The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-08-05
c,AAprER q

me cabin contained O large ana q
small room. In the wall between
them there was q doorway closed by
an ordinary batten door with q w6od.i
enlatch and no lock. Closed 1t served
70 hide the occupant OF one room
from the view Of the other, otherwiseI
1t was but feeble protection. Even
had It possessed lock, q vigorous
man could have burst It through in 81
moment. Y, Is
These thoughts did not como very
clearly to Enid Maitland. Few
thoughts Of any kind came to her.
Where she lay she could see plainly
the dancing light Of The glorious IRE;
She was warm. the deity wrapped
bandage, the healing lotion upon her
foot, had greatly relieved the pain I'M
that fwounded member. The bed &Gss
hard but comfortable, much more SeoJ
than the sleeping bags to which oe
late she had been accustomed.
Few women had gone through such
experiences, mental and physical, az!
had befallen her within the last few
hours and lived to tell the story. Had
It not been for the exhaustive strains
Of body and spirit to which abe had
been subjected, her mental faculties
would have been on the alert and the
strangeness Of her unique position
would have made her SO nervous that
she could not have slept.
For the time being, however, the
physical demands upon her entity
We're paramount; she was dry, shs
was warm, she was fed, shet was FREQ
from anxiety and she was; absolutely,
rnutterabiy weary. Her thoughts
were vague, inchoate. unconcent rated.
The fire wavered before her eyes, shei
closed them in q few moments and
|ididenot open them. q ss!9ti
Without a thought, without i care,
she fell asleep. Her repose was cone
nfete, not a dream even disturbed the
profound slumber into which she
sank. Pretty picture she made; her
head thrown backward, her golden
hair roughly dried and quickly plat.
ed in long braids, one Of which fell
along. the pillow while the other
curled lovingly around her neck. Her
face in The natural light would have
looked pallid from what she had gone
through, but the FIRE cast red ssgloWs
aloniit; the !ftfu1 flight aAtcfered
across her, countenance and SOME
times deep, shadows unrelieyed, 40!
.centuated the paleness born Of her
sufferings.
There Is no light that plays 10
many tricks with the imaginati ion, or
that SO stimulates the fancy; as. the
light Of an open fire. In Its sud EN-
oitbursts It sometimes seems 10 add
life touches to the sleeping and the
dead. Had there been any eye ito2see
this girl, she would have made de-
fightfuf picture In the warm glow
from the stone hearth. There were
no eyestto look, however, save those
which belonged to the man on the,
other side OF the door. 4; " y.
On the hither side Of that door In
the room where the fire burned on the
hearth, there was rest in tie Heart Of
the occupant; on the farther Side
where the fire only burned IN the
heart, there was tumult. Not outward
and visible. but inward and spiritual.
and yet there was no lack OF apparent
manifestation Of the turmoil In the
mans soul.
Albeit the room was smaller than
tho other, It was still OF good size.
lie walked rervously up and down
from one end to the other az cease
lessly as a wild animal impatient Of
captivity stalks the narrow limits of
his contracted cage. The even tenor
Of his life had suddenly been diverted.
The ordinary sequence of his days
had been abruptly changed. 4 The pri,S
yacy Of ave years which he had hoped
and dreamed might exist as long aa
he, had been rudeiy broken In upon.
Humanity, which he had avoided.
from which he had fed, which he had
cast away forever, had found him.
Abfit exeessit, eyasit, erupit! And; TO-
his departures were all III vain! ina
world with all Its grandeur and Its In,
Significance, with all its powers and Z
Ats weaknesses, with all its opportu,
miles and Its obligations, With YAH Hts
Joys and Its sorrows, had knocked 1T
his door; and that the knocking hand
was that Of a woman, but added "a =
his perplexity and to his dIsmay. i
He had cherished adream that he 4
could live to himself alone with but las
memory to bear him company, and /
from that dream he had been thun,
derously awakened. Everything waf3
changed. What had once been easy I
had now become Impossible. fie
might send sher away, but though hs I
swore her 70 secrecy she would have
70 tell her story and something 81 bis;
Ito Be continusd.)
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