The Irish standard., 1908-06-13

uoWu, luousu, ana In tuaC corner, IL
you'll sit beside me-"
She demurred, to indulge him final
ly; and, seated side by side on the
floor, with cabbages tumbling about
their feet, they wandered in Arcadia.
Amabel, Esther's 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 fight from Colfax had
been the impulsive result of fear for
him, as was her wild race to Virginia
City.
Life begins now where 1t 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.
ooh, can there be some new trou-
ble?" cried Esther.
II 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
touorino loads ~ coca ood re%v,ood
with them to the engine, crushing the
pungent stuff into the flrebox. 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, chafing his hands, pro-
tecting the wound in his head with her
handkerchief, and tucking in the
blanket more closely, while he surrep-
titiously pulled it loose, that it might
be tucked again. A vagrant lock Of
her hair brushed his face as she
leaned over him.
Tell me, Stella, what have you done
to your pretty hair; something's
turned all its gold to-to dark, au-
tumn-tinted brown. It's lovely,
though"
'Not I, but the salt Pacific, turned
my gold to rust. 1t 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 place 2"
"No," Alfred replied to her question;
NOR how came there. I only know
that after Cadwallader, Gideon and
had looked over Gideon's prospect we
climbed down the mountain to where
the horses were tied. Mine was gone" T"
"Only yours?"
"Only mine. Well 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 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."
"Oh, OH" Esther moaned.
II was we'll in from the mouth, and
only little light came in by day; at
night it was Egyptian darkness. Some
one brought me food. Food" he re.
peated with shiver. What l didn't
eat tasted best"
"Oh, my poor love!" Esther mur.
INJURED unsteadily.
Il counted the days at first, then lost
the count. That terrified me more than
all the rest"
How long was it, You learned
afterward?"
Nearly month"
Don't you know where the place is?"
"No. No one does, except the mis-.
creants who put me there"
"They have never found-don't they
know?" Esther faltered.
mot word. l never saw my jailer.
He used dark lantern and came only
at night. l never heard his voice; he
always whispered. think he was an
Indian. The night he freed me and
told me to go gun at my back hur-
ried me, warned me neither to look
around nor speak. fastened along a
steep path that led from the mouth
of the tunnel. Dearest, you can never
know what rapture it was to see the
stars again! can only guess how far
went before fell, striking my head.
When recovered consciousness
couldn't stand, but crept on slowly in
the darkness"
Esther stroked his hand softly, but
did not speak.
Il don't know how far, or what hap
pened. L"
"And then" she questioned as he
halted.
"The hospital at Sacramento. I