Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1910-10-13

ANA0 SfSA AZ N4S
broad glare of noon between them
she recognized his aspect-his gayest,
of diabolic glee. There lurked about
him the impish quality of the whistle
that had summoned her. +,
Come down." he called.
All sorts of wonders and terrors
were beating around her. He had
transcribed her widest wish; he had
come to her more openly, more dar-
ingly, more Economically than she
could have dreamed. All the amaze
ment of why and how he had braved
the battery of the windows Of her
house was swallowed up in the greater
joy of seeing him there, standing in
his "grays," with stiff black hat
pushed off his hot forehead, hands be-
hind him, looking up at her from the
middle of anemones and daffodils.
Come down." he called again, and
waved at her with his slim, glittering
stick. How far he had come since
their last encounter, to wave at and
command her, as If she were verify
his own! She left the window, left
the room, ran quickly down the stair.
The house was hushed; no passing
but her own, no butler in the hall, no
kitchen-maid on the back stair. Only
grim faces of pictures-ancestors not
! her own-glimmered r~eproachful
upon her as she fed past. Light
| echoes called her back along the hall.
The furniture, the muf1ing curtains,
her own reflections flying through the
mirrors, held up to her her madness,
and by their mute stability seemed to
remind her Of the shelter she was
Ieaving-seemed to forbid.
She ran. This was not shelter; it
was prison. He was rescue; he was
light itself. The only chance for her
was to get near enough to him. Near
him no shadow lived. The thing was
to get near enough. She rushed di-
rect from shadow into light. She
came out into the sun, into the gaI
den with its blaze of wintry summeI
it's whispering life and the free ali
over it. The man standing in thu
middle Of it, for all his pot hat and
Gothic stick, was none the less its
demigod waiting for her, laughing.
He might well laugh that she who had
written that unflinching letter should
come thus flying at his call; but there
was more than mischief in him. The
high tide of his spirits was only the
sparkle of his excitement. 1t was
evident that he was there with some
thing of mighty Importance to say.
Was it that her letter had finally
touched him? Had he come at last to
transcend her idea with some even
greater purpose? She seemed to see
the power, the will for that and the
kindness-she could not call it by an,
other word-but though she was be-
seeching him with all her silent atti'
tude to tell her instantly what the
great thing was, he kept it back a mo
ment, looking at her whimsically, in
diligently, even tenderly.
81 have come for you," he said.
"Oh, for mel" she murmured. Sure
: ly he couldn't mean that! He was
} simply putting her off with that.
t 81 mean it, I mean it," he assured
/ her. "This doesn't make it any less
real, my getting at you through a gar
t den. Better" he added, "and swee
: of you to make the duller way i'm
: possible"
t She took a step back, 1t had no
, been play to her; but he would havt
1t nothing else. He, too, stepped
back and away from her.
i Come" he said, and behind hin
she saw the lower garden gate tina
i opened on the grassy pitch Of tn
hill, swinging idle and open. TIL
|, sight of him about to vanish lured he
t on, and as he continued to walk bach
: ward she advanced, following.
ooh, where" she pleaded,
with mel" Such a guaranty Q
good faith he made it!
She tried to summon her reluctance
e "But why?"
l. "We'l talk about it as we go along.
S His hand was on the gate. 1--WE can
stop here, you know. She'll be watcl
ing us from the window"
p Flora glanced behind her. The VIII
dows were all d~iscreetly draped-
G most likely ambush-but that h
e should apprehend Clara's eyes benin
them! All, then, he did know what h
l. was about! He saw Clara as she dtt
y She would almost have been ready t
trust him Oh the strength of thf
alone. Still she hung back.
but my things!" she protested
She held up her garden hat. "And m
gown" She looked down at her fra
silk ~lounces. Was eve any woma
l. seen on the street like this!
h ooh, la, la, la" he cut her shor
Ie 1--WE can't stop to dress the par
T. You'll forget EN-"
70 She smiled at him suddenly, locke
back at the house, put on her hat
g the garden hat. The moment she ha
dreaded was upon her. In spite of ht
G warning reason, in spite of ever
1t thing, she was going with him.
e. CTo BE CONTINUED.)
insufficient Data.