The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-06-21

tHu me. IL was reported tnat you / IS
been made away with by the anar ii.
lists"
"But what has that to do with ycr,
coming to American"
ITO meet one in the G qh whom
have supposed to be dead you M
admit is liable to cause a shock" So.
replied without noticing my question.
But
"Come; let us walk together"
By slow degrees she brought out tl.lt
she had come to America because there
are fields open to women In which they
may make their living. She had no
dowry, and in Spain dowry was nec-
essary to marriage; therefore she pre-
ferrcd to be occupied among those ce
her own sex who were used to work
and where there was work to do.
There is no work to do up in these
mountains" said
The question took her unawarcs
That her presence in America was nor
! explained by anything she had told me
did not doubt. But what was her
object in coming? AS we walked on
probed the matter, wondering all the
while at the strange occurrence Then
suddenly q theory suggested itself to
me- Might she not have come to pro-
tect me? And would she have come
all the way across an ocean ON my ac-
count except for one reason-that she
loved me?
But such suspicion l was not in
clined to make known to Dolores.
Nevertheless it caught my fancy ana
brought wild JOY to my heart Set
apart from those with whom I had
been reared, dead to every living be-
ing i had known, the bare suspicion
that this girl loved me and loved me
80 well that she had come all the way
from my beloved Spain for me was
like new birth to me. With this girl
for a companion 1 would be willing to
live on in my changed existence.
1 said no more to her as to the rea.
son for her coming. In any event it
was her secret, provided she chose to
keep 1t secret, and not mine. 1 found
that she was stopping at house not
far from mine, and there later on l
left her, having arranged to call and
walk with her the next morning.
And so did. In that mountain air
We strolled, invigorated not only by
its purity, but by the companionship
Of Dolores. But while l grew strong
she seemed to be wasting away.
Something was distressing her. 1 ask
ed her To confess it to me, and she |
declined. pressed her to do so, and
in spasm of feeling she cried:
''If you don't leave 1 shall go mad"
To express my sympathy took her |
hand in mine, but she snatched it
away.
lone would suppose" l said, wound !
ed, that a viper had touched you
"Or that you had touched a viper"
she replied.
/ was looking her in the face at the
time she said this and saw her bite her |
lip. Perhaps the words and the ac-
ton should have given me clew to
her secret, but they did not. was as
much puzzled as ever.
One day when we were walking to,
SClDCl VIC lICl NOlbuu Win Val
hair and eyes.
"That woman said, "came either
from Spain or Mexico At any rate,
she's Spanish"
l turned to look at Dolores and saw
that she was struggling with some
emotion. But by this time 1 had Civ
en- over questioning her upon these
strange matters and said nothing. To
attempt to extract from her their
cause seemed only to madden her.
We met the same woman again the
next day, and saw on her face a
look that assured me that there was
some understanding between them;
but, as before, I refrained from speak
ing of it.
One night l awoke with a start
The moon, shining in at the window,
showed a woman's figure standing
near. She held something in one
hand, while with the forefinger of the
other she was smearing what she held.
Then suddenly she flung the article
ont of the window. A ray of moon
light struck it and revealed what 1,
took to be knife.
I rose, supporting myself on my ell
bow, and asked:
"Who's thereP'
A hand grasped mine-a hand cold
as ice.
"Hush! l am Dolores
"What are you doing hereT'
Don't interrupt me while I tell you
and what to do. Our lives depend
upon it. l came to America ordered
by the circle to kill you. A woman
was sent with me to see that l did the
work. She is the Spanish woman we
met Tonight l told her that would
come to your room, plunge a dagger
Into your heart and throw the dagger
put of the window to prove to her
that / have done the deed. 1 have
smeared it with beef's blood. She is
to leave by one route, l by another;
she by the stony Glove and l by the
elove leading down eastward Good
byw