Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-09-12

college man. Say that he had gradu-
ated at twenty-one or twenty-five. he
would be twenty-eight or twenty-nine
years old now, but if so, why that
white hair? Perhaps, though. the
book did not belong to the man Of the
cabin.
She turned to other books on the
shelf. Many Of them were technical
books, which she had sufficient gen.
eral culture to realize could be only
available to a man highly educated,
and a special student Of mines and
mining-a mining engineer, she de-
cided, with a glance at those instru-
ments and applianceZ Of a scientific
character plainly, but of whose actual
use she was ignorant.
A rapid inspection Of the other
books confirmed her in the conclusion
that the man Of the mountains was
indeed the owner Of the collection.
There were a few we'll worn volumes
Of poetry and essays, Shakespeare, a
Bible, Bacon, Marcus Aurelius, Epicte-
tus, Keats, a small dictionary, a com
pendious encyclopedia, just the books,
she thought, smiling at her conceit,
that a man of education and culture
would want to have upon a desert is
land where his supply Of literature
would be limited. #
The old ones were autographed as
the first book she had looked in; 9TH
ers, newer additions to the little IL
brary, if she could Judge their condi-
ton, were unsigned.
Into the corner cupboard and the
drawers, Of course, she did not look.
There was nothing else In the room
to attract her attention, save some
piles Of manuscript neatly arranged
on one of the shelves, each one cover
ed with q square of board and kept
in place by pieces of glistening quartz.
There were four of these piles and an
other half the size of the first four
on the table. These, Of course, she did
not examine, further than to note that
the writing was in the same bold,
free hand as the signature in the
books. If she had been an expert she
might have deduced much from the
writing; as 1t was, she fancied 1t was
strong, direct, manly.
Having completed her inspection Of
this room, she opened the door and
went into the other. 1t was smaller
and less inviting. 1t had only one
window, and q door opened outside.
There was a cook stove here. and
shelves with cooking utensils and
graniteware, and more rude box re-
ceptacles on the walls which were fill
ed with a bountiful and well selected
store Of canned goods and provisions
of various kinds. This was evident
ly the kitchen, supply room, china
closet. She saw no sign of a bed In
1t. and wondered where and how the
man had spent the night.
By rights, her mind should have
been filled with her uncle and his
party, and in their alarm she should
have shared, but she was SO extremely
comfortable, except for her foot, which
did not greatly trouble her SO long as
she kept 1t quiet, that she felt a GER
tain degree of contentment, not to say
happiness. The adventure was SO 70
mantle and thrilling-save for those
awful moments inNthe pool-especially
to the soul of a conventional woman
who had been brought up in the most
humdrum and stereotyped fashion Of
: the earth's ways, and with " an
opportunity for the development Of
the spirit of romance which all Of ut
exhibited some time in u life, ant
which, thank God, some of us never
lose, that she found herself revealing
> in 1t.
: She lost herself in pleasing magma
3 tons of tales of her adventures tina
. she could tell when she got back tt
her uncle, and when she got further
t back to staid old Philadelphia. How
t shocked everybody would be with l
r all there! OF course, she resolved
+ that she would never mention n ep
isode of that terrible day, and she hat
t somehow absolute confidence that THU
man, in spite of his grim, gruff taci
turnity, who had shown himself SO ex
ceedingly considerable of her feelings
! would never mention it either.
, She had SO much food for though
t that not ever In the late afternoon o
. the long day could she force her mint
to the printed pages Of the book sh'
r had taken at random from the shell
l which lay open before her. where sh'
! sat in the sun, her head covered BY al
old "Stetson" that she had ventures
Q to appropriate. She had dragged
bear skin out on the rocks in the Sui
r and sat curled up on 1t half ~reclinini
{ against a boulder watching the trail
/. the Winchester by her side. She ha'
4 eaten so late a breakfast that she hal
Q made a rather frugal lunch out o
whatever had taken her fancy in tn
: store room, and she was waiting mos
anxiously now for the return Of tn
man.
d The season was late and the SUI
Q sank behind the peaks quite early Il
the afternoon, and it grew dark an
I chill long before the shadows fell upol
the jewellers OF the lowlands.
Enid drew the bear skin around he
. and waited with an ever-growing ~
nrahanainn. II abs should be CON