten to replace. His wife walked
behind him, singing softly to herself
and la%ughingly putting ripe strawber-
ries from a bag she carried on her
arm into the child's mouth when that
crimson orifce was every now and
then presented to her for fresh sup
plies.
They had scarcely exchanged a
word since they left the beach, there
being no need to interrupt their glad
ness with unnecessary eXertions OF
the voice. But now, descending one
of the purple pillows that rolled from
end to end of the heath, they came
upon a sign of civilization which as
tonished them in such a place. This
was nothing less than a double line of
rails, quite invisible till you were
close upon them, and which you
would scarcely have expected to find
there ever if you had noticed the tele-
graph wires that accompanied them,
as usual, on the hither side.
The line seemed to be hiding itself
as much as it could beneath the lux
uriant heritage that fringed it thickly
on either hand, as If it knew it had
no business there and was ashamed
to be seen. 1t cut across the heath
from side to side, dividing it, and
seeming to spring from the heart of
the distant hills on the right, to be alb
sorbed again into the hot haze of the
low-lying horizon on the left, as If 1t
flashed into a brief and purposeless
existence which extended only as far
in either direction as the eye could
reach.
Arrived at this spot, Leslie Somers
put the boy down, and that sturdy
youth, -einvigorated by rest and re-
freshment, no sooner touched the
ground than he snatched off his hat
and began to deal death and destruc-
ton to every winged creature within
his reach. His mother stood leaning
against a telegraph post, watching
him, smiling, tranquil and happy.
Presently her husband came up be-
hind her with that piece of rope and
playfully wound it round and round
her and the telegraph post, till she
stood pinioned like a victim tied to
the stake.
"See, Boykins!" she cried, laugh
ing, mothers a prisoner"
But the child was too busy either
to hear or heed, and she stood there
a while longer contemplating his
pretty gambols, mother-like, with
every faculty absorbed in the delight
full occupation.
But all at once-she could not tell
why or wherefore-a little breeze
had arisen, and the day was changing,
perhaps, though the birds still sang,
the bees buzzed, and the sun shone;
but all at once she felt a SILVER, not
of cold, but of loneliness and help
lessness, come over her, and she
called to her husband: Leslie! Les
lie!" and then was frightened by the
fear in her own voice, and called
again: Leslie! Leslie!"
She waited a moment for an an
swer after that, looking about her
the while; but she looked In vain.
Her husband had disappeared!
To be Continued.