The Huttig news., 1908-08-22


 Esther's eager, appreciative face. Yet he left them shortly, and the train started. Then Esther turned toward the cabbages.
 What in the world Alfred began.
 I'm captain now" she interrupted. I'm going to make you comfortable before the last shred of daylight goes. Tt won't be dark; there's moon" Much light a four -days-old moon will givei" she scoffed
 But I'm comfortable now, if you will only come and sit beside me"
 Heedless of his importuning. she l continued piling the eabbages away i till one forward corner was bare. Whats that for?" 1 You must sleep; and it will be bit. ter cold This is"
 "Sleepi Sleep tonight, with you here? Neveri"
 She smiled at him. yet persisted. throwing the soft grass in the corner, smoothing it carefully. Come Let me help you over here. It Is too cold i there by the door"
 Dear tyrantl" He smiled haprily, and pulled himself up by the door. handle. But he was unsteady, and would have fallen had she not sup ported him. For once she was grate- ful for her strength.
 Lie down. I think you'll find that tolerable substitute for hair mat | tress."
 The worm turns. 1 won't I'll sit l down, though, and in that corner, if you'll sit beside me" She demurred, to indulge him final ly; and. seated side by side on the floor. with cabbages tunibling about l their feet, they wandered in Arcadia. l Amabel, Esthers hiding, Alfred's cap. ture and illness, his search for her, college and business life-it was tale of the years told by the light of the thin desert moon.
 But Gideon's part in the story Esther modified, allowing Alfred to be- lieve that her flight from Colfax had been the impulsive result of fear for him. as was her wild race to Virginia | City.
 Life begins now where it forsook us years ago when Amabel Hamilton asked me to button her shoe in the | Colfax parlor
 No Life does not forsake, it tests us" Esther replied. The engine wheezed, puffed inef- fectually, and stood still
 "oh, can there be some new trou- 1 ble2" cried Esther.
 T guess by the sound they've only stopped for kindling wood, Alfred sur missed.
 Esther looked out Men were run ming here and there about in the brush, more discernible by ear than | by eye. They filled their arms with towering loads of sage and returned with them to the engine, crushing the 1 pungent stuff into the firebox. Slowly the wheels began to turn. The men kept alongside, piling the tender high, till the summit was reached. Three times they had thus to reinforce their small stock of green Sierra wood be- fore the journey was ended.
 The night grew colder When the car stood still, the biting air swept through and chilled the two in spite of the glow at their hearts. Esther hustled about. chafng his hands, pro- tecting the wound in his head with her handkerchief. and tueking in the blanket more closely, while he surrep- 1 titiously pulled it loose, that it might | be tucked again. A vagrant lock of her hair brushed his face as she l leaned over him.
 Tell me, Stella, what have you done to your pretty hair; something's turned all its gold toto dark, au- tumn-tinted brown. It's lovely, though
 Not I, but the salt Pacific, turned my gold to rust. It treats nearly all desert gold so, especially if the gold is on young heads
 At last they touched more serious things
 But don't you know how you came to be liberated from that awful placer
 No" Alfred replied to her question; nor how I came there. l only know that after Cadwallader, Gideon and I had looked over Gideons prospect we climbed down the mountain to where the horses were tied. Mine was gone"
 "Only yours2'
 Only mine We'll look up your nag, Gideon said; you stay here Cad wallader came back alone little later to see if my horse had returned; but it hadn't and Cad went away again. It was nearly dark then. Perhaps it was only minutes, it seemed hours, that I wandered around, when some thing hit me on the head The next I knew I was in an old tunnel, chained to the heavy timbers.''
 TO BE CONTINUED MEX. EEK.