Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-10-22

able trace of another tongue in his English.
 How am i to know whether 1t would be presuming" she asked.
 But was going to say"-
 When rudely interrupted" She was trying to make 1t easy for him to say whatever he wished.
 -"that these troubles of mine are really personal. Rave committed no crime and am not fleeing from jus tice."
 She laughed and urged her horse into a gallop for last stretch of road near the park limits. H..
 How uninteresting! We expect a Montana ranchman to have a spectac- ular past"
 But not to carry 1t. hope. to Wash ington. On the range I might become a lawless bandit in the interest of pic turesqueness, but here"-
 Here in the world of frock coated statesmen nothing really interesting is to be expected"
 She walked her horse again. It oc- cured to her that he might wish an assurance of silence from her What she had seen would make capital bit of gossip, to say nothing of being ma terial for the newspapers and her con science as she reflected grew uneasy at the thought of shielding him. She knew that her father and mother and. even more strictly. her brother would close their doors on a man whose enc mics followed him over seas and lay in wait for him in peaceful park. but here she tested him. A man of breed ing would not ask protection of wo- man on whom he had no claim, and it was certainly not for her to tablish an understanding with him in so strange and grave matter. :.
 Tt must be fun having a ranch with cattle on thousand hills. I always wished my father would go in for a western place. but he can't travel so far from home. Our ranch is in vir- ginia." -.. ......
 You have a Virginia farm? That is very interesting"
 "Yes; at Storm Springs. It's really beautiful down there," she said simply.
 It was on his tongue to tell her that he. too. owned bit of Virginia soil. but he had just established himself as Montana ranchman, and it seemed best not to multiply his places of resi- dence. He had. moreover. forgotten the name of the county In which his preserve lay. He said. with truth: ,
 'T know nothing of Virginia or the south. but have viewed the landscape from Arlington. and some day hope to go adventuring in the Virginia hills"
 'Then you should not overlook our valley. I am sure there must be ad- ventures waiting for somebody down there. You can tell our place by the spring lamb on the hillside There's huge inn that offers the long distance telephone and market reports and golf links and very good horses, and lots of people stop there as matter of course in their flight between Florida and Newport. They go up and down the coast like the mercury in thermome- ter-up when it's warm. down when it's cold. There's the secret of our mercurial temperament"
 A passing automobile frightened her horse. and he watched her perfect cool ness in quieting the animal with rein and voice. {.
 Hes just up from the farm and doesn't like town very much. But he shall go home again soon," she said as they rode on.
 '.Oh, you go down to shepherd those spring lambs" he exclaimed. with mis- giving in his heart He had followed her across the sea, and now she wns abort to take flight again.
 He dimly understood as he left her in gay mood at the Claiborne house that she had sought to make him for get the lurking figure in the park thick ct and the dark deed thwarted there It was her way of conveying to him her dismissal of the incident, and 1t implied a greater kindness than any pledge of secrecy. He rode away with grave eyes, and new hope filled his heart.