Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1910-10-27

around her. She peered forth cautl-
ously upon it. She saw a ford face,
a woman she knew casually-and
there her eyes fastened, not for the
woman's brilliant presence, but for
what she saw directly in front OF 1t,
thrown into relief upon its background
"a short and shabby figure, foreign,
equivocal, ~reticent, the figure Oh a
blue-eyed Chinaman.
He was standing still while the
crowd flowed past him. This time he
was alone. He seemed to be waiting,
yet not to watch, as If he had already
seen what he was expecting and knew
that 1t must pass his way. 1t was I'M
canny, his temperance, at a second
interval of her route, standing as II
he had stood there from the first, pa
tent, expectant, motionless. 1t was
worse than uncanny.
All at once an idea, wild n 1llog-
ical enough, jumped up in her mind.
Couldn't this miserable vehicle that
was numbering like a disabled bug
move faster and rattle her on out of
reach of the glare, the publicity, the
threat Of discovery, and, above all, of
her d~iscomforting notion?
She thrust her head far out and ad-
dressed the driver.
go as fast as you cam, faster! and
I'll give you twice what he gave you"
The words rang so wildly to her own
ears that she half expected the driver
to peer down like an old bird of prey
from his perch and demand her rea'
son. But he made no sound or sign
It may have been that in his time ne
had heard even wilder requests than
hers. He only sent his whip cracking
forward to the ears of the lean horse
and the cab began to rattle like a mad
thing.
Flora leaned back with a sigh OF re
lief. The mere sensation of being
borne along at such a rate, the sigh
of houses, lamp-posts, even people
here and there, fitting away from thu
eve, unable to interrupt her course, o
even to glimpse her identity, gave he
a feeling Of safety. The more sh'
was getting into the residence par
of the city, the more deserted tn
} streets, the closer shut the window
: of the houses, the more it seemed t
+ her as if the night itself covered an
! abetted her flight. So swiftly sh
: went it was only a wonder how tn
cab held together. She had neve
! Travelled more rapidly in her light an
silent carriage. Now they whirled tn
corner and plunged at the steep ris
d Of a cross street. Just above, owe
the crown Of the hill, she saw the SIX.
moonless, blacklist, %spattered wit
i stars. Then against it a little flute
i ING shape like a sentinel wisp-th
q only living thing in sight. 1t was i
credible, impossible, horrible that h
should be there, in front of her, wal
v ing for her who had driven so fast
q too fast, it had seemed, for huma
4 foot to follow. BY what unimaginab
r. route had he travelled? She was reat
to believe he had flown over Il
f housetops. And above all other nc
I. rors. why was he pursuing her?
~ The carriage was abreast the Chin
d man now, and Immediately he took
his trot, for a little while keeping u
al lodging along between light al
II shadow, presently falling behind
Y intervals she heard the patter, pate
n patter Of his footsteps following;
Is intervals she lost the sound, al
of shadows would engulf the figure, a.
"a she would wait in a panic for its res
pearance. For she knew it was the
somewhere, on one side of the sire
or the other. But, oh, not to see
al To expect at any moment 1t mig