The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-04-06

| they probably divided into two parties,
the larger with the woman and chill
dren, started for home. the second
went down the canon searching for
your dead body
And had it not been fer you." cried
the girl. impulsively, they had found
I it
God permitted me to be OF service
/ to you," answered the man, simply
| 81 can follow their specElations exact
| ly; up or down, they believed you to
/ have been in the canon when the
cloud burst, therefore there was only
/ one place and one direction to search
| for you"
"And that was?"
Down the canon?"
! "What did you do Them"
81 went down the canon myself.
think / saw evidence that some one
had preceded me. too"
did you overtake them?"
Certainly not, they travelled as
rapidly as 1; they must have started
early in the morning and they had
several hours the advantage OF me-"
L
| where for the night and"
YES" answered the man; s'if ! had
only myself to consider, / should have
pressed on through the night and
overtaken them when they camped.
"Only yourself?"
you made me- promise to return
here by nightfall. / don't know wheth-
er should have obeyed you or not. !
kept on as long as / dared and still
leave myself time to get back to you
by dark"
| She had no idea Of the desperate
speed he had made to reach her while
it was still daylight.
eff you hadn't come when you did.
/ should have died." cried the girl i'm
| petuously. "You did perfectly right.
l don't think l am a coward; / hope
not l never was afraid before, but
Don't apologize or explain to me,
it's not necessary; I understand ev-
erything you feel. 1t was only because
/ had given you my word to be back
by sunset that 1 left off following their
trail / was afraid that you might
think me dead or that something had
| happened and"
I 81 should, I did," admitted the girl.
| cit wasn't so bad during the day time.
/ but when the sun went down and you
did not come began to imagine ev-
erything. / saw myself left alone here
in these mountains, helpless, wound
/ ed, without human being to speak
to. / could not bear it."
But l have been here alone for
five years." said skhe man grimly.
That's different. l don't know why
you have chosen solitude, but L"
/ you are a woman" returned the
other gently, land you have suffered,
that accounts for everything"
Thank you," said Enid, gratefully.
"And l am so glad you came back to
me-"
i Pack to you," reiterated the man,
and then he stopped. II he had al
lowed his heart to speak he would
have said, Back to you from the very
ends of the world. "But l want you to
believe that / honestly did not leave
the trail until the ultimate moment,
he added.
81 do believe IT." she extended her
hand to him. "You have been very
good to me, trust you absolutely"
And for the second time he took
that graceful, dainty, aristocratic
hand in his own larger, stronger, firm
er grasp. His face flushed again; un-
der other circumstances and in other
| days perhaps he might have kissed
that hand. AS it was he only held
it for moment and then gently re.
| leased it.
And you think they are searching
for me?" she asked.
II know it. l am sure of what
myself would do for one / love-
loved, / mean, and they"
"And they will find me?"
The man shook his head.
81 am afraid they will be convinced
that you have gone down with the
flood. Didn't you have cap Or"
"Yes," said the woman, land a
sweater. The bear you shot covered
the sweater with blood. / could not
put it on again"
As she spoke she flushed glorious
crimson at the remembrance of that
meeting, but the man was looking
ct,,diod Che fhanLpd