Middletown transcript., 1912-05-25

He Scrambled Up the Broken Way.
a trail which had evidently been
passed and repassed daily. In "a few
moments he was at the top Of the
shelf. A hard trampled path ran be-
tween high walls of snow to a
door!
Behind that door what would he
find? Just what he brought to
it, love and hate, he fancied. We
usually find on the other side Of
doors no more and no less than
we bring to our own sides. But what
ever was there there was no hesita-
tion in Armstong's course. He ran
toward it, laid his hand on the latch,
and opened it.
What creatures. of habit we are!
Early in that same morning, after one
vain attempt again to influence the
woman~who was now the deciding and
determining factor, and who seemed to
be taking the mans place, Newbold,
ready for his journey. had torn him
self away from her presence and had
plunged down the giant stair. He had
done everything that mortal man could
do for her comfort; wood enough to
last her for two weeks had been taken
from theNcave and piled In the kitch-
en- and everywhere so as to be easily
accessible to her; the stores she al
ready had the run of, and he had ft-
ted a stout bar to the outer door
which would render it impregnable to
any attack that might be made against
it. although he saw no quarter from
which any assault impended.
Enid had recovered not only her
strength, but good deal of her nerve.
That she loved this man and that he
loved her had given her courage She
would be fearfully lonely, Of course,
but not SO much afraid as before. The
month Of immunity in the mountains
without any interruptions had dissi-
pated any possible apprehensions on
her part. 1t was with a sinking heart,
however, that she saw him go at
last.
They had been SO much together
in that month; they had learned what
love was. When he came back 1t
would be different, he would not come
alone. The first human being he met
would bring the world to the door of
the lonely but beloved cabin in the
tions, its inference, its suspicious, its
deaunciations and its accusations!
Some kind of an explanation would
have to be made, some sort an an,
swer would have to be given, some So
luton Of the problem would have to
be arrived at. What these would be
she could not tell.
Newbold's departure was like the
end of an era to her. The curtain
dropped; when it rose again what was
to be expected? There was no COM
fort except in the thought that she
loved him. So long as their affections
matched and ran together nothing
else mattered. With the solution of It
all next to her sadly beating heart she
was still supremely confident that
love, or God-and there was not SO
much difference between them as to
make 1t worth while to mention the
one rather than the other-would find
the way.
Their leave taking had been singu-
larly cold and abrupt. She had real
lied the danger he was apt to incur
and she had exacted a reluctant prom
ise from him that he would be careful.
Don't throw your life away. don't
risk it even, remember that it is
mine," she had urged.
And just as simply as she had en-
Joined it upon him he had promised.
He had given his word that be would
not send help back to her but that he
would bring it back, and she had con-
hdence in that word. A confidence
that had he been inclined to break his /
promise would have made 1t absolute
~ impossible. There had been a long
clasp Of the hands, a long look in the
eyes, a long breath in the breast, a
long throb in the heart and then
farewell. They dared no more.
Once before he had left her and she
mad stood upon the plateau and fol
lowed his vanishing figure with anxi-
GUS troubled thought until it had been
lost In the depths Of the forest below.
She had controlled herself in this
second parting for his sake as well as
her own. Under the ashes of his
grim repression she realized the pres
ence OF live Goals which breath would
nave famed into fame. She dared |
nothing while he was there, but when
ne shut the door behind him the ne
cessity for self-control was removed.
She had laid her arms on the table |
and bowed her head upon them and |
shook and quivered with emotions un-
relieved by a single tear-weeping
was Tor lighter hearts and less severe
demands!
His position after all was the easier
OF the two. As Of old it was the man
VINO went forth to the battlefield while
the woman could only wait passiyely
the issue of the fight. Although he
was half blinded with emotions he had /
20 give some thought to his progress.
and there was yet one task to be done
before he could set forth upon bis
journey toward ,aiv,iIl,ot,,.. -,