The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-11-07

fragrance of decayed apples, the tang
OF wood smoke from many chimneys |
ard the frosty chill of November I
day.
Nathan had come down the day be-
fore from the city TO spend the hoilsi
day With his only relative, Miss Dorm |
da sherman and he had brought his |
new automobile that she might enjoy |
the pleasure of ride in the vehicle
TO Nathans intense disappointment
Miss norinda had expressed a perfect
horror of automobiles. That was why
the young msn was taking his morn
ING spin all alone. He smiled reminls-
Gently at Aunt Dorinda's unaHected
horror of the machine and frowned a
little as he remembered the faux pas
he had created in speaking OF MISS
Dorinda's enemy, for the sherman
Willis dispute over land boundaries
had been county talk for two decades
II had begun in the days when MISS
Dorinda's father and John Willis par
ent had bought adjoining farms ana
fell to ouarreling over the boundary
| lines
! This quarrel had been time ana
n gain before the courts and seemingly
settled each time but had invarlably
| broken out again when the. htlsahtS
| got together TO arrange the hhal ae
| tails Neither Of the stubborn men
| would agree to division that did not
| agree with his first notions of what
/ belonged to him. SO the matter pade
| fair to 90 on Indefinitely, even AFTER
the original disputants had passed
from the scene.
Now. at this late day, the SITUATION
was much the same. save that there
| had ceased to be any verbal controVer-
~ over the boundaries. Dorlhua
sherman and young John Willis had
had the poor Judgment to fali III ioFe
with each other in spite OF The pareh
taI feud. and when the young man had
gone 10 Dorinda's father and asked
for her hand he had been so forclbly
elected from the premises that his an
ger and wounded pride overcame has
dove for Dorinda for the time being,
and he stayed away until II was 100
late After the two quarrelsome OLD
mon were dead and buried In the
churchyard where the matter or oonn
diary lines were Of little moment after
ali, John Willis had approached Dorm
da once more without success. After
that these two young people had Kept
up the family feud in quiet sort or
wav. When Dorinda met John she IN
clined her head so slightly from the
perpendicular that it would have been
better if she had not done 1t Mt all;
and he removed his hat with such
visible reluctance that Dorinda wish
cd ffercely that she might never speak
TO him again and thus spare him the
strain on his courtesy.
Its a queer world" sighed Nathan
as he thought of the two elderly peo-
pie living so near to each other ana
vet so widely separated. And then
, his thoughts reverted to his own III
fairs. He had had misunderstood
Ing with the one girl In the world be
had ever cared for. They had been
on the verge OF betrothal. and then .
foolish quarrel had estranged them
. That was why he was speeding about
the country alone, waiting for Miss
, Dorinda's dinner instead of sitting
down to the Thanksgiving feast spreae
in the dining room of Kitty's father
Suppose Kitty should never relent
and their cases would parallel the ons
he had been thinking of
An uneasy frown creased his hand
some brow as he pondered the foolish
ness of lovers and Of himself In gen
eral Kitty was so easy to get ATOMS
with If one only exercised horse sense
And there you were--K Kitty was al
angel. IL he ever had another chance
He smothered a sigh and drew starl
breath as he rounded a sudden curv'
and saw imminent danger ahead
Before him stretched the sharp in
cline OF long hill leading down iron
j the railroad station. In front or hin
the village stage was zigzagging dow
the hill drawn by two franticall
plunging. runaway horses. They wer
! hundred yards in advance OF hin
MS he turned the curve. Nathan GROVE
ed on his brakes, but they did not re
spond Then with muttered praye
on his white lips he felt the machin
rolling swiftly down the hill under II
own impetus. and be took firm grl
1 of the steering wheel, knowing tina
i the only hope Of safety lay in h1
avoiding collision with the stage, wliic
swayed from one side OF the road
the other with puzzling uncertaint.
Nathan gritted his teeth and followe
the curious gyrations of the yehiel
with anxious eyes, lodging. dartinl
: evading contact with It and yainly e.
deavoring to steer clear of 1t and rus
y past to safety.
He could hear the drivers shouts
re anger and command to the frightene
beasts. He saw the two passengers
70 the stage tossed about like peas IN
pod. One was man and the other
girl enveloped In heavy brown fur
IT All at once the plunging horses settle
ut back on their launches. the stas
y iurched violently backward. the re;
OF door few open and disgerged the IA