Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-10-31

well, OF uhQ Deon Wnen Tue nOte WAS
written. He rejoiced that she had not
been swept away with the food or that
she had not been lost In the mountains
and forced to wander on finally to
starve and freeze and die. In one mo
ment her nearness caused his heart to
throb with joyful anticipation. The
certainty that at the first flush Of day
he should seek her again sent the
warm blood to his cheeks. But those
thoughts would be succeeded by the
knowledge that she was with his en-
envy. Was this man to rob him of the
latest love as he had robbed him Of
the first? Perhaps the hardest task
that was ever laid upon Armstrong
was to lie quietly in his sleeping bag
and wait until the morning.
So soon as the first indication of
dawn showed over the crack Of the
door, he slipped quietly out Of his
sleeping bag and without disturbing
the others drew on his boots, put on
his heavy fur coat and cap and gloves,
slung his Winchester and his snow
shoes owe his shoulder, and without
stopping for a bite to eat, softly open
ed the door, stepped out and closed it
after him. 1t was quite dark in the
bottom of the canon, although a few
pale CLEANS overhead indicated the
near approach of day. 1t was quite
still, too. There were clouds on the
mountain top heavy with threat of
wind and snow. @
The way was not difficult, the direc-
ton Of 1t, that is. Nor was the going
very difficult at first; the snow was
frozen and the crust was strong enough
to hear him. He did not need his
snow shoes, and, indeed, would have
had little chance to use them In the
narrow, broken, rocky pass. He had
slipped away from the others because
he wanted to be first to see the man
and the woman. He did not want n
witnesses to that meeting. They
would have come on later, Of course:
but he wanted an hour or two In pri-
vate with Enid and Newbold without
any interruption. His conscience was
not clear. Nor could he settle upon a
course of action.
How much Newbold knew of his
former attempt to win away his wife,
how much of what he knew he had
told Enid Maitland, Armstrong could
not surmise. Putting himself into
Newbold's place and imagining that
the engineer had possessed entire in
formation, he decided that he must
have told everything to Enid Matt
land az soon as he had found out the
quasi relation between her and Arm
strong. And Armstrong did not believe
the woman he loved could be in any
body's presence a month without tell
ing something about him. Still, 1t was
possible that Newbold knew nothing,
and that he told nothing therefore.
The situation was p~aralyzing to a
man Of Armstrong; decided, determin-
ed temperament. He could not decide
upon the line Of conduct he should
pursue. His course in this, the most
critical emergency he had ever faced,
must be determined by circumstances
of which he felt with savage resent
ment he was in some measure the
sport. He would have to leave to
chance what ought to be subject to his
will. OF only inc thing he was sure
he would stop at nothing, murder, ly.
ing; nothing, to win the woman, and
to settle his score with that man.
There was really only n thing he
could do, and that was to press on
up the canon. He had no idea how
far it might be or how long a journey
he would have to make before he
reached that shelf on the high hill
where stood that hut in which she
dwelt. AS the crQY flies, it could mo-
be a great distance, but the canon
zigzagged through the mountains witt
as many curve and angles as a light
ming fash. He plodded on, therefore
with furious haste, recklessly speed
ing over places where a misstep IL
the snow Of a slip on the icy rock.
would have meant death or disaster t
him.
He had gone about an hour, and hat
perhaps made four miles from thu
camp when the storm burst upon him
1t was now broad day. but the sky wal
filed with clouds and the air will
driving snow. The wind whistled dow1
the canon with terrific force. 1t was will
difficulty that he made any Roadway a
all against 1t. 1t was a local storm
if he could have looked through th,
snow he would have discovered calm
ness on the top Of the peaks. It wa,
one of those sudden squalls of win,
and snow which rage with terrifv
force while they last, but whose rag,
was limited, and whose violent dura
ton would be short.
A less determined man than b,
would have bowed to the inevitabl
and sought some shelter behind
rock until the fury Of the tempes
was spent, but there was no storn
that blew that could stop this ma
SO long as he had strength to driv
against it. So he bent his head to tn
fierce blast and struggled o n Ther
was something titanic and m~agnifcen
about this iron determinationAand pei
sistence Of Armstrong. The two moa
l-Betsy,a and mine-slept reglarly CIV