Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1910-12-30
himself privileged In her nearness.

himself privileged In her nearness.
1t may have been the unusual ardol
of his gaze that warmed her cheeks
and brought her eyes back from the
flashing him startled glance that
caused his pulse to leap anew. Rising
silently, she went past him to the
piano. Never before had she surprised
that look in his eyes and ~ the reali
cation wave of confusion Surged over
her. She strove to calm herself
through her music. which shielded
while it gave expression to her mood,
and neither spoke as he evening
shadows crept in upon them. Put the
girls eXaltation was short lived the
thought came that Boyd's feeling was
but transitOry: he was not the sort to
burn lasting incense before more than
one shrine. Nevertheless. at this mo
ment he was hers. and in the JOY Of
that certainty she let the moments slip.
! They heard child crying some
where in the rear Of the house and
Chakaw ana's voice soothing: then in !,
moment the Indian girl appeared in
the doorway. saying something about
going out with Constantine. Cherry
acquiesced half consciously. impatient
of the intrusion. Boyd finally rose and.
going to the door. saw that the sky was
deeply overcast, rendering the night as
dark as in a far lower latitude.
I've overstayed my welcome" he
ventured and smiled ut her answering
laugh.
With a trace of solicitude she said:
wait! I'll get you raincoat." But
he reached out OBTAINING hand. In
the darkness it encountered the bare
flesh Of her arm.
please don't! You'd have to strike
light to find it. and | don't want a
light now"
1T has been pleasant evening"" she
said namely.
II saw you for the first time tonight,
Cherry. l think have begun to know
you"
Again she felt her heart leap. Reach
ing out to say goodby, his hand slipped
her palm lay in his.
With trembling, gentle hands she
pushed him from her.
When the black bulk Of Marsh's can.
merry doomed ahead Of Emerson he left
the gravel beach and turned up among
the buildings, seeking to retrace his
former course. AS he turned the cor
ner of the first building he nearly ran
against man who was standing mo.
tionless against the wall. The fellow,
with a sharp exclamation, vanished
into the gloom. Boyd lost no time in
gaining the plank runway that led to
the dock and, finding an angle in the
building, backed into it and waited.
From his momentary glimpse Of the
man as he made off he knew that he
was tall and active-just the sort of
person to prove dangerous in an en-
counter. But II his suspicious were
correct there must be others close by.
no signal. After breathless wait Of
moment or two he stole cautiously
out, and, selecting the darkest shad-
ows. slipped from one to another till
he was caught by the sound of voices
issuing from the yawnins entrance of
the main building on his right. The
next moment his tension relaxed: one
Of the speakers was woman. Evil
IDENTITY his alarm had been needless.
for these people, whoever they We're.
made no effort to conceal their pres
ence. On the contrary, the woman had
raised her tone to louder pitch, al
though her words were still undistin
guishable
Greatly relieved. Boyd was about to
go on. when sharp cry. like a signal.
came in the woman's voice. Il cry
which turned to a genuine wall of dis
tress. The listener heard a mans voice
curSins in answer. and then the sound
of scutile. followed at length by Il
choking cry. that brought him bound
ing into the building He ran forw:rd
recklessly. but before he had covered
half the distance her collided violently
with piece Of machinery and Went
sprawling to the floor. a glance up
ward revealed the dim outlines of Il
topper" and showed him farther
down the building, sihouettaG briefly
against the lesser darkness Of the win
dows. two struggling figures. AS he
rcgained his footing, something rushed
past him-man or animal he could not
tell which. for its feet made no more
sound upon the floor than those Of a
wolf dog. Then, as he bolted forward.
he heard a man cry out, and found
himself IN the midst Of turmoil. His
hands encountered u human body, and
he seized it, only to be hurled aside az
If with giants strength. Again he
clinched with mans form. and bore
1t to the floor. cursing at the darkness
and reaching for its throat His an
tasonist raised his voice in wild
clamor. while Boyd braced himself for
another assault from those huge hands
he had met moment before. But it
did not come Instead he heard Il cry
from the woman, an answer in deep
er voice and then swift, patterinG
footsteps growing fainter. Meanwhile
the man with whom he was locked
was fighting desperately. with hands
and feet and teeth. shouting hoarsely
Other footsteps sounded now. this
time approaching. then at the door
lantern tlared. A Waterman came run
ming down between the lines OF ma
chnery, followed by other figures half
revealed.
Boyd had pinned his antagonist
nrainSt the cold sides Of retOrt ut