The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1909-10-24

"Am 1? she cried eagerly. Am l
like other girls? Do | really look as II
I'd always worn clothes like these?
Born to them" said he.
Her warmth and unaffected frank
ness suffused him as she stood out.
turning to show the beauties Of her
gown, her brown hands iuttering
TREMENDOUSLY as she talked.
Its my first party dress, you know,
and I'm as proud of 1t as Molly is Of
her rubber boots. It's too big In here
and too small right there. That girl
must have had a bad chest. But 9TH
erwise it fits me as IL it had been
made for me, doesn't it? And the
~shoes-aren't they the dearest things?
See!" She held her skirts back, show
ing her two feet side by side, her
dainty ankles slim and shapely in their
silk.
"They don't wear as well as mecca
SINS" Both laughed delightedly till he
broke in impulsively:
"Oh, girl, don't you know how beau
tiful you areT"
"Of course l do" she cried, initiating
his change of voice, then added naive
ly, 'That's why l hate to take 1T Off"
Where did you learn to wear things
like that?' he questioned. "Where did
you get that-well, that air?
1T seems to me I've always known.
There's nothing strange about it. The
buttons and the hooks and the eyes are
all where they belong. It's instinct. l
suppose, from fathers side"
Probably. dare say l should I'M
derstand the mechanism of a dress
suit. even If I'd never seen one" said
the man, amused yet impressed by
her argument.
i've always had visions of women
dressed in this kind Of clothing. white
women, natives, not dressed like
this exactly, but In dainty, soft things.
not at all like the mes | e l seem
to have n memory, although it's hardly
that, either; it's more like a dream, as
If I were somebody else. Father says
It Is from reading too much"
"A memory of what?"
"It's too vague and tantalizing to tell
what II is, except that l should be
rallied Merridy."
"Nerridvo Whv that?"
.'I'll show you. See." She slipped her
hand inside the shawl and drew from
her breast a thin gold chain on which
was strung a band ring. 1T was
/ grandmother's. That's where l got the
fancy for the name Of Merridy, I sup
oose." .s, 49, p.
MAY / lookT"
"Of course. But I daren't take it Of.
l haven't had 1t off my neck since I
was a baby She held it out for him
to examine, and, although it brought
his head close to hers, there was no
trace of coquctry in the invitation. He
read the inscription, From Dan to
Merridy," but had 10 realization of
what it meant, for he glimpsed the
milk white flesh almost at his lips and
felt her breath stirring his hair, while
the delicate scent Of her person seem
ed to loose every strong emotion In
him. She was SO dainty and yet so
virile, SO innocent and vet so wise, 30
cold and vet SO pulsatiig. ~,
at is very pretty" he said namely.
At the look in his eyes as he raised
his head her own widened, and she
withdrew from him imperceptibly, dis
missing him with a mere infection.
Il wish you would send PoleOn here.
It's time he saw his present"
AS Burrell walked out into the air he
shut his jaws grimly and muttered:
Hold tight, young man. She's not
your ~kind-she's not your kind"
Inside the store he found Doret and
the trader In conversation with a man
he had not met before, a ragged non
descript whose overalls were blue and
faded and patched. particularly on the
front of the legs above the knees,
where a shovel handle wear hardest,
whose coat was of yellow mackinaw,
the sleeves worn thin below the ell
bows, where they had rubbed against
his legs in his work. AS the soldier
entered the man turned on him a
small, shrewd, weather beaten face
with one eye while he went on talking
to Gale.
ut amt nothin' to git excited over,
but it's with follerin'. II | wasn't so
cussed unlucky I'd know there was a
pay streak som'ere close by"
"Your luck is bound to change. Lee"
said the trader, who helped him to roll
up a pack Of provisions.
"Mebbe so. Who's the dressmaker?'
He jerked his bushy head toward Bur-
rell. who had stopped al the front
door with Poleon to examine some vel
low grains in a folded paper.
Hes the boss soldier"
Purity, amt he?"
IF you amt good he'll get you"
said Gale, a trife cynically, at which
Lee chuckled.
The n eyed man snorted derisive-
~. ut amt wuth considerin'!"
why not?" insisted Gale guardedly.
maybe I've got a record. You don't
know"
IF you have, don't tell me nothin'
about It," hastily observed Lee. I'm a
God fearin' citizen myself, leanin' ever
toward Deaca and uuietudoc huf ubot,s